My wife and I moved outside the city 3 or 4 years ago...

We love our home and love living out "in the country"... however, we
live in a 400+ home neighborhood here in the country.

As a result, there are 2 homes pretty much in my back yard (our
backyards meet). The cool thing about this neighborhood is even though
there are alot of homes, we all have pretty big yards. The first thing
people say when they come to my house for the first time is "Wow, what
a huge backyard!" and it is. The property is a bit over half an acre,
the back yard is not deep, but is VERY long.

We have a privacy fence in the back (which the people behind us use...)
but since they sit on a bit of a small hill, the fence offers privacy
only if they are kneeling in the middle of thier backyard... in
otherwords, no privacy...

Ive seen trees like italian cypress and the like and have considered
planting a long row of them against the fence...

My (and my wifes) concerns...

The fence is old... the trees will eventually grow and push over the
fence... maybe? Doesnt bother me, I dont have kids or dogs, the people
using my fence have both.

spacing... id be afraid a cypress would grow out and crowd the other
cypres trees next to it...

zone and weather... we live in central Alabama. HOT summers, plenty of
rain (no flooding), and beleive it or not, we do have cold winters
(cold = sometimes it gets in the mid 20s, but for no more than a week)

growth speed... I want them to grow fast, i am going to need like 10
feet to get any level of privacy... however, if they get too big, how
on earth would I manage them? just crop the top off or something?

FYI: I am not a landscaper nor designer nor know very much about
plants. A good buddy of mine told us how to design our front garden and
what plants to buy. We followed his suggestions and now have a really
nice front yard. So while I know nothing, I am capable...

thanks in advance!
Jazz Mann