New to the Area

**PlumDragon** · 11-03-2010, 10:21 AM

Hey there!

I grew up in CO and moved to Huntsville, AL after college. Spent 7 years there before finally taking the plunge and buying a condo in SRB. My wife, 2 year old son, and I now live here full-time. I love everything about the area, the seafood, the beach, the palm trees, the people...So far, its all fantastic. Oh but those license plates werent cheap!!

My wife works at Regions Bank and I teach martial arts and run a Chinese herbal business here in town. I used to be an engineer but retired from that to teach martial arts.

Were biting at the bit to find a new group of friends so hopefully we will get a chance to meet up with some of you at some point...

**lms47** · 11-03-2010, 04:35 PM

Welcome to Paradise!

**SWGB** · 11-03-2010, 07:27 PM

We're all axe murderers, but we try to hide them at the first meeting.

**kurt** · 11-03-2010, 08:14 PM

**Yarmap** · 11-05-2010, 06:21 PM

Welcome...........It;s only gonna be 25 degrees in Huntsville tonight......don't you wish you were there!!

**heartbren** · 11-08-2010, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by PlumDragon

Hey there!

I grew up in CO and moved to Huntsville, AL after college. Spent 7 years there before finally taking the plunge and buying a condo in SRB. My wife, 2 year old son, and I now live here full-time. I love everything about the area, the seafood, the beach, the palm trees, the people...So far, its all fantastic. Oh but those license plates werent cheap!!

My wife works at Regions Bank and I teach martial arts and run a Chinese herbal business here in town. I used to be an engineer but retired from that to teach martial arts.

Were biting at the bit to find a new group of friends so hopefully we will get a chance to meet up with some of you at some point...

Welcome to SoWal. I live in Blue Mountain Beach and moved here 7 mos. ago from New Orleans. It is just me and my 3 cats and little dog. I had to respond about the license plate issue. I could not even believe how much it was to change mine over to Florida. Phew, good thing I had the money since I did not know.

You will love it here. I run a pet sitting business in the area - Heart Pet Sitting. Everyone has a dog so if you don't have one yet, you probably will eventually. If you ever need my services or to babysit, give a call or just give a call and maybe we can set up a meet and greet for all of the newcomers. I tried it once it did not go to well. Welcome to Paradise as they say here. My name is Brenda and my number is 850-622-3352. I, like you have been trying to make friends and it seems to take a little time. Welcom

**SWGB** · 11-08-2010, 04:34 PM

Look on the bright side, you don't have to get an inspection sticker like those liberal tree huggers over in Louisiana.

**wishiwerethere** · 11-10-2010, 02:02 PM

Welcome! We just bought a house here this past summer. I've not transferred my tags yet since, for now, we are mainly in Alabama. Next year, I plan on being there enough to change my residency to Florida. Just how expensive were your tags?

**SWGB** · 11-10-2010, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by wishiwerethere

Welcome! We just bought a house here this past summer. I've not transferred my tags yet since, for now, we are mainly in Alabama. Next year, I plan on being there enough to change my residency to Florida. Just how expensive were your tags?

It's based on the type and weight.

Small car will be cheap.
Big truck will not.

**scooterbug44** · 11-10-2010, 03:05 PM

Originally Posted by SWGB

It's based on the type and weight.
Small car will be cheap.
Big truck will not.

I wondered why I didn't remember a big charge. Glad to hear there is one place the government actively encourages fuel efficiency.

**SWGB** · 11-10-2010, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by scooterbug44

I wondered why I didn't remember a big charge. Glad to hear there is one place the government actively encourages fuel efficiency.

Actually it has more to do with use. Big heavy trucks will do more damage to a road than a lighter weight car. Ironically you could have a hybrid truck that would cost more than a gas hogging sports car.

**beachmouse** · 11-10-2010, 03:43 PM

Originally Posted by scooterbug44

I wondered why I didn't remember a big charge. Glad to hear there is one place the government actively encourages fuel efficiency.

There's a $300 charge for getting a plate for the first time. This has been on the books for about 15 years, but there have been good budget years when the state has waived this charge. I don't remember paying this for vehicle #1 in 1998 when we moved down here, (only brought one car down) but we definitely paid it when we went to having a second vehicle at the same time in 2001.

And that's before you pay for the plate itself, which as SWGB has said, is based on size/weight of the vehicle.

The nice thing for long-time residents is that once you get the plate, you don't have to pay the $300 again if you sell a car and then move the old plate to a new vehicle; you just keep paying the annual renewal fee (adjusted for different vehicle size as need be)

**SWGB** · 11-10-2010, 04:03 PM

Originally Posted by beachmouse

There's a $300 charge for getting a plate for the first time. This has been on the books for about 15 years, but there have been good budget years when the state has waived this charge. I don't remember paying this for vehicle #1 in 1998 when we moved down here, (only brought one car down) but we definitely paid it when we went to having a second vehicle at the same time in 2001.

