Where are all your kids? Any in Alabama? Alabama is wonderful, but sounds to me like you want to be near your children.

If your husband is a golfer, then Alabama is the place to be. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a series of ten (count'em - 10) golf courses from Muscle Shoals and Huntsville in the north to Mobile and Dothan in the south. There are four at one site in Birmingham - Oxmoor Valley, Oxmoor Ridge, Oxmoor Short and Ross Bridge where the Senior PGA tournament is now played. You can buy a pass that will allow unlimited play at any of the 10 sites for a full year. Ross Bridge is a golf resort with hotel, restaurant and the works. There are plenty of trucking companies with driver opportunities. And the gardeners are the greatest bunch of folks you'll ever meet.

Yes most of our kids are in oklahoma and we are going to spend some time with them. We want to come explore Alabama and of course my husband will want to play as many games of golf as we can fit in when we come! Some of my kids are not set on staying in Oklahoma and if we lead the way, who knows..they might relocate. They are all young with young children, self-employed. But we realized that most likely none would relocate to Hawaii. And if we lived in Alabama it sure is a lot easier to get to Oklahoma then Hawaii...you know there is no bridge over that ocean LOL! Also I have an older sister who lives in Ohio so it would be sort of a triangle of travel maybe! On man, when my husband sees your comments on golf and truck driving, he will flip! And I am so ready to have good gardener friends...and have soil...there is mostly lava here and you have to find some soil or grow in containers, etc. Yeah, Hawaii is great to visit but we have figured out for us not a place to live.

I'm a transplanted yankee from Illinois, and from my college days way back in the 70s I've lived in St. Louis, Jackson Ms, Baton Rouge, Houston, Atlanta, and since '90 here in the Birmingham area. Don't think I ever want to move again, absolutely love it here. Cheap real estate (comparatively speaking), low taxes, the friendliest people, mild climate, and the beautiful Alabama scenery make it hard to beat. You can even grow palm trees here!!Hope you come join us.

Where in Hawaii are you? I've been there many times on business (Oahu, Kauai and Maui) and it's beautiful, but as the saying goes, great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. I am a North Alabama native and I love the seasons!
We are about the same age as you and your DH. He's an Ohio transplant as well but has been here since Uncle Sammy sent him here in l968. You shouldn't have trouble finding work with a CDL. All the others have said what needs to be said. I'll just add that it's a great place to raise kids - school systems in the North Alabama area, especially Huntsville & surrounding areas, are top notch for the most part. Oh yeah, and the fishing is also terrific. Loads of lakes & the Tennessee River full of bass, catfish, etc. Ya'll come!!

We are on the Big Island in the Puna district. Amazing growth going on here. It is going to be so crowded in the coming years. I was born and raised in Lima, Ohio! Yes I love the seasons too. There are seasons here I have noticed..I don't like winter which is the rainey season.. of course thats when we picked to build.LOL! Its great to hear about the schools..I will pass that on to my kids..they know we are going to check out Alabama and they are interested! Oh my goodness,,,my husband hasn't fished since we left Oklahoma...when I told him about the fishing, he got such a gleam in his eyes LOL! We own an extra lot here and I am thinking about trying to see if someone would want to trade it for some land or property in Alabama..we were thinking of selling it here but I think we will wait and see....and i want to come look at land in person to make sure I am getting good garden soil!

Lima, Ohio! No kidding! My husband was born and raised in Delphos! We were there 2 years ago for his 40th class reunion and visited and stayed in Lima. Small world, huh? His family had a farm in Delphos, he has 4 younger brothers, and his Dad was very active in the Grange there. Ya'll probably know each other, LOL! E-mail me if you would like...alspach224@aol.com.

As for garden soil, we have a lot of hard-pack clay in many raw areas that have not been used for a while. So the trick is that you'll likely have to amend and prepare a lot of your planting beds, but it's worth it.

Check out the Gadsden area, too. We have a very active Master Gardener program, a top knotch local public golf course, and one of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail courses a few miles toward Anniston. The southern end of Lookout Mountain is in Gadsden, and the Coosa River runs right through town. We're an easy drive from Birmingham or Atlanta if you want some big city amenities without the hassel of living in one. The city has just built a wonderful new high school with just about every course and activity a high school student could want. Check out http://www.gcs.k12.al.us/ for school information and CityofGadsden.com and the links provided there. Come on over!

Aloha to you,

Our stories are so similar! We left Portland,Oregon in 2001 and moved to Hilo for five years. I am 54 and my hubbie is 65. We moved to Jacksonville, Alabama in April of this year when my husband got a job offer. My husband could not find work in Hilo and I was so sick of the rain. Now we are happily transplanted to Alabama and I'm praying for Rain. LOL. We've been having a drought and everyone tells us that this is the driest summer ever.
I missed the mainland terribly and yes, it was too far away from all our loved ones on the mainland. I had never even been to Alabama , but we did our research on-line and we love it. We were able to buy 12 acres and a fantastic home for so much less than in Hawaii. Our son just moved here too. He was building houses in Paradise Park, but was also sick of all the island problems. We do still have two kids in Hilo and two grandkids so it was hard to leave.

We live just south of Gadsden and think it is a great little city too. Lookout Mountain is a beautiful area.
Let me know if I can help you in any other way. You're more than welcome to come visit if you get down this way!
Terry

Health care being an issue, Birmingham is full of top-notch hospitals.

If you have never been here, don't let the red clay scare you! It's not that hard to amend and make it great!

It really depends on what kind of weather you want. I'm partial to central Alabama as the winters are not harsh. We get snow occasionally but not often and it melts rather quickly. We live just outside of Prattville.
I have lived here since 71 as my husband was military. We decided to stay as we didn't want back in snow country.
We have the golf courses both here, Robert Trent Jones, and some in the surrounding towns. Fishing is also abundant throughout the area. Hospitals, doctors, and medical needs businesses are also readily available.
Birmingham is about an hour away and Montgomery is 30 to 45 minutes depending on what side of town you are going.
You can check out the housing by going on line to realtor.com to get an idea of cost in different areas. You could also check out the trucking firms for different areas online.
I hope you can find a place you will be happy with. If a realtor is needed, they may even be able to help with a land trade.
Whatever area you decide on, all the people here on this forum are good people that may be able to help. If in my area, just let me know. I'd be glad to give you some plants to get you started. The clay is a pain sometimes but easy to amend. Perhaps you may find some farmland like we did that is pretty good soil.
Lynn

We have lived in Auburn, AL for 3 years. Love it! Great Master Gardeners program and easy access to Atlanta and Montgomery. The medical center is award winning and we have many semi-retirees moving here. Auburn University attracts great people. The university has many interesting continuing ed. courses open to the general public. Robert Trent Jones Golf Course right here in town plus 4 others. My husbands relatives live in OK so we make the 14 hour drive a few times a year. Love the weather.

Oh thanks so much everyone for your responses. You are a great bunch of people.. we are doing a few things to get our house ready to put on the market here in Hawaii and it can't sell soon enough for me! My husband is doing alot of backhoe work for contractors here instead of CDL but you have to do what you find here. He likes that too. I am such a frustrated gardener without soil and so I am just going to landscape this place with lava cinder as everyone else does..I really miss my kids and grandkids and we will spend time with them as I said before we come Alabama way but please everyone, keep posting and I will be coming here and posting our progress along the way. Again thanks and I will be reading! Hope to meet many of you someday!