Huntsville Hopeful (Louisville: sales, apartment, rent)

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by gsp4ever

Cobolt--I recommend initially searching with price range and school zone because it is easier and will generally take care of the sketchy neighborhoods that may be unsafe. Resale is theoretically easier in good school zones (my comment on the best schools getting better and worst get worse) and both are apparently a major consideration for most folks moving to this area--especially those who may only be here for a few years. If you get serious and work with a good realtor they could help you out with neighborhoods that are in some of the poor school zones. It's almost too much to mention specific neighborhoods here but there are "diamonds in the rough" in even the bad zones. For example, I wouldn't totally rule out the part Five Points area that is in the Lee HS zone because HSV is trying to work out some issues in that area. Also read the thread on the "Downtown Rescue Mission" if you really want to get an insiders view. But you have to really know what you are doing as you can have a nice home (and mega pricey if in five points) but literally have a crack house or bad neighbor just a block or two away. Also, people are asking top dollar for homes in Five Points, Blossomwood and Monte Sano and some of it just junk. They are investors or people who are selling to the good folks from CA that they think will just pay anything and do a teardown or they have some aging/deceased parent and they are trying to sell the house to make a tidy profit (many of these "kids" don't even live in HSV anymore but they know that mom and dad *should* be owning a prime piece of real estate)

There have been some posts on job fairs and job searching in the area, but I'm afraid I'm not well versed on this. There is typically a job fair at the Von Braun Convention Center and I think it is in the Spring, but I may be mistaken. Go to the local WAFF television station website as they have a job link, but I think you may be better to look at some of the previous posts from ZennJen and Charles.

Thank you so much for all your help. The general tone and outreach on this particular forum is very encouraging to me. I currently live in a part of the country where neighbors don't care to know one another or make eye contact. It's very sad to me, seeing I moved from Texas where they took that hard Yankee exterior right out of me! Needless to say, I got used to having small conversations standing in the line at the grocery store, on the street, out and about, spending time with the neighbors etc. There is none of that going on here. People, for the most part (and I think it has much to do with the weather) are insular and to themselves. They are polite, but a relationship doesnt' extend beyond the peripheral, and I find it sad.

Keep the info coming and I'll post more questions as they come up.

You guys have a wonderful 4th!

[Keeper]

I know some folks on the B'ham forum have sent letters to Trader Joe's asking them to consider putting in a store there. IIRC one guy/gal received a response back saying they were on the list of possible new locations.

[CA central coast]

No, I'm not entirely serious about the beer. If Alabama or anywhere, was a good fit for me or my family, I wouldn't let beer stand in the way. I love a good I.P.A and I'd figure out how to get it once in awhile, but I wouldn't make a life decision based on a style of beer. Besides, those Sierrs Nevada selections you mentioned are great. If I had too, I could live with that being the majority of my beer. My tastebuds for different styles of beer run in cycles anyway. I read the link yyou gave (FTH). Very interesting. The laws I read that are on the books, to me, seem very antiquated and silly. I'm not judging and I don't mean to offend anyone. The lack of choice is something I'm not used too. Also, to allow the wine and liquor, but not the beer? That's inconsistent. I would have more respect for the position if all alcohol had those restrictions. From a moral standpoint, it might make more sense. Can you buy a big jug of whiskey and not a bottle of beer over 16oz.? If so, that's just silly.

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by Keeper

I know some folks on the B'ham forum have sent letters to Trader Joe's asking them to consider putting in a store there. IIRC one guy/gal received a response back saying they were on the list of possible new locations.

That would be so awesome! I miss TJs Mandarin Orange Chicken--how soon would TJ be there if they decide to come? And would it help if the huntsville crew clamoring for TJs in the Alabama area also sent letters to TJ's corporate office?? We're only an hour and a bit away -- I'd make the drive once a month to get their products.

[deesonic]

Well, I've been scanning through posts made over the past couple days and have a few things to add. First, I certainly don't subscribe to gsp4ever's chicken little approach to avoiding Huntsville. Huntsville (the city itself) is about the nicest, cleanest, and safest city with nearly 200,000 residents you'll ever find in the South. I think the disconnect comes from varying perceptions from people from different backgrounds on these boards. Keep that in mind when you read people's suggestions. For instance, I grew up in a working class family in the city and graduated from Stone Middle and Butler High School. I am married, but don't have any school aged kids. I don't find anything scary about living in Huntsville. On the contrary, I'd much prefer to live in the city close to all the conveniences and away from the cookie cutter, clear cut subdivisions of the county.

