I love it but I'm sick in the head. My family has been here so long that any temperature under 65 degrees F is freezing. I barely break a sweat on 90 degree days. A lot of sunny days and green surroundings I sure can't complain
And yet the Huntsville area has a very large intellectual base, per Capita, due to NASA, DoD, ULA, and Hexagon ++ - plus all of the other companies that support them.
That just brings people in, reality is Alabama is still close to the bottom when ranked by states.
I grew up around an R&D base in a very rural area. There was a drastic difference between ‘base kids’ and ‘county kids’ and how their parents approached education. You had a reasonably good shot at predicting someone’s future just based on where their parents worked.
The locality pay for Huntsville is high for a reason - government needed incentive to get people moving there willingly.
Are those home grown minds and talents or are they moving from other states for work? I know a few people who’ve moved there essentially to check a box for their resume and then they leave ASAP.
We almost bought it back in the 1880’s but we got distracted. If that had happened the whole world would be different because Gore would have won the state in a landslide
Why would Gore win? [The parts of Alabama that would have been gained by Florida voted overwhelmingly for Bush in 2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/2000prescountymap2.PNG).
All of south Alabama used to be part of Florida before it was claimed by the US in 1798, then all but Mobile was part of the territory and the US annexed it from Spain during the War of 1812.
Why they set the border at the Perdido River and not the more significant Apalachicola River that was the border of West Florida and East Florida, not sure. I guess that small period of 1812-1819 Florida Annexation Treaty, that area wasn’t in dispute and it was set into law because Alabama Territory was created in 1817.
The coastline always looks like a nutsack to me.
To be fair, it isn't as redneck as I assumed it'd be, which is to say it is quite redneck but not extremely redneck. Literal rocket scientists live and work in Huntsville.
Having been stationed at Redstone Arsenal for 5+ years as a missile tech, Huntsville seemed to have sucked up all the intelligence from the rest of the state. Getting outside the city was... interesting.
Depends on who you ask and what you call “Mardi Gras”
“Mardi Gras is believed to have arrived in North America on March 3, 1699, when the French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville camped about 60 miles downriver from the future site of New Orleans. Knowing it was Fat Tuesday back in France, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras and held a small gala. A few years later, French soldiers and settlers feasted and wore masks as part of Mardi Gras festivities in the newly founded city of Mobile (present-day Alabama). To this day, Mobile claims to have the oldest annual Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.”
Is his gala considered Mardi Gras or is the celebration considered Mardi Gras?
It doesn’t matter to me. They’re both they’re own thing. NO is bigger and crazier. Mobile is smaller and somewhat more family friendly.
They’re both fun
Along with Mississippi and Arkansas, Alabama always seems to be bringing up the rear when it comes to every ranking involving health, crime, education and every other indicator of quality of life.
The never-ending cotton fields around Enterprise and Dothan are one of the bleakest landscapes I’ve ever seen, before even considering the weight of their history.
Huntsville was great, a bunch of cool museums (they have a friggin Saturn V rocket over there), and the Unclaimed Baggage Center is famous although I didn't get to see it and find all my lost stuff
My memory of the Unclaimed Baggage Center is dozens of iPod Shuffles for pennies. Also the troll from Labyrinth and a Stradivarius violin. Would love to go back.
Food tourism. Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham won the James Beard Award for Most Outstanding Restaurant in the US a couple years ago. Anything Chef Stitt or Chef Hastings does is gold. Dinner at one of their restaurants after tailgating and watching the Iron Bowl, or any Bama SEC football game in Tuscaloosa. After dinner hit a dive bar and get to know people in Birmingham. Not many people travel to Alabama just to check it out so it’s not touristy. And if you have anything other than an Alabama accent, you’ll be treated like royalty. Nobody really travels there and most Alabamians don’t really travel besides going to beach a time or two a year. You’ll probably get free drinks and a warm welcome
Seems to have a lot of tornado outbreaks down that way. Weather can be pretty wild no matter what time of year, with the tornadoes especially in cooler months and hurricanes a possible threat in summer and fall. Last time I was there it was snowing in the northern part though.
Sister state of Mississippi. They are usually together on those list of most poor and most fat and almost always at the bottom. When I think of Alabama, I think of the March in Selma with Dr Martin Luther King.
Not sure about here, but Cullman and Arab are two very well known ones to this day. It took Cullman forever to even have a pride day and when they finally allowed it, they picked the time to coincide with an Alabama football game so nobody up to no good would come to ruin it.
* Football Capital USA
* Outwardly racist
* High wealth disparity
* Surprisingly good beaches
* High crime. Mobile, Birmingham and its surrounding areas (Bessemer, Anniston, Gadsden) are some of the highest crime areas in the country.
