Need advice for Huntsville (Madison, Highland Lake: renting, insurance, hotel)
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My husband, 2 children (ages 6&4), and I are moving to Huntsville soon. We thought that we wanted to live in HC/SE Huntsville, but we went to Madison and my husband like that are better. I originally was drawn to SE Huntsville because of a private school that we are considering there, but I don't want to put all of my eggs in one basket incase we don't like the school or we decide its just too much money.
I like SE Huntsville/HC but my husband points out that Madison is a more diverse community.
We are looking at houses in the 280K-350K range.
Does anyone know anything about Madison Academy?
I am trying to get other perspectives on schools in the Madison area.
Also, what are some of the Public elementary schools in Madison that people like the most?
Many people like Madison Academy. I even know someone who drives her child there from HC for school everday! The one problem with Madison is the traffic. We live in HC... everytime I have to be in Madison on the weekends/ rush hour I want to pull my hair out. Just sayin. There are some beautiful communities over there. GL!
My husband and I just moved here at the end of August. We considered several areas and ended up in Madison because we found a home we loved.
As for the comment on diversity, I find that the entire area is very diverse. We live in Highland Lakes off Slaughter Road and we have many ethnic backgrounds represented here.
I don't know anything about the Academy but the public schools in Madison are very good.
liz reminds me of when I lived in DC and visited the suburbs - my friends in NOVA would comment on the "diversity" of their area - there were all different types of white people there too...
Don't get me wrong, I like white people. I don't think diversity is, by itself, a useful metric (content of character / color of skin). Then there's all the statistics / demographics / mental gymnastics required to find a "diverse" area (diverse based on what criteria?).
I live in the west side of Madison and we have many subdivisions that fit well within your budget. You will enjoy the wide open spaces with very little traffic. Just about the only traffic congestion that I am aware of is on the east side of Madison, near Slaughter road and Madison pike, where you have commuters want to go to the Research Park competing with moms driving kids to the 2 schools on Madison Pike.
While I do not live in HC, I have friends who live there and they must drive those winding mountain road twice a day. They all claim that it is not a "problem", but several of them will not let their wives to drive those roads at night. Any threat of frost/ ice on the road, the bread and milk isles of Publix, supermarket in HC, get cleaned out fast because the only 2 mountain roads into town get shut down or just too dangerous to drive. Go figure.
Those pretty mountains surrounding HC make many parts of HC one big flood zone after rain. If you buy in HC, make sure you check the flood map. A friend has his house flooded with over 1 foot of water two years ago. Fortunately he was renting the house and the owner had to pay his family to live in a hotel for 2 months while they dry out the place and eliminate potential molds. I would not want to do this for my own house even if insurance covers the cost, it is a PITA.
The City of Madison has the best school district in town, not just one or two schools in the district but all schools (elementray, middle and high schools), and it is not $20M in debt like the Huntsville city school district. Of course this not an issue if you are willing to send your children to private school. But for many, this is a very attractive motivation to buy in Madison even if you don't have school-age children, the good school district makes it a strong demand for home resale value.
The City of Madison has the best school district in town ... and it is not $20M in debt like the Huntsville city school district.
You make the common mistake of confusing debt with deficit. Contrary to what you state, the Madison City Schools certainly do have debt, having borrowed, for example, $36M for construction of the new high school. Most school systems have debt, often in the form of municipal bonds used to finance school construction.
Since you quote a figure of $20M, you must be referring to a deficit that the Huntsville City Schools incurred in a previous fiscal year under the horrid mismanagement of the past superintendent. Under the excellent management of the current Superintendent Dr. Wardynski, the annual budget is already showing a surplus:
LOL! Reactionary that's too funny! Actually we did see people of Asian and African-American decent while in Madison. Did not see that however in HC/SE.
My husband and I just moved here at the end of August. We considered several areas and ended up in Madison because we found a home we loved.
As for the comment on diversity, I find that the entire area is very diverse. We live in Highland Lakes off Slaughter Road and we have many ethnic backgrounds represented here.
I don't know anything about the Academy but the public schools in Madison are very good.
Welcome to Huntsville, you will love it here!
Okay...that's another thing...I am not sure where East is from the West. What would County Line Rd be considered?
I live in the west side of Madison and we have many subdivisions that fit well within your budget. You will enjoy the wide open spaces with very little traffic. Just about the only traffic congestion that I am aware of is on the east side of Madison, near Slaughter road and Madison pike, where you have commuters want to go to the Research Park competing with moms driving kids to the 2 schools on Madison Pike.
While I do not live in HC, I have friends who live there and they must drive those winding mountain road twice a day. They all claim that it is not a "problem", but several of them will not let their wives to drive those roads at night. Any threat of frost/ ice on the road, the bread and milk isles of Publix, supermarket in HC, get cleaned out fast because the only 2 mountain roads into town get shut down or just too dangerous to drive. Go figure.
Those pretty mountains surrounding HC make many parts of HC one big flood zone after rain. If you buy in HC, make sure you check the flood map. A friend has his house flooded with over 1 foot of water two years ago. Fortunately he was renting the house and the owner had to pay his family to live in a hotel for 2 months while they dry out the place and eliminate potential molds. I would not want to do this for my own house even if insurance covers the cost, it is a PITA.
The City of Madison has the best school district in town, not just one or two schools in the district but all schools (elementray, middle and high schools), and it is not $20M in debt like the Huntsville city school district. Of course this not an issue if you are willing to send your children to private school. But for many, this is a very attractive motivation to buy in Madison even if you don't have school-age children, the good school district makes it a strong demand for home resale value.
You make a very good point about driving over the mountain at night and the weather. I am a metropolitan girl who likes good shopping, eating, and cultural activities. I am not the type to just stay in my area, so driving at night would be a reality. Very good point!
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Mountains
