Moving to the area and

Moving there in about 2 months. I guess I'm looking for a CVS, Walgreen's and/or RiteAid for Pharmacies. As for groceries, were do ya'll shop? Publix, Kroger, etc. or someplace less corporate that isn't well known in the south? Also, what about big box stores like Target, Walmart or Costco? Are there any health food stores?

I know I will explore once I get there, but can't wait to see what is around!

CVS, Walgreen's & RiteAid.  Publix is in the process of being built, no Kroger. Target, Wal-mart, & K-mart, no Costco. Several health food stores.

Looking at other post on this forum I see the following:

Aldi

Sav a lot (maybe coming)

Walmart

a Publix being built

Thanks for the info!

There are already two Sav-A-Lot groceries in the area. A new one is ready to open in Muscle Shoals. You may not be familiar with CVS or Rite-Aid, but there are three Walgreen's that are fantastic--great sales. Target has a fast and cheap pharmacy. Big Lots is also in Florence--great but unpredictable stock. If you like non-mainstream groceries, there's Oriental Pearl in Florence and Penny Pinchers in Muscle Shoals.

i smell charlie and menthol cigarettes!

haha tbg you auta be thrashed. she's probably married and don't like bald men.

Alas, we have no Piggly Wiggly!

Originally Posted by T.B.G.:

        i smell charlie and menthol cigarettes!


I smell salmon patties. We just finished eating supper.  LOL

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one of my favorites... did you save me some?!?!

i had sushi and egg drop soup!

I have experienced exceptional service at the Rite Aid on Florence Blvd.

I appreciate the local info ya'll have given. It looks like there are a few of my usual stores so I'm a happy camper .

hauntedwood: Been here for 6 years and I must say that the shoals is the best place to live! You will get used to the "you ain't from around here are ya?" really they are just curious! Now the waving as you drive, that took a while.

My advice is learn to drive like a Nascar driver.

Good luck living there. In about 50 years you will be accepted.  They don't like strangers. They feel that they are entitled to certain things. They don't like you to compare the shoals with where you lived. They have a favorite expression they say behind your back. If you don't like it , leave! You should be able to expect that a college town will have a lot going on. This one doesn't.  If you are not baptist, expect to be hammered 10 times a day about why you do or do not go to their church.  The music scene is fair. There are a bunch of older players and singers that like to feel they own the local theater guild and entertainment venues. There is one Sinatra wannabe that gives a show every year that is a hoot. His voice is gone, so he has a bunch of toothless cronies telling him how good he is. He always has to import a rhythm section to get a  fairly decent sound. Lots of luck in moving there.  You might be better off looking at Huntsville. The people are friendlier and more is happening.

rimshot: Totally not my experience here! I have had more acts of kindness directed at me here than anywhere else. You know that there are always bad apples, that's societal. As for the acceptance thing I have simply never cared! I can live anywhere I want and I choose this place for now! Actually a lot of people here are from somewhere else so that helps me. It is true what Captain Obvious says about the nascar driving!

Now, now, Rimshot, that part about being accepted only applies to those with northern accents. :-)

I drive all over the valley and I've never seen anyone wave. I must be blind or ugly or something. I did have that happen when my car was in the shop and my friend (a used car dealer) loaned me a Vette. Then other Vette drivers waved. I thought they thought I was somebody else, but learned later it's a tradition.

Infomercial: That's easy! Drive thru Killen or Greenhill and they all wave! They flash the lights at you to warn you if an leo is present so you slow down.

Flashing lights I've seen all my life. Have appreciated them and do it myself if I think it's needed. That seems only kind--not odd.

BTW, I've heard if you live on the lake, you wave, but haven't seen that much of it.

The wave seems to be a southern tradition.  When we moved to the south years ago, the running joke was everyone waves at everyone because they know someday soon they are going to pull out in front of you, cut you off, or stop short with no brake lights or turn signals.  

All in all, I love it here, glad my family decided to move back all those years ago.  Florence is a strange place like few others in the area.  Lots of old money and draws in alot of shoppers from small towns all over (waynesboro, savannah, franklin county, lawrenceburg to an extent), although some of those communities are growing and keeping the spending at home more often than in the past.  

Hope it is good circumstances bringing you here, the job market is tough in the area....

The move is finally over!

I've had a chance to look around the area and it is a bit of a change with regard to grocery stores. I am not use to such small stores and so little selection. I am thankful for the Aldi. I've been shopping there for years for my pantry staples, but shopped at Publix and Kroger for fresh foods, deli and bakery items.

If anyone can point me in the direction of a good butcher, bakery and/or health food store that would be great!

Also, since we had to wait for the holiday weekend to end to have our gas turned on we got to try some of the restaurants in the area. We never had bad service or bad food. Everyone was friendly and nice! Very happy to have great Italian and Mexican restaurants so close and pleasantly surprised to see a Lenny's Sub Shop!!

I'm not sure where you live, so this may not help. Health food store? Again, I'm not sure what you're looking for, but there are two Tennessee Valley Heath food stores, one in downtown Florence and one in Muscle Shoals. There's also K's Cove in Rogersville that has a great selection of vitamins.

