Alabama is generally not my cup of tea. Crime is outrageous. The city of mobile however is nice

I've been fortunate enough to spend a fair bit of time in Alabama. My impressions have been largely positive. As someone who likes a smaller-town and laid-back atmosphere, Alabama really appeals to me. The quality of life is good, and the people are generally very friendly. The lakes and hills here are among the most beautiful in the Southeast--check out Weiss Lake or Lake Logan Martin, each only a short drive from Atlanta, for some gorgeous scenery. The smaller towns, like Auburn and Muscle Shoals, have a lot to see and do, while the larger cities like Birmingham and Huntsville offer good job opportunities and culture without a lot of the big-city hassles you see in places like Atlanta or Houston. The beaches of the Gulf Shores area are excellent, and rival some of the best in Florida or the Carolinas. The best part--they're not as crowded or as expensive (yet) as Destin or Hilton Head. Mobile has plenty to offer the history buff. As if all this wasn't enough, you get some of the best barbecue anywhere to go along with the greatest brand of college football on earth. Quite a tailgating combo! Nothing compares to the gameday atmospheres in Auburn or Tuscaloosa, and the "Iron Bowl" rivalry is the greatest football battle in the nation. Time for a road trip to Alabama. See y'all there!

How many of you have actually spent a significant period of time in Alabama? I have and I will say that the beauty of beaches on the coast rival the FL panhandle. Mobile has a nice downtown with pretty live oak trees. I met 2 nice and helpful ladies when I toured the capitol in Montgomery. Birmingham's suburbs are extremely upscale and have not lost their southern charm. Also, there is surprisingly nice mountain scenery in the NE part of the state. The only negative is that parts of the "Black belt" are very poor and depressing but the rest of the state is great. I saw lots of positive interaction between blacks and whites and would say that race relations are now as good as anywhere else if not better.

Laughing stock of America

beautiful home. the stars fell on alabama. i love this state. i feel at peace here. i feel my heart. the generous, conscious, heart-warming people and the beautiful hills. people are truely caring and nice around these neck of the woods and i love it. im from az and im glad that i got a chance to experience life here. people are really hearty, country, southern, kind, and warming. God Bless Alabama

I was at a Wal-Mart in Mobile, Alabama. As I'm walking to my car, out of nowhere I hear someone shout "China man!". Need I say more?

Awful! The deep south! Borderline KKK here! Dirty and boring! Stay away!

absolutely beautiful. the people on here that rate it bad are bringing politics into their ratings, which is garbage. people want to know about the state, not their political views. it's a beautiful state with rolling hills, beautiful beaches, amazing scenery, and the people are the nicest around -- i wouldn't have it any other way. i love alabama. come and visit yall and get a real taste of the south.

* THose who are rating this place a one have only been down there for not long or never been there, and yes, people from there are very polite.* Why are you all such prejudice against Alabama? I know that this is a nice state. No one can tell me it's not.

Unfortunately I travel to AL on business fairly often. a very pretty and clean state, but not much to do and home to some of the most ignorant people in the universe.

I can

Better than the state to its West, a lot better, but still not a place for me.

This is a nice friendly state with lots to see and do.

Like most of the states of the deep south Alabama leaves much to be desired. The Huntsville area shows much promise- however the rest is a sorry arm pit.

*shudders* man oh man i would hate to live there let alone even visit. full of uneducated, close minded, hicks. Its really no surprise this place is at the bottom of the list.

The northern part of this state is making strides- give it credit. The rest of the state remains mired in the past. Rates near the bottom for education, quality of life issues, envirionment, and health. Plus there is still rampant racism and intolerance.

The best state hands down..you either love it or hate it. I love it. How could you not like rolling hillsides, beautiful shores and clean cities? I will be going there tommorow.. :-)

Taking tiny baby steps to become part of the 20th century (no typo) But outside of Huntsville in the north- the state remains a southern racist culture. Look at the Electoral map of 1860- very much like that of today- and the last election- seems like the south has never understood.....Mobile has a pretty good Madi Gras- however the state has a long way to go.

Ala-f***in'-bama! Not my kinda town. Some of the biggest dumb@rses live in that sorry state. Yee-haw!

Although I have only been to Mobile, if the rest of the state is half as charming as this gem of a city, I plan to be back visiting soon. Great history, food, architecture, etc. Definitely worth the drive from Florida.

I drove through this state once- and was stopped twice by the police off the interstate. I have northern state plates. Intolerant toward outsiders or anyone 'different'. Is this part of the USA or the Confederacy?

On the positive side- many old confederate plantations and mansions with lots of history from that era. A very under rated gulf coast that has fine white sand beaches and cheap costs. Huntsville has some technology- the rest of the state sadly to say is still fighting the civil war- and is socially backward.

At least it's not mississippi, if Maycomb were a real town, they would all have to leave, because they wouldn't fit in with the rest of the state! Yes heart of dixie, oh boy, heart of evil!!!!

Come on down, y'all to the Heart of Dixie AKA the great state of Alabama! We have it all, great Southern culture, nice folk, most of them that is. Don't forget the food! That's right, can't think of Alabama from a non-Southern viewpoint without the food in mind. Some folks would think states such as Alabama contain the false characteristics that have formed over the the years. Very few are true, besides they do not describe all Alabamians/Southerners in general. If you (including friends and family) have plans on visiting the state, I recommend visiting the Port City first, simply known as Mobile. When Mardi Gras time comes, Mobile is at its best! By the way, Mobile is the true birthplace of Mardi Gras. Y'all come back now, ya hear! Pardon me, I just had to let the pride out.