Now, I would not necessarily recommend Butler HS unfortunately to a family with teenage kids. I'll admit many of the city schools are in a bad way. But to write off the whole area as bad or dangerous because of the schools is ridiculous. The fact is that many neighborhoods in Butler's district are now "older" neighborhoods and there are a lot of older people or even younger couples (like my wife and me) with no school aged kids living in their home. Butler's bad reputation stems from (and always has) the fact that many of the downtown area housing projects are zoned for Butler. But there are plenty of good neighborhoods in the Butler district, and Lee and Johnson for that matter, especially if you don't have kids. I live in Butler district now and I can assure you I don't have a crack house on my street, nor does my house need to be "gutted." These kinds of comments are usually made by people who have never spent any real time in the areas they are scared of. Again, I say Sherwood Park is a fantastic neighborhood and I highly recommend it. Safe, affordable, lots of mature trees, and convenient to everything. Property values are about to skyrocket there because it is hands down the most convenient neighborhood to Research Park, Bridge Street, RSA, etc. No, I don't live there, but my in-laws do. I don't really see any point in recommending to a single woman to buy a home up in Harvest in some bland subdivision with a long commute to the city if you don't have kids in school. Don't mean to offend anyone who lives out there, but that's just how I feel about many of the newer neighborhoods that are built in the county. I know there are some very nice neighborhoods in the county, but for the most part I see mostly clear cut (no trees), cookie cutter subdivisions out there.

So again, Huntsville (the city itself) is very nice and there are plenty of great neighorhoods in this town. When I was young and growing up here in the late 70-80s, there were no real suburbs outside of the city limits. You either lived in Huntsville or you lived in the sticks, which included Madison. To me, newcomers with suburban mentality and bad assumptions about living in a core city have contributed to the sprawl of Madison County and perpetuate this idea that families can't live in the city because it's dangerous or whatever. It's nonsense. Go to similarly sized cities in the South (Montgomery, Chattanooga, Savannah, Columbus, Jackson, Augusta, etc) and you'll see just how nice the city of Huntsville is. Sorry to vent, but I figure I needed to flip the coin and give you a Huntsville native and current resident's view of the city. And for $150K you could have a pretty nice home in South Huntsville in the Bailey Cove area actually. It's Grissom High territory which is highly regarded high school. Again, cobolt does not have kids so I'm not sure why that would matter.

As for beer, I am very active in FTH. We have fought very long and hard to change state laws. Check out the site if you're interested in helping us change our antiquated laws. We got very close this year. We passed the House and would have passed Senate but they filibustered away about 2 weeks of legislation and we never came up for vote. I know I'm tired of making semi-annual road trips to Atlanta or Nashville to find good beer. And did I mention homebrewing is illegal? Jeez... For a little good beer news though, the state's only microbrewery, Olde Towne, is set to reopen later this month in its new location near Joe Davis Stadium. Some of you may remember it burnt down at its old downtown location last year. They're supposed to be having a grand reopening party at the Flying Monkey Arts Center in the dreaded Lowe Mill neighborhood off Seminole. I'll be there. Cheers!

Welcome Cobolt. Despite what you read here by some, you will be hard-pressed not to find a decent home in a nice neighborhood in the price range you seek anywhere in Huntsville or Madison County.

[ionlife]

One of my husband's colleagues bought a lovely home, very reasonable, in Bailey Cove--it's nice there.

Nice to know about the microbrewery returning--my Sig Other will love that!

There are some nice things to do downtown. Our impression of the area was that it was very clean and accessible with a gorgeous walk as well.

For us the driving factor was the schools--both for our daughter and for future resale. We did contribute to the sprawl in Madison County as a result, but hey, we've done urban too having lived in a Townhouse in the city for 9 years--I'm actually enjoying this open space now that we have it--tho' hubby is having a hard time getting used to the big sprawling lawn he has to mow now--can we say riding mower?

[cobolt]

I can honestly say that I want nothing to do with the stepford wives, cookie cutter subdivisions. I just want a little house with a nice back yard in a safe and established neighborhood where I don't have a monster commute. As deesonic so accurately pointed out, no kids or hubby to consider, so why commute to live in a certain school zone? I initially fell in love with Louisville, KY because it has unique, established city neighborhoods with trees, nice walkways etc, and yet you don't feel like you're living in the concrete jungle. Plus I loved the brick homes and growing up in the MIdwest, that's a real plus for me. I really liked the houses across the bridge on the Indiana side of the Ohio river, and they certainly weren't in the affluent towns, but they weren't in the crack neighborhoods either. Quite honestly, if the defense industry were represented there or I didn't have to go outside of my field or consider a job paying 12-13 dollars an hour, then I would move there, but it is what it is and the jobs arent there, thus the turn to Huntsville. I'm hoping to find a nice, brick home in a nice neighborhood where I don't have to commute half way to the moon. Rocket city or not!

Not only that but people make a town, and if the people are nicer, more laid back, and welcoming than my current residence, then even better. I'm betting the answer to this is "yes."

I'm seriously considering making a visit to HSV to attend the job convention next month. I'll do a little recon and scope out the area.

Do you guys have a sizable Jewish community?

[Keeper]

Search for posts by Zennjenn, she has post information regarding her synagogue in Huntsville.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Search for posts by Zennjenn, she has post information regarding her synagogue in Huntsville.

I just found her posts before you posted. Thanks.

[Mawoods]

Two years ago when our daughter was being married to our wonderful Jewish son in law, the Rabbi of the Huntsville synagogue was great. We were made to feel welcomed and he was very helpful. The synagogue is the oldest in the state of Alabama and is beautiful.