For a sportsman.

Big game hunting?
Freshwater fishing?
Saltwater fishing?

All the above?

Small game and deer.

Moderate?

Spend a year living anywhere on the West Coast, then ANYWHERE in Alabama will look REAL GOOD...

The beach. Lots of beaver

Either around Atmore or Dothan would work if Saltwater was on the plate, you want stores, close to major interstates, and quick enough to the coast.

If Salt water isn’t a concern the possibilities for bliss are endless.

Gulfshore or in that area would be perfect.



Ny'ers and Californians are prohibited from buying property there . Bunch of racists living there anyhow.

Black Belt region, Bullock County.

Far enough north where Hurricane winds have slowed down.

That section of road (hwy 78?) between B’ham and Jasper, and on past that is some gorgeous country. Reclaimed coal mine country. Appears to not be too crowded.

Greenbow Alabama of course !

That's what Momma always said.

I still remember the first Viet-Nams in Bayou La Batre Lt Dan brought in

Brought them in all along the coast and shoehorned them into million dollar shrimping ships. Kennedy Diesel in N.Biloxi supplied MANY hugely expensive V8 - V12 diesel engines to power them.
All paid for by the American taxpayers, the free ships put most of the locals shrimpers out of business.

Black Belt Region

Black Belt Voting

I didn't know that.

Mobile is a good place for hunting and fishing. I spent nearly 5 years in Pensacola FL which is just east of there. You have the gulf for fishing. Several good sized rivers for bass/sunfish/catfish with deer/hog/waterfowl hunting along the rivers. Just north there are some really good stretches of forest for deer/hogs/squirrel. I did a lot of deer hunting on the FL side of the Perdidio River and I took a lot of whitetails off it.

If Mobile is your base of operations you can access the entire upper gulf coast of FL, AL, MS and LA within a few hrs drive. I owned a house at 8133 Mobile Hwy, Pensacola FL and I wish I still owned the place. My wife and I have talked about retiring back down there.

Given the heat, humidity, bugs, number of people.....................



I'd have to say somewhere Out West.

Yep. Because you folks out West in CA are killing it. LMAO

Specifically for the all-around sportsman, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta has more to offer than any other region. Large portions of the delta are WMA with very diverse habitat. Saltwater isn't that far away.

I'm partial to the coast. I grew up on and in saltwater. Now I build and fix stuff so job security isn't a problem. A lot of "locals" here are migrating north though. It's getting crowded.

Uh huh.

No alligators, no water moccasins, no chiggers, no fire ants, no hurricanes, no copperheads, no humidity!!!! when it's hot. That might be the most important thing.

Politics suck though, but at least I can put in for an elk tag and not have to drive more than 50 -60 miles or so to get one.

The Cullman, Sylacauga and Talledega areas are close to large expanses of National Forest and large lakes. The cost of living in the areas is very good.

I’ve seen many of the dangers of the south mentioned here but not a damn word about deer flies.

We have some here in NorCal....................................


I'd bet fewer than in Alabama though.

I live kinda close to AL so am partial to the areas near the FL north border, good folks, close enough but far enough away not to be too close. Lived on the beach for 40 years, that is a mess today, too much, too soon, with little to no prior planning, best to visit the coast now and then. But It was very good to me while I lived there.

If I needed to still make a living, I would still be in the middle of it all.
So where to live depends on need, all is available in Alabama.

It’s AL-A-BAMA !!

😂

Best ? and

Alabama in the same sentence ??

Anywhere from Eufalla up to Talledega in the east over to Tuscaloosa and down below Montgomery to Greenville. Auburn area is good. Montgomery would be really good but too much politics and catering to blacks as is Birmingham.

If small game and deer are your interest, and you want public land to hunt, I’d stay away from South Alabama. The deer don’t rut until nearly February, they are small, and leases are expensive.

Much bigger deer up north, but in NE Alabama the terrain might be a limiting factor if you are not used to mountains.

If you have a decent budget, get over near Eufala, or Aliceville. Love on the water, join leases in 2 states, and close enough for weekend trips to the beach if desired.

I lived in Mobile for a year then moved to Baldwin county for 5 years (Eastern Shore). Bass Fishing on the Mobile Delta was good. It Fishes way bigger than it looks. I never tried for reds specs or flounder but would catch one every now and then throwing a crank bait.

