Thinking of moving to Huntsville - What is it like - Really (Birmingham: transplants, new home)

[Reactionary]

Originally Posted by curtstein

we don't care for the "hee-haw" lifestyle

My first thought is that maybe HSV is not right for you, given your attitude. Listen to your wife.

Southeast Huntsville was basically built for workers on the Arsenal. Housing ranges from 1960s split-levels to gated multi-million dollar homes, with some condos and apartments scattered around. Note that living in many parts of SE HSV gives you the benefit of hearing (and feeling) EOD training and missile testing regularly, plus you get to see helicopters often.

Grissom HS is one of the best in the USA and HHS is pretty good. The elementary and middle schools that feed into them are among the best in the State.

Parkway Place Mall is on South Parkway, also in South HSV are Valley Bend Shopping Center (Target, Barnes and Noble, etc), Sam's, WalMart, boutiques, Publix, Ruby's, Outback, &c.

Traffic is nothing compared to Atlanta. You can drive anywhere in the City within 30 minutes or so, except for a couple of construction bottlenecks at rush hour.

Downtown is centered on Big Spring Park, there are a couple of museums, the civic center, library, hotels, restaurants and bars. Not much shopping. Plenty of lawyers. And churches. The Constellation project is under construction and should bring two hotels, condos, shopping and dining. The downtown area also has a great collection of ante-bellum homes in the Twickenham Historic District, also there are the Old Town and Five Points Historic Districts.

There is a Cross on the mountain overlooking the City.

People in Alabama are conservative (even the Democrats). For example, the Defense of Marriage Amendment to the State Constitution passed by about 90% of the vote. There are no lotteries or casinos. Half the State is dry and they vote. Sex toys cannot be sold in Alabama (the US Supreme Court upheld the law).

BTW, some people move to the unzoned parts of the county just so they can blow things up in their backyards, or shoot their guns, or light up a bonfire.

[HouseFullaBoys]

I guess I will add my 2 cents! I am also from the NE, Maine to be exact. We have lived in Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho and now Alabama. I was a bit frightened at first, but have been pleasantly surprised. Huntsville is not at all the stereotypical southern small town. I LOVE, the low taxes, the mild winters, the conservative politics, the easy commute, the growth, the variety of cultures and the proximity to Nashville, Atlanta and the beach! I don't love the attitude we get from northerners when we say we live in Alabama, the tornado threats, the poor reputation of the educational system. I will disagree with an earlier post that said the new construction homes are of poor quality. Like most anything you get what you pay for. There are definitely a few builders I would avoid like the plague. At the same time I have personally owned and sold (as a realtor) for other builders who are great and who pride themselves on quality products. You are close enough for a weekend visit. Bring the family down (over) and have a list of places to visit to impress the wife before you get here!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by MelanieJJones

I don't love [a] the attitude we get from northerners when we say we live in Alabama, [b] the tornado threats, [c] the poor reputation of the educational system.

I wouldn't like unkind attitudes from northerns or tornadoes either.

I don't think Huntsville schools have a poor reputation. Why did you write that?

[HouseFullaBoys]

Originally Posted by Charles

I wouldn't like unkind attitudes from northerns or tornadoes either.

I don't think Huntsville schools have a poor reputation. Why did you write that?

Because I get it all the time. While working for a local builder, I dealt 99% with people relocating and visitng the area for the first time. The major reason for hesitation was because of the reputaion of the Alabama school systems. About 2 weeks ago I was attacked on another site as being a bad mother for allowing my children to be educated in Alabama. ( I wrote about this in another thread) I was bombarded by statistics showing Alabama and Mississippi as the bottom 2 states for education for the past 20 years. While I tried to fight back with arguments that Huntsville/Madison county were highly rated it wasn't flying. I have been battling this since we moved here over 4 years ago. I was also surprised by the number of people who home school in the area. Again when questioning many of them they said it was due to the poor educational system in AL. Those are the reasons why I wrote that, because it has been my experience.

[rnc76]

Mapquest says it is 3 hours, come for a weekend and see for yourself. Check out the neighborhoods, the Space Center, children's museums, Monte Sano, the historic districts... There is enough here to entertain you and your family for a weekend even if you decide it isn't where you want to live.

