I'm from NJ, and the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts in Fairhope recruited me to be its writer-in-residence. And I fell in love with the balmy climate and other things. So eventually I moved to the state, which in many ways seems underestimated by the rest of the country (esp. Lower Alabama, which has many advantages of Florida without the drawbacks).

Alabamians can be writers-in-residence in the FCWA program: What it looks for is a strong track record of publication, not where you live. If you have that, you could apply. You might like it :).