Priceville? (Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur: real estate, housing, rental)

[littletex]

Hi everyone! We just accepted an offer to move to the Huntsville area from Waco, Texas. We took a short trip to Huntsville this past week to check things out. We were amazed at just how friendly everyone is and how beautiful Alabama is. We are most interested in the Priceville area, so I have several questions:
What is the commute like during rush hour from Priceville to Exit 8 on I-565?
Can you get a nice home that is maintained, new or old, around 2300 sq ft for about 250K in Priceville? We would like to avoid a cookie cutter subdivision if possible.
How are the schools? We have four young children.
Can anyone recommend churches in Priceville or lower Decatur? Somewhere with good worship and good childrens ministry, contemporary. Bible church, non-denominational or baptist.
Is there any temporary housing in Priceville school district? We might need to rent until our house sells here and I don't want the kids to have to go to a different school in the meantime.
Is there anything I should know about Priceville, Morgan County or Alabama prior to moving?
Thanks in advance for your assistance. We have never lived outside of Texas and we are excited and nervous about moving!

[NicoleC]

That commute shouldn't be bad at all. From the Beltline on-ramp you are looking at 20-30 minutes-ish -- of course how far you are from the interstate will be a factor. There isn't much a rushhour to worry about and no bottle necks along that route. If I worked in that area by far I would choose Priceville, Decatur or areas nearby over that section of Madison.

Yes, you can get a nice home in that price range in this area; I can't vouch for exactly in Priceville. You can look at homes on valleymls.com to get an idea of what your budget can buy. Much of the area south of Decatur is also very nice and the Danville schools are very good. You are bumping your commute up to the 30-45 minute range then. You can definitely get a nice home in that price range in the Danville district -- I should know, I have one for sale.

There are baptist churches galore in Alabama, the hard part will probably be finding which one you like best.

Morgan County is dry, but Decatur is not. You would do most of your basic shopping in Decatur. I don't think there is any temporary housing in Priceville, but you might be able to find a rental home with a flexible lease. Taxes overall are low, but sales tax is high.

[kypeep]

I work w/ several folks who live in that area as well as Decatur itself. The commute is not bad from a big city perspective. However, they tell me it can be bumper-to-bumper and slow in the mornings and evenings. Of course, that's depending on what time you leave. I don't know about schools. As the other poster said, you will have to do most of your shopping in Decatur. Not sure if there is a grocery store in Priceville? No "big box" stores like Wal-Mart or Costco (in fact, the only Costco in the area is in Huntsville, but you do have Sam's Club out in Decatur). Land is definitely cheaper out in Priceville than in Madison County/Huntsville.

[NicoleC]

Bumper to bumper... where? I know sometimes the other bridge gets backed up, but not I65.

[Southlander]

First, there is no Sam's Club in Decatur. We have a super Wal-Mart, and a small Target (no grocery store, and it is a smaller Target).
OK...until a few years ago, Priceville was a small, rural sort of community that happened to have an interstate running through it. Then the city built a sewage treatment facility and the place took off.
It is still very much a bedroom community. There are several big subdivisions springing up. So you have really new housing, and then you have 30 and 50-year-old housing. Sorry, I know nothing about the rental situation. A real estate agent might be able to tell you something. The commute to the interstate is nothing, and is usually clear until you get to I-565. At certain times of the day, yes, it can be almost bumper-to-bumper but it does keep moving, so compared to Atlanta or even Birmingham, it's not bad.
Priceville does have a small grocery store, but you would probably do the biggest part of your shopping in Decatur.
Churches...Decatur has several large Baptist churches and all have contemporary-style services as well as traditional. We do not have many non-denominational style churches. We do have a few that present themselves that way but are actually affiliated with a denomination...Baptist and Assembly of God, in two cases.

[littletex]

Thank you so much for replying. You all helped answer a lot of the concerns I had about Priceville. Again, I can't say enough about how beautiful the Huntsville area is. It was a nice surprise. I thought Texas had friendly folks but I think Alabama might even be friendlier. We are excited about our move. Does anyone know if you are in Decatur if you can pay to go to Priceville schools until we actually can get into a Priceville house?

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by littletex

I thought Texas had friendly folks but I think Alabama might even be friendlier.?

Aw...*blush* Texans are our cousins!

Originally Posted by littletex

We are excited about our move. Does anyone know if you are in Decatur if you can pay to go to Priceville schools until we actually can get into a Priceville house?

You can pay a small tuition fee and go to Morgan County Schools, but I don't know if you can specify Priceville's. You might want to call the school (256-353-1950 high school), or the Morgan County School office (256-353-6442) to find out for sure.

[Keeper]

You might be able to if you are waiting to close on a house, you could just use that address, but you would have to drive your kids to school.

When are you moving???

[littletex]

Thanks for the #'s for Morgan County schools. I will check into it. We will be arriving in Alabama by July 1st.

[kypeep]

The "bumper to bumper" is supposedly on 565. I can't vouch for this personally, as I don't commute that way on 565. Just going by what the commuters here at work tell me. They also told me there was a Sam's in Decatur, so take that info for what it's worth!