[Copper1272]

Hi new here,


We are relocating from south florida and were wondering about the areas of Guntersville, Albertville and Gadsden? My husband does granite and marble kitchens and baths and I would be opening a horse boarding-lesson facility. I was just wondering if there is a market for these two things in this area? Are the schools decent? People nice? Cost of living fair? Any info would be wonderful. We have vacationed in Guntersville but 1 week can not give an entire picture..lol.

Thanks Again,

Weary of Hurricanes in Florida

[Keeper]

There is a lot of building going on in Huntsville and in the surrounding area due to BRAC, so your husband would probably have no problem finding work.
I heard of and have seen a few places for boarding horses and lessons but not many, however, I really don't know what kind of demand there might be either. I would think with all the people moving to H'ville you would do well to try if you get someplace near Guntersville. You might look for a place around Union Grove or Grassy which is not too far from Guntersville for a house with land. These places are also a little closer to Huntsville. I moved up here from Tampa and have found the people to be really nice. Many people say 'hello' even though they don't know you. Property taxes in Marshall county are LOW. For 100K home, less than $200.00 a year. Homeowners insurance is also very reasonable, about $500.00 a year for 100K. There is a state income tax but even with that it still doesn't add up to what I paid for property tax in FL (before the appraisal increases). Automobile insurance for me was just a little less than in FL. Electric is very reasonable due to TVA. Haven't had an electric bill as high as I had in FL for the same size house.
As far as schools, I can't tell you a lot other than Brindley Mountain and Arab schools are good. I am sure others on this forum can tell about schools in other areas.
You might want to check out the stats for the different cities. There is little crime in Arab or Guntersville. More illegals in Albertville and Boaz, if that matters to you. There are no movies or malls in Guntersville but there is a movie theater in Boaz.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Alabama.hmtl.
Hope this helps, if you have any other questions.. just ask..

[Copper1272]

Thanks Keeper for replying. The Taxes and insurance down here have become a nightmare, so lower sounds wonderful to me. I have noticed there a more english barns there than western based so hopefully there will be a market for western when we get there. I had heard that there was building going on but was not sure how accurate that was.

Since you are from Fl as well does the pay seem to be in line there with Fl?

Oh and what is BRAC?

[Copper1272]

Sorry one more question Keeper since your are from my area. Is the heat the same up there as it is near Tampa?

[Keeper]

I know there is a hugh stable on 231 between Arab and Huntsville but not sure exactly if it is public or private. Rick from Dixie or someone else might know since they have lived here a lot longer. I will ask someone and let you know. I know there is a stable on Monte Santo in Huntsville where you can rent a horse and ride a trail. That is the only place I have heard of in this area.

The pay scale in the smaller towns are less in most cases. Huntsville is about the same pay maybe a little lower than Tampa from what I have seen helping my daughter look for a job. However, cost of living is less so I guess it all works out..Will your husband work for himself or for someone else? If he is looking to work for someone else I can get you the name of someone he could call to ask about pay scale etc. There is a Lowe's in G'ville and Home Depot in H'ville. There is a building boom going on now in anticipation of BRAC.. (see below)
BRAC is the Base realignment action committee, is the closing of bases and moving the jobs to a different base. They are talking about 7-9,000 people moving to the area by 2010 from base closures. If the people don't move, they will still be hiring for those positions.
It does get hot up here in the 90s to low 100s at times. It is a drier heat plus the hottest time of the day is usually in the late afternoon between 3-5 pm. So far it isn't as bad as FL to me and this is my second summer. It cools down into the low 70s at night occassionally 60s. Summer doesn't last 9 months though. By late Sept. it starts to get cooler. It does get cold here and we do occassionally get snow, not every year. Last year we had a few flurries but that was about it. Fall is my favorite times of year.
You don't need A/C or heat and the colors are beautiful.
Let me know if you have any other questions.. glad to help

[Keeper]

One other thing.. I can't speak about vet bills for horses but I can tell you my vet bills here are 75% less than in FL. The vets here in Arab all treat horses which I know isn't the case in the Tampa area.

[Copper1272]

Thanks again Keeper for all of the info.....so friendly.

[allthetimemom]

The stable on 231 is private. The Arab area is very nice, but home prices are really starting to get more expensive than it use to be due to the proximity of Huntsville. Arab City Schools and Guntersville City Schools are good (actually, Arab City Schools are awesome!), however, the county schools are quite lacking, due to a lack of money. There are 5 school systems within the county, so the money is just not there for a lot of extra programs. There has been a lot of growth in the Albertville/Boaz area. There is a large Hispanic population there who work in the chicken plants. Property is less expensive in the Sand Mountain area. The Arab Newspaper is online, so you can check out some of the prices for that area (The Arab Tribune: Front). Many of my inlaws work construction-type jobs in the area, and, in my opinion, the work is just not steady enough.
Rainbow City and Southside are some nice areas outside of Gadsden. I don't know alot about that area though. I lived in Arab for a large chunk of my life and most of my family is still there. I currently live in Chambers county.

[jnm1995]

I am also from central florida but did relocate to gadsden, and my brother followed me up here, he still lives down in gadsden I now live in albertville , came up here saw it and fell in love . THe cost of living is half what it is in florida matter of fact my brother moved back down in the spring thinking it would be better and was back up here in a month. We still have family down there. As far as the marble building of baths and the horses , albertville would probably be closer to what u r looking for Gadsden is a small city with no rural areas I ever saw you coulkd go to the out skirts . Guntersville is a city not a miami or nothing u would probably no even consider it a city I didn't ( I am orig from Pinellas Park between St Pete and Tampa)But u can find some farm areas around there. Albertville there are more farm areas that is mostly what it is around here. And its very affordable. When I first moved up to GAdsden they did a thing on night line or one of those news show where they named Gadsden al as the cheapest place to live in the U.S. Dont know if that still is so but I have family in Fl and Cal and Mich and I know compared to those places it is. God Bless have a wonderful day! JANICE the sandmountainreporter.com is where u can go for the marshall county area which is albertville, boaz, guntersville and arab. I like the albertville city schools myself , my kids are in the marching band there and they have a great choir prog as well. the band is one of the largest in al they are going to macys this year and the academics are very good esp compared to the county schools and gadsden city schools.

[ratchasers]

Hello Keeper and other forum members,
I am from the Tampa area as well, Dover to be exact. My son and daughter in law and I will be moving to Albertville in the fall. Do any of you know where I can access county codes? I breed dogs and have quite a few and am concerned about barking bothering the neighbors. It's a 30 acre piece of land, but neighbors are fairly close. The realtor told me the barking wouldn't be a problem, but we all know how that goes sometimes.
I also couldn't find any links to Animal Services to find out if there is a restriction on the number of pets you can have per acre or per household and what the requirements are for tags. I would appreciate any input or suggestions.
Oh, one more questions, are there any supermarkets, other than Walmart Superstore, that come close to what we are used to?