Job Market/Real Estate in Madison County for 50+ (Huntsville, Decatur: military, apartment complex)

[cindy854]

Currently living in New England and sick of the winters. I do contract administration/production planning/materials coordination. My husband is a toolmaker/machinist.....both of us are currently in the aerospace industry. In my research I found that there are several BIG companies in the Huntsville area (Lockeed Martin, Boeing...etc.). Usually where there are big companies there are smaller job shops in the area to support them. Any comments on the manufacturing enviroment in this area is greatly appreciated. We also are looking for companies that might be interested in people that are 50ish. We did visit the area last summer for a long weekend and were overwhelmed! We did not get a chance to check on the Decauter area...how is that area? We're also looking for recommendations on areas to look for a house. Some of what we saw discourged us....the new developments were house on top of house with no backyards....I've read it referred to "the Brady Bunch" or "Stepford Wives"...that's not us. We did look on the outskirts (Harvest, Athens, Madison, Hunstville..I don't remember the others). We're looking for a safe area not too much of a commute to our manufacturing jobs...not too far out but yet not right in the middle of the congestion either. We have no kids so that is not a concern of ours. We need to plan another trip and with what we saw last summer and the info I get from this website, hopefully we'll have a better feel for the area when we visit....thanks for any information.....

[rnc76]

Decatur has a significant manufacturing base. ULA (United Launch Alliance) resides there. ULA builds all the rockets that launch satellites into space for the US government. There is also a GE plant there (they make either dishwashers or refridgerators I can't remember). I know there is much more, but that is what I know.

Huntsville has quite a bit of manufacturing but R&D is the bread and butter of the city. Toyota has an engine plant on the north side of town that employs about a 1000 people. Siemens has an automotive electronics manufacturing plant. International Diesel has an engine plant near the airport that has been growing from what I read.

Here is link that lists the industrial parks in Madison County and their tenants. This is from the Chamber of Commerce website, it is a great resource, they also have a jobs listing link as well.

Huntsville Alabama USA - Industrial Parks
Huntsville Alabama USA (broken link)


There are a lot of machine shops in the area that tailor their work to the R&D work that goes on for the Army and NASA. The smaller shops are harder to find and they tend to hire by word of mouth. I know there are machine shop directories online, that may be a good place to start.

[Southlander]

In Decatur, Daikin America (carbon fiber) is hiring. I believe 3M is hiring. Solutia, Toray, Novacor...there are quite a few manufacturers here, especially in the chemical area. Google Decatur Alabama Chamber of Commerce and follow the links!

[cindy854]

Sounds like as far as manufacturiang jobs...Decauter have more than Huntsville. How about manufacturing in the aerospace field?

[Keeper]

Arab has several smaller companies that are always looking for machinist and production people.
You might want to look at the state employment website Jobs.al.com.
You should have no problem finding jobs here. I would suggest once you have located a job of interest then you would want to check out which area would be the best for you. This area is so large and you would have to decide how much of commute you want to make everyday.
Remember there isn't public transportation to get from one city to another so it is drive, drive drive..

[cindy854]

We're just trying to get a feel for the area right now. Trying to find an area where there are many possible manufacturing opportunities with an reasonable driving commute....probably 20 minutes and not traveling on that main interstate near the Rocket Musuem. When we visited last year, that highway/area seemed like it would be a nightmare at rush hour!!

[rnc76]

That's I-565, the spur that connects Decatur and Huntsville. Actually, it is pretty smooth sailing compared to the Parkway, University Dr or Governor's Dr during rush hour. I've never seen it come to a stop unless there was an accident, it gets busy but not too congested.

[nalabama]

Many of the Huntsville area manufacturers, big or small, support the NASA space and Army aviation/missile missions and are required to post job openings with the Alabama State Emloyment Service as a condition of doing federal work. My spouse's business does less than $2M annually and still falls under this requirement. Search online for those postings and get the Huntsville Times' employment classifieds off their website and you should find plenty of opportunities.

Both Huntsville and Decatur (Athens, Arab, Fayetteville, etc.) are great places to live IMO as long as you can take the heat and humdiity. Unless you can come up with a really great home ahead of your planned move date, you might consider some of the nicer apartment/condo rentals for a year. That'll give you plenty of time to look around for that ideal spot.

[cindy854]

When we visited the area last sumer we saw several apartment complexes. If we decide to make the move one of us willl move and the other stay where we currently live for a while. I might be the one to move first. Any recommendations on which apartment/apartment complexes are the safest for a lone female?

Sounds like living between Huntsville and Decauter might be our best bet.

I don't think I'm talking about I-565 -...I remember that highway not that bad...that's near Rocket Harley Davidson.....righT? The highway I'm talking about was near the Redstone Arsenal/Rocket musuem.....I remember it not to be in the direction of Madison or Decauter...more right in Huntsville......I remember University Drive, Governonrs Dr and it might be the Parkway...all in the same area..that we felt would be a horrible commute!!

Is the Huntsville Times the best newspaper in the area? that's a very good point about the state job websites....I should of thought of that one myself!!

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by cindy854

Sounds like as far as manufacturiang jobs...Decauter have more than Huntsville. How about manufacturing in the aerospace field?

Decatur probably has more manufacturers. ULA is our big aerospace manufacturer, but there are some support firms here, such as Ridge Instruments. Huntsville will have both aerospace and military, such as AC, Inc. You should probably check the Huntsville/Madison County and Decatur/Morgan County chamber of commerce or economic development authority web sites for more info. I'd post links, but for some reason the moderators don't like that. But should be easy enough to google it.