What DON'T you like about Huntsville/Decater areas? (Decatur, Madison: sales, house)

[zenjenn]

Reactionary - maybe I'd be a good "Alabama Democrat" then, in the same way I think maybe I'm a "California Republican". I am not registered to a political party and consider myself pretty liberal some ways, but I don't find anything I massively disagree with of the issues you mentioned. I generally take things issue by issue. A sex toy ban, for example, is something I would agree with in some cases (I'm not at all wild about the "Toy Box" down the street with me, with a giant teddy bear logo on the sign just begging my children to ask about it.), but would disagree with when it comes down to privacy and personal rights.

Keep in mind, Reactionary, even *California* passed a law that defended man-woman marriage, and if I recall it was 70-30. I don't consider that super conservative. Most things do have a middle ground, like I think most Americans would support a civil union but shy away from changing the definition of "marriage" itself - for a variety of reasons that span the political spectrum.

[VMH2507]

I heard them say last night that if we hit 100 2 more days this week (as predicted) we would set a new record for the most days of triple digit temps in a row! But the worst thing is the drought -- it is really killing the farmers. We have only had one significant rain event since the week after Easter and everything is just burning up. I heard we were over 20" below normal.

Although the Christian Conservatives are very vocal in AL politics, I think (at least in Huntsville) most people are pretty moderate. Civil unions OK - gay marriage not so sure. Zenjenn, you sound like you would fit in pretty well here.

[Reactionary]

zenjenn - you won't have to declare a party affiliation when you register to vote; you will get to vote in the primaries (Dem or GOP but not both); you can also vote in one party's primary and the other's runoffs. City elections are 'non-partisan'.

BTW, I don't remember bringing up Monte Sano or Green Mountain as neighborhoods to check out, but I would recommend putting them on your list (Monte Sano has established houses - Green Mountain newer homes).

[Reactionary]

VMH2507 - one 'good' thing about the drought is that farmers are getting interested in irrigation. Farmers who install irrigation systems will be better able to control their inputs and improve their yields.

Another 'good' thing is that people seem to be more interested in drought-tolerant landscaping (which generally means using native plants, because native plants know that summers can be hot and dry).

[relo854]

Reactionary----where are Monte Sano or Green Mountain...are they part a a larger city?

Also..I have been looking at the stats on weather.com and the city-data home page regarding the weather..demographics..housing...etc. Although that infomation is very helpful, I'd prefer to get information from real people who are familiar with the area. Thanks again....

[Reactionary]

relo854 - Huntsville is surrounded by small mountains: Monte Sano (elevation ~1600 ft) and Green Mountain are two prominent mountains in the city limits that have nice homes, views, wooded lots, parks, snakes, etc. Since you have to drive on winding roads for about five minutes - more or less, they are a little more private and quiet. The temperature is a couple degrees cooler too. They are both in good school zones.

[relo854]

Reactionary - how would the commute to Huntsville and/or Decater be? What is the price range of the homes in those areas?

[Southlander]

Commute FROM where? That will narrow it down.

[relo854]

Southlander - commute from Monte Sano (elevation ~1600 ft) and Green Mountain areas

[Reactionary]

relo854 - guessing on price ranges: Monte Sano prices range from ~<$200K - $3M, commute to Downtown less than 15 minutes, Research Park less than 30 minutes. Green Mountain prices from ~$200K - >$600K, commute to Downtown or Research Park about 30 minutes or so.

Getting to Decatur would add about 30 minutes from Downtown HSV.