I think you can tell from the posts here that there aren't a lot of "Homers" here that refuse to aknowldedge the negatives of living here. A couple other boards I visit have posters that are little more than hometown cheerleaders who respond with venom to anyone pointing out a negative aspect of their hometown. I think most people on here truly love Huntsville, but still realize there are aspects of it that they would like to be different (even though we all don't agree on what those shortcomings are).

[33458]

Originally Posted by curtstein

My wife, 2 kids and I are thinking about moving to the Hunstville area, and we would like to hear from people that live there. She is from the Northeast, and I am from Colorado, and we had some culture shock when we moved to Temple, GA (50 miles west of Atlanta, GA) last year, and we aren't very happy. We don't care for the busy Atlanta traffic/city, but we don't care for the "hee-haw" lifestyle where out house is (for example, one of our neighbors has never been seen wearing a shirt, always has a can of beer in his hand, and the first time we met him he told us that he had recently blown himself up while burning something in his back yard!)... it's the worst of both worlds!

My wife doesn't think Huntsville, AL would be much of an upgrade. I think it would be much different within the Huntsville area. I have read all the standard online reviews, but I would love to hear from people that actually live in the area. What is it like living there? We are looking to likely live and work in the south Huntsville area around South Memorial Pkwy. It looks like there is a lot of housing on the east side of Redstone Arsenal. Does anyone live and work in that area? I would love to hear from you! What are the schools like (High school), what are daycares like? (newborn), what is shopping like?, what are neighbors like?, what is the traffic like?, what is downtown Huntsville like? Thanks for your help!

There is plenty of HEE-HAW but also something more cosmopolitan...yesterday I found myself thinking that Huntsville is like a southern version of 'Northern Exposure'...now granted, that's not quite it - it ISN'T that rural...but you get the idea. If you crave ultra-deluxe gourmet what-have-you, chances are you will not be able to find it for purchase 'round here.

As I work on the yard, reviving and revising the long-ignored planting beds, I find myself making many, many orders online because what I either need or want is not locally available. Tools, plants, stuff.

My husband can not locate much of his 'vegetarian' fare - what is common elsewhere is unheard of here.

Now, for us, the trade off makes it worthwhile.

Huntsville also lacks the spoiled FL. white wanna-bes that hung out on my corner lot and did constant crime while their parents either ignored or encouraged the behavior.
I can trust that most here have been instilled with enough common sense not to use certain language in front of my toddler...

I can greet a stranger and be warmly greeted in return. Even when, in their eyes, I look like I just landed from another planet.

To date, have only had one truly unpleasant incident, and that wasn't a "Huntsville" thing, that was an "idiots live everywhere" thing.

Huntsville is not Temple, but you REALLY need to come here for a week and scout around. And if you find yourself wondering what you will do to occupy yourself fully during that time, count that as part of the criteria. Literally.

Our neighbors use their porches every chance they get. I'm in an older section and most of the people living here are also older, so I don't have to worry about indecency - they are always fully dressed. A little drink? Perhaps. But no silly yahooing. They also keep to themselves but are very polite, uh, down-right NICE when addressed.

(Despite not having all the convenience I'm used to - I'm glad to be here and quite like the company.)

[financelife]

Huntsville is not "Hee-Haw", but it has southern qualities. It really has a diverse population considering it's in Alabama. And it is not really what you would consider a metro either. Kind of in between, and excellent place to raise your family.

[luvhawaiiboys]

I was just wondering the difference between Huntsville proper and Huntsville? I to am looking to move to that area. I grew up in Mississippi and now I am in California. But my husband can transfer with his job and I want to be closer to my Dad who is getting older. My husband and I have been looking at new homes but don't know which area is good or bad. We don't mind buying and older home I just want a good neighborhood to raise kids. PLEASE HELP!! Its a bit overwhelming.

Thanks!

[Keeper]

What are you looking for in a place to live luv-h-b? What is your price range? Do you want old or new nabes? What is important to you in where you live? Malls, stores, schools, movies, crime, commute time etc?

There are areas all around H'ville, that are a good place to live, some are smaller towns around H'ville, if you want to live in a smaller town you can live in someplace like Guntersville near/on the lake, about 40 minutes from H'ville.

[33458]

Originally Posted by financelife

Huntsville is not "Hee-Haw", but it has southern qualities. It really has a diverse population considering it's in Alabama. And it is not really what you would consider a metro either. Kind of in between, and excellent place to raise your family.

Heh Heh Heh...I met Larry the Cable Guy reincarnated a few weeks ago...but truth told, look in the right place and you'll find him anywhere.