Huntsville or Hattiesburg???? (Birmingham, Decatur: job market, university, income)

[Willtown4]

My husband and I are really struggling with where we want to move this summer. We visited Huntsville last summer and I absolutely LOVED it but it appears without a college education (which I am eager to complete) there aren't many decent paying jobs. My in-laws live in Hattiesburg Mississippi and although my husband grew up there and is familar with the area there doesn't appear to be many jobs there, not to mention I am concerned about how our boys (15 & 10) would adjust moving to such a small city coming from Mpls. Anyone with any thoughts or insight???

[zenjenn]

Are you talking about the same Huntsville? We have a large community college (Calhoun) and a state university (UAH) in Huntsville as well as Alabama A&M, and a disproportionate number of highly educated people, and there are a lot of decent paying jobs here if you are in the right field. My husband looked for a job for about a day and ended up with 3 offers, all of which paid decently and one of which was ultimately able to compete with our income in Los Angeles. What field is your husband in? What put Huntsville on the map as a consideration for you to begin with? If you need a bigger and more diverse job market, but you like this region, what about Birmingham or Chattanooga?

I know nothing about Hattiesburg, Mississippi, so I can't make a fair comparison, but Huntsville isn't what you are describing from my perspective.

[PortCity]

Huntsville !!

[Southlander]

Hattiesburg is not that small...it has the University of Southern Mississippi, not that far from New Orleans and the gulf beaches...everybody I've met from there has been really nice and fun. Job situation depends on what you can work at.

They are two pretty different places...you should visit both.

[HB2HSV]

I've only stopped by Hattiesburg on my way to New Orleans on I-59. From the looks of it, it's just as big, if not bigger, than Huntsville. Don't know any more about it other than they do have some nice restaurants along the I-59

[HsvCity!]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

I've only stopped by Hattiesburg on my way to New Orleans on I-59. From the looks of it, it's just as big, if not bigger, than Huntsville. Don't know any more about it other than they do have some nice restaurants along the I-59

I was surprised by this statement, so I went and googled Huntsville and Hattiesburg. Per Wikipedia, Hattiesburg is not as big as Huntsville at all.

Hattiesburg's city population is between 44-50K, and Huntsville is between 176-180K. The metro for Hattiesburg is about 176K, and Huntsville's is about 406K(I have seen it estimated arount the 550K which included the Decatur metro as it should). Huntsville is just missing a few skyscrapers, other than that it is WAY more city-like. I do see similarities between the Parkway and the portion of I-59 that passes through Hattiesburg.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by HsvCity!

I was surprised by this statement, so I went and googled Huntsville and Hattiesburg. Per Wikipedia, Hattiesburg is not as big as Huntsville at all.

Hattiesburg's city population is between 44-50K, and Huntsville is between 176-180K. The metro for Hattiesburg is about 176K, and Huntsville's is about 406K(I have seen it estimated arount the 550K which included the Decatur metro as it should). Huntsville is just missing a few skyscrapers, other than that it is WAY more city-like. I do see similarities between the Parkway and the portion of I-59 that passes through Hattiesburg.

No argument here... I was impressed with the I-59 portion of Hattiesburg and that's all I saw.

[friday13]

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[PortCity]

I assume the reson why Hattiesburg may feel like it is the same size as Huntsville is because of the low population density of Huntsville.

[TormentedYeti]

What exactly about I-59 would impress anybody?