I live in an upscale area of Birmingham, Alabama. In this part of town which is a medical community you can't tell much is wrong by looking around but I know two things: 1. I have been tring to sell my home for two years, have dropped the price $50,000.00 and still can't get anyone to make an offer and my house only gets shown an average of once every two months. 2. Alabama is hurting but not yet to the degree of some other areas of the country. I have one friend who lives in Tuscaloosa (my hometown) who is laid off and can't find a fast food job. He is 53 with a masters degree.