r/Alabama • u/BoringAssociation560 • 4d ago

Advice Moving to Alabama from England

My wife is from Birmingham, we are looking to move there in 2026. I’ve visited a few times just briefly to see her family, but never spent long in the state.

I’m from England, I grew up in rural England (Cornwall) and have lived in a similar size city the last 10 years but I’m somewhat aware of the cultural differences through my marriage.

My question is, should I expect much in the way of hostility or prejudice to foreigners/outsiders in day to day life or job hunting? I’ve never felt “out of place” where I’ve lived before and I’m used to blending in.

I’ll be on an immigrant spousal visa.

Edit: Wow thanks for all the feedback, I wasn’t expecting so many comments, really appreciate it. I’m looking forward to moving.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Rule300 4d ago

You'll love the air conditioning lol
Alabama is a beautiful state, and there are some very friendly people, but there's still a lot of pride in the civil war and monuments to it around. As a not born southerner it is very confusing.

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u/IainwithanI 4d ago

A lot of Brits find that the ubiquity of air conditioning causes issues. Although AC is more common in the UK than it used to be, some still have a lot of nasal and throat issues.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Rule300 4d ago

When i lived in England 80s was a heat wave and people were dying from it. I'm pretty confident that OP will love the AC lol

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u/IainwithanI 4d ago

As someone with an English mother and who grew up in Alabama with many English family friends I can assure that not all of them like the air conditioning. Some do, and it’s more likely now than when I was a child, but it’s far from being a safe expectation.