Commute Time Madison to South Memorial Pkwy (Huntsville, Valley: real estate, how much)

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by deesonic

Well there's certainly a huge Madison contingent on these boards who are relatively new to the area who are quick to preach the gospel of how great Madison is. Madison has certainly done a great job of PR with newcomers. But I'm a lifer here in Madison County and I don't know why in the world anyone would choose Madison over Southeast Huntsville if one were to work at Sanmina. Old houses in SE? Are you kidding me? Yeah, many are older than Madison maybe, but there are plenty of homes built in the last 20 years that are well kept and up to date. You do not find any rundown homes in SE Huntsville. And there are wonderful parks, bike trails, mountains, creeks. Natural beauty all around. Madison is practically flat.

I have one other friend who just sold his house in 5 Points Huntsville because his wife wanted the kids to attend the "good schools" in Madison. He tells me it's a decision he regrets because 5 Points is a great neighborhood with a wonderful sense of community and now he lives in "bland suburbia." But he wanted his kids in good schools, so....

I just simply think that newcomers assume living in the core city means living with high crime, bad schools, and deteriorating properties. But SE Huntsville and Madison are quite similar. SE Huntsville is a suburb in the city limits. People keep talking about traffic on South Parkway...well don't live on South Parkway! But once the overpasses are complete that problem should resolve.

Most major roads in Madison tend to be 2 lanes except for Hwy 20 or 72. I find the sprawl of Madison and western Madison County in general to be quite unattractive. Grissom and Bob Jones High School are both great schools, so you can't go wrong with schools either way.

I don't have any agenda. Just a lifer calling it how I see it. Quite frankly I'm surprised to see Madison residents continue to encourage newcomers to contribute to the almost unmanageable sprawl of that town anyway. So if you're new and looking at Huntsville, don't get caught up in the Madison hype. I'm not saying Madison is bad, but I'll never live there. There are many many great places to live in Madison County that are as good or better than the City of Madison.

With that being said, I'm off to my friends house in Madison for a visit. blahhhh

Glad you have so much info about SE Hville etc. My point was that for us, there appeared to be more older homes and we weren't into that for ourselves. Also, the newer homes were too far away from the schools for us to truly experience a sense of community (that's bc we'd narrowed it down to Grissom for our daughter--and the commute was easier for my DH from that area as well). The few houses we did like were very high up the "mountain" and I didn't want my daughter learning to drive on the roads.

And if someone moved from a place in this area that they loved to the Madison area because of schools and regretted that decison, I can understand that. Frankly, that person's community is back in the old neighborhod and it's probably hard for your friend to feel at home in the new hood.

As far as promoting Madison over another area, I think I've posted several times about the positive qualities in the other neighborhoods mentioned in your post.

At times, I feel that we newbies who chose the "bland suburbia" and Madison are looked down upon for making those choices--if I go back and reread many posts, I get that sense--and I don't think I am the only one who feels this subtle prejudice.

And that is ironic in that I am the first person to say, live where you like and make a choice that is right for you and yours.

Personally, I love this area because I haven't found it bland at all. The people have all transplanted for the most part, we have a total sense of community in my neighborhood, my neighbors are uber uber nice and very interesting people from all walks of life and different ages. Many of us are here from NoVA and we've dreamed of having a bit of land and a nice house after living the urban life.

I am not scared of the areas mentioned--I lived in a place where gang violence did occur--and where I saw a kid dealing drugs--and I handled it fine--we all did--that comes from living in a large, very large, metropolitan area like D.C. and it's suburbs.

But honestly, one reason for making this move, for bringing OUR money to this area and buy a house and make a life was so we could feel a little more secure and know our neighbors.

And yeah, maybe I am standing up for us Madisonites a bit too strongly, but I feel it was high time somebody did.

And now I am going outside to greet my daughter as she walks home from her school bus stop and give her some lemonade and cookies -- after I put on my pearl necklace and my frilly white apron.

[VMH2507]

Originally Posted by deesonic

Well there's certainly a huge Madison contingent on these boards who are relatively new to the area who are quick to preach the gospel of how great Madison is. Madison has certainly done a great job of PR with newcomers. But I'm a lifer here in Madison County and I don't know why in the world anyone would choose Madison over Southeast Huntsville if one were to work at Sanmina. Old houses in SE? Are you kidding me? Yeah, many are older than Madison maybe, but there are plenty of homes built in the last 20 years that are well kept and up to date. You do not find any rundown homes in SE Huntsville. And there are wonderful parks, bike trails, mountains, creeks. Natural beauty all around. Madison is practically flat.

My wife and I have two couples that we consider our best friends. One couple lives near Bailey Cove and Weatherly. The other in Madison off of Hughes Road. I'd take my Bailey Cove friends' house in a heartbeat over the Madison house. In fact, the husband in the Bailey Cove couple works at Sanmina. He tells me it takes him 5 minutes to get to work. He simply cruises south down uncrowded Bailey Cove to Green Cove, cross the Parkway and you're there. I think there's maybe two traffic lights he crosses. I have one other friend who just sold his house in 5 Points Huntsville because his wife wanted the kids to attend the "good schools" in Madison. He tells me it's a decision he regrets because 5 Points is a great neighborhood with a wonderful sense of community and now he lives in "bland suburbia." But he wanted his kids in good schools, so....