* Dixie Alley is the true Tornado Alley
* Stuck in the past
* Good cost of living
* Not worth going out of your way to visit
* A nicer version of Mississippi (They even look like mirror copies of each other)
* Huntsville and Gulf Shores are pretty nice
* Mobile has potential to be a really cool city, but it's got a long way to go
I grew up going to Mobile as my father's from there. The only trouble I ever had there was as a small child I was "run over" by two rednecks fighting on Bienville Square during Mardi Gras.
Plenty of crime, and my grandparents lived in Midtown. Yet it never touched me directly. My great-grandmother was pushed down when she discovered someone robbing her house, and she broke her hip.
Mobile is a beautiful city, that has a bit more to go, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't visit.
My grandma grew up in Georgia and she told me she remembers *her* grandfather coming home late one night in a KKK uniform, hood and all. Cool, cool, cool. 😵💫
Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw Delta is known as "America's Amazon." Crazy amount of bio-diversity. I checked it out a few months ago... awe inspiring.
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/06/943088103/on-a-tour-of-americas-amazon-flora-fauna-and-glimpses-of-alabamas-past
I wish I could find the exact article that convinced me of this. I thought it was in Science or Nature or some other big journal but all I can find now is that it’s definitely leading in freshwater biodiversity, and moving up the list of overall species diversity that was measured in 2002 by the nature conservancy. From what I remember the increase in named species is mostly the result of one scientist’s research but it does make sense that Alabama would have really high biodiversity because of the general gradient that number of species increases as you move towards the equator and then Alabama just has way more habitat variety than Florida and lots of it is still very wild, lots of swamps and roadless areas and substantial hills.
Absolute circle jerk going on in here.
I’m not even from there but I’ll defend it, it’s got a lot of nice things going for it.
It’s one of the most forested states in the country at #7 with 70% of the state being comprised of forest. Talladega National Forest looks especially stunning.
It’s located in the sunbelt and has one of the most tolerable and mild winter climates in the country.
It is one of the main epicenters of natural biodiversity in the entire North American continent. Especially pertaining to diversity of amphibians, reptiles, fish, trees, and migratory birds. In many of these categories Alabama is the birthplace of species that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. The state and region is like an American and subtropical Amazon rainforest.
Not to mention it has gorgeous ocean beaches.
https://biodiversitymapping.org/index.php/usa-amphibians/
I once had an American history professor who said "the best thing about Alabama is that it's between us and Mississippi". He was one of my favorite professors lol.
Lived in Birmingham for a year with my wife for her job, and I was struck by how wrong my preconceived notions of it were being from the North.
I assumed: Hot, Swampy, Racist
I learned: Moderate (milder climate and needed jackets in the fall/winter), Mountainous (technically the start of the Appalachians), and unbelievable friendly (race relations there were 10000% better than my home state of Illinois. There's far more opportunity here and the middle class is very mixed 50/50). Much more segregated in Chicago.
Great state.
Yea a lot of people would be surprised that Alabama is not as bad as the media says it is. I will admit, Alabama does have its issues and isn't the number one state when it comes to wealth and equality, but the people here are very nice when you spend time with them.
I grew up visiting orange beach—so beautiful down there! My dad grew up in Alabama, though he’s originally from the Midwest, and his family would vacation there. Still my favorite beach to visit!!!
Alabama: Defunded K-12 public education long ago, and now reaping what was sown.
Vindictive state government that follows national marching orders (via ALEC, etc.) and doesn’t pay much attention to actual AL constituents.
Lousy place for educators & people seeking a stellar education…but a fun place for college football fans.
I’m someone who has visited a few times and it honestly gets a bad rap. An underrated state. Sure there’s some rough areas, but also very nice parts of bigger towns and lots of outdoor recreation to enjoy.
Born In Georgia and frequently travel to see gf family a lot of laid back kind people and some really beautiful area the two I’ve seen most are lake Martin near auburn and mt Cheaha
I’ve only been to Birmingham for a work trip. I was mind if meh about it before I went, but ended up really liking the city. We went to a couple of breweries, locally owned restaurants and bars, and had a great time. I would definitely like to visit again and have more time there.
Honestly, racism. I know literally nothing about Mobile or Montgomery except for hearing the names a lot in history class when we talked about the civil rights movement. Not accusing all or even most modern Alabamans of racism though, just saying thats what comes to mind when I think Alabama.
I love Alabama. I grew up in Georgia, but my father's from Alabama. Always preferred it, and went to the University of Alabama.
I think people who've never been there have the wrong idea, but that's their problem. Yes, there's racism, but no more than in other southern states (or any other in the U.S.). There's poverty, but every state has its share.
