I'm an EX-Baldwin County resident - 100% Alabamian. This articla fails miserably in telling the full story of Baldwin County.... inparticular the areas along the Gulf Coast like Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley, Elberta, Magnolia Springs, Bon Secour, Fairhope, Daphne. The region is a depressed region. It lacks any substantial source of healthcare other than South Baldwin Hospital in Foley 23 or so miles from the beachfront which is through hectic stop and go traffic light managed thouroughfare of Hwy 59, unless you care to take the toll road of the Beach Express which really isn't any faster, and nowadays isn't any better traffic wise. The other hosptials are in Fairhope or Bay Minette. 40 miles or so from the beaches. The demographic has changed drastically from quite, sublime farmlands, cattle farms, horse pastures and those things we grew up loving... to this frantic sprawl that has taken over much of the south today. Northeners look for better places to live when they get old and want an easier lifestyle so they head south. They think fun , sun and endless mimosas or mint julips await them except they find that they themselves have brought the hectic lifestyles with them. The streets are clogged with endless tourists who wan tnothing more than a cheap condo rental, a decent seafood meal (which is not sourced locally by the way) and then they depart, leaving behind trash, trash and more trash. I left this area because of the horrible pay scale. The area is much like Florida... a service industry driven economy. Industries are not hoem basing in this area. No infrastructure, no leadership to draw it in, just peole from the north who get elected and demand more building, buiding and building of home done cheaply by the likes of D>R. HORTON, ADAMS and MITCHELL developers. As for ONO Island... we called it goat island a long time ago. Legend had it a single onld man owned the island and had a few goats. He died and developement began. End of story.
I moved my family from Colorado to Gulf Shores, AL two years ago. We absolutely love it here. If you want to live on the beach, then yes, most homes/condo's will cost you a million dollars, however, just a short distance away homes cost as little as $250,000. A few years ago, I probably would have never considered Alabama as a place to live, but when my daughter enrolled at the Univ. of Alabama, we really fell in love with this state and the entire region of the country. Is it conservative? Yes, it is. Having moved from Colorado where we felt our beliefs were no longer represented, the south was a welcome change. It's unfortunate that political discourse in this country has become so overwhelmingly negative that if you are in the minority your views become marginalized and vilified. The south is welcoming, and yes, the south is largely conservative. As a conservative, I want to live where my views are represented. To be subjugated to the rule of those who do not align with my values and beliefs makes little sense.
They won't stay long, not in that location. Ambulance will take forever to arrive and another forever to get to a small hospital. Florida has the infrastructure for the unhealthy, which, whether they know it or not, includes pretty much everyone in their late 60s or beyond. Jacksonville even hosts the Mayor Clinic Hospital, along with about a dozen more reputable and capable hospitals. Most of Florida has a huge supply of very good medical care. Jacksonville even has a Mayo Clinic Hospital.
Priced out of FL? Sorry, but that dog don't hunt. These folks just bought a $1 million, 3,000 square foot home on the beach in eastern AL. Sure, the beach is nice. And no doubt it is cheaper property than oceanfront locations in Naples FL, but there is a reason for that. And knowing the 'Redneck Riviera', my bet is that these two self-proclaimed "progressives" will be fish out of water and will end up buying additional property to actually live in somewhere in the not-so-distant future.
Housing in most regions of Florida is expensive. Massive building boom underway, singles and complexes. In the county I snowbird they build and open a new school every two years (where I live a school would have to burn down before a new build). Corperations building and moving in. I don't see prices moderating any time soon. Saying that. A Long Island couple retires and sells the home for $850,000. They pay cash for a $250,000 townhouse in Florida and don't look back.
Lived in southern Alabama (LA - that is lower Alabama), it was very nice. Thought about retiring there too, but it was too far away from family. I note that he is a progressive, hopefully he refrains from trying to force Alabama to change before he actually learns why things are the way they are, what works, what does not work, etcetera. Does LA need to make changes? Absolutely. But it may not be the things that folks from liberal areas are pushing.
If this follows the North Carolina framework of the past 40 years, their children will soon follow. They will be tenured university professors or take high level state government jobs. Their children will take public office and take over the Alabama state legislature. If you don't believe me, look into all the older money families from the Northeast that have overrun North Carolina like a storm surge.
Oh God please do NOT say Alabama. We try real hard to not let that secret out. Don't move here, it is too humid, too many alligators, too many snakes, the house lots are too big to tend to, it rains too much in the spring, crimes are actually punished here, too many churches and church goers, people of all races actually say hello to each other, there are Hurricanes, and the list continues.
My parents sold their house in FL and are moving back to NJ next week. Tired of the politics, hurricanes, expensive homeowners insurance and HOA rules. Yes, the taxes are higher and the winters are miserable but, it's where they are from. They paid cash for a larger home in a 55+ community near their children and grandchildren and at 85 and 86 years young, this will be their happy place.
Unfortunately, the demand for waterfront property in Alabama is ruining the area with overdevelopment. One only look at Destin, Florida to see what the entire Gulf Coast is headed for. I live on a highly desirable lake in Central Alabama, where most of the houses sell for $1M+ and they are still developing and sales are brisk. Taxes in Alabama are a bargain compared to other places.
Without knowing more about the actual properties that are being purchased, it's hard to make any definite comparisons. The Florida real estate market is absurd, like many markets, but based on numbers alone there is not that big a difference between Alabama and Florida. Insurance rates in these coastal areas are eventually going to take a toll on affordability.
Liberals move to a Conservative area due to cheaper taxes, less crime, and still access to nature. Yet, they are complaining that their liberal politics (higher taxes, pro-criminal and tighter restrictions to nature) are not the rule. And, as we see in Florida, the "Johnny Come Lately Liberals" are already trying to change the vote to become more Blue State.
I get that they want to move from the freezing cold and snow to a warmer climate both realistically and politically. Oddly these progressive retirees are conflicted in that they are moving to a gigantic house in a congested area that is one of the worst Hurricane traffic areas of north America that will be underwater in coming years from their global warming.
Another snowbird that has looked down their noses at the south for 70 years and virtue signaled constantly about how much better anywhere else but the south is. Takes the plunged, because of family, and realizes how great the south is but will never surrender his prejudice and loathing. No, the south is not better because of you or your money.
Expats fleeing to another state, frankly a Carpet-Bagger.....should be by law obligated to pay more in taxes. Cut and running to live comfortably but holding on to beliefs/political affiliations instead of standing yr ground & fixing yr state's problems is a status of privilege. Fellow Americans do not have this luxury.
So now we are Zoning the country by political affiliation? That is the issue with the unhinged, like the person writing this article and the "progressive" buying the house. This is America, not the united states of Left and Right. Thank God we elected the great "divider," I mean the great uniter, sorry bout dat one.
Alabama, the home of politicians like pedo Roy Moore. Remember that guy? Oh yea, and Jeff Sessions - the 1st guy to support Trump, and the 1st one Trump threw under the bus. Don't hear much from either of those guys. Neil Young warned us about Alabama a long time ago, now he has to carry a piece everywhere he goes.
Who wants to read about some semi-wealthy couple who are complaining about affordability? My home that I gave $52K for suits me fine and I'm a lot more content than if I were in their $955K place. I live at the end of a small town which is not a slum and I'm 15 minutes from a town that has everything i need.
"In July 2022, the couple spent $955,000 on a coastal home in Baldwin County, Ala., on the Gulf of Mexico, just west of the Florida Panhandle" So much for any "investment savvy" They'll be flooded out by permanent sea level rise by the end of the next decade. Without Fire and Causality insurance, this decade.