What DON'T you like about Huntsville/Decater areas? (Madison, Guntersville: sales tax, live in)

[NicoleC]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

Our termite bond was for 20 years and our house is now 19 yrs. old. What will happen about that bond next year? Will they make us start over with a costly procedure? I'm almost afraid to ask them!

You'll just go on an annual contract.

[Keeper]

Originally Posted by NicoleC

You'll just go on an annual contract.

Call around and ask.. You were probably paying a fee every year for them to come out anyway.

You don't have to renew it. I had my house treated after I moved in (long story) and it cost me $700.00. They dug around the foundation and put in a chemical. I don't have a yearly fee but they don't come out and check either. Wouldn't do any good for me since they weren't detected during the inspection due to an addition.

I was told if you have the sentricon tubes already installed you can do it yourself, by checking the wood, if you see termites go and buy the treated wood and put them in the tubes.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by walkingtall4sure

By saying FLED you allude to whites running from blacks. A perfect example of ingrained racism. Welcome to the South.

Depends -

I'm white and wouldn't keep my kid in a school that became majority black school for one reason: performance. My research shows that majority black schools are *almost* invariably poor performers. Its a simple association that is easy to see and holds true more often than not.

I currently live in the Washington DC area, and to be honest, I want to find a majority Indian (not native american) school (which don't exist however) - because their kids are some of the most disciplined, mild mannered, and academically talented kids I've seen. In contrast, we see a flight from schools with large hispanic populations - again, due to performance. All too often classrooms are taught to the level of the poorest student (often Hispanic children here, because English is not spoken in the home) - to the detriment of the rest of the class.

Obviously there are always exceptions, but that doesn't mean we should ignore the obvious associations. Wise parents would be fleeing these schools regardless of the color of the kids in them. Race is just an association that makes the trend obvious to see and easier to compare with history. If you have a problem with that, then your true problem is with the reason people have those associations - work to deal with them rather than the supposed "racists".

There is a similar trend in home ownership. As blacks move into a neighborhood, whites often move out. My in-laws were presented with this situation a few years back. One by one, the white families on their block moved out, and black families moved in. My father-in-law understood that the change was likely to mean declining (or stagnant) home values, as had occured in nearby neighborhoods. In our particular city, it was plainly obvious that the black neighborhoods were not as well cared for as the white neighborhoods. Grass was left long, litter more abundant, crime rates were higher... the list goes on and on... and is probably the reason home prices drop. I don't care if the people moving in are Orange, but if thats what I've seen happen when Orange people move into other neighborhoods, I'm moving out when they show up in large numbers in mine!

Needless to say, my father-in-law did move, and sure enough the old neighborhood turned to complete garbage soon thereafter. The family that bought his house removed all of the bushes and trees so as to not have to care for them. Now, the street has nothing but black families, and home values (which my father-in-law payed attention to via the published sale prices in the paper) are well below what he sold his house for some years back (STILL) in a neighborhood that saw consistently rising property values prior to "the exodus".

So, some one out there thinks that he should have ignored his own eyes and associations and stayed put, actually costing him money? Call him a racist then, but not fools.

Some people that move are racist, most are just smart. Want to eliminate most of the perceived racism out there? Remove the things that cause others to associate negative attributes with race. When things actually get BETTER because blacks are moving in, like you see here in DC with Indians, then you'll suddenly see less "racism".

[anjoe]

Mainly all home owners want their property/home values to grow and become a major investment in life. You don't have to be a racist to know that any undesirable neighboors no matter what color their skin is will make your home values crumble. It just makes good investment common sense. You also want to live where you know you and your family will be safe. You also want your children to go to safe public schools that are not too overcrowded and have the right funding for school programs and education.

[Reactionary]

walkingtall4sure - calling me an 'ingrained racist' won't work, but calling you a jerk sure makes me feel good.

Rather than address the issue of 'white flight' (a national phenomenon - not just Southern), you call me names for pointing out that it occurs.

[knightofeffect]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

walkingtall4sure - calling me an 'ingrained racist' won't work, but calling you a jerk sure makes me feel good.