I just simply think that newcomers assume living in the core city means living with high crime, bad schools, and deteriorating properties. But SE Huntsville and Madison are quite similar. SE Huntsville is a suburb in the city limits. People keep talking about traffic on South Parkway...well don't live on South Parkway! But once the overpasses are complete that problem should resolve. The original poster has no reason to be on the Parkway going to work if they live in Bailey Cove anyway. You've got plenty of shopping including a Super Target, Publix, Pet's Mart, an awesome sushi place, and even the Rave Theatre? Major roads are all 4 lanes in SE Huntsville as well. Most major roads in Madison tend to be 2 lanes except for Hwy 20 or 72. I find the sprawl of Madison and western Madison County in general to be quite unattractive. Grissom and Bob Jones High School are both great schools, so you can't go wrong with schools either way.

I don't live in SE Huntsville nor Madison and never have. I live in SW Huntsville (where Madisonians and SE Huntsvillians alike think the boogie man lives). So I don't have any agenda. Just a lifer calling it how I see it. Quite frankly I'm surprised to see Madison residents continue to encourage newcomers to contribute to the almost unmanageable sprawl of that town anyway. So if you're new and looking at Huntsville, don't get caught up in the Madison hype. I'm not saying Madison is bad, but I'll never live there. There are many many great places to live in Madison County that are as good or better than the City of Madison.

With that being said, I'm off to my friends house in Madison for a visit. blahhhh

As I said in my original post, the SE Huntsville houses in my price range were 40 years old with the inherent problems of houses that age - small closets, small bathrooms and kitchens, etc. Most of them had been maintained well, but that did not make up for the aforementioned flaws. After an extensive search of the SE Huntsville area, I decided to look at Madison. The house I bought was 10 years old at the time but it has walk-in closets in 2 of the 3 bedrooms, master bath has separate bath and shower and double sink vanity. There is also floor to ceiling storage in the hall and the main bath, built-in bookcases and storage in family room, extensive wood trim moldings throughout - actually looks like a custom built home. The neighborhood is heavily wooded and has a view of Rainbow Mtn. My lot (~1/2 acre) is FLAT which is just what I wanted since I am a single female and try to do the yard maintenance myself.

[deesonic]

I certainly don't mean to say Madison is a bad place. Clearly it's not. My only point is that many people move from much bigger cities to Huntsville where the assumption is that the core city is a bad place to raise kids, crime is bad, schools, etc. Huntsville is not typical in that regard. The tendency on these boards is that the most active posters are two types of people a) those who are moving here or thinking of moving here and b) those who just moved here and are sharing their experiences. So it stands to reason that there's a large Madison contingent since Madison's growth has been explosive over the last 30 years. Heck I remember when Madison's population was about 3000. There's not as many of us lifers on here to offer as much insight as I would like. So I do my best.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I think anyone who knows the area well and is being reasonable would tell a transplant taking a job at Sanmina that SE Huntsville would probably be the best bet. SE Huntsville has everything Madison has without being so crowded. And for the original poster, it's minutes to/from work. So I'm simply saying that it's the practical decision and it's a great area. If the poster had said they were taking a job at say...Intergraph or Adtran, I would recommend Madison. But why would anyone want to commute an hour day with gas over 3.50/gallon when there's a perfectly good neighborhood near one's place of employment? Madison and SE Huntsville are nearly identical in many ways. Madison just happens to be winning the PR game with transplants these days. That being said, fortunately there are many many great places to live and raise kids in the Huntsville metro. It really depends on what someone is looking for in a community. It's hard to find truly bad areas in the Huntsville metro in general.

So good luck! And as always, feel free to PM. I'm always glad to share.

[VMH2507]

If you read my original post, you will see that I said the same thing about living in SE Huntsville if you work on S Pkwy. I think what got some people's ire (mine included) was that you seemed to be saying that SE Huntsville is better than Madison. As a separate point when I lived in Houston it was actually Clear Lake because I worked at NASA and could never see the logic of commuting 25 miles from Houston. I grew up in Atlanta (a stones throw from Lenox Square) and my sister and I rode the city bus downtown to shop at Rich's and Davison's, so I know a little about living in a big city. Of course it was [/u]MANY[/u] years ago and today's Huntsville is more like the Atlanta of those days.

[cobolt]

I did stay in Madison while I was visiting, and I'm not sure why I homebased out of there. I think the hotels were cheaper. But I wouldn't pick it as my first place to live. I personally would love to live in the 5 points area, and I've been thinking about it every day since my return home last week. I also wouldn't mind SE HSV. I'd definately pick those areas over Madison, but then again, I don't have children so schools aren't an issue for me, and I didn't look at enough of the nuts and bolts of houses to see the inherent problems that a particular area might offer (concentration of older, higher maintenance houses in a certain area, etc).