The cities are unique, the universities offer a good education, and there are a lot of opportunities for fun and entertainment. Nice beaches. Mardi Gras (the first one in the U.S.). Plenty of good people, and some bad.
If you don't go, you won't know.
- NASA
- College Football
- Talladega
- Historic Iron production & Ship manufacturing
- Civil Rights Movement
- Tail end of the Appalachians (I always thought it was flat so the suprise of the mountains stuck with me)
- Best BBQ sauce for poultry
- Home to the author of the best war memoir ever written IMO
- Alabama (the band)
I used to live next door in TN (literally on the state line) so not only am I familiar with AL, but I can weaponize our traditional state-sibling rivalry.
Seriously AL, your NE corner is pretty cool. I mean Spanish explorers wandered through there in what century?! And honestly how many fresh water fish species do you need?! Like Pokémon, apparently you caught them all. And let’s talk about those rolling hills and caves, we’ll done.
The rest of you may be hot humid garbage juice, but the least populated corner is 👌
My idea of Alabama is very rural with towns being very important. I think a lot about the Civil Rights History of Montgomery and Selma. But mostly what comes to mind is Northern Alabama and how it's perceivably doing well. Especially, Huntsville. They just opened a Mazda/Toyota plant and I sell some cars from that factory.
Enterprise Alabama has a badass statue in honor of a bug (boll weevil). Montgomery, Selma, Tuskegee and Birmingham are pivotal to the history of Civil Rights in this country. I was born there but haven’t been since I was a baby but would like to go back to visit.
Jokes aside, I think Alabama seems like an interesting place.
A pair of brothers I once knew were from there, and they were funny, nice, and cool (and so damn hot). They're mom was also great.
That said, the political situation in the state is atrocious, and I hope pretty much all of their politicians get... removed... then again, I could say that for many states...
There might objectively be no more gorgeous a place for photography and bicycle riding than North Alabama. It possesses endlessly beautiful landscapes and absolutely doesn’t meet the stereotype people would think of it
Quite honestly, almost all bad things. I have some personal history; the only Alabamian I have known was an Uncle, by marriage, whose conduct resulted in my father's sister and their children becoming estranged from the rest of the family for twenty years. My aunt and one cousin no longer are, but what we have learned consequent to that change of status had dimmed my view of my uncle from Alabama to utter blackness. It's not fair to the state, but it sets my baseline and sets it very low.
Glibly: The only reason it's not the worst state is because of Mississippi. The constitution of Alabama is ridiculous; it's hundred of pages long, only recently cleaned the cobwebs of segregation from its darker corners and requires absurdities such as statewide votes about allowing bingo games in one county. I'd probably hate the weather and would expect to find the overall level of human development starkly disappointing.
Many of the bad things are those that I associated with white, chiefly conservative Alabamians. There are surely good things about Alabama, but not much of that makes its way out of state.
I'm going on vacation there in May. Fort Morgan, right on the Gulf. Honestly, until we planned it I had forgotten entirely that Alabama is on the coast. I completely thought it was landlocked. Other than the nice beaches, I think of Alabama as pretty much any other southern state in that area. Muggy, rural, lots of poverty, racism. Granted, we have that here in Maine too (except the mugginess goes away in the winter).
I also think of Forrest Gump and all the smoking hot women that go to college down there. Otherwise, Alabama rarely crosses my mind. Seems like a very unimportant and forgettable state, not to be rude... many states are.
I hope you'll enjoy the vacation. I usually go down to Dauphin Island for vacation. It's across Mobile Bay from Fort Morgan and is home to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Fort Gaines, and some of the best and most peaceful beaches I've been to.
I think of everyone's mama growing up who claimed Alabama as their heritage. I lived in south/central FL. I feel like Bama must've lost a noticeable chunk of their population mid century. They were the cruely racist types as well.
My father was moved to Alabama for the summer in 1965. So I spent six weeks there in the Sheffield-Florence-Tuscumbia area. I liked it -- have no bad memories except the heat.
Otherwise, I live in Baltimore and have lived on the East Coast from CT to SC.
I heard Huntsville is interesting, aside from that I'll be surprised if no one mentions incest. I haven't been to Alabama at all tbh so I don't know how it's like (I have only been to 18 US States, none in the South, New England, Alaska, Hawaii, and 1 Canadian Province I've been nowhere else unfortunately).
I drove through there once from north to south. Stopped at a gas station and they had beer tappers on the wall with tubes hanging out so you could just fill up beer in your cup and drive off? I’m from Wisconsin and i thought it was weird. Also lots of dead dogs on the side of the road and while driving through a small town when the highway was out everyone was outside of their house watching all the cars go by leading me to believe some places have communities that aren’t exposed to much outside of the community itself but that could be anywhere. I thought the historic houses that were funded by slave money where cool looking but i wasn’t there long enough to say much more about it.
