Advice for Educator Moving to Huntsville (Madison: for rent, car insurance, neighborhood)

[ivy03]

Presently, I am from Miami, FL and I have relatives that currely live in Huntsville, AL, I have always liked the area and believe that it will be a better costly of living area for me. Unfortunately, my relative are unable to answer many of the specific questions that I have about the school system b/c they are all engineers. I am a guidance counselor for Broward Schools. I was reading up on the school systems in the Huntsville-Madison area and noticed that there is no teachers' union. How does this affect the respect and professional courtesy that is given to teachers. I have heard some horror stories from teachers that have worked in places without a union, the teachers were often treated unfairly by the administrators. I am single (31yo) and dating at the moment, I wanted to know what the cost of living is like for someone there with a salary of about 50,000. I know that this is a minimal salary, but this salary in Miami is very hard b/c housing, home/car insurance, property taxes, etc. are very high. I wanted to know what are the schools like. I know that most of the population that reside in the area are college educated. Does this impact the kids there in a positive way? Are the kids better behaved, more focused due to the slower pace of the city? Please advise...........

[Charles]

My response in Halloween Orange

WHNT-TV, Huntsville, AL: Alabama Dept. of Education Warned School Systems About Budget Crisis Months Ago

Schools here not hurt by shortfall - al.com

Education Week: Parents' Education Levels

Great Schools Issue Paper: Socio-Economic Conditions and Student Behavior

Originally Posted by ivy03

Unfortunately, my relative are unable to answer many of the specific questions that I have about the school system b/c they are all engineers.

You'd be surprised what engineers know about schools systems. Many engineers are "data" type people. There is a ton of educational data on the internet. Maybe these relatives of yours are childless individuals whose radars aren't on school issues.
Recommend you visit greatschools.net, the Alabama Dept of Education website and this City-Data forum for more Huntsville related school information.



I am single (31yo) and dating at the moment, I wanted to know what the cost of living is like for someone there with a salary of about 50,000.

A good rule of thumb is (no more than) one third of your salary for housing, so for you look for rents in the $1300 range. There's got to be a lot out there in that price range.


I wanted to know what are the schools like. I know that most of the population that reside in the area are college educated. Does this impact the kids there in a positive way?

Yes, independently of the city in which the kids attend school. That is, there is a strong correlation between a child's educational success and his parents education levels - in any city. So, you teach in a school district with highly educated parents, chances are the kids will have educated peers and a culture of proactive parents. Nothing's absolute - but you get the picture.

[boilrmkr]

I've never been a fan of unions. My husband, an engineer, has worked in many manufacturing plants that are unionized and he has stories to tell-none of them good. Unfortunately the union isn't what it was intended to be. As far as teacher's unions in the area I have no knowledge of that. I do know that in a community that we used to live in, the teachers went on strike because they wanted a guaranteed raise every year of 5% among other things. My husband and people in most professions aren't guaranteed any raise. They don't even have job security the way teachers do if they are tenured. I could go on but I'm off the subject here.

We just moved here from Savannah, GA and having kids from "wealthier" more educated families makes a Huge difference. Savannah has a lot of poor and uneducated and it shows in the behavior of the students and the test scores. It's a shame because it isn't the kids fault but that is just the way it is. My kids hated going to school there and they were in one of the best schools in the city. Here in Madison the kids are nice, the schools are peaceful and my children are the happiest they have been in 2 years. They don't cry anymore because they have to go to school. It isn't a struggle to get them up in the morning. The teachers are so nice, caring and helpful. I am very happy with the schools here and I don't plan on living anywhere else.

As far as the cost of living the property taxes alone make it worth it to live here. My taxes here will be about $2000.00 less per year than in Savannah and about $4000.00 less than when we lived in northern Illinois.

By the way, compared to Savannah there is no humidity here. And there are no bugs. I sure don't miss those sand gnats. It will be a huge difference from Miami!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by boilrmkr

By the way, compared to Savannah there is no humidity here.

From

City Climate Comparisons

Average morning humidity:



Average afternoon humidity

[TimG]

So funny Charles ...you always try and clear the air with facts. ....sadly, facts just aren't as important as 'perception'; which is the 'real' human reality. ...Yes 1-2% percent is not much of a difference for afternoon humidity but throw in the smell of salt and the heat of a day and there you have it. Having lived in both Savanna and Huntsville ...yep would rather be here than there any summer day, unless of course forewarned by some supernatural force.

[boilrmkr]

All I can say is that when I would go out to the garage for 1 minute in Savannah I would be soaked with sweat. Christmas 2 years ago I was wearing shorts and last year at the neighborhood Christmas party, which was outside, we were all sweating and being attacked by bugs. The party ended much sooner than it should have. You have no idea what humid is until you visit coastal Georgia or Florida and you have no idea what cold is until you visit Chicago in January.

[Keeper]

I can tell you from living/working in FL the COL is much lower here. Ppl are very friendly and the area is generally safe. The downside is there aren't a lot of places for singles to hang out on the weekend. There are a couple of 'meetup' groups in the area though who meet at different places to socialize.

I don't live in Huntsville but in another county nearby, but from the teenagers I have seen in my area they are very polite when addressing adults, 'yes sir' and yes mam' is expected.

[Reactionary]

The Alabama Education Association (AEA) is the State teacher's union and is powerful in State politics:

Welcome to AEA!

IMO teacher's unions are more concerned with teachers than students (as it should be, but parents seem to forget), and students suffer because of the union.

[vakinderegg]

I always was a member of NEA when I taught school. We had local chapters in our community that really helped the teachers. They were great at negotiating our salary, medical benefits, and helping us if we were treated unfairly by our administrators or parent/student. NEA stepped in and helped my friend when 2 students(5th graders) made up a story about her hitting them for not bringing in their HW!

I was a rep for my school once and we really helped teachers in need. NEA is teacher's insurance and a voice for them!

[Reactionary]

The AEA also protects bad teachers from valid complaints.