Can you tell me about Arab? Thinking of moving there.. (Huntsville: agriculture, zoning)

[msduras]

We are moving from North Florida with our horses (we raise Spanish Normans) and found a lovely place in Arab.......it seemed beautiful. Are there gnats like there are in florida? How is it there? Is the water expensive? Is it better to have your own well?

Thanx in advance for all information....

[marysally]

I live in Madison which is on the other side of Huntsville from Arab. We don't have a problem with gnats -- just mosquitoes, but I guess you're used to them as well. Sorry i can't answer your question about water costs.

[msduras]

Thank you!!! Just looking for information on the town...is it a nice place to live? etc......

[Suliniber]

Originally Posted by msduras

We are moving from North Florida with our horses (we raise Spanish Normans) and found a lovely place in Arab.......it seemed beautiful. Are there gnats like there are in florida? How is it there? Is the water expensive? Is it better to have your own well?

Thanx in advance for all information....

I am Suliniber, moved to Huntsville from San Diego and now looking to acquire a resort, sort of, a place near Arab - located on 25 plus acres. I would appreciate some information too, especially on lifestyle and cultural values.
Thanks.

[jetjockey75]

Originally Posted by Suliniber

I am Suliniber, moved to Huntsville from San Diego and now looking to acquire a resort, sort of, a place near Arab - located on 25 plus acres. I would appreciate some information too, especially on lifestyle and cultural values.
Thanks.

The klan used to be active in the Arab area, now that is gone but the population is still very Caucasian. The main thing to watch for in rural Alabama, though -- especially if you have a "resort" in mind -- is chicken houses. As far as I know, there are NO restrictions on building them. And if you're within a mile of one, it can be unbearable, especially on a hot summer night. I almost bought a farm a few years ago, the deal fell through, and the next year, the adjoining landowner built chicken houses less than 1/4 mile from what would have been my homesite.

[Suliniber]

Originally Posted by actractorguy

The klan used to be active in the Arab area, now that is gone but the population is still very Caucasian. The main thing to watch for in rural Alabama, though -- especially if you have a "resort" in mind -- is chicken houses. As far as I know, there are NO restrictions on building them. And if you're within a mile of one, it can be unbearable, especially on a hot summer night. I almost bought a farm a few years ago, the deal fell through, and the next year, the adjoining landowner built chicken houses less than 1/4 mile from what would have been my homesite.

Thank you very much actractorguy, I was looking for something that can make me decide fast and move forward, and I have decided not to move to Arab. I will now look towards North-Eastern Alabama.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by actractorguy

The klan used to be active in the Arab area, now that is gone but the population is still very Caucasian. The main thing to watch for in rural Alabama, though -- especially if you have a "resort" in mind -- is chicken houses. As far as I know, there are NO restrictions on building them. And if you're within a mile of one, it can be unbearable, especially on a hot summer night. I almost bought a farm a few years ago, the deal fell through, and the next year, the adjoining landowner built chicken houses less than 1/4 mile from what would have been my homesite.

About 25 years ago, I thought of leasing and re-opening a little movie theatre that had closed in Arab. I was doing some asking around at a local fast food place, and will never forget one of the responses I got from a resident. "Yeah, the town never had a black problem. They might come up to work here on lawns during the day, but they know to get 'off the mountain' by dusk." Needless to say, I declined the opportunity to lease.

As for Alabama zoning - there is very little of it and little intrusion of the government into the lives of property owners.* That means unless you live in a city you might find a $500K house down the road from a 1960s trailer home with five junk cars in the yard. If you live in the country, you have to expect agriculture, whether it be logging trucks loaded with pine, poultry houses, or even buffalo (which I saw last trip).

*The exception being the Jefferson County area, where the union pipefitters somehow got a law passed that a property owner cannot legally work on their own plumbing. They even have billboards to that effect warning homeowners, and when I was working opening a business in Bessemer, I was visited by a pistol packing inspector and two "helpers" who said I would be taken to jail if I was doing my own plumbing repairs. I showed the inspector to the local plumber I had hired, and there were good ol' boy handshakes all around.

Although the incidents I just mentioned are the exception, Alabama is not for everyone. But - if you want to live in a state where kids still say "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" and the BIG religion is not Baptist but college football, and the style of life is closer to the 1950s, then it can be a great place to live. We're looking for a way to get back there.

[J.R. FRANK]

Originally Posted by msduras

We are moving from North Florida with our horses (we raise Spanish Normans) and found a lovely place in Arab.......it seemed beautiful. Are there gnats like there are in florida? How is it there? Is the water expensive? Is it better to have your own well?

Thanx in advance for all information....

I am located in Arab and the gnats aren't that bad, but sometimes in the summer the misquitoes can be a pain. If you need any help in locating a home, contact me I'm a licensed realtor.

[Rick in Dixie]

Originally Posted by J.R. FRANK

I am located in Arab and the gnats aren't that bad, but sometimes in the summer the misquitoes can be a pain. If you need any help in locating a home, contact me I'm a licensed realtor.

Is this Frank Morrow ? Small world aint it ? This is Rick M, You know, I make tall grass shorter. and put bushes where theres not any.

[Rick in Dixie]

Easy on the stereotyping , Arab is just a small bed side community, What I mean by that is that its a town where most of their population comutes to Huntsville or Madison for work and come home to Arab for family and rest. We have one of the lowest crime rates of any other city our size. we are not running around with a rifle in the back window of our pick up truck. we are considered a suberb of Huntsville where 1 out of every 15 people are engineers of sorts, And to own a Chicken house , you have to have 20 plus acers of land, although we have some poultry farms there are no plans to just start building chickin houses every where, Tyson and Wayn Farm already have sufiecient number of farms to cover all there shipping obligations. And their not as bad as some would like you to believe, there has recently been improvements to eliminate the oders and dusty conditions .Most farms are in sucluded areas anyway.