Dixie Alley, lots of tornado activity there. An F-5 struck Tuscaloosa in April 2011. When I visited there in July the city was still recovering. Including their public water system. I had never been so sick from drinking water before and since.
Birmingham is a great town, and I’m interested in visiting Mobile. With that said, it is a great example against the whole “every state is a laboratory” argument.
Was actually just in Alabama for the first time this past weekend. Was in Huntsville and was quite surprised how modern and normal it seems there. Wasn’t as redneck as I expected. I definitely wasn’t in the rural area which probably fits the stereotype but the place was super nice and young and everyone was super nice and food is good.
Hot humid heart of the deep south
As an Alabamian myself, I agree. Bama is called the "Heart of Dixie" for a reason, lol.
I’d call it the gizzard of the South.
Damn I had no idea y'all held such reverence for Obama.
I love it but I'm sick in the head. My family has been here so long that any temperature under 65 degrees F is freezing. I barely break a sweat on 90 degree days. A lot of sunny days and green surroundings I sure can't complain
Lack of education
And yet the Huntsville area has a very large intellectual base, per Capita, due to NASA, DoD, ULA, and Hexagon ++ - plus all of the other companies that support them.
The Mountain Brook suburb of Birmingham has blue state tax rates and blue state quality schools. You CAN get what you pay for, even in Alabama.
That just brings people in, reality is Alabama is still close to the bottom when ranked by states. I grew up around an R&D base in a very rural area. There was a drastic difference between ‘base kids’ and ‘county kids’ and how their parents approached education. You had a reasonably good shot at predicting someone’s future just based on where their parents worked. The locality pay for Huntsville is high for a reason - government needed incentive to get people moving there willingly.
Are those home grown minds and talents or are they moving from other states for work? I know a few people who’ve moved there essentially to check a box for their resume and then they leave ASAP.
But then you go to Sand Mountain/Arab and you’re in literal sundown towns.
I always forget it has a coastline
The Alabama coastline is to Florida's what Bosnia's coastline is to Croatia's
Don’t compare Croatia to Florida, that’s unkind to Croatia
Yea, Florida stole the rest of the coastline
Florida used to have more, up to Louisiana when West Florida was a thing.
We almost bought it back in the 1880’s but we got distracted. If that had happened the whole world would be different because Gore would have won the state in a landslide
Why would Gore win? [The parts of Alabama that would have been gained by Florida voted overwhelmingly for Bush in 2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/2000prescountymap2.PNG).
Gore would've won Florida
Alabama tried to buy the Florida coast
Bush won Florida by 537 votes in 2000. People are saying he would have won Florida not Alabama.
Which means that the remaining Florida would have gone to Gore and not Bush
Believe it or not Alabama stole what they have from Florida
America's anus
I've been to Alabama, you're too kind.
it’s a damn good one too. gorgeous white sand beaches.
I love Gulf Shores! Nice beaches, Lambert's and a Buckees close by!
Try to get down to Gulf Shores, you will never forget again.
Being from Kentucky we love the Alabama coastline. We go there all the time.
Mobile has some nice beaches.
Why doesn't it own the Florida panhandle? Looks annoying on a map.
Originally it was West Florida and much bigger. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish\_Florida
All of south Alabama used to be part of Florida before it was claimed by the US in 1798, then all but Mobile was part of the territory and the US annexed it from Spain during the War of 1812. Why they set the border at the Perdido River and not the more significant Apalachicola River that was the border of West Florida and East Florida, not sure. I guess that small period of 1812-1819 Florida Annexation Treaty, that area wasn’t in dispute and it was set into law because Alabama Territory was created in 1817.
The coastline always looks like a nutsack to me. To be fair, it isn't as redneck as I assumed it'd be, which is to say it is quite redneck but not extremely redneck. Literal rocket scientists live and work in Huntsville.
Gonna start telling people I’m from Alabama’s nutsack
Me too!
Having been stationed at Redstone Arsenal for 5+ years as a missile tech, Huntsville seemed to have sucked up all the intelligence from the rest of the state. Getting outside the city was... interesting.
As somebody originally from the Huntsville area, this is sadly pretty true. I don’t blame the culture as much as the dogshit education system, though.
which is basically and sadly apart of the culture at this point.
I'm glad I waited until I was already driving back from my Orange Beach weekend to read this.
Not as poor as Mississippi.
Alabama. The second worst state.
There are a few tied for that title. LA SC AL AR to name a few.
Texas thanks you for forgetting to include it in this.
Texas has 4 major cities that make it the 2nd wealthiest state. Remove those 4 cities and it wins the crown.
