We walked by there yesterday and will have to give it a try!

Our POD is delayed a couple days so we can't cook and have been eating out more than we usually do. We had dinner at Swamp Tails yesterday. It is a really cool Cajun bar and grill in Oneanta. The food was excellant and affordable and the portions were huge. Plus they had set up a table for the recent fallen servicemembers in AFG.

We grabbed breakfast at Kind Kups coffee in Cleveland. It was awesome. Really cool spot with a play area for the kids and tables to read/work. My wife will be working remote, and will probably spend a lot of time there. Great smoothies and coffee much cheaper than the chain places.

We also had pizza from Giovannis in Oneanta. They have good pizza and really nice staff.

Used to eat at Giovanni's all the time. Ride over to Springville when you get a chance, there are lots of little cafes and such over there as well.

Welcome, I hope things are still going well. Here's some neat things to see that should be less than 90 minutes away

Tell your wife to check out the seasonal craft fairs at Homestead hollow.  Horse pens 40 is a worth a look.

You've got several nice lakes  less than 90 minutes from your home: Smith Lake, Weiss Lake, Logan Martin, and Lake Guntersville

Check out Little river canyon and the Mentone, Al area. IIRC Little River Canyon is the deepest gorge East of the Mississippi River.

If you're a motorcycle guy check out Barber Motorsports museum in Leeds.

Tannehilll State Park is a neat campground built at the site of a confederate foundry.

Thank you for the advice. We will definitely check those out. We have been busy getting settled in, but took the day yesterday to explore since the kids start school today. Drove up to Guntersville and over to Huntsville. Absolutely beautiful area. I've always been more into hiking and hunting than fishing, but I will have to change that. This area seems like a bass fisherman's paradise.

A couple observations we have had as new arrivals to Northern Alabama:

Maybe it is unseasonably cool here this year, but the climate seems almost identical to Virginia here in the hills.

Everyone we have met has been incredibly nice and welcoming, even when they find out we are from up north (I always considered Virginia the south, but have been corrected). Most folks are very interested in learning why we chose to move to Oneonta, and everyone seems incredibly proud of their community.

I need to start following college football.

My kids have never seen armadillos. They are equally sad to see them as roadkill, and also think it is incredibly funny how their little legs stick up in the air on the side of the road.

The deer population in Blount County doesn't seem to be as high as the Shenandoah. I am going to have to work to fill the freezer this year. I'll see how this year goes, but will probably look into a lease/hunt club next year.

Birmingham itself seems like a neat town, but is definitely a lot different than the surrounding area. It will be nice to visit, but we are so happy we chose to live where we did and commute.

All in all, we feel like we are finally home. This is the kind of area I grew up in, before the influx of people from DC/NOVA over the past 20 years. We will be happy here, and wish we made the move years ago. Thank you all again for the welcome and advice.

Take the family up to Dismals Canyon off of Hwy 8 in Phil Campbell for some unique scenery and take the night tour.

If you get over to Huntsville area look me up. Wife has a German bakery/Restaurant. Its south of Huntsville near Arab. I also have canoes and kayaks if you want to get out in the backwaters with the family. Sent a PM with info on the bakery.

Congrats on the move. I’m a good bit south of you, but know a lot of good folks east of BHAM.

I wanted to wait to respond to this until I have been making the commute a bit. It's not too bad. I can modify my schedule a bit, within reason, and have been going in to B-Ham early. It takes me about 45 minutes going in, and 50-55 minutes coming back. Going in during normal commute time only adds about 5 minutes to the commute.

It's not too bad. The ride might get old after a while, but for now I just put on a podcast or book on tape and cruise. It's worth it to me to be able to live out here in God's country.

Somewhat related, I've started putting corn out for the deer. They are cleaning up a 50 lb bag every 3 days. I'm putting trail cams out this weekend to see what's coming in. I talked to a relative of the previous owner who used to hunt the property, and he said there are some absolute monster bucks in the area. I've already been invited to hunt two large leases by folks I met and started shooting the shit about deer hunting with.

All in all, we still can't believe how lucky we are to have ended up here. Have yet to meet anyone that isn't incredibly welcoming and nice. It helps that I already have a southern accent. People seem to be surprised when they learn that I am from VA lol.

Some recent pics.

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That’s awesome!  

I grew up in Huntsville and have lived in Auburn, Atlanta, and Bham.  Now we are back in Huntsville.  Our favorite was living out Hwy 280 in Hoover.  Now after CV We really wish we had bought something out away from the Cities in Cullman or the surrounding counties.  Huntsville turned out to be a lot more liberal than we expected.  Not surprising when you think about all the federal funds influence.  


By the way which lake is that?  We drive down to lake Logan Martin almost every weekend in the summer and go thru Oneonta and Ashville on the way.  Is that Highland lake?

Looks like Lake Guntersville to me.

Thanks man. Guntersville. We've been up there a couple times. We go for a family drive most evenings and drive out around Highland Lake and Inland Lake a lot. Work takes me up to Huntsville quite a bit. It is a beautiful area, but after seeing what the DC spillover did to VA, the influx of federal/contractor work up there makes me a bit nervous.

We're coming up on 2 months here, and haven't regretted the move once. Alabama (and especially Blount County) is pretty rad.

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Name?  You told me once, but it's been almost 10 years now.  

Enjoy your new home.