Chattanooga or Huntsville (Birmingham, Montgomery, Madison: real estate, crime rate, credit)

[fishmonger]

And... what exactly is it that makes you think the minds of people in Birmingham are "small and undereducated?" Birmingham area has some of the best ranked public school systems in the state (including Huntsville.) Or do you think they don't really educate kids there as much as Huntsville because they "teach the tests" too much or what? The Huntsville area certainly has its share of backwards rednecks.

[dbkeel1]

Come and visit both and you decide. For us it was Huntsville. Good schools, low crime, a lot of house for the money and great employment opportunities for degreed people, especially engineers. It's a community driven by aerospace and, soon, biotech and the Army's Materiel Command which is relocating here by 2011. Not too many strip malls or malls in general.

Plenty of things for families to do and you can take an occasional day trip through Scottsboro to Chattanooga to see the town and for the best Memphis-style ribs at Stickey Fingers. Not like eating at Rendevous but pretty darn good.

[snowghost]

We will visit. We are leaning towards Huntsville. Bringing jobs with us, but it is really important that it is a growing and diverse community. I like the focus on educated people moving in, as it will only lead to greater focus on area schools...and everyone benefits. Course, bunch of Republicans means no tax dollars for school programs and that absurd 'No Child Left Behind' law, but we'll see what we can do to get by (I actually don't know how this particular state determines school funding, but if it is heavy on local levies, that's trouble in many communities). I don't know how I'll fare with high humidity and heat, heat, heat...I'd rather not be dependent on AC for 6 months a year...do good breezes come off the River, or is it just plain hot and sticky?

Thanks for the advice.

[lovinTN]

Given a choice, I would pick Huntsville. I do not like Chattanooga at all. For some reason, it reminds me of an overgrown, impoverished, coal mining town. The only thing Chattanooga would have over Huntsville is the fact that there is no state income tax in TN.

[fishmonger]

the extremely low and regressive taxes (Alabamians hate the government as a general rule) have left much of the schools and public services in the state in pretty pathetic shape, but the more affluent areas like Huntsville and the Birmingham suburbs get around that for the most part by levying taxes on their own affluent selves.

[marysally]

Yes you are right about the heat and humidity, especially if you are not used to it. Having moved here from Houston I can truly verify that it could be a lot worse!! Actually it is more like 4.5 months of ac which is a lot better than the 9 months of ac I had in Houston. July and August with a little of September are the worst months.

fishmonger - I read somewhere that Huntsville area schools get somekind of a per student supplement because of the Arsenal's presence in the area. Not sure exactly how it works but would consider that a benefit to our schools.

[snowghost]

Does anyone ever think it odd that the best high school in the area is Grissom? I grew up watching the Right Stuff (and reading it of course) and just think of him as the one who 'screwed the pooch'. Anyway, just popped in my head.

Neighborhoods around Grissom- do they have local pools, or just private pools in backyards? What is the greenbelt like?

Why don't people post more photos of Huntsville online? I'm amazed at how few I see- and how repetitive they are.

How's the Tennessee for swimming in the area?

[sammac]

Who has the lower taxes Huntsville or Chattanooga.

[dbkeel1]

Alabama has low property taxes due to State income tax and TN has high property taxes and no income tax. One way or another they'll get theirs. If you're renting, TN could make sense. If you're buying, AL makes more sense.

Moving from a high tax area? Huntsville city is $580/year for property tax per $100,000 valuation. The county surrounding Huntsville (Madison County) is $365/year.

[JWilliams]

Based on what you said, chatanooga BY FAR. It's a much more attractive place, and you'll be hard pressed to find any state less inclined to be physically active than alabama, so you're more likely to fit in with Chat. It's a prettier area.

It would behoove to get a job first in either case, obviously.

We had little experience directly with chat besides a couple of visits and my wife worked there for a day or two with a hospital and they were very nice (Erlanger).

Does it have one, or is indeed just an office-park feel, with developments and strip malls.

Hahahaha, town feel in Huntsville? Not on your life, unless you want to live in the projects. An office-park feel describes it impeccably. It is not an evil place...traffic is light, it's got a lot of educated people, there is a close "mountain" with mountain bike trails/running trails/hiking trails, etc. but if you're looking for a town feel, you won't be finding it in huntsville.

just make sense- for kids to walk to school, for people to feel like they don't have to drive everywhere they want to go...does it sound like Huntsville is not for me?

yes,yes,yes you are absolutely describing something huntsville cannot offer. If you've hopes for things like walking to the movie theater and your kids walking to school and all that, you truly will not find it in huntsville.

I honestly cannot speak enough on chatanooga, but I think this will be more accessible in Chat.

I'd post this on the tennessee board, too, to encourage another perspective.

I really thought chatanooga was a nice place and if I had been thrown a job, we would have moved there (we did huntsville for a year, then birmingham for four more, then got sick of the entire southern urban sprawl--basically exactly what you described of driving everywhere and wreckless, wanton growth). The problem with towns of its size and geography is that you have a high probability of seeing your kids move away when they grow up and chattanooga is not close to any big hubs...if you moved to Atlanta (please don't do that, but as an example) you'd more likely keep them there forever or at least be at a major airport to visit your grandkids in the future.