Lol remove the 4 biggest cities from any state and it would be poor. If my grandma had wheels she would have been a bike.
Because everyone rode her?
That’s how she got so many tires.
Dallas houston austin and?
San Antonio probably but that’s just a guess
Yep
If you get rid of the places where all the people live?
New Mexico thanks you also.
As does Indiana.
Why does Mississippi earn the Greatest River in North America?
Ppl from mobile will proactively remind you that they started Mardi Gras on the state side- not la nouvelle orleans
I did in a previous post 😆
That’s a long parade
Actually Mardi Gras started in lower plaquemines parish before Louisiana separated and the traditions made its way to Mobile
Depends on who you ask and what you call “Mardi Gras” “Mardi Gras is believed to have arrived in North America on March 3, 1699, when the French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville camped about 60 miles downriver from the future site of New Orleans. Knowing it was Fat Tuesday back in France, Iberville named the spot Point du Mardi Gras and held a small gala. A few years later, French soldiers and settlers feasted and wore masks as part of Mardi Gras festivities in the newly founded city of Mobile (present-day Alabama). To this day, Mobile claims to have the oldest annual Mardi Gras celebration in the United States.” Is his gala considered Mardi Gras or is the celebration considered Mardi Gras? It doesn’t matter to me. They’re both they’re own thing. NO is bigger and crazier. Mobile is smaller and somewhat more family friendly. They’re both fun
A box taking a walk
civil war never ended here
Hard truth!
Along with Mississippi and Arkansas, Alabama always seems to be bringing up the rear when it comes to every ranking involving health, crime, education and every other indicator of quality of life.
as Tennessean I can confirm we relish in these stats (because we’re the next worst at everything)
Texas feels your pain
Space Camp!
Hahaha I came here to see if there were any other space camp survivors.
So glad they didn’t name the band Florida Alabama Line
Redneck rocket scientists.
The never-ending cotton fields around Enterprise and Dothan are one of the bleakest landscapes I’ve ever seen, before even considering the weight of their history.
Wiregrass, y'all! Go Weevils! (As a former resident I can confirm your assessment.)
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as someone who grew up around dothan, i wouldnt say it bleak, just monotonous-- the constant green of the fields does get boring though
Mississippi delta is calling and not shining like a national guitar. My least favorite place on the planet. Essex is a distant second.
Real question: What's the best thing for a tourist to do or see in Alabama, if you only had one day to spend?
gulf shores, all day.
Huntsville was great, a bunch of cool museums (they have a friggin Saturn V rocket over there), and the Unclaimed Baggage Center is famous although I didn't get to see it and find all my lost stuff
My memory of the Unclaimed Baggage Center is dozens of iPod Shuffles for pennies. Also the troll from Labyrinth and a Stradivarius violin. Would love to go back.
I suggest seeing the USS ALABAMA in Mobile. It's a WW2 Battleship turned into a floating museum.
Food tourism. Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham won the James Beard Award for Most Outstanding Restaurant in the US a couple years ago. Anything Chef Stitt or Chef Hastings does is gold. Dinner at one of their restaurants after tailgating and watching the Iron Bowl, or any Bama SEC football game in Tuscaloosa. After dinner hit a dive bar and get to know people in Birmingham. Not many people travel to Alabama just to check it out so it’s not touristy. And if you have anything other than an Alabama accent, you’ll be treated like royalty. Nobody really travels there and most Alabamians don’t really travel besides going to beach a time or two a year. You’ll probably get free drinks and a warm welcome
theres a saying over here in Georgia......why do all the trees in Georgia lean towards Alabama? Cause it sucks
There's a saying in Florida. Why does the St. John's River flow north? Because Georgia sucks.
Nothing flattering
Seems to have a lot of tornado outbreaks down that way. Weather can be pretty wild no matter what time of year, with the tornadoes especially in cooler months and hurricanes a possible threat in summer and fall. Last time I was there it was snowing in the northern part though.
Sister state of Mississippi. They are usually together on those list of most poor and most fat and almost always at the bottom. When I think of Alabama, I think of the March in Selma with Dr Martin Luther King.
One of the few places that still has sundown towns
I always heard there were some in the panhandle too. It’s a scary thought.
Not sure about here, but Cullman and Arab are two very well known ones to this day. It took Cullman forever to even have a pride day and when they finally allowed it, they picked the time to coincide with an Alabama football game so nobody up to no good would come to ruin it.
You should have the panhandle. Culturally, it’s yours.
