WELCOME TO ALABAMA

Beautiful Alabama offers a wide variety of "town and country" environments, with Birmingham-Hoover serving as one of the most dynamic metropolitan areas. This multi-county region contrasts bustling urban areas with lovely suburbs and welcoming small towns surrounded by panoramic countryside. Along with the leading city of Hoover, Birmingham anchors a strong regional economy and has emerged as a progressive center for medical research, banking, music, technology, art, engineering, and higher education.

North of Birmingham, Madison County welcomes new residents to progressive cities like Huntsville as well as sleepy small towns. Technology, space, and defense play important roles in this area, driven by the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, and Cummings Research Park. Many of the urban amenities in western Alabama are located in the Tuscaloosa metro area, with its artful blend of history and contemporary attractions. One of the most attractive features of Alabama is the outstanding quality of life that does not come at a comparably high price tag. The cost of living and the real estate market are among the most affordable of those in major metro areas across the nation.

Services

Alabama is dedicated to providing quality educational opportunities on every academic level, from private preschools through prestigious graduate and professional programs. Progressive public school districts are complemented by a variety of private schools—both religiously affiliated and independent—ensuring alternatives in learning approaches and environments. The public school system that serves Greater Birmingham provides some exceptional resources that include the Alabama School of Fine Arts and the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School. Complemented by a strong network of community and technical colleges, the selection of four-year colleges and universities is impressive. The Birmingham-Hoover metro area offers the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and the University of Montevallo. Greater Huntsville adds Alabama A&M University and its associated Graduate School, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Faulkner University Huntsville among others. Western Alabama adds the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

State-of-the-art healthcare services are available in nationally acclaimed hospitals and medical centers throughout the state. Anchor hospitals for Greater Birmingham include the Baptist Medical Center, Brookwood Medical Center, Carroway Methodist Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Alabama, Medical Center East, St. Vincent's Hospital, Trinity Medical Center, and the internationally recognized University of Alabama Medical Center. The Children's Hospital of Alabama is the only free-standing pediatric hospital in the state, and the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital is one of the few facilities in the world devoted to advances in ophthalmology. Residents of Greater Huntsville can look to Huntsville Hospital and Crestwood Medical Center for outstanding care, while those in the Tuscaloosa area are well-served by DCH Regional Medical Center. Throughout the state, skilled professionals in private practice are available for routine and advanced care close to home.

Lifestyle

Newcomers to Alabama will discover a world of dynamic metropolitan cities that serve as hubs for suburban communities and small rural towns, harmonizing with sweeping tracts of prime recreational land. The housing selection ranges from historic districts and cozy neighborhoods to lavish estates and country manors, exclusive golf-course communities, and handsome subdivisions. Master-planned communities offer a fine balance of commercial, recreational, and residential developments for the ultimate in convenience and comfort. Shopping opportunities are as diverse as the cities and towns, combining regional malls with historic and antique districts, factory outlet centers, and neighborhood plazas.

Exquisite attractions showcase the state's legacy of natural beauty, including spectacular botanical gardens, lush state parks, nature centers, famous caverns, deep woodlands, rolling rivers, and grand lakes or reservoirs. Camping, hiking, biking, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, boating, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and nature study can all be enjoyed in pristine environments. Wonderful golf courses, tennis courts, sports courts and fields, swimming pools, private sports clubs, and fitness centers are available to ensure quality leisure activities. For oceanfront recreation, discover the delights of the Mobile area in southern Alabama on the gulf shores near Pensacola, Florida.

Those who appreciate the arts will find a kaleidoscope of venues and performing groups in every metropolitan area. Birmingham offers wonderful theatres and performing art centers with a dazzling lineup of events as well as the Birmingham Museum of Art. Madison County proudly offers the Huntsville Museum of Art nestled in Big Spring Park as well as a number of permanent companies from symphony and chorus to ballet. Huntsville is also home to one of the oldest performance groups in the nation, the Broadway Theatre League. Families will appreciate such exceptional resources and entertainment centers as the McWane Science Center, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Adventure Theme Park, and the Birmingham Zoo. In Tuscaloosa, the attractions include the Children’s Hands-On Museum of Tuscaloosa, the Murphy African-American Museum, the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the Paul Bryant Museum, and the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art. Throughout Alabama, historic preservation can be found in fine museums for history, art, culture, science, and special interest. Regardless of where you choose to settle in Alabama, the gracious hospitality of the South will have you feeling "at home" long before you will have time to explore the virtually endless list of attractions.