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by cobolt

I did stay in Madison while I was visiting, and I'm not sure why I homebased out of there. I think the hotels were cheaper. But I wouldn't pick it as my first place to live. I personally would love to live in the 5 points area, and I've been thinking about it every day since my return home last week. I also wouldn't mind SE HSV. I'd definately pick those areas over Madison, but then again, I don't have children so schools aren't an issue for me, and I didn't look at enough of the nuts and bolts of houses to see the inherent problems that a particular area might offer (concentration of older, higher maintenance houses in a certain area, etc).

That area would be perfect for you as you don't have children and schools to consider--hotels in Madison aren't really a good indicator of the community at large. We stayed at the Embassy Suites when we came down to look and loved it's central location--we loved historic Twickenham--if we were without child and able to wield hammers without hurting life or limb, we'd choose that as a unique place... just as in DC--if we had no child when we moved there 9 years ago, we'd have moved to the downtown area or close off the the metro line...

but now we wait till she's off to college!

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by cglover

That area would be perfect for you as you don't have children and schools to consider--hotels in Madison aren't really a good indicator of the community at large. We stayed at the Embassy Suites when we came down to look and loved it's central location--we loved historic Twickenham--if we were without child and able to wield hammers without hurting life or limb, we'd choose that as a unique place... just as in DC--if we had no child when we moved there 9 years ago, we'd have moved to the downtown area or close off the the metro line...

but now we wait till she's off to college!

Is it your impression that houses cost more in 5 points than they do in SE HSV? I mean, because it's considered "historic" does that mean more $$$?

[clamoore]

I recently sold my house in Five Points. I received a real nice price for the house. I loved my time in the neighborhood (around 7 years) and I made some great friends there. My wife wanted a larger, historic home. We only have my salary to support us, so we couldn't afford a larger home in Five Points. We purchased a home here in the SW, in the Merrimack Mill Village.
I think a lot of people have the wrong impression about the SW. We have tons of kids playing in the neighborhood. We had six begging to swing in our swing yesterday afternoon. They are good kids and they attend the Academy of Science and Foreign Language. We have really good neighbors and the area is really safe. The paper reports criminal incidents, but I don't think the criminal acts are as random as they seem when reported. My best guess is that they are drug/prostitution deals gone bad. If either pursuit isn't your bag, then I bet you have nothing to worry about. Heck, I jog by the trouble areas around 5:30 a.m. every morning and I haven't had any trouble. That might sound scary to some, but I haven't had any run-ins with any thugs as of yet. Or, to massage my ego, maybe I am a particular tough looking individual.
Any way, the houses in this neighborhood date to 1900 and are going for $50 per square foot. Many need renovation, but I believe you will have a lot to gain if you buy one and stay. The area is a short drive to Parkway Place, Bridge Street, Redstone Arsenal and Research Park. All accessible within 10 minutes, in rush hour traffic! Plus, my opinion is that downtown development is moving west of the Parkway in the future.
So, I think this is a child-friendly area with short commute times. You can put your children in magnet schools or private/religious schools if you are put off by the local public schools. There is mega-upside potential, to quote Hubie Brown. Retail and recreational areas are very close.
To sum it all up, short commutes, shopping, recreation,handsome, yet tough looking, neighbors...what more could you want?

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by cobolt

Is it your impression that houses cost more in 5 points than they do in SE HSV? I mean, because it's considered "historic" does that mean more $$$?

I am not totally familiar with 5 Points--being a "newbie" from up north. However, I think Clamoore said it best--that is a good price per square foot for the area discussed--I just loved the front porches, the verandas and the unique historic styling of the area--again--had we been handy--and had our child been grown, I might have picked it--so accessible to many amenities.
\
Are you still considering Hville now? I know after your trip you were unsure--the areas you mentioned might be a much better match for you than where we landed as a family.

Good luck!

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by deesonic

I certainly don't mean to say Madison is a bad place. Clearly it's not. My only point is that many people move from much bigger cities to Huntsville where the assumption is that the core city is a bad place to raise kids, crime is bad, schools, etc.

SE Huntsville has everything Madison has without being so crowded. And for the original poster, it's minutes to/from work. So I'm simply saying that it's the practical decision and it's a great area.

Madison just happens to be winning the PR game with transplants these days. That being said, fortunately there are many many great places to live and raise kids in the Huntsville metro. It really depends on what someone is looking for in a community. It's hard to find truly bad areas in the Huntsville metro in general.

So good luck! And as always, feel free to PM. I'm always glad to share.

I never felt that the core city in Hville was bad compared to the core of where we transferred from. heck, where we lived was 22 miles outside of the DC core and we still had many many issues (see prior post). We certainly wouldn't compare a small metro core to a large metro core at all. We looked at the schools.

Certainly commute is an issue here--but the houses were 40 yrs old in the poster's original post... and that was not going to work. What areas would down in the SE area?

Frankly, Bailey's Cove is nice and I love it there but is it in the price range for the OP?

Here in Madison, maybe, a house in price range might work even with the commute being an issue. And commute is not that big to us in general having been in a place where 45-1.5 hours was normal for 22 miles of driving. If the OP is used to that, maybe Madison would be a good logical choice.

Heck, I wanted privacy and trees-- didn't get that either. But this was a good compromise.

And that is what it is all about.

Making it work--