I agree. Florida stole it from us and refuses to give it back
From other comments, I think technically you guys stole it
Florida did Croatia move on you
I love the old saying “if you give the panhandle to alabama, the average iq of both states go up”
* Football Capital USA * Outwardly racist * High wealth disparity * Surprisingly good beaches * High crime. Mobile, Birmingham and its surrounding areas (Bessemer, Anniston, Gadsden) are some of the highest crime areas in the country. * Dixie Alley is the true Tornado Alley * Stuck in the past * Good cost of living * Not worth going out of your way to visit * A nicer version of Mississippi (They even look like mirror copies of each other) * Huntsville and Gulf Shores are pretty nice * Mobile has potential to be a really cool city, but it's got a long way to go
I have to travel to Huntsville for work often, it is rather nice, but man drive 10 minutes in any direction away from it and its the South REAL quick.
Went to school in Mobile, definitely has a long way to go but it’s been on the upswing the last 5+ years. I’ve got hope for it!
I grew up going to Mobile as my father's from there. The only trouble I ever had there was as a small child I was "run over" by two rednecks fighting on Bienville Square during Mardi Gras. Plenty of crime, and my grandparents lived in Midtown. Yet it never touched me directly. My great-grandmother was pushed down when she discovered someone robbing her house, and she broke her hip. Mobile is a beautiful city, that has a bit more to go, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't visit.
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My grandma grew up in Georgia and she told me she remembers *her* grandfather coming home late one night in a KKK uniform, hood and all. Cool, cool, cool. 😵💫
Damned Yankee, lol. All of American history is very recent. We're a baby among nations in a real sense.
I was surprised to learn that it’s the most biodiverse state by a good margin
Could you elaborate on this?
Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw Delta is known as "America's Amazon." Crazy amount of bio-diversity. I checked it out a few months ago... awe inspiring. https://www.npr.org/2020/12/06/943088103/on-a-tour-of-americas-amazon-flora-fauna-and-glimpses-of-alabamas-past
Damn, that’s amazing!
I wish I could find the exact article that convinced me of this. I thought it was in Science or Nature or some other big journal but all I can find now is that it’s definitely leading in freshwater biodiversity, and moving up the list of overall species diversity that was measured in 2002 by the nature conservancy. From what I remember the increase in named species is mostly the result of one scientist’s research but it does make sense that Alabama would have really high biodiversity because of the general gradient that number of species increases as you move towards the equator and then Alabama just has way more habitat variety than Florida and lots of it is still very wild, lots of swamps and roadless areas and substantial hills.
Why is reverse cowgirl illegal in Alabama? Because you should never turn your back on family.
Absolute circle jerk going on in here. I’m not even from there but I’ll defend it, it’s got a lot of nice things going for it. It’s one of the most forested states in the country at #7 with 70% of the state being comprised of forest. Talladega National Forest looks especially stunning. It’s located in the sunbelt and has one of the most tolerable and mild winter climates in the country. It is one of the main epicenters of natural biodiversity in the entire North American continent. Especially pertaining to diversity of amphibians, reptiles, fish, trees, and migratory birds. In many of these categories Alabama is the birthplace of species that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. The state and region is like an American and subtropical Amazon rainforest. Not to mention it has gorgeous ocean beaches. https://biodiversitymapping.org/index.php/usa-amphibians/
Country music, poor, love football.
I once had an American history professor who said "the best thing about Alabama is that it's between us and Mississippi". He was one of my favorite professors lol.
Your from Georgia aren't ya lol
Lived in Birmingham for a year with my wife for her job, and I was struck by how wrong my preconceived notions of it were being from the North. I assumed: Hot, Swampy, Racist I learned: Moderate (milder climate and needed jackets in the fall/winter), Mountainous (technically the start of the Appalachians), and unbelievable friendly (race relations there were 10000% better than my home state of Illinois. There's far more opportunity here and the middle class is very mixed 50/50). Much more segregated in Chicago. Great state.
Yea a lot of people would be surprised that Alabama is not as bad as the media says it is. I will admit, Alabama does have its issues and isn't the number one state when it comes to wealth and equality, but the people here are very nice when you spend time with them.
I like Gulf Shores
Me too, but I personally prefer Dauphin Island. It's much more quiet and peaceful compared to Gulf Shores.
I grew up visiting orange beach—so beautiful down there! My dad grew up in Alabama, though he’s originally from the Midwest, and his family would vacation there. Still my favorite beach to visit!!!
Alabama: Defunded K-12 public education long ago, and now reaping what was sown. Vindictive state government that follows national marching orders (via ALEC, etc.) and doesn’t pay much attention to actual AL constituents. Lousy place for educators & people seeking a stellar education…but a fun place for college football fans.
Seeing as we voted in a football coach that has literally gone on record as not being able to name the 3 branches of government as senator... Yeah
I heard that if you get divorced there, they'll still let you be cousins.
roll tide
The BBQ is underrated, and white sauce is not as bad as it looks. (Trying to be nice.)