Rather than address the issue of 'white flight' (a national phenomenon - not just Southern), you call me names for pointing out that it occurs.

Haha, you are just getting into all sorts of squabbles recently Reactionary.

walkingtall4sure - I have no idea where most of your posts come from. Most of the time you are spouting random religiosities, while other you are condemning and condescending towards others.

Everything that Reactionary has said has been based on the current state we live in, not on his perception on the way he thinks things should be. Perhaps you were accusing the situation in Huntsville schools and schools nationwide as being "ingrained" with racism. While you could make a point for that, as others have pointed out it is not the people but the performance that causes the "flight" of high-achieving students; whether they be white or black.

Reactionary - I agree with your quibble about my previous post. An ethnic blend that correctly represents the local ethnic diversity is the most ideal. However, my main point of the post was to say that sometimes the perception of a stereotype can lead to the acceptance of a rule. Since schools with a heavy ethnic blend generally have worse scores, they are avoided on that stereotype alone regardless of the quality of education (few people do the in-depth research carried on in this site). This leads to a self-fulfilling stereotype, "white-flight" as you called it occurs and the lessening attendance leads to general apathy therefore lessening the programs the school offers and the quality of the things it does.

While it is easy to look at statistics and see the end results of a school's decline, I was trying to delve into the effects of desegregation and how it affects school initially; or rather, what leads to the failure of desegregation once the orders are in place. (Also why I mentioned interest in how Columbia turns out) As some final food-for-thought, go to Butler's Great Schools page and look at the test results 4 years ago, and wonder why the quality of education has fallen so far.

And last but not least *HUGS* for everyone =D!!!!

[Reactionary]

k of e - I was taught that you don't have to stand tall, but you do have to stand up. I imagine that you were taught much the same.

[labourdonnais]

their are some things i like about Huntsville, but true to this thread's title - here are the things I don't like:

1.) the fat women here are over sexed
2.) watching desperate single guys fall all over themselves chasing after the 2 or 3 single women that have yet to move to Atlanta
3.) it rains too much, way too much
4.) some people here, not all, but some really have no concept of manners. It's a huge surprise when ever someone holds the door for me or even cares to look back to see if they should hold the door -
5.) Getting a drink at most bars can be difficult, that is unless you have the right equipment
5.) Though traffic is mild, the city has some real dumb traffic lights and few are properly timed or matched to the traffic patterns
6.) its the SUV capitol of the world
7.) exercise here is an 8 letter word, the whole population is seriously overweight and needs to put down that tube of cookies
8.) their is no mom and pop anything, if it's not a chain, it's not here
9.) Their are more malls than parks in the city. Except for Big Spring park, their is almost no green space anyplace else in the entire city
10.) Real estate is rediculous here for the size of this town and the amount of culture that is available
11.) City is homogeneous relative to occupation, the whole city is technical, yawn

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by labourdonnais

their are some things i like about Huntsville, but true to this thread's title - here are the things I don't like

9.) Their are more malls than parks in the city. Except for Big Spring park, their is almost no green space anyplace else in the entire city

There is approx. 3,000 acres preserved between Monte Sano and the adjoining Land Trust, just a few minutes east of downtown. In addition, Wade Mtn, Green Mtn (Madison County Nature Trail), Rainbow Mtn (Madison), Hays Nature Preserve... Those added together probably total a couple thousand more acres. The amount of green space in HSV and the surrounding area is pretty impressive for a city of its size.

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by labourdonnais

their are some things i like about Huntsville, but true to this thread's title - here are the things I don't like:

Yes it does rain a lot here and the storms are super scary.

4.) some people here, not all, but some really have no concept of manners. It's a huge surprise when ever someone holds the door for me or even cares to look back to see if they should hold the door -

We've only experienced very good manners and super helpful people wherever we go. Compared to NoVA, this place is an oasis.
7.) exercise here is an 8 letter word, the whole population is seriously overweight and needs to put down that tube of cookies

I've seen couples and families walking every evening as soon as the weather cools here and not one of them was carrying a tube of cookies LOL.