moving to gadsden area (Birmingham, Valley: relocation, real estate, housing)

[whittneyh]

Hello,
My husband will be working at Goodyear and we are looking for a new home! We have two young girls with one on the way so schools are most important to us. ( I also teach elem. school). I want an area with low/no crime, plenty of families, lots of recreation opportunities, and plenty of restaurants and shopping! From what I saw on the data page, the Gadsden city area leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like a poorer area that might be a little run down. If I am wrong, please set me straight! My husband wouldn't mind traveling a little (20-30min) for his job, so any areas that are around Gadsden we could look at? We will be able to visit soon and I would love to have some idea of areas to look at. Thank you in advance for any advice.

[Keeper]

I have only been through Gadsden a few times so I am by no means an expert on the area, but you might want to look at Rainbow City outside of Gadsden, smaller town but not too far away. If you check here Gadsden, Alabama (AL) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders you will see other post where ppl asked about Gadsden. Might give you some insight into the area.

You can look at homes for sale at Valleymls.com. Look at Etowah county.

[whittneyh]

Thank You Keeper for your quick reply. Hopefully, someone out there can put their 2 cents in and help us out!!

[gustygulas]

I believe her husband retired from management at Goodyear. You may want to check out the historic district. There are some affordable homes that are beautiful.

[2bohemians]

Originally Posted by whittneyh

Hello,
My husband will be working at Goodyear and we are looking for a new home! We have two young girls with one on the way so schools are most important to us. ( I also teach elem. school). I want an area with low/no crime, plenty of families, lots of recreation opportunities, and plenty of restaurants and shopping! From what I saw on the data page, the Gadsden city area leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like a poorer area that might be a little run down. If I am wrong, please set me straight! My husband wouldn't mind traveling a little (20-30min) for his job, so any areas that are around Gadsden we could look at? We will be able to visit soon and I would love to have some idea of areas to look at. Thank you in advance for any advice.

I am actually from Gadsden, though I grew up in Rainbow City / Southside which to me ... it's all the same ... it's not like Gadsden is far from Rainbow City .. just a few minutes ... where are you moving from? Gadsden's not a bad place ... certainly there are areas just like in any city ... it may not be a super exciting city ... but it's not a bad place ... depends on what kind of lifestyle you seek and perhaps where you are coming from .... There is shopping but if you are looking for more ... you would most likely need to travel to Birmingham ... about an hour .. to find more diversity and culture .. or you can always get to Atlanta in about 3 hours ... or even Tennessee to the north ... the Coosa River provides most of the outdoor recreation .. boating & fishing ... not sure what the school system is like anymore but we can get you in contact with someone who might be a good resource ... we suggest you look into the community of Whorton's Bend along the river ... or the Country Club area .... downtown Gadsden has some lovely little historic homes but not really sure what the vibe is to live there ....

Anyhow, if you think of other specifics, send us a direct message and we will do our best to help out.

[stuckinbama]

Your best bet would be Rainbow City or Southside.they're by far the nicest communities in the Gadsden area.The Goodyear plant is in East Gadsden and you defenitely wouldn't want to live in that part of town.They're really going up in a hurry on the expansion at Goodyear.It's pretty much the city's lifeblood.I live in Glencoe just east of Gadsden.It's a nice enough quiet town ,but not very much to do besides rallying around the high school football team.(which is not very good lately)The Colonial Mall in South Gadsden is pretty good for shopping.

[Appraisur]

Originally Posted by whittneyh

Hello,
My husband will be working at Goodyear and we are looking for a new home! We have two young girls with one on the way so schools are most important to us. ( I also teach elem. school). I want an area with low/no crime, plenty of families, lots of recreation opportunities, and plenty of restaurants and shopping! From what I saw on the data page, the Gadsden city area leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like a poorer area that might be a little run down. If I am wrong, please set me straight! My husband wouldn't mind traveling a little (20-30min) for his job, so any areas that are around Gadsden we could look at? We will be able to visit soon and I would love to have some idea of areas to look at. Thank you in advance for any advice.

Hi whittneyh,
I've actually resided in this area all my life, starting out in Rainbow City and now in the Clubview area of Gadsden. For the most part, in regards to schools, Eura Brown is a top notch elementary school in the area with high marks in the community as well as the county school system. This school is within the city school system and is small compared to most, but employs an excellent teaching staff. My wife is teacher herself, so I'm somewhat in the know. Furthermore, as an independent appraiser, I've had substantial knowledge of relocations for the Goodyear factory here as I've completed many assignments for employees of Goodyear. For the most part, the relo's have been of upper management employees which have moved into areas of higher valued properties such as the Whorton's Bend area which ranges in values though has a median of the mid to upper $200k's. As far as "nice" areas to live with kids there are many different markets in the area with above average homes and well-kept improvements. Rainbow City has an elementary school (John S. Jones) which is a county school and Meadowbrook which is a private school owned and operated by John Croyle of the nearby Big Oak Ranch for Boys fame. Growth in RBC would be considered moderate to good as new housing has occured steadily over the past few years. Suburban communities adjoining Gadsden are: Rainbow City, Southside, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, Attalla and other smaller unincorporated communities. Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah county, therefore city taxes are slightly higher than the suburbs. As far as Gadsden being a "poorer" area, there are some lower valued properties within some areas of the city with signs of lack of annual maintenance, though this is similar to any city within the U.S.A. I hope this helps somewhat with your decision and relocation. Good luck!

[LollyLee]

I've also lived in Gadsden my entire life. An area you may also want to consider is the Bellevue Highlands or Tuckahoe Heights area of Lookout Mountain. Noccalula Falls is located in this area and it's a great place to live and only 10-15 minutes from Goodyear which is where my husband works, too. There are homes of every price range and size. Noccalula Falls Park has a playground, walking trails, a petting zoo, miniature golf course and a train that runs through the park.

Good luck and welcome to Gadsden.

[delano]

Originally Posted by whittneyh

Hello,
My husband will be working at Goodyear and we are looking for a new home! We have two young girls with one on the way so schools are most important to us. ( I also teach elem. school). I want an area with low/no crime, plenty of families, lots of recreation opportunities, and plenty of restaurants and shopping! From what I saw on the data page, the Gadsden city area leaves a lot to be desired. It seems like a poorer area that might be a little run down. If I am wrong, please set me straight! My husband wouldn't mind traveling a little (20-30min) for his job, so any areas that are around Gadsden we could look at? We will be able to visit soon and I would love to have some idea of areas to look at. Thank you in advance for any advice.

I live in the gadsden area, and your right, on the fact that ther's not a lot to see. lot of the jobs that were here, are gone now do to the president in office now. There is a lot of beutiful country in the north gadsden area, and up by nocallulla falls, which is on top of the lookout mountain, Lot of land in the southside area. It's about a 15 min. drive to Goodyear. I hope this helps

[jodi1216]

Negative view here. Gadsden is in a nice part of the country as far as scenery but I would not recommend living here, esp. if you are not caucasian. I have a multiracial child and have lived here for a couple of years and can't wait to leave. This place has a drop-out rate of around 30% and a transplant turnover rate of around 90%, which means only 10% of peole who move here actually stay. Not to mention the drug problem is really bad, esp. crystal meth.

That being said there are a lot of genuinely nice people here and people here are very real - not trying to be something they're not. But all in all I would not recommend moving here.

That being said I apologize if I offened the posters who are from here. I'm sure you're very nice, this is just my experience of the area.