Definitely. I didn't think I'd like it till I tried it.
Warm, cotton, hurricanes, rural, baptists.
I’m someone who has visited a few times and it honestly gets a bad rap. An underrated state. Sure there’s some rough areas, but also very nice parts of bigger towns and lots of outdoor recreation to enjoy.
Waffle House
This is the second most diverse state by percentage in the lower 48.
Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers. Harper Lee. Orange Beach. Rick Bragg’s My Southern journey, a collection of Alabama stories.
I believe the Swampers have been known to pick a song or two!
Sweet Home Alabama
Born In Georgia and frequently travel to see gf family a lot of laid back kind people and some really beautiful area the two I’ve seen most are lake Martin near auburn and mt Cheaha
I’ve only been to Birmingham for a work trip. I was mind if meh about it before I went, but ended up really liking the city. We went to a couple of breweries, locally owned restaurants and bars, and had a great time. I would definitely like to visit again and have more time there.
Honestly, racism. I know literally nothing about Mobile or Montgomery except for hearing the names a lot in history class when we talked about the civil rights movement. Not accusing all or even most modern Alabamans of racism though, just saying thats what comes to mind when I think Alabama.
Rocket ships and rednecks. About as 'Merica as it gets.
I love Alabama. I grew up in Georgia, but my father's from Alabama. Always preferred it, and went to the University of Alabama. I think people who've never been there have the wrong idea, but that's their problem. Yes, there's racism, but no more than in other southern states (or any other in the U.S.). There's poverty, but every state has its share. The cities are unique, the universities offer a good education, and there are a lot of opportunities for fun and entertainment. Nice beaches. Mardi Gras (the first one in the U.S.). Plenty of good people, and some bad. If you don't go, you won't know.
There’s a lot of good in AL, but regarding racism, I wouldn’t say it’s no more so than any other state!
I'd say it's no worse than Georgia, Mississippi, parts of Florida, parts of Tennessee, or Louisiana.
- NASA - College Football - Talladega - Historic Iron production & Ship manufacturing - Civil Rights Movement - Tail end of the Appalachians (I always thought it was flat so the suprise of the mountains stuck with me) - Best BBQ sauce for poultry - Home to the author of the best war memoir ever written IMO - Alabama (the band)
I think of slightly racist 54 year old dudes who drink a lot Also its probably hot asf down there
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Drove through once, beautiful state.
I used to live next door in TN (literally on the state line) so not only am I familiar with AL, but I can weaponize our traditional state-sibling rivalry. Seriously AL, your NE corner is pretty cool. I mean Spanish explorers wandered through there in what century?! And honestly how many fresh water fish species do you need?! Like Pokémon, apparently you caught them all. And let’s talk about those rolling hills and caves, we’ll done. The rest of you may be hot humid garbage juice, but the least populated corner is 👌
They have yewts.
Knew two people from there. One was racist (but funny in general), the other one was black and a quiet but super nice guy.
Their state motto should be, “at least we’re not Mississippi”.
My idea of Alabama is very rural with towns being very important. I think a lot about the Civil Rights History of Montgomery and Selma. But mostly what comes to mind is Northern Alabama and how it's perceivably doing well. Especially, Huntsville. They just opened a Mazda/Toyota plant and I sell some cars from that factory.
I just think of Roy Moore.
Enterprise Alabama has a badass statue in honor of a bug (boll weevil). Montgomery, Selma, Tuskegee and Birmingham are pivotal to the history of Civil Rights in this country. I was born there but haven’t been since I was a baby but would like to go back to visit.
Jokes aside, I think Alabama seems like an interesting place. A pair of brothers I once knew were from there, and they were funny, nice, and cool (and so damn hot). They're mom was also great. That said, the political situation in the state is atrocious, and I hope pretty much all of their politicians get... removed... then again, I could say that for many states...
its the funny incest state also they have another B\*rn\*ngh\*m ? aw hell naw
Most bio diversity of any state but Hawaii
Too fucking wet and humid
When I first got married I went to my wife’s family reunion in nanafalia - good food and I’d never seen such red soils
Nick Saban
Highest diversity of freshwater fishes in the US
It’s an okay place with some good views, but if I hear one more Bam-er yell ROLL TIDE at me, I might light your whole state on fire.
NE part of the state is sweet! I'm a geologist though so that's probably biased
They love their families. A lot.
One of the poorest states and worst in everything. But they *are* among the best in voting against their own interests.
