The city of Opelika is a great place to call home. With mild weather all year long, a wide variety of restaurants and entertainment, and a vibrant community, Opelika is a great place to spend your entire life – to live, work, raise a family and retire. Here are some reasons you should consider Opelika your lifelong destination.
Education
Living in Opelika, you and your family will have multiple options in terms of schools and colleges in the area. The Auburn-Opelika area is an educational hub for eastern Alabama.
Among the Opelika City Schools, there are three primary schools: Southview Primary School, Jeter Primary School and Carver Primary School. All of them offer kindergarten to 2nd grade. There are three intermediate schools: Morris Avenue Intermediate, Northside Intermediate and West Forest Intermediate, which offer grades 3rd to 5th. Opelika Middle School provides grades 6th through 8th, and the Opelika High School offers 9th grade to 12th grade.
In terms of higher education, Opelika is located only ten miles away from Auburn University, a major research university with more than 140 degree options in 13 schools and colleges at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional level.
Lee-Scott Academy and Trinity Christian School are additional options for private schooling. Offering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, Lee-Scott is a college preparatory school with Christian principles. Trinity Christian School houses a K-12 program as a Christian school committed to providing a classical, biblical education.
Located opposite of Opelika High School is Southern Union State Community College, a two-year college that provides affordable, accessible and equitable education in academic, technical and health science programs.
Opelika is also half an hour away from Tuskegee University, which is a private university located in Tuskegee, Alabama.
Facilities and Amenities
Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatic Center
The Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatic Center is a place to exercise, enhance your health and also socialize with the community. With over 75,000 square feet, Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatic Center offers many amenities and services in its three centers:
The Fitness Center features a weight room, cardio area, indoor and outdoor tracks, group fitness classes, personal training and also a massage therapy service. The Aquatic Center includes a lap pool, a splash park, and swim teams. And finally, the Charter Foundation Adult Activity Center includes a 5,000 square-foot “Common Area” with tables, chairs, stages, and AV capabilities, a Computer Lab, a Game Room, and a Media Room.
Among the many services provided by the Opelika Sportsplex is the Plex Station, a game room and space to play games and do homework, a Tot Watch for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old, and BraveHeart, a Fine Arts Program that offers art, music and dance to youth with moderate to severe disabilities.
Opelika Sportsplex is open every day of the week to members and guests. They offer a Family Membership for $697 per year or $62 per month with a discount for Opelika residents or a Single Membership for $534 per year or $49 per month as well as a special Senior Membership and Adult Activity Center Membership. If you want more information about their services, hours or other types of membership or daily fee, don’t hesitate to check the City of Opelika Parks and Recreation website. Opelika Sportsplex has activities and equipment for everyone!
East Alabama Medical Center
East Alabama Medical Center is a general medical and surgical facility located in Opelika. EAMC is the only hospital in Lee County, making its proximity to Opelika a great advantage to the residents of the city.
This medical clinic is open 24 hours and has an emergency room. Its services are designed to meet any health care need, from childbirth services at EAMC Baby, to the Education Center for developing a strong healthcare workforce to provide high-quality educational opportunities and promote employee development.
Their mission is to offer high quality and compassionate health care to the community. EAMC is committed to providing exceptional medical care with respect and compassion.
The EAMC owns and operates Oak Park, a nursing home and independent-living service. This licensed nursing home offers semi-private and private rooms with a view of the lake and natural woodland areas.
The EAMC also has a medical fitness facility, the HealthPlus Fitness Center, that focuses on preventive care and keeping the whole community healthy.
Golf
If you like to golf, the Opelika area is an emerging golf community, home to several top-ranked golf courses, including Grand National, part of the world-famous Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Grand National, declared by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. as the “single greatest site for a gold complex that he had ever seen,” features 54 lake-hugging holes and it’s open 364 days a year.
Other golf courses in the area include Saugahatchee Country Club, a private 18-hole course that is ranked in the top five courses in Alabama by Golf Digest; Moore’s Mill Club, a private club that also features an 18-hole course suitable for all ages and skill sets; Auburn University Club, the official home of the Auburn University golf teams which has a 18-hole course located on 225 acres of rolling hills and woods; and finally, Indian Pines Golf Course, a public course that is known for their excellent rices and their beautiful lake.
Tiger Town Outdoor Shopping Center
Opelika is also home to the largest retail center in East Alabama.
With 130 acres, Tiger Town continues to grow. From Target, Kroger or Bed Bath and Beyond to Books-A-Million or Chick-fil-A, the area includes restaurants, familiar retail stores, banks, offices and hotels that make this a convenient place to find everything you can possibly need.
Community
Over the last 5 years, the city of Opelika has experienced many types of growth, including a capital investment of $700 million and the creation of 710 new jobs.
In 2018 more than 250 new homes were granted construction permits, and more than 115 family lots were ready to go. A total of 590 building permits were granted for a total value of $127.6 million.
2018 was also a good year for local community programming, which increased 120%.
All of these reasons show how Opelika is a growing city and a great place to raise a family, engage in the community, and enjoy life.
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