need advice on planning relocation visit (Huntsville, Madison: extended stay, transplants, real estate)

[bassman]

My wife and I are planning a possible relocation trip from Oregon and will make stops in Nashville, Knoxville, and then Huntsville. We will be renting a car and are going to spend about 2-3 days in each place and just be road warriors.

I was hoping to get some advice from the locals and also from other transplants on what you would or did concentrate on in those 2-3 days to get a decent idea of the area. (ie. how did you determine which towns you would settle down in). We will be concentrating on the outskirts of all these areas as we prefer the more rural lifestyle rather than living in the actual city.

[Keeper]

Are you retiring to the area?

What do you like to do for fun?

Are you looking to buy or rent?

Do you want acreage or just rural living?

What else is important to you?

[marmac]

Here is what we did on our trip to NE Alabama last year ( we are recently retired)

Get the feel of what it would be like living there on a daily basis by checking out the stores you probably would shop at the most frequently, check out where the hospitals, clinics, and dentist are.
If you are a churchgoer, check out that church and take in a Sunday service if there on a Sunday.

Also, check out a few real estate listings and just do "drive bys"

Mainly, try to get out of the "tourist mode" and pretend you are a "resident" .
(mentally , I mean)

We have found out upon entering a strange city /town it may seem strange--------but after the 2nd day it gets better as you are more acquainted with the strrets,roads, and how to get from one place to another.

You are smart to allow 2-3 days (instead of one)
The old saying---"first impressions are lasting impressions"--isn't always true. Some towns ,upon entering the first day I rated negative. By the time we left on the 3rd day, I liked them.

I don't know if weather affects you as much as it does me.
I have realized I sometimes have judged one town over another and realized it was sunny when I visited one and cloudy and drizzling when I visited the other . (not fair to the 2nd town)

I think the biggest thing is to view the town as if you already are a resident, and is this town for you.

Avoid the temptation to view the town in the "mode" as a tourist.

Best wishes

[Toymeister]

Why not use a realtor.

The end game is to purchase a home somewhere, correct? If so then locate -someone- with a really great picture in the paper, nice car or whatever screening method you use to select a realtor, then define for him/her your price range and alloted time to search, including hours on certain days. A good salesperson will meet your requirement to show you the homes in the area in the timeframe you define.

In this way you can use your off time to check things out for yourself. It is a matter of efficency, that person knows the areas, the roads and so on.

If you later define which city you want then you can use that realtor or not, its totally your choice.

And I might add for those realtors that may want to blast me for this comment (I am not in real estate) I am repeating the obvious, what happens every day for relocatees. It is up the the salesperson to stand out to the buyers, you need us and you need to earn our business.

[cobolt]

I've done so many relocation trips that it's become sort of second nature to me. When I visited HSV, I thought I might like to live in Madison, so I lodged there but commuted to the city to check it out. I visited grocery stores, retail, etc to get a feel of prices. I talked to lots of people regarding neighborhoods, taxes, housing costs etc. I had a good map and consulted this site beforehand, so I at least had a mental picture of the area. I visited research park so I could get an idea of where I might be working. I oriented myself with downtown and HSV neighborhoods. TUrns out I would rather live in one of the HSV neighborhoods after my research, but that's the fun in finding something unexpected. I looked at a few apartments just to get an idea of what rentals would be like and their associated costs. When I do these trips, I tend to lodge at an extended stay or something with a kitchen so that I can purchase some grocery goods and see how much they run me cost wise. I also look into recreational offerings and if a place has the sort of social outlet I desire: choral groups, symphony, etc and check those things out as well. When I was in Texas a few weeks ago I picked the brain of one of the volunteers at the Visitor Center and she gave me good info regarding neighborhoods, etc. You've got to really get out and talk with the locals. I feel this is the best way to get a feel for an area, both information wise and regarding the temp of the people. Are they approachable? Or are they paranoid and insular? People really make a place, so for me that's pretty important, but your priorities and results may vary.

