U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Huntsville the Number 1 place to live in the United States. And while most of the nation might have been shocked that an Alabama city topped the list, those of us who live here weren’t surprised at all.

We’ve known all along that our state is an underrated gem. And now others are also finding out that’s true and flocking here for our beautiful landscapes, affordable cost of living, unbeatable food, and, of course, our Southern hospitality.

Jessica Johnson moved to Alabama from Austin this past December. A software developer who works from home, she could be anywhere in the world, but she chose Mobile even though she’d never been there before. “I just absolutely love being able to be close to the beach,” she says. “Conceivably, I could get up on Saturday and just drive half an hour and get my feet into the white sand and spend the day walking on the beach.”

Lake Guntersville is filled with gorgeous views. (Joe Songer)

The great outdoors was also an attraction for Tristan Moore, a field supervisor with a construction company who moved to Huntsville from Southern Illinois about a year ago. An avid hunter and fisherman, Tristan cites Brindley Mountain and Guntersville Lake as two of his favorite places to spend a beautiful day – or evening. “People need to check out the 4th of July on Guntersville Lake,” he says. “They have their fireworks show out there on the lake. Beautiful. If they can get a boat on the water, that’s where they need to be.”

Renè Powell, an anesthesiologist, moved to Birmingham with her husband and twin seven-year-old daughters from Pueblo, Colorado. Powell says that after living in the arid West, she loves Alabama’s humidity, and she also loves Birmingham’s central location. “I like that we’re close to the lakes. I like that we’re close to the ocean. Everything’s within a driving distance,” she says. “That was actually part of why we picked Alabama over the other places I interviewed. You can get to the mountains. You can get to the beach. You can get anywhere!”

And with two active children, Alabama offers a lot to keep them busy. “We spend a lot of our time doing playground hopping. We go to all the ice cream places, all the donut places. And we checked out a lot of the parks like Red Mountain [Park] and Oak Mountain [State Park].”

Many people are attracted to living in Mobile. (Joe Songer)

Last November, Carlos M. Diaz, a psychiatrist and New York native, also moved to Mobile with his wife and three daughters. For him, the low cost of living was a main attraction to the Yellowhammer State. “We lived in what was considered a huge apartment in New York City, 1,200 square feet, three bedrooms,” he recalls. “But the rent that we were paying, holy smokes, it was just incredible. And with our small apartment, we were able to purchase a seven-bedroom house.”

Moore finds Alabama more affordable as well. From his mountaintop home he can see for several miles around. “It’s just beautiful,” he says. But aside from sweeping vistas, Moore figures that compared to Illinois, he’s paying about 75% less on property taxes.

“I love my neighborhood. It’s beautiful. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet. The houses are so pretty.” That’s Johnson, who just can’t get over how green South Alabama is compared to Austin. “I adopted a dog after the move, and we go for two walks a day just enjoying being outside and being under these big, huge trees because I didn’t have that in Texas.”

The Huntsville skyline keeps on developing. (Joe Songer)

While Alabama’s beauty and affordability might initially attract people to buy houses in our state, it’s Southern hospitality that turns those houses into homes. “The neighbors brought us gumbo. My wife had never had gumbo before. It was delicious,” says Diaz. And he says the neighbors didn’t stop there, they brought beignets and a lot of other Southern treats. “I’ll tell you, we gained so much weight. Y’all know how to eat down here!” he says.

“Austin was so much traffic, so many people. Nobody would give you a sideways look. Nobody would ever really say hello or help you with anything,” recalls Johnson. “And the first week that I was here, every store that I went into, people would greet me and call me ‘Sweetie.’ And if anybody even noticed that I was having trouble or had a lot of things to take to my car – seriously, this really happened – people would stop and help me. Like, that does not happen. That did not happen in Austin. I was honestly flabbergasted.”

And Powell appreciates the Magic City’s hometown vibes. “I like that it is a bigger city with all the big city amenities, but it feels like a small town,” she says. And even though she just moved a few months ago, Powell says Alabama is already starting to feel like home.

Dare we say it is, indeed, a sweet home after all.

Source: Why People are Moving to Alabama This is Alabama (February 16, 2023) Audrey Atkins