Alabama as a "State"

I always thought birmingham had the culture feel of a northern city in the South hence the rest of the state hates it.

Newborns in this State are given to two different priests at their particular time of birth.

They say magical prayers and light up bon-fires in the delivery room and fill the whole room full of smoke before drawing a vertical line with deer blood straight through the delivery room.

No one can see shite.

They then drop the newborn baby on the floor and everyone just waits for about 30 minutes until the smoke clears.

If the newborn baby somehow has made it to the left in this vertical scenario...then they are an Alabama fan for LIFE.

If they have made it to the right...then they will worship the War Eagle for life.

If they are caught in-between for whatever the reason........

...then they are probably going to end up at UAB.

After which no one would really give a shite about them.

Hope this "clears" things up.

Alabama doesn't areas as distinct culturallyrics speaking as either South Carolina and especially Louisiana. Alabama's somewhat like South Carolina are more geographical. From North to South you have about 6 or 7 geographic regions. First, The Mountainous areas of Northeast AL - some really pretty places although it's your typical Appalachian hillbilly culture. Next the Tennessee Valley - includes the high tech Huntsville area. This is a unique part of the state with a high number of Midwest and West Coast transplants working in the high tech economy. Next the Ridges and Valleys area south of the Tennessee Valley. This includes the Bham area. Some super nice areas around parts of Bham. Very pretty area topographically. Even mix of educated people and rednecks. Just south of there you have the Fall line hills/Piedmont area. Characterized by some really nice lake areas (Lake Martin, Lake Mitchell, Lake Tuscaloosa). Area includes both Tuscaloosa and Auburn. South of there is the Black Belt...a transition from the hiller north and the Gulf Coastal plain to the south. Named for the rich farming soil in the area. Includes Montgomery, Selma, Tuskegee, and Demopolis...basically the entire Highway 80 corridor. Gulf Coastal plain south of there. Then you have the Mobile/Baldwin County area. Completely different vibe than the rest of the state. In fact, I think you could draw a line from Baton Rouge/Nola up to the MS/LA line over to the AL/FL line down to and including the Destin/Sandestin area and it be it's own state. That outlined area has more in common with each other than the rest of Mississippi and Alabama above it.

Culturally there are really only two types of people in Alabama.

The city folk, who for the most part look down their noses at the rest of the state. They basically view anyone who isn't from their social, political and economic worldview as hicks and rubes.

The country folk, who look down their noses at the city people. They view anyone who isn't from their social, political and economic worldview as dumbasses.

In the fall both groups gather together in football stadiums and cheer on their favorite football teams and pretend the other half doesn't exisit.

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Columbia is smacked in the middle. Other than the capital of South Carolina, it is generally forgotten about and is "just there".

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So true.

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Columbia is smacked in the middle. Other than the capital of South Carolina, it is generally forgotten about and is "just there".

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So true.

I don't know too much about BHam even though I've been in North AL for the vast majority of my life. What I do know is it has a lot of improvement to do. Nice areas and definitely bad areas.

Huntsville, as another poster pointed out, is a hotspot for anything technology related. UAH (University of Alabama in Huntsville) is where I'm currently attending. It's one of the most prestigious universities on the planet regarding engineering, and the results are easy to see with the plethora of big name of companies in the area hiring UAH grads right out the gate. Most companies also take on a large number of co-ops and interns through UAH.

Thank God I now have the opportunity to co-op with ADTRAN (networking company)

Montgomery is the capital. Moving along.

Mobile is similar in a way to BHam in that it has its nice areas, and it has very shitty areas as well. Not that surprising of course. It does benefit being along the coast. Easy trip to the beach, NOLA, etc.

As far as school, this is a very watered down way to put it but I'll give it a go:
(These are sorted by what they're considered "good" at.)
Engineering - UAH, AU
Law - UA
Medical - UAB, USA, UA(?)
Agriculture - AU

I didn't list some schools by certain fields because even though they may offer that field of study, that university isn't considered very good, or there is simply a ludicrously better option.
Anything outside those general fields are a toss up. Bama fans would have to chime in regarding their programs because I'm just not sure what they have going for them.

I'm not from Alabama but I did work for an Oil and Gas Company in Tuscaloosa County about a decade ago... Lake Guntersville is considered one of the better Largemouth Bass fishing lakes in the Southeast when the water temp is right... There's also great Smallmouth Bass fishing in the Northwest corner of the state (Pickwick)... The white tail deer population is pretty much out of control statewide which makes for great deer hunting and the Southern part of the state boasts a very large Wild Turkey population... Lastly, there's the fact that you can saltwater fish on the coast and you can quickly see how Alabama is great for any hunter/outoddrs type like myself.

Mobile/Gulf Coast area is much more laid back in the feel. Nothing like north around Birmingham. I like the Shoals area as well, probably 2nd in line with the laid back and country feel. Then Huntsville, then Bham in ratings. Montgomery.. meh.

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So, what's up with the state of Alabama? Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile? Where do the kids eventually go to school? What's the makeup of these cities and such?

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So the slightly more negative stereotypes about each area

Huntsville is where all the stereotype "NASA engineers" live, good schools and generally speaking solid albeit small cities all around. Big Auburn support due to engineering focus + Aerospace school at AU being a pipeline

Birmingham Inner city BHam is dangerous, all the stereotype "white racists" segregate into the suburbs and send their kids to Briarwood or a suburban school. Mostly Alabama fans/grads but solid mix with AU. Slowly revitalizing parts of downtown BHam


Montgomery No one voluntarily lives in Montgomery that doesn't have old money ties, government ties or Maxwell AFB ties. People who still live there typically just haven't found someone dumb enough to buy their house

Mobile Everyone sends their kids to Catholic schools, probably to train to catch Leprechauns