Compare Huntsville with Raleigh-Durham (York, Grant: chapel, how much, home)

[zenjenn]

So like six different people now have heard we are considering moving to Huntsville and they say "Why don't you consider Raleigh-Durham area instead? I hear it's nice and it has a big research park too." Let me tell you, Californias are big-time turned off by the idea of anything "Alabama".

And actually my husband does have some ins to contacts in Raleigh-Durham, and when I look into it, honestly it looks like a perfectly nice place to live and a good option, but I'm not as excited about it as Huntsville.

Granted these are random assessments from 3000 miles away. Maybe those of you who have been to both places can chime in with some insights:

Raleigh-Durham looks more "expansive metro" than Huntsville. I've had my fill of expansive metro, but on the other hand I suppose moving there might be less of a culture shock.

Raleigh-Durham might have slightly more favorable weather? I'm not even sure about that one, or if it's enough of a difference for me to care.

Raleigh-Durham is more political. Specifically, more liberal, though being apolitical in a lot of ways myself, it's not the political views that concern me nearly as much I dislike politically charged environments. I might even agree with some liberal political views, but I hate it when people around me elevate every little issue to an emotional case of gross injustice. That kind of thinking creeps into the way people react to schools, city government, etc, and not to start any debate about politics, but I think it's counter-productive and I don't generally like that in my local environment

Huntsville might have a more friendly people-culture, probably as a result of being a smaller area? This is just a guess too, everyone talks about how Huntsville is such a friendly place.. everyone talks about how Raleigh is a "nice" place. I'm more intrigued by the former.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill seems to have more access to cultural events, etc. This seems to be a big thing to some people, but honestly I live 45 minutes from Los Angeles and I never go there, instead favoring the local dinner theater and ballet because it's 10 minutes away. The La Brea Tar Pits are in Los Angeles, but I will simply take my kids to the little paleontology museum arount the corner.

I guess even with an art degree, I'm not sophisticated enough to care about the difference.

Finally, Research Triangle Park seems to have more commercial jobs, and Cummings Research Park is more defense-industry oriented.

[jsherman9901]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

I might even agree with some liberal political views, but I hate it when people around me elevate every little issue to an emotional case of gross injustice. That kind of thinking creeps into the way people react to schools, city government, etc, and not to start any debate about politics, but I think it's counter-productive and I don't generally like that in my local environment

Having never been to Raleigh, I can't comment on it, but I do agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of what's happening in our country. I have a great distaste for narrow-mindedness, whether it be on the right or on the left of the political spectrum, and the way you put it into words is brilliant, IMO.

[astrogirl]

We too have looked at both areas to retire to and for us found that the cost of living, taxes, and home prices are enough lower in Huntsville versus Chapel Hill area to allow us to retire two years earlier. Yes, we're giving up some of the things CH has to offer but Huntsville seems to have so much potential in many ways that we are willing to make the trade. Besides, you can't buy time no matter how much money you have, and feel those several extra years of retired life are worth it.

[AnotherBravesFan]

Hi. We, too, considered the Raleigh area early on in our retirement search, but the cost of living was not as favorable as some other places. It's been "discovered", as has NC in general, so maybe that's why home prices are higher? We liked the scenery & topography, though, and all of the nearby minor league baseball and college sports. If you'll be working (we won't), then the $$ issue may not be as important to you as it is to us. Plus, the population size is bordering on a little too big for what we were wanting.

[rnc76]

zenjenn,

I have visited the Raleigh area since I was a kid. I've been there probably 15-20 times in the past 25 years because I have family there and I've had friends go to college at UNC and Duke. As I was graduating college I looked in Raleigh for a job because of my family connections and I always enjoyed visiting there but I couldn't find jobs in my field. After living "up east" after college, I now live in Huntsville. Here's my take on the two.

IMO, Huntsville is much like Raleigh was 20+ years ago. Huntsville is just now being discovered, whereas Raleigh has definitely been discovered. It seems like a very high percentage of people there are from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts... However, a side effect of being found is that Raleigh's traffic is pretty bad. I realize that a person from LA may snicker at that, but it has gotten MUCH worse in the years I have been going there. The area of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and other communities (Cary, Apex, Wake Forest...) sprawl much more than you would think for a metro of its size. Huntsville's traffic will be laughable to you.

