possible move to huntsville (Birmingham, Decatur: for sale, rentals, car insurance)

[NJ ma of four]

would like to know what areas around huntsville are safe, kid friendly with good schools, also what price to expect for a home rental with at least 5 bed. thank you

[Maya Blue]

Your best bet for kid friendly and good schools will be the city of Madison (which is in the same county as Huntsville) and South and South East Huntsville to include Jones Valley and Hampton Cove areas.

Madison is pretty much the premiere school district in the entire state, definitely in North Alabama.

Madison, AL - Official Website
Madison City Schools :: Welcome to Madison City Schools!

As for rentals, that's not my expertise, but there are several realtors who are regulars here that can help you. The best site to go to though is Valley MLS. You can search for rentals there.

http://www.valleymls.com

The Huntsville/Madison area is a great place for families, not too big, not too small. We are kind of a in a glass bubble compared to the rest of Alabama. Very much a melting pot here. An hour and half from both Nashville and Birmingham and 3.5 hours from Atlanta.

[RatSnake]

I would highly recommend valleymls.com.

When we moved to the area almost 5 years ago - we used this to search the area from the west coast.
Once we found 5 that we liked, we made appointments - and flew and visited all 5. We didn't know anyone so we always felt working with a realtor who represented the owner of the house - gave the transaction more objectivity and professionalism.

Rent out for the first year or two and get to know the area. We are glad we did.

As far as areas, we lived in Madison. I would highly recommend Madison as far as renting. Huntsville is OK too but there are some areas that are not the best. There are far less 'bad areas' in Madison.

For the record, I don't live in Madison anymore. I live in Huntsville but in a nicer area.

[Keeper]

Feel free to ask here if you are unsure of an area... There are many options available depending on your budget. There are a lot of areas around Huntsville too including Decatur and Athens. The main thing to consider would be traffic which compared to some places is nil but it can take more time to get to work.

I am not sure when they changed but Valleymls is not showing any rentals now.

Good Luck.

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Feel free to ask here if you are unsure of an area... There are many options available depending on your budget. There are a lot of areas around Huntsville too including Decatur and Athens. The main thing to consider would be traffic which compared to some places is nil but it can take more time to get to work.

I am not sure when they changed but Valleymls is not showing any rentals now.

Good Luck.

Nothing's changed, rentals are up on Valley....you have to select "rental" from the drop down menu, it defaults to "residential" which is homes for sale.

And PLEASE be careful on sites like Craigslist.....scammers are "scrapping" our MLS data and listing properties on Craiglist that are NOT for rent. A few weeks ago someone called from one of our listings and there were 4 cars of people out wandering around it because they thought it was for rent at a VERY cheap price per month.....we had to put a SIGN on the door letting people know the property WAS NOT for rent, because every time we would get the Craigslist listing removed, another one would pop up. Its a HUGE problem in our area right now.

[Elizabeth_G]

NJ ma of four, I would begin my search at GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community It's a great place to read reviews from parents and see the school ratings.

Madison just survived a school rezoning, so all school zones should be current while you are searching. Huntsville schools are just beginning their rezoning...keep that in mind if a particular school is important to you. What may be zoned for one school now could change.

If you don't have any luck on Valley MLS, I would call a property manager and see what they have.
Valerie Miles with Dawson Realty is wonderful. Contact info is: 256-755-1651 Michael Rosenblum is another great property manager. Contact info is: 256-468-0709

Best of luck on your new adventure!

[RatSnake]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth_G

NJ ma of four, I would begin my search at GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community It's a great place to read reviews from parents and see the school ratings.

Madison just survived a school rezoning, so all school zones should be current while you are searching. Huntsville schools are just beginning their rezoning...keep that in mind if a particular school is important to you. What may be zoned for one school now could change.

If you don't have any luck on Valley MLS, I would call a property manager and see what they have.
Valerie Miles with Dawson Realty is wonderful. Contact info is: 256-755-1651 Michael Rosenblum is another great property manager. Contact info is: 256-468-0709

Best of luck on your new adventure!

Funny --- I actually worked with both of them - as a customer (years apart separately).
They are both very fair and will treat you well.

[Elizabeth_G]

RatSnake: Good to know! All of my clients speak very highly of them both Thanks for sharing that!

[ingsoc75]

Judging by your name, you are from or currently live in the Garden State (NJ)?

If so:

-Your car insurance will be MUCH lower.
-No jughandles
-Much lower property taxes
-You will get taxed on clothes and food
-No Piney Power (south Jersey thing)