Baldwin county has a good population of deer and small game. As Bama Rick said a good bit of the delta is WMA. Never hunted it but always saw plenty of deer and pigs.

You have to watch the wind and tides during winter. I had to call game and fish to come pick me up one time after I ran aground in Chuckfee Bay. Tide was up when I ran in, wind switched, tide went out. Stuck it. Was going to jump out and push it off and sunk up to my sack in mud. Learned my lesson. Had to leave it overnight and have a buddy help get it the next day.

The traffic stinks during the summer. The I 10 corridor is rough. Tourist going to Florida gulf shores and orange beach make the weekends miserable. I will say I do miss that area and wish I had explored it more while I was there. Lots of good ground for someone who loves the outdoors!

OUTSIDE?

Most places in East Central to Northeast Alabama have a mix of lakes, creek, and some pretty steep and rocky terrain. Elevations max out at about 2100 feet in the Talladega national forest on Mount Cheaha. Fishing and hunting opportunities everywhere you go. Three hours to the coast.

One of the spots I'm considering retiring to is the Gadsden area.

But its more about climate that sporting

The famed black belt is full of ... Blacks.

No way I would live there. My brother is an ADA in Selma, but lives outside Birmingham. Knee Grows are having a great time shooting each other down there.

Look at east Alabama from Auburn and north along the Georgia line.

Spent a lot of time around Lake Weiss as a kid.

Was a cool spot. Great fishing.

Cullman

I moved to Eastern NC 30 years ago... I lasted 2 years before moving to the NC Mountains. Having 4 seasons suits my Yankee blood much better.

Great public shooting range just outside of Gadsden. Not much public hunting land there. Can’t eat the fish out of the chain lakes nearby, though Guntersville lake is not too far away. Personally, I would
Look
At somewhere like Madison, or elsewhere in North Alabama. That way you get a taste of winter, but nothing severe.

Mountains?

In Alabama?

I live in The free state of Winston in NW Alabama. We are about 98-99% white. If I were to move anywhere else in Alabama it would be near Huntsville.

I went to a Ski "resort" in Alabama many years ago.

Probably Cloudmont in Mentone.

Is this a serious question 😳😂😂

Northern Alabama is one of the best kept secrets in America...

Best place to live in Alabama?

Above it.

Somewhere between Missoula and Bozeman.

I have spent a great deal of time in the Mobile area. The wife and I have talked about that being a retirement possibility. Salt and freshwater fishing, hunting is OK. Dothan area is growing, but still 2+ hours from saltwater fishing and the 231 corridor SUCKS 4 months of the year. The Huntsville area has great freshwater, great hiking nearby and you are getting into an area that has some bigger deer.

Ricky B Sharp lives in Dothan

I always wanted to live somewhere out west with beautiful views of mountains, but Alabama isn't bad at all. I live in a very rural area. I own 32 acres and can shoot deer out my back door if I want. My stand is 50 yards from the house. I put 5 in the freezer last year and my Lab keeps the turkeys out of the back yard.

There's a 93K acre forest just 6 miles away that has produced some real trophy whitetail. I ride my MTB there a lot of times and often spend all day without seeing another soul on the roads. There are 2 lakes within 15 minuets of me. One has over 500 miles of shoreline and is 1000 feet deep in places. It typically produces stripers 10-30 lbs. The Tennessee river is 1.5 hours away.

We have basically no crime. None of my neighbors has ever had anything stolen from their home in 20 years. We are spread out with most out of sight from each other. Most own 20+ acres. We've had some drug related crime and some people killed because of it, some crazy people have killed family, and themselves, but there's never been an armed robbery of anyone here in my lifetime.

There's basically not much to do except hunt, fish or eat at fast food. Town is 8 miles away with 2 grocery stores and a Walmart plus every fast-food place that markets to the poor. There's one movie theatre that's been in business at least 60 years. If you want to do anything big city, it's a 2-hour drive one way.

People know about Guntersville, housing prices aren't typical Alabama near the lake.

Despite the horrid political climate and the citiots, I agree Geno.

Some of us do kill it with the hunting and fishing here jackwagon.
Do you do better, maybe you do since you're "alwaysoutdoors".?

In the last 20 years the lake population has gone crazy. I once fished a stretch of lake with no houses for miles. Now there's about 50. There are still some back water places to go without people but the days of being on the main lake all by myself are gone.