Huntsville and Raleigh are similar in that they both rely heavily on high tech work. Huntsville specializes in aerospace, space flight, missle design and missle defense. Raleigh/RTP specializes in software, biotech, medicine and pharmaceutical research. I had a very hard time finding work there in the aerospace world, which is my specialty. Look at the list of companies and what they do on the RTP website and at the Cummings Research Park website, that will give you a good feel of the types of jobs in each area.

A great thing about Raleigh is the influence of the various colleges in the areas, especially UNC, Duke and NC State. Huntsville doesn't have that "college" feel that lends to hip shops and trendy bars.

One thing I have noticed in recent years of visiting Raleigh is that there is a serious arrogance from the residents that I have found unappealling. I don't remember this in years past, although I was much younger then. I think by being "found" they feel like they are better than other areas in the South and even in NC. You don't get that feeling in Huntsville, things are very low key, humble and down to earth here. In fact, I think people should take a little more pride in Huntsville and what the city has and what it has become.

Raleigh and the RTP area is significantly more expensive than Huntsville, but both will look cheap in your eyes. The highest price areas are "inside the beltline" in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, from my experience. Raleigh is a significantly bigger metro than Huntsville and has all the accompanying pros and cons. The weather in the two places is very similar (hot, humid summers and mild winters with a beautiful spring and fall), enough so that it shouldn't really be a factor in your decision. Raleigh is closer to the beach (about 2-3 hours depending on where you go), Huntsville is closer to 5-6 hours. The Appalachian mountains are roughly the same distance from both areas.

The bottom line is, both areas are great places to live and raise a family with their own unique pros and cons. Don't let your fellow Californians dissuade you from Alabama. Ask them "have you been to Alabama?" or better yet "have you been to Huntsville?", if they answer in the negative, ignore them because they are just spouting stereotypes. People spoke the same way about NC and Raleigh 20+ years ago before it was found. Now people just realize it is actually a nice place to live, like many other areas of the South that just haven't been "found" yet.

Good luck with your search, I hope my short novel helped.

[astrogirl]

Agree with the stereotypes. We moved from IA to CA 17 years ago and so many folks then said why move to a place full of freaks and flakes. Well we did and I really can't tell much difference, certainly nowhere near the extreme people said. Sure not everyone is the same and there may be some regional differences but we've found most people are people and vast majority just want to be happy, healthy, and live their lives as they choose without interference. That's why we're looking at Huntsville, coming from CA - folks here will be shocked but few really know what they're talking about except mouthing the same old stereotypes from years ago. I think someone once said Huntsville would be a lot popular if it didn't have Alabama after it, but then maybe it wouldn't still be the undiscovered gem that makes it so appealing to us.

[rnc76]

astrogirl,

I have heard that also that "the main the holding Huntsville back is its last name." It isn't all a bad thing though, it is keeping the place from flat out exploding like Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh have. A little moderation to growth is not a bad thing IMO.

[zenjenn]

Thank you, especially rnc76 - that was an exceptionally helpful post and verified most of my own impressions. My husband agrees. Even in terms of colleges, he's even more excited about UAH in terms of maybe even working towards a PhD in engineering, something that isn't even an option here where we live without commuting to Cal Tech. He too has more experience (and interest) with defense industry, etc.

We're still keeping an open mind but we're both still much more interested in Huntsville and hopefully he can land a good job there that fits with his/our future goals.

[zenjenn]

By the way rnc, if you happen to know of a good technical recruiter that is in the area I'd love a reference, you can PM me. We have had a couple recommendations but so far they have had more of a software focus or for large companies. My husband's focus has been working for small defense contractors, doing a lot of hands in work in addition to program management, and digital signal processing especially. He's mid-career (10 yrs experience)

[zenjenn]

I should add to this discussion that almost EVERYONE I have shared this with in California has reacted with at least a little dismay, if not outright disgust.

One major exception being my father, who was raised in Tennessee. I told him how everyone else I knew was reacting and he just said "People live all over the world, and there are about a million places on this earth a HELLUVA lot worse than Huntsville, Alabama."

I will also admit that it was my gut reaction too when it first came up due to a particular company my husband was interested in - but instead of dismissing it I decided to keep an open mind and actually research the city and talk to people that lived there (both on this forum, and by making some phone calls.)

I have at this point spoken with a very DIVERSE group of people in Huntsville on the phone who universally love it there. We will still pay Huntsville a visit before making a final commitment, but if my husband gets a job there that he is enthusiastic about and pays what we are looking for, I don't expect to find anything horrible enough to deter me on our visit.