Part One
WARNING: This will probably get long, so I will call this Part One, and consider my Why? A series in the making.
Alabama is home to me, and became such when I grew up here. My parents were both from this state, so I considered it home until I was 26 years old and moved out of state after my college graduation. At the time, I had seen a few state parks and I had lived in both Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, so I thought I had seen it all. It was time to explore new ground!
Savannah, Georgia was the first place I lived outside my home. It felt great to have moved about as far as a day trip would take me, and I lived less than an hour from the beach on Tybee Island. At that time, I thought I had it made. Don’t get me wrong–Georgia is nice, and there were fun things to do. It ranks high in my preference of states to live in.
My tenure in Georgia was short-lived, however. After being involved in a major auto accident, I wanted to go back to my Sweet Home where I had family and friends. They welcomed me back, and after being gone for almost a year, it was as if I had never left! It did take longer than I expected, however, to get back to work and my savings were running out fast. My former employer even hired me back!
Another year passed, and after being healthy for a while, I moved to Michigan with my new fiancé. We married and had children and enjoyed a lot of what city life had to offer, but during the 4 years I spent there, I began to realize that building a circle of friends took longer than I would have expected. And it was cold for so many months of the year! Maybe this wasn’t going to be my forever home…
Florida seemed like a great choice of places to go with more agreeable temperatures. Off we went! As of this move, I had a plan for how to join clubs and meet people so my circle grew faster than it had following past moves. It worked out well, and we had a good life with people we loved, a beach under an hour away, and endless things to do for 10 fabulous years of my life.
But my family. We lost Daddy early in 2016, and again I wanted to go back to my Sweet Home where I had family and friends. This time was different; I bought a house out in the country and I stayed close to home for almost a year before reaching out to old friends to reconnect. What do you know? There they were, just like before, as if we had never skipped a beat. Some things had changed, of course, like the fact that we all had children and our lives were more complicated than in past years. The hearts were the same, and the welcome was still there.
And that is how I came to live in Alabama as my home. I can vacation anywhere, but MY home will always be here. For me, Reason Number One is the people.
Coming to Alabama? Looking for work? See the Alabama Department of Labor for opportunities.