Bakeries? Your best bet for sweet breads, etc., is the DoNut Shop. They have a large variety of items, open early, but also close early. There is one on Florence Blvd. and on Woodward Ave. in Muscle Shoals. I can almost promise you will love it.

Subs? Try Montagu's in North Florence. They have a yogurt shop next door.

Montagu's:

http://obscorner.blogspot.com/2010/10/montagus.html

They also have a covered patio between the shops and WiFi.

I moved to the Shoals area in 1987 from Memphis. someone said in an earlier post something indicating that the traffic here is a problem. It is obvious from such a statement that they heave never driven in Memphis, Nashville, or Atlanta.
Traffic here is a breeze, except the place loves stoplights and IMHO makes an effort to actually delay traffic moving at the request of the local merchants who thihk if you are stopped in front of their place, you'll get a hankering to turn in and buy something.

I found the people friendly. but unlike anywhere else I have lived, they don't seem to be out and about much. Mostly go home and watch TV after work, so don't look to see your friends from work out eating or in one of the local watering holes.

I don't know how it is where you live, but here football is not a sport, it is a religion !!!!!!  If you are a football fan of Alabama or Auburn, you'll love it here, if your college colors run different, then you are different, and whether or not you like it, you MUST adopt one of these two teams. Nobody much seems to care if you go , or have ever gone to college at either of the two institutions, just gotta pick a team, and back them like some fundamentalist religious nut.

On the bright side, it you do like being out and about , there is quite a bit more to do than you may expect, this being somewhat of a music haven, there are quite a few bands and quite a few watering holes have live enertainment  on weekends and some during the week. There are a lot of really fun things to do, like coming up in Oct, the Renascence Fair, the Sam Phyllips festival (celebrating Sam, a local), the Helen Keller festival, assorted founders days with street parties, and the big daddy of the bunch, the WC Handy Festival, which last over a week, which if you try to go every night you will throughly enjoy it and need a vacation to recover. 

If you like water sports, The Tenn River splits the area with quite a few boat launches (all free) on both the river side and the Lake side, so if that's your thing, you will love it here.

Anybody think of anything I left out ?

Good luck.

seaweed: You left out that the locals don't use turn signals when they drive and a great majority of them are simply distracted as they drive with cell phones, food, and make-up! We also have quite a few expert tailgaiters. They will ride your bumper like they own it.

Well , that's true but I don't think that it is different anywhere else.  I was once sitting still at a stop light in Memphis and some girl in a car in front of me was putting on her makeup. Her car slowly started going backward, and eventually banged into mine. She turned around , gave me a dirty look (like it was my fault) , then left out. At least I haven't been run into here.

Speaking of run ins, Ive been rear ended twice in the last 5 years, my wife was once.  Two out of three of those folks didnt have insurance.  That would be my only gripe, and its not just this area.  Alabama in general has an insurance law with no teeth......

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I moved here over 20 years ago.  To be accepted, all you have to do is participate, and check the attitude at the door.  Considering the population of the area, there is a ton of stuff to do here.  In the time I've lived here, the only people who have asked my religion are the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons when they knocked on my door.  The music scene is excellent. 

I'll say it to your face, if you don't like it here, leave.  You obviously aren't happy here, and make it known.

There is truth to outsiders not being accepted, although not everyone treats people that way down here it is still a decent chunk. My secret to being accepted is just blend in and don't let anyone but those who are close to you know you are not from around here, sadly is the truth. It's like the civil war is still going on down here. There are several of us northerners that have infiltrated you that are blending in, just counting down the days to pounce and invade.

As for someone mentioning Piggly Wiggly, it's nothing like Piggly Wigglys up north, the chain is kind of run down (if you don't like it, leave!) and doesn't have the quality it did in other places.

Wow rimshot, your negativity for our area astounds me!  I grew up here, but then lived in Memphis, Nashville, and near Seattle for several years.  Sure, there may have been a lot more things going on in those places, but everything was expensive and if you couldn't afford their events, you just sat at home.  Here, most all of the festivities are free or have a minimal charge.  There is always something going on - plays, music, festivals, art exhibits, water access, etc.  The Times Daily does a good job of publishing dates and times of events.  All you have to do is get off your couch and go!  And as for people not being accepted here, I don't think I have ever felt that way.  Southern people are notoriously friendly, but very few of the posts actually welcomed hauntedwood to our community, so welcome from my family to yours, and don't pay any attention to the naysayers.  Take it from someone who has lived elsewhere, the Shoals is a great place to live. 

I  think the most important thing is where to get an apartment or a house.  I suggest you do not do that in Sheffield, it is deterriating and very few shops and stores. STAY AWAY FROM Cherokee!  Serriously!!  Florence is nice with it across the river, many shops and malls. Nice subdivisions and other things. It has about all you will ever need. Tuscumbia is a good place to avoid living too.  This post is not meant to be detremental to aNYONE LIVING IN THOSE AREAS.