Alabama

[next_migration]

As noted before, I’ll be presenting Southeastern states in alphabetical order as well. That means starting with Alabama, which is a bit unfortunate since I have very few potential destinations to recommend in that state. While you know that I wouldn’t personally care to end up in any Christian nationalist region, some of the Southeastern states are in much better shape than others, and Alabama has a generally weaker economy and fewer opportunities. That said, it would have room to accept some migrants. In smaller towns these might best be mostly people with local ties and/or those who have a way to make a locally suitable independent living and actually improve the economy rather than just filling an existing job-role. 

First, the areas to avoid. The Birmingham metro area has well over a million people already. The Mobile metro area is over 400,000 people and located on the Gulf Coast; Mobile’s official elevation is 10’. With some exceptions, the southern half of the state has a weaker economy and high poverty rates, but the northern half tends to be expensive. The following are some better positioned communities, of widely varying sizes.

 

o  Huntsville at the hilly northern end of the state has over 200,000 people and is the center of a broader metro area of about half a million. Major economic sectors include aerospace, military technology, IT, software, engineering, research, and manufacturing. There are three universities, including a state engineering school, and a community college. There are many caves in the Cumberland Plateau region, and Huntsville is home to the National Speleological Society. Amenities include a wide range of performing arts, several comedy venues, several craft breweries, and a botanical garden.

o  Madison, over 55,000 people and rapidly growing, is part of Huntsville’s metro area. There is a large software company, but many residents commute to Huntsville or work in retail or service jobs. The town is well-to-do and rents are above average. The recently arrived minor league baseball team, with a raccoon mascot, is called the Rocket City Trash Pandas—how cute is that?

o  Montgomery, the mid-southeastern capital, is of similar size, 200,000 people, but has a smaller surrounding metro area. There is a diverse regional economy, including agricultural processing, trade and distribution, government and military, technology, professional services, health care, manufacturing, and education; there are several colleges and universities. Despite that, unemployment runs high in the city proper. The city has been working to revitalize the downtown and riverfront; rent is higher than in smaller places but not extreme. Cultural amenities are numerous. Montgomery had an unpleasant reputation during the civil rights era, but is home to several museums and memorials acknowledging that history, and the current city government does not exclude African-Americans.

o  Tuscaloosa to the west of Birmingham is a reasonably-sized city, about 100,000 with a fairly compact metro area. The economy includes government, retail, trade, manufacturing, tourism, finance, mining, healthcare, and education. It is home to the University of Alabama as well as a community college and the small but well-regarded HBCU Stillman. Dominant religions are Southern Baptism and Crimson Tide football. The city holds numerous holiday parades and festivals. Public transportation consists of limited weekday “trolley” routes (actually buses painted to resemble trolley cars). As you might guess for such a nice place, housing costs are above the state average.

o  Florence (about 40,000 people) in the northwest has a small state university. The economy includes manufacturing, the military, education, finance, retail and distribution, and services. Unemployment is generally lower than the state average. Local tourism sites include a 1500-year-old Native American mound, and it hosts Alabama’s annual Renaissance Faire and an annual storytelling festival. Public transportation consists of a pricey regional dial-a-ride shuttle.

o  Prattville (38,000 people) is northwest of Montgomery and part of its official metro area. Unemployment is much lower than in Montgomery proper and housing perhaps a little cheaper. Many residents commute to Montgomery, but the town also has a variety of manufacturing jobs as well as the usual education, health care, retail, etc. Many active-duty service members from the nearby Air Force base live there. Prattville is called The Fountain City for its many artesian wells. There’s no city bus service.

o  Auburn (according to some reports 76,000 people) in the east is a university town with a small metro area. Higher education (Auburn University), government, high-tech manufacturing, and services are major employers. Its location where the piedmont and coastal plains meet, combined with the tail end of the Appalachian foothills, makes it geologically interesting. There is no bus system and many streets lack sidewalks. Housing costs have recently shot up due to the construction of luxury high-rises by non-resident “investors,” forcing many students into outlying mobile homes (Stuckey 2021).

o  Opelika (about 30,000 people) is part of Auburn’s metro area, offering jobs in health care, food processing, and manufacturing. It has a small community college.

o  Dothan, a city of over 70,000 in the extreme southeast, is the center of the nation’s peanut industry. It has several small colleges, including a community college. Health care, agribusiness, and manufacturing are among local employers. There are some cultural events, including a large peanut festival. Public transportation is limited to a dial-a-ride service. The police seem to kill people with unusually high frequency.

o  Troy in the southeast (but a bit inland) is a well-reputed college town of less than 18,000 people. Troy University is the biggest employer; there are also a variety of large and small companies including manufacturing (some aerospace), distribution, food processing and distilling, and retail. There’s a bus for students only, and a limited dial-a-ride for townies. Unemployment, rent, and wages are all on the low side, and crime is above average. Expect a highly religious culture in city government and elsewhere.

 

Alabama has devoted little effort to public transportation, so a car might be useful or necessary for local business, but private long-distance services are well distributed. There’s an Amtrak line that stops in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Anniston, and a thruway service connecting Montgomery to the station in New Orleans. (Anniston, a small city but with serious problems, is not recommended.) Greyhound has stops in 34 towns or cities.