And that's before you pay for the plate itself, which as SWGB has said, is based on size/weight of the vehicle.

The nice thing for long-time residents is that once you get the plate, you don't have to pay the $300 again if you sell a car and then move the old plate to a new vehicle; you just keep paying the annual renewal fee (adjusted for different vehicle size as need be)

Most people don't realize it either because they get it with a new car. The dealership conveniently rolls it into the total price, unless you are trading in. They do mention turning in the old plate, but I've always kept mine, I paid for it after all.

**beachmouse** · 11-10-2010, 04:58 PM

The dealers we've bought from have actually asked if we had an old plate we were bringing with us or if we needed a new one. And even pulled it off the trade-in and put on the new car as part of the 'drive it off the lot all sparkly' service.

**SWGB** · 11-10-2010, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by beachmouse

The dealers we've bought from have actually asked if we had an old plate we were bringing with us or if we needed a new one. And even pulled it off the trade-in and put on the new car as part of the 'drive it off the lot all sparkly' service.

That's true, I've never believed in trading in a car to the dealership as they usually make the trade in amount sound great, when in actuality it barely makes up the mark up they work onto the sticker. I've always bought the new car and then sold the old car independently, then paying off a nice chuck of principle with the proceeds.

**beachmouse** · 11-10-2010, 08:15 PM

We usually do the drive it til it's dead and then let whoever wants to haul it off route, but when I wanted to go from the Corolla to something a little more substantial, neither of us wanted to deal with going the private seller route when I still owed money on the car when they was a lot of other crud we were dealing with at that point in our lives. (I love my current car and plan to get 200K miles out of it, but realize there were a series of less than financially smart moves we made involving that purchase. At least we got really good loan terms on it.)

**PlumDragon** · 11-14-2010, 02:02 PM

Wow, this really is a busy forum, Im glad I found it!

Thanks for the replies, everyone. So far, were loving it. Im teaching the martial arts classes at The Studio in Seaside now and have been able to meet a few people but its still slow going.

The license plates and registration for 2 cars came to about $800 total. A hefty bill we were *not* expecting when we moved. =\

However, the lifestyle here is more than worth it. I think one of my favorites thus far (besides walking the beach with a mocha) is grabbing a box of oysters at Shrimpers and just shucking, eating, and drinking the evening away. Does anyone here ever have oyster eating get-togethers...?

**kurt** · 11-14-2010, 03:30 PM

Yes. On the beach.

**SWGB** · 11-14-2010, 06:09 PM

Only about 8 times a year.

**Dia** · 11-15-2010, 04:15 PM

**Porkchop** · 11-16-2010, 07:29 PM

I'm moving to Blue Mountain right now, from out of state. I "played" Kendo for quite a while back home. I'm all about drinking good beer too. Sorry to hear that it's slow going meeting people. Hope that turns around for you.

**PlumDragon** · 11-17-2010, 08:24 AM

Porkchop,
Sounds good, hope the move goes well!

Once you get situated you should come check out one of our classes; we use weapons every class so it may be right up your alley from Kendo...

OK guys, next time theres an oyster party--on the beach or not--I want in! ;)

**heartbren** · 11-17-2010, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by Porkchop

I'm moving to Blue Mountain right now, from out of state. I "played" Kendo for quite a while back home. I'm all about drinking good beer too. Sorry to hear that it's slow going meeting people. Hope that turns around for you.

I also live in Blue Mountain Beach. It seems to be a popular place people are moving these days. Have a good and safe trip. Get in touch when you get here, let everyone know you are here.

**Porkchop** · 11-17-2010, 03:06 PM

I'm packing right now Bren and will be driving down from ATL on Tuesday. Did I mention that packing / moving sucks like some kind of gigantic sucky thing? Third time I've moved in 18mos. Hoping this will be the last time for a long while to come. Can't wait to get to my new place! I will need several six packs of Guinness to get me through the unloading and unpacking. Hopefully there is a store nearby that sells it.

**beachmouse** · 11-17-2010, 05:36 PM

Chan's Wine World has a pretty extensive beer collection.

**SWGB** · 11-18-2010, 01:02 AM

Originally Posted by Porkchop

I'm packing right now Bren and will be driving down from ATL on Tuesday. Did I mention that packing / moving sucks like some kind of gigantic sucky thing? Third time I've moved in 18mos. Hoping this will be the last time for a long while to come. Can't wait to get to my new place! I will need several six packs of Guinness to get me through the unloading and unpacking. Hopefully there is a store nearby that sells it.

If you move to Blue Mountain Beach you're in luck there's a bar that has it on tap.