Hi everyone,

My wife and I will be moving to Auburn this coming August and I wanted to stop in and say hello. We've only visited Auburn once as part of her job search/acceptance, so any recommendations for the surrounding area or the state at large for us to take time and visit in our free time would be greatly appreciated. Recommendations on places to shoot are welcome as well. We plan on renting in Auburn for a year then hopefully buy in Opelika.

At this point there's really only 1 major hurdle in the whole moving process...My employment.

Job searching in a part of the country I've never lived is a little difficult to say the least. It's probably a bit of a long shot but if anyone here has any leads for a job I would be extremely grateful. I currently work in LE and have for the last 5-6 years. I have bachelor's degrees but nothing technical. I wouldn't really want to stay in the LE field, something with normal days off and working hours sounds much more appealing these days.

Even though job searches are a stressful pain in the ass, both my wife and I are very much looking forward to the move and starting this new chapter in our lives.

Thanks in advance for all the advice!

Welcome to Alabama. Below are my comments.

Auburn is a college town. It also has a 1% occupational tax. I'm not sure if Opelika does as well. All that "education" money in the area is just too tempting for the local government to ignore.

Because it's a college town, Auburn PD is relatively large; they also cover the college campus, which is different from when I was in college there in the 1980's. So, football games and similar events are a big task for APD. Also, traffic division is busy too - accidents, hit and runs, B&E, car theft (My sons experienced the first 3 while there recently). Throw in sexual assaults, other assault & battery, theft, murder, DUI, drugs and the like, and there you go.

Auburn and Opelika are both in Lee County, with Opelika being the county seat. Lee County Sheriff's Department may be another option, and they aren't as involved with the college activities. They mainly seem to deal with DUIs and drugs.

There is retail in the area, teaching / educational opportunities, and medical, at East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) in Opelika.

Good luck.

Tuskegee National Forest has a decent public shooting range:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/alabama/recarea/?recid=30187

Can’t help on the job hunt around that area, but at least you’ll get the full face of summer heat and humidity right from the start.