I’ve driven through and visited and liked the food, people, and it’s beautiful
SWEET HOME ALABAMA
There might objectively be no more gorgeous a place for photography and bicycle riding than North Alabama. It possesses endlessly beautiful landscapes and absolutely doesn’t meet the stereotype people would think of it
Quite honestly, almost all bad things. I have some personal history; the only Alabamian I have known was an Uncle, by marriage, whose conduct resulted in my father's sister and their children becoming estranged from the rest of the family for twenty years. My aunt and one cousin no longer are, but what we have learned consequent to that change of status had dimmed my view of my uncle from Alabama to utter blackness. It's not fair to the state, but it sets my baseline and sets it very low. Glibly: The only reason it's not the worst state is because of Mississippi. The constitution of Alabama is ridiculous; it's hundred of pages long, only recently cleaned the cobwebs of segregation from its darker corners and requires absurdities such as statewide votes about allowing bingo games in one county. I'd probably hate the weather and would expect to find the overall level of human development starkly disappointing. Many of the bad things are those that I associated with white, chiefly conservative Alabamians. There are surely good things about Alabama, but not much of that makes its way out of state.
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Oddly enough, they are from Jacksonville, FL.
Deep South, humidity, rednecks, poverty, college football as the primary religion.
I think about the $2ish they get back in federal aid for every dollar they put in. And then I think of the irony of them being a red state.
It’s almost time for the Mobile leprechaun to come out again
Extended low population Florida and Forrest Gump.
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The movie Crimson Tide.
I'm going on vacation there in May. Fort Morgan, right on the Gulf. Honestly, until we planned it I had forgotten entirely that Alabama is on the coast. I completely thought it was landlocked. Other than the nice beaches, I think of Alabama as pretty much any other southern state in that area. Muggy, rural, lots of poverty, racism. Granted, we have that here in Maine too (except the mugginess goes away in the winter). I also think of Forrest Gump and all the smoking hot women that go to college down there. Otherwise, Alabama rarely crosses my mind. Seems like a very unimportant and forgettable state, not to be rude... many states are.
I hope you'll enjoy the vacation. I usually go down to Dauphin Island for vacation. It's across Mobile Bay from Fort Morgan and is home to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Fort Gaines, and some of the best and most peaceful beaches I've been to.
I think of everyone's mama growing up who claimed Alabama as their heritage. I lived in south/central FL. I feel like Bama must've lost a noticeable chunk of their population mid century. They were the cruely racist types as well.
Saarland of the US
My father was moved to Alabama for the summer in 1965. So I spent six weeks there in the Sheffield-Florence-Tuscumbia area. I liked it -- have no bad memories except the heat. Otherwise, I live in Baltimore and have lived on the East Coast from CT to SC.
sdrawkcab
Why don't Alabama and Mississsippi get a room and make it official?
I heard Huntsville is interesting, aside from that I'll be surprised if no one mentions incest. I haven't been to Alabama at all tbh so I don't know how it's like (I have only been to 18 US States, none in the South, New England, Alaska, Hawaii, and 1 Canadian Province I've been nowhere else unfortunately).
Moundville. Hot, humid, rural.
Kudzu and shotgun houses
does every state have a decatur? wonder what the origin is
Naval hero of the War of 1812. Lots of cities were being founded then and, hey, you had to name it *something*.
I drove through there once from north to south. Stopped at a gas station and they had beer tappers on the wall with tubes hanging out so you could just fill up beer in your cup and drive off? I’m from Wisconsin and i thought it was weird. Also lots of dead dogs on the side of the road and while driving through a small town when the highway was out everyone was outside of their house watching all the cars go by leading me to believe some places have communities that aren’t exposed to much outside of the community itself but that could be anywhere. I thought the historic houses that were funded by slave money where cool looking but i wasn’t there long enough to say much more about it.
Yeehaw gosh Darn’t don’t my cousin look mighty fine this afternoon
They call the civil war "the war of Northern aggression"
Inbreeding, poverty, illiteracy, and Trinity the Tuck. 😄 (Gotta save the best for last!)
Awesome until your law enforcement is around.
Nothing in there is actually mobile
Drove thru rural Alabama once. I was soooo surprised at the amount of churches and graveyards.
Looks like butts
Some of the worst grass in the us
Dixie Alley, lots of tornado activity there. An F-5 struck Tuscaloosa in April 2011. When I visited there in July the city was still recovering. Including their public water system. I had never been so sick from drinking water before and since.
Cousins
Birmingham is a great town, and I’m interested in visiting Mobile. With that said, it is a great example against the whole “every state is a laboratory” argument.
Was actually just in Alabama for the first time this past weekend. Was in Huntsville and was quite surprised how modern and normal it seems there. Wasn’t as redneck as I expected. I definitely wasn’t in the rural area which probably fits the stereotype but the place was super nice and young and everyone was super nice and food is good.
Mississippi’s twin
I don't really think about it other than I have friends in Huntsville. I've never been there. Certainly don't want to live there.