Only Miss. is worse- the area around Mobile is fair- Montgomery is still fighting the civil war. Drive through with your northern plates hidden if you can- they hate yankees!

I saw the Tide Roll against Mississippi State back in '01. The campus of The University of Alabama was very nice. The architecture was similiar to what you might see at Ivy League schools, unlike the University of Tennessee. Birmingham was surprisingly good. We drove around part of the suburbs, and they could pass for the high end suburbs of Philadelphia or New York. Will return someday, maybe to see Auburn University.

I went to Birmingham in March and I really liked what I saw. It's a surprisingly clean city with friendly folks. And living in prairie land, it's really nice seeing so many trees, especially lining the highways.

Nice people, good location. The reason why this state is cool is because I barely see this state and my realitives live here

7 words: i was born a poor black child Degenerates and hobo galore!

In 2002 I visited the US for the first time (im irish). I stayed for 7 weeks taking in various cities throughout the east coast from boston in the north to New orleans in the south. We travelled by train from new york to new orleans and happened to pass through Alabama and i was shocked at the poverty that i saw from the train window. It reminded me of my friends description of South africa - tiny shacks populated by black people and huge mansions populated by white. Alabama has had a nasty past and we all know the stories, which im not going to get into. But, on the other hand, the train journey down was 31 hours and out of boredom i began smoking cigarettes in the smoking carriage. In this carriage i met some of the most interesting, generous, pleasent and genuine people id met on my travels to the US. Most of the people were from Alabama and most were poor and black. An 80 year old lady said she'd love to take me to her sisters house in Birmingham where she'd put on the bbq and make some of her 'mighty fine potato salad' for me. I met two old black guys who said they were going back to Alabama for the first time since they returned home from Vietnam, one of them bought me a beer and they entertained us with stories and memories. They weren't stuck up like i found some New yorkers to be, they had no ego's they were just nice, genuine people. Good people. I also heard a story from English people i met in New Orleans. They drove in a cheap little car from new york and happened to break down in Birmingham, Alabama. Two young local guys, slightly rough looking offered to drive them to to the nearest garage to get some gas and a spare tire. When the guys veered off track a bit, the english got a little worried and expected the worst. But, these supposed 'redneck backwards southern hicks' as some naive people would call them, took them to a garage that a friend of theirs owned and he did the work on their car for half price! Now that is alabama. can you imagine that happening in a rough area of New York or any northern city. Doubtful.

.......never saw a place where trailerparks outnumbered real houses................untill i drove through this sorry excuse for a state.......

Alabama is Hickville U.S>A! A friend took me to a nice resturant there and it didn't even have napkins! Everything was served in plastic baskets.

I was going to give my state a 1 when I relized something, this state is 100% behind Roy Moore. And also there is the Iron Bowl; aka the greatest rivalry in the country according to Sports Illustrated. Roll Tide!

I think the people of Alabama are a great group, and even the country is beautiful. But the cities in this state really have way too much pollution for their size, and if it continues it could cause problems later on. But like I said before, like all southern states, the food is wonderful, and so is the heritage. You can almost feel and taste the historical significance of this place. It is awesome.

Every state in the deep south is good.

More developed and educated than its neighbor to the west. But still mostly backwards. Birmingham and the east/northeast part of state quite beautiful. Surprising amount of pollution, though, for not a very populated state.

Best climate. Higher volume of well-mannered citizens. Less interstate traffic than urban areas in other states. More conservative than many other "destination" states. Good job opportunities. Only down sides are poor political processes and unsubstantiated negative reputation from uneducated non-residents.

Due to Alabama's controversial place in American history, both with the Civil War and then with the Civil Rights Movement, I can see why some may criticize the state. However, it's amazing to me how bigoted the rest of the country is in assessing the peoples of the South, especially Alabama and Mississippi. Some people are so adamant that ALL Alabamians are cowpokin' country rednecks that their attitudes remind me of the racism that was rampant in this country during the Civil Rights Era. I have relatives from out West who won't set foot in Alabama because they're convinced we still all pick cotton and burn crosses. (Puh-leeze.) However, talk to most anyone who lives here and they'll say that they love it. We have beautiful beaches, some cool cities each with their own distinctive flavor (Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville), enough culture to make things interesting, and guess what? People of African descent and European descent are getting along just fine here, thanks. Birmingham's City Council has been primarily African-American since the 70's! Alabama is moving on. Not to mention that the cost of living here, even in the metro areas, is low relative to other parts of the country. Yes, our school system has problems and yes, our state government is corrupt. And yes, it gets extremely freakin' hot here in the summer (it's not the heat, but the humidity, darlin'!) But having been born and raised in Alabama, and also having traveled to many other states as well as countries, I have a good life here and plan to stay. If you visit, definitely check out the Nasa center in Huntsville, the beautiful beaches on the Gulf, the antiques throughout Central Alabama, and the antebellum mansions in Mobile. And, the art museum in Birmingham is a pretty good one...and, the Civil Rights museum in Montgomery is worth a visit too.

Home of the US Space & Rocket Center and much more, Alabama is a great state! It has alot of good tourist attractions, barring the boring "nature" ones, of course. It also has a bunch of good businesses, and is home to numerous stores including Wal-Mart, Chick-Fil-A and more! The crime rate will eventually decrease, of course. Overall, I like my home state pretty well. As for the South rising again, let's just say, I'm not a big fan of the Confederacy...:)

Overall Worst State: Alabama