Commute Time Madison to South Memorial Pkwy

[ionlife]

Rocky Run Middle School--we love it! The principal and staff were amazing. The theater program was awesome. Prior to that she went to Greenbriar West GT Center and up till end of 2nd grade she went to Greenbriar East. We loved GBW and its staff. We only had one teacher in all her history of elementary that was just not a good teacher and it was a tough year--but character building. And a good barometer for how to rate the situations she finds herself in now as a teen.

Where are you now?

And where did you teach in NoVA?

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by cglover

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!

I haven't ruled anything out. I really like how HSV feels safe, and that point was hit home after I returned home, back to the crime and madness. I will admit that I did not check out SW HSV area, so I may need to do that on a second visit. I was under the impression before I left my trip and from reading posts that things were cheaper in HSV. While in Madison I was talking with a woman who was buying a house in Madison (she worked in Mad) and when I told her this she said "Oh no honey. It's cheaper in HSV." I do think that commuting from h 5 points or those areas near downtown to either Redstone or Research park would be a pain, and those two areas would be where I'd most likely work.

[ionlife]

I wish you well in your decision--Seattle is a favorite area for me to "visit" but I don't think I could handle the winters--too much rain so I completely get wanting to leave on that point alone. I used to live in Vancouver BC and the rain was cold and made one feel super miserable in the winter!

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by cglover

I wish you well in your decision--Seattle is a favorite area for me to "visit" but I don't think I could handle the winters--too much rain so I completely get wanting to leave on that point alone. I used to live in Vancouver BC and the rain was cold and made one feel super miserable in the winter!

Exactly. That's really what's motivating my decision. I don't think I can handle another winter here. Quite frankly, I don't want to. 10 months of gray is just too much. It's so much easier to withstand the heat than it is to stay warm. It's funny because the next few days we're supposed to get up in the 80s, maybe even low 90's and people complain here to the high heavens.

That and I just can't afford a house here. And....I"m tired of the anti-social vibe.

I'll be out of here soon enough!!! Thanks

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by cobolt

I haven't ruled anything out. I really like how HSV feels safe, and that point was hit home after I returned home, back to the crime and madness. I will admit that I did not check out SW HSV area, so I may need to do that on a second visit. I was under the impression before I left my trip and from reading posts that things were cheaper in HSV. While in Madison I was talking with a woman who was buying a house in Madison (she worked in Mad) and when I told her this she said "Oh no honey. It's cheaper in HSV." I do think that commuting from h 5 points or those areas near downtown to either Redstone or Research park would be a pain, and those two areas would be where I'd most likely work.

The commute from downtown/5 points to the Research Park is like 10 minutes, maybe 15 depending on where in the Research Park you are going. The arsenal is big, so once you get through the gate, it could take another 10 minutes to get to your office. You just hop on 565 (which is like 2 minutes from 5 Points) and drive about 5 miles and you are at Research Park Blvd, go south into the arsensal, north into the Research Park.

Huntsville has areas that are more expensive than Madison and areas that are less expensive, it just depends on what neighborhood and school districts.

[deesonic]

Originally Posted by VMH2507

As someone else mentioned Bob Jones has a Nationally recognized Art program which has produced alot of scholarship money for students. The daughter of one of my neighbors is now attending the art college in Savannah (forgot the correct name) on a full scholarship and another friend has a son who has graduated from same college also on full scholarship.

That would be SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design. Excellent art school. I lived in Savannah for 5 years before returning home to Huntsville in 2006. Ironically vakinderegg mentioned that discipline problems in the classroom harm the learning environment. Yes, absolutely, I would agree with that 100%. I was a 9th grade English teacher at Jenkins High in Savannah when I lived there. It was also a "bad" school and I taught all the "remedial" classes. I was teaching kids that tested on a 3rd grade reading level. Most of them had ridiculous behavioral problems and had no parents that cared. I don't know how these kids made it to 9th grade. It was a shame for the few kids who really were trying to learn and truly needed the extra help my class was supposed to provide to be subjected to such nonsense. But the lady across the hall from my classroom taught AP. Her classroom clearly had a much better learning environment and kids excelled. Night/day for sure. So, yes, if your kids can handle AP, I highly encourage it regardless of the school. It makes a BIG difference. I no longer teach by the way. I burned out fast in that environment sadly.

Originally Posted by VMH2507

You probably weren't around here 40 years ago (1968)

Nope. I wasn't born yet. I was born in Huntsville in the early 70s. But my family has deep roots in the area. In the early 1960s my father lived in a little shack with his parents and his 10 brothers and sisters on Four Mile Post in what is now SE Huntsville. He picked cotton in the summers in what is now Bailey Cove. Anyway, He's told me a lot about the development of that area. Again, I know there are some houses built in the 1960s over there. Most of the houses in SW Huntsville (including my house) were built during that mid 60s boom as well. But for the most part they were built in the 70s and 80s. However, there are still lots and lots of newer homes in SE Huntsville and they are still building down there, particularly along the new road to Ditto Landing. Although they certainly are not building as many new homes in SE Huntsville as Madison. But...

I feel like a broken record. My point is not to put down Madison. I'm simply saying there are lots of great neighborhoods in SE Huntsville and fantastic schools. It's a very desirable area to live and has been as long as I've been alive. If someone works at Sanmina, then SE Huntsville is a great place to be. It's no slight to Madison that I say that. So I won't quibble anymore over Madison vs. SE Huntsville, the age of homes or whether Grissom or Bob Jones is the greatest school in the universe. Point being, SE Huntsville is one of the best areas in all of the Huntsville metro to live and raise kids. Any SE Huntsvillians care to take the baton from here? I'm exhausted.

[ionlife]

Or course your opinions are valid and very helpful, Deesonic. Anyone can see you genuinely care about the areas your write about. However, if you look at the original post written regarding the differences you pointed out, the way it was written read a bit judgmentally IMHO. Go reread that post--the first sentence and the part about "bland suburbia" read that way.

No one disputed that SE Hville is a very desirable area to live. Certainly we looked at it very hard before choosing Madison. And I don't know of anyone here in Madison, new or old timer (relatively speaking) who thinks one is better than the other... and lets not forget the Hampton Cove area--a lovely spot to raise children.

There's no reason for a SE Huntsvillian to "take the baton" to prove SE Hville is great bc we pretty much agree with that...

Perception--it does carry a lot of realism

[VMH2507]

Well at least we can agree that there was a housing boom in Huntsville in the mid-60's which according to my math would make those houses 40+ years old. I don't know if it was because of my target price range (most likely) or because I had an incompetent RE agent but in my house search which was extensive and lasted several months, I never saw a house that was less than 40 years old. I am not a person who has to have a new house - in fact the house I bought was 10 years old and none of the 7 homes I have owned was new when I purchased it. But given the choice between a 10-20 year old house and a 30-40 year old one, I will take the younger one every time, not because of maintenance issues, but because of design and floor plan issues.