mwhite, I live in lower Alabama, been here 7 years. We have met and have several neighbors that have moved from Florida, because of the expense. I live about 25 miles from Dothan, Al. Thats the biggest town in the SE part of AL..has all of your big stores..Lowes Best Buy Wal-Mart Hancock, but no JoAnns. We are 1-1/2 hrs from beach..I laughed at one of our neighbors, because she stocked up on groceries, because it was so much cheaper then FL. I just thought I would let you know what they thought, maybe lower AL would be a better place to look, Mobile or maybe a smaller town outside of Mobile..of course you have to worry about the Hurricanes...all we every get is the wind and the rain from the hurricanes. Hope that this helps. any questions just pm me. didi