[aviatrix1]

We will be moving to Montgomery in about 2.5 years for a job my husband recently took. I went with him one weekend to kind of check out the town and I must say, I was not impressed with Montgomery at all and was in fact pretty uncomfortable there. I've lived in Texas my whole life and it is so, so different! A few questions.

1) What can I expect for civilian aviation work? I am an aircraft mechanic and aviation professional, so I'll be looking for work in the area for myself. I'll have my BS finished by then as well. I don't see much in the way of actual careers there, just minimum wage jobs...

2) Where on earth should one live? I've been told Prattville was pretty much the only place worth living in the area... is that true?

3) What do people do for fun? Downtown seemed to have a couple neat restaurants but other than that I didn't really see anything interesting. We don't have kids (and don't plan on having any) so we'd like to be able to enjoy our DINK lifestyle.

4) We are NOT religious. Will we be able to find like-minded folks, or will we be outcasts in the bible belt?

Any general tips? I have heard so many horror stories about central Alabama and I am just really nervous now, especially after not being impressed in the least bit from what I saw where I was there. Someone give me some hope!

[Reactionary]

1. Montgomery practically invented civil aviation:

Wright Flying School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However, most aviation-related jobs are probably Air Force / Air Guard (mechanics are usually needed).

2. Prattville is a good choice. The Old Cloverdale area in Montgomery is an option.

3. Montgomery has the Alabama Shakespeare Festival:

Cultural Attractions|Family oriented activity

Also a small but strong craft brewing scene (try El Rey Burrito in Old Cloverdale):

Railyard Brewing Company > Home

I have friends who enjoy living in Montgomery.

4. It's the bible belt. Most people are live and let live. There is a godless communist organization downtown if that's what you're looking for:

Southern Poverty Law Center

Birmingham is an hour or so up the road with plenty to do. Atlanta / Mobile / New Orleans / Pensacola are not too far away. It's a few hours to great beaches. Prattville has a Bass Pro Shop. If you like nature, there's lots of it.

2.5 years is a long time.

[cpg35223]

If I were a DINK, I would recommend moving to Montevallo and letting your husband commute an hour each way. Montevallo is a nice college community, home to a liberal arts college.

[point80]

Check other threads. It's not that bad.

Prattville.... I've never understood the logic. So you're moving to a small metro area (Montgomery) which most feeling is lacking in things to do, so you decide to move to an even smaller community down the road with even less things to do. ????

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by mouzon

Check other threads. It's not that bad.

Prattville.... I've never understood the logic. So you're moving to a small metro area (Montgomery) which most feeling is lacking in things to do, so you decide to move to an even smaller community down the road with even less things to do. ????

And Montevallo is even smaller.

But Prattville....that's just a suburb of Montgomery. A LOT closer than Montevallo, though.

[rawrockills]

If I had to live in Montgomery I would choose the Old Cloverdale area.

[ashpelham]

It's a place that a family can be comfortable in. My friends who are family affiliated, don't hate it. My friends that are single, are never in town on the weekends.

[aviatrix1]

Originally Posted by rawrockills

If I had to live in Montgomery I would choose the Old Cloverdale area.

I've heard nice things about Old Cloverdale but also that they still suffer from property crime. Is that true? I've seen similar issues in some big cities in Texas, where crime spills over into the nice neighborhoods because they are close proximity to "historical" areas which contain a lot of low-income fueled crime.

Originally Posted by cpg35223

If I were a DINK, I would recommend moving to Montevallo and letting your husband commute an hour each way. Montevallo is a nice college community, home to a liberal arts college.

I'll have to look into that. Birmingham would have work for me in aviation, so that might be worth it to both commute. Not sure how practical an hour commute will be for him since his job will have him working some awfully early mornings and late nights. Hm, thanks for the tip!

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by aviatrix1

We will be moving to Montgomery in about 2.5 years for a job my husband recently took. I went with him one weekend to kind of check out the town and I must say, I was not impressed with Montgomery at all and was in fact pretty uncomfortable there. I've lived in Texas my whole life and it is so, so different! A few questions.

1) What can I expect for civilian aviation work? I am an aircraft mechanic and aviation professional, so I'll be looking for work in the area for myself. I'll have my BS finished by then as well. I don't see much in the way of actual careers there, just minimum wage jobs...


2) Where on earth should one live? I've been told Prattville was pretty much the only place worth living in the area... is that true?

3) What do people do for fun? Downtown seemed to have a couple neat restaurants but other than that I didn't really see anything interesting. We don't have kids (and don't plan on having any) so we'd like to be able to enjoy our DINK lifestyle.

4) We are NOT religious. Will we be able to find like-minded folks, or will we be outcasts in the bible belt?

Any general tips? I have heard so many horror stories about central Alabama and I am just really nervous now, especially after not being impressed in the least bit from what I saw where I was there. Someone give me some hope!

The only one of these I can answer is #4. You won't be outcast. There are many people in Alabama who are not religious. And you'll find that many who are won't outcast you because you aren't. I'm not very religious and have lived in Alabama my entire life. Never had an issue because of it.

[Stayl0r]

I'd probably rethink driving to work from Montgomery to BHAM. It would get really old after awhile because it's about 1 1/2 drive and with BHAM rush hour traffic it could be even longer than that. A 3 hour drive everyday would be horrible.

I've never really noticed anyone being outcast due to religion in this state. And that's coming from someone that's lived in a tiny small town. Sometimes people will approach you with a church pamphlet or leave one on your door, that's about it.