Good luck.

[madisonmamma]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Why not use a realtor.

The end game is to purchase a home somewhere, correct? If so then locate -someone- with a really great picture in the paper, nice car or whatever screening method you use to select a realtor, then define for him/her your price range and alloted time to search, including hours on certain days. A good salesperson will meet your requirement to show you the homes in the area in the timeframe you define.

In this way you can use your off time to check things out for yourself. It is a matter of efficency, that person knows the areas, the roads and so on.

If you later define which city you want then you can use that realtor or not, its totally your choice.

And I might add for those realtors that may want to blast me for this comment (I am not in real estate) I am repeating the obvious, what happens every day for relocatees. It is up the the salesperson to stand out to the buyers, you need us and you need to earn our business.

Not blasting, just shocked that this is the method that you would use to choose someone to assist you in making (probably) the largest investment of you lifetime, at least for most people.
Most of my clients come from referrals. Word of mouth is key.
I agree, though. One job of Realtors in our area is not just to sell a house, but to familiarize clients with our local area as well.
I would suggest taking in some of the local holiday attractions....Galaxy of Lights is amazing, and has been extended. Bridge Street is a nice place to go with the weather so pleasent. Twickenham also would be a good place to explore while the weather is so nice.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by madisonmamma

I agree, though. One job of Realtors in our area is not just to sell a house, but to familiarize clients with our local area as well. .

I would agree to spend a day with a realtor, that's what we did.

We explained to the realtor that, since we're not familiar with the general area, we'd want to see the following neighborhood (add your list of preferences here). Most realtors understand and will work with you. Good realtors will point out unique features of each neighborhoods, etc., so you'll get a good idea.

The next couple of days, we'll drive around by ourselves. Not only to get a better feel of neighborhood but also check out "rush hour" traffics. It was this that we concluded we do NOT want to depend on University Avenue to get to work & back.

Keep in mind that there are certain things a realtor can NOT tell you, by law, that could be perceived as racially-bias comments. But you can pick up hints verbally & nonverbal. If a realtor locks her car in a certain neighborhood, chances are it's in a not-so-good area.

Realtors do so in "good faith", counting on the fact that if you like their services, you'll contact them when you're ready to buy a house. In fact, we saw the house we wanted to buy and call the same realtor to "represent" us to the builder. So eventhough she did not help us directly finding this house, she was available during the 3 1/2 month house building process & closing in answering our questions & advise us at various stages. So definitely enlist the help of a realtor even if you're buying a house from a builder.

[flstatenolefan]

Honestly, we haven't rushed into buying a home here, yet, because we didn't want to make a decision in haste. I'm glad we didn't because my original perception of some of the areas mentioned in these threads is much different now after living in the area a while. We are renting this first year, and plan on building/buying next year. There are so many nice rental homes available because of the market conditions being such as they are for builders and/or sellers. You can even find brand new homes to rent.

So, my advice would be to look at what each city offers you in terms of employment, educational opportunities, cultural events, etc. and narrow it down to the city. Then, find a home to rent and get accustomed to the area prior to settling into something permanent.

[madisonmamma]

Originally Posted by flstatenolefan

Honestly, we haven't rushed into buying a home here, yet, because we didn't want to make a decision in haste. I'm glad we didn't because my original perception of some of the areas mentioned in these threads is much different now after living in the area a while. We are renting this first year, and plan on building/buying next year. There are so many nice rental homes available because of the market conditions being such as they are for builders and/or sellers. You can even find brand new homes to rent.

So, my advice would be to look at what each city offers you in terms of employment, educational opportunities, cultural events, etc. and narrow it down to the city. Then, find a home to rent and get accustomed to the area prior to settling into something permanent.

Good suggestion...and we do have a great rental market, due to people having short term employment contracts. You can even find half million dollar homes for rent around here!