Mike I have also lived in Alabama before. Birmingham is a very nice city that offers almost everything a very large city has but still easy enough to get around. I am originally from Dallas and with being in the military have travelled all over to various cities.

I will most likely retire in Birmingham when I get out of the military at this time. It suits me, the cost of living is low, while the opportunities are various. That and I hear one of the best Mustang clubs is based there somewhere...

Good luck with whatever you decide and God bless. You will be in mine and my family's prayers.

Brian

 

Bham itself is a mainly industrial and business city. Most people commute in and live in the burbs. withing 20min of the city anyway around, you have fairly nice good communitys (Gardendale, Trussville, Hoover, Pelham, etc). If you go about an hour outside the city, you are going to be in more rural area's, which I prefer. The drive is long, but for the most part, where I live its defintely worth it

Brian, to bad there's nothing really here for you to be able to get stationed here. Would be awesome to have ya around all the time instead of just when you pass through to visit.

 

Brian & Scott--thank you for your insight and info. Brian--thank you for your service to our country & each of us.

At the moment I am tied to my job which I really need, so I am awaiting further instructions from my employer but I am really hoping they relocate us (anywhere) permanently out of downtown New Orleans. We still cannot get to our corporate offices and don't know when we will. There is currently a conflict of opinion between the Coast Guard Vice Admiral in charge in N.O. on behalf of President Bush, and Mayor Ray Nagin, about the wisdom, propriety and safety of returning residents and business to N.O. this week, including to my office's zip code.

The Company will make a long term decision on behalf of its employees, but my group may go in on Monday to retrieve lap top computers and crucial files to do our work. I am awaiting a phone call tonight with plan details. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, our skin is crawling at the mere mention of Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Rita churning through the central Gulf of Mexico by mid-week. Please pray that one away from here; the uninhabited mountains of Mexico would be a nice landfall location.

 

Calera is open for business-
And aparently if you are from the hurricane zone and buy a house in waterford where I live you get five grand and household possessions........

Which I totally don't get :scratch: being that this place......... but thats a story for another storytime.

 

April--I'll buy you lunch in exchange for you showing us around the area if I get up there to look around. Deal??

 

Thanks Mike and I wish you luck with the hopefully soon relocation, if it suits you and your family.

Scott, I wish I could but at least I only have 9 more years before I can retire...although I love my job and will probably stay in until they kick me out. There are many other jobs I could get if I got out that pay much more, believe me I've been offered some. However, there is nothing like job satisfaction or the sheer fun I have with my current job.

Mike, keep your head down and ready as well. I checked with our "Combat" weather guys and it is being predicted that Rita will be heading to New Orleans at this time. Hopefully, it will dive down and go for a mexican vacation or even better lose strength and disperse.

:shock:

...on a side note, I wonder if I can become a displaced member of that cool Mustang club in B'ham.... :scratch:

 

Thanks Brian; we have been on high alert over Rita for 3 days now, she is finally past the 90 degree North Longitude that marks New Orleans, and heading WNW toward the upper Texas / SW LA coast. We will still get tropical storm efects inthe N.O. area. We can handle minimal such effects, but there is nervous anxiety over our damaged levee and drainage systems. We are already wounded from Katrina and cannot handle much in the way of rainfall (maybe 6 inches) or storm surge (maybe 5-6 feet), both of which we will receive since we are on the eastern side of Rita. Much more than that and areas that did not flood from Katrina will be flooded. Friday will be our worst day but things will improve into Saturday as Rita moves away from us to the North West.

 

Come on up!

This development is only 1/3 done!
Take your pick!

 

Sorry to hear Mike about the waters flooding in to N.O. yet again. I hope that you are not in those areas and are safe wherever you are.

 

Thanks, Brian. Sorry for the delay---we lost power again yesterday around 1:30 p.m. and didn't get it back until this afternoon, so I've been offline a while.

We are safe from the flooding, but my in-laws home was flooded AGAIN by Rita after being inundated by Katrina. They are living with us right now. They are in the community called Arabi, in St. Bernard Parish on the east side of N.O. I live on the west side of town. Reports are that the homes affected by Rita received as much / high water as Katrina brought to them.

We haven't even been able to get down there to let them look around and survey their damage. The St. Bernard re-entry was halted on Monday due to Rita. And now with additional flooding, it will likely be delayed another 2 - 3 weeks.

I can't believe we have been dealing with this mess for almost one month now. We evacuated on 8/28/05 for Katrina; it is now evening of 9/24/05. Amazing.

Then to add insult to injury--my cousins who took us in for the Katrina evacuation are now being threatened by flood waters that continue to rise just inland from Vermilion Bay. Their daughter's home and those of everyone else we know and are related to in that community, have been flooding since 10:00 a.m. today. Unbelievable!! Their daughter, who just completed renovations to her humble home, does not have flood insurance. Never needed it before now, not even close.

Please pray that the strong south winds cease before the water reaches my cousin's house, else their family will have no where to seek refuge during the rebuilding and restoration.

 

April: Sounds great, You're on. I'll let you know if I get up that way, if it will ever stop storming and flooding in south Louisiana. This is ridiculous.

 

e-mail rlane1@blueovalnews.com. He has homeland security clearance and can check on your Mustang. He's leaving for N.O. on the 26th.

 

Thanks, Sharon; we're OK and the 1965 fastback is OK. Other family members didn't fare so well, however. My in-laws home in St. Bernard Parish was destroyed by the flooding; my step-daughter and her family were living with her in-laws, whose home was also flooded. They are all living with us for the time being. Everyone is safe.