RHClark , man that sounds nice. What's the nearest town to you?

I'm between Haleyville and Double Springs. This county succeeded from EVERYBODY during the Civil War and declared themselves a free state. The State Militia brutally hunted every able-bodied man. There's a book about it called Torries Of The Hills. It's all Hillbillies in the most classic sense. Lots of deep terrain, what we call hills and hollers. Lots of real back woods people too but most of them would do anything to help a stranger or bury any MFer that messed with them.

Huntsville (I live here) has gone crazy in the last few years. Traffic jam used to be 4 cars at a red light, now it is bumper to bumper for miles. They are building everywhere but can not keep up with the growth. Because of that, housing and land prices have skyrocketed. You would need to be at least 30 miles out of town to be out of it. Down I-65 toward Cullman or up I-65 to lower Tennessee. Border is just 15 miles or so from here. You will trade 3 months of terrible heat for 3 months of terrible cold up North. I prefer cold but grew up near here but it is a great place to live.

Not sure of your age or health but a big consideration might be access to quality healthcare. I have a lease in Greenville AL. Great place for a deer lease
And I enjoy the four or so weeks I get to spend there every year. People are nice in general. Has a local hospital but they pretty much a facility that take you in and then figures out how to get you three hours away to Birmingham.

I am a saltwater fisherman and I enjoy being around places to eat and good healthcare so I would pick a place near the coast in Florida or Alabama where I could be a few hours drive from my hunting lease.

Just north of me in Florence would be an awesome place with good healthcare, mostly white demographics and great hunting and fishing.

Wait…what??!??

I used to take my Scout troop to summer camp just down the road from Alabama's only ski resort.

Where?
Well I’ll be damned. Cloud not ski resort. Never knew about that.

when I say ski resort, I recall there was only one run, and the ski lift was a rope line fashioned around wheel rims on a motor. You just grabbed an open rope and hung on as best you could.

I'm partial to the NE corner of AL. Mountains, rivers, lakes. Lots of hunting WMA's and a long season for deer with essentially unlimited harvest of does. Lots of lakes and reservoirs courtesy of TVA, so fishing or boating is always available. The Huntsville area has really exploded over the last few decades, especially for Engineering and IT. From where I live it's a short drive to GA and TN for work or healthcare....or more hunting/fishing.

And the mountains are a real secret?

Because USGS says this is the tallest one there.

Alabama Cheaha Mountain 2,407 feet above sea level.

That's only about 2000' below where our house sits and we're considered high desert.

About 7 miles SW of our place in a direct line is a 7000' ft mountain and it's not the highest one in our county. That one's about 20 miles East and just short of 9900'.

We speak a different lingo Out West when we mention "mountains".

Slumlord has seen a few recently, he'll tell you.

Haven't been there is a fair bit, but Huntsville was OK-FINE last time I was there.

It isn't about elevation so much here in the Blue Ridge... but more about patina

https://peakvisor.com/adm/alabama.html

The Blue Ridge Mountains in the Appalachians are 1.2 Billion years old...

There is certain Grace to them...

There is a certain Grace to them, can't deny that.

Still, their awfully short for mountains.

Laura and I own one of the tallest mountains in WV...

Elevation (by comparison) is very immoderate compared to say the Sawtooth (I did a bit of FF and elk hunting there)... BUT the terrain is just as brutal... in many ways... even more so.

It is just different here... not better... not worse... just different.

Cash, I lived in the Alleghenies. I know what you mean.

👍👍👍

I've been spending alot of time in WV lately on vacation. I'm liking it

Is that near Monterey ?

Yep, Cloudmont. Comer Scout Reservation is just down the road.

Done my share of duck hunting around Lake Guntersville, great fishing up there too. I think there is some TVA land you can hunt around there, I know we've heard/seen our share of rabbit hunters while we are hunting around the lake. Pretty up there.

Unless saltwater fishing is a priority I would aim toward northwest or northeast Alabama. The beach is nice, but dang it is hot, humid and buggy enough in Central AL where I live. It is worse farther South. The Shoals area where I grew up has superb river and lake fishing and decent deer hunting. Northeast Alabama has a lot more vertical relief and what the locals call mountains. They may not look much like mountains to you guys out West, but try dragging a deer out of a holler and it will seem steep enough to anyone.

I knew a redhead from Alabama she had a weak bladder

Northeast Alabama