Any word on Hartselle, AL???

[Southlander]

This thread is more than a year old. The OP is long gone.

[Shirley Chiaverotti]

Originally Posted by Shawn Miller

I just recently found my family's dream home located in Hartselle, AL. I was wondering if anyone could give me any feed back on Hartselle and the general Decatur area? We had considered moving to the Tri Cities area in TN but have found home prices up there quite a bit more expensive up there. I was wondering as to sales tax, property tax, homeowners ins, auto ins, utilities, and most importantly schools. We are looking to move from FL so anything will be an improvement from down here. Thanks for any help Ya'll can offer it will be much appreciated..............

Please check the neighborhood carefully here in Hartselle before you buy.
I moved here to find that the dog laws are very lax. You can have as many dogs as you want as long as they are in a fenced yard. I see and hear 21 dogs from my home. Barking dogs wake me in the morning, during the night, and I go to sleep to barking dogs. In talking to other people in other neighborhoods I hear the same stories. I live next door to four dogs who bark day and night and whose feces is never picked up. I have inquired at the police dept., city hall, and the dog pound only to be told that is acceptable. Dog feces should be picked up but no one enforces this.
If you like dogs and this is acceptable to you this is the place for you.
I am presently considering moving back to my former state.

[Shirley Chiaverotti]

Please check the neighborhood carefully here in Hartselle before you buy.
I moved here to find that the dog laws are very lax. You can have as many dogs as you want as long as they are in a fenced yard. I see and hear 21 dogs from my home. Barking dogs wake me in the morning, during the night, and I go to sleep to barking dogs. In talking to other people in other neighborhoods I hear the same stories. I live next door to four dogs who bark day and night and whose feces is never picked up. I have inquired at the police dept., city hall, and the dog pound only to be told that most of this is acceptable.If you like dogs and this is acceptable to you this is the place for you.
Also, unless you are in a more upscale neighborhood you will find the yards kept messy, cars parked on front lawns, and garbage cans kept for days on curbs or stored in front driveways.
This is a mind your own business and live and let live community.
I am presently checking real estate ads from my former state.

[Southlander]

Wow. That's awful.
Leave the entire state because you don't like the town? Seems like you could move to a different town, or area.

[Keeper]

I suspect the laws regarding the dogs are on the books you just need to talk to the right person. Most small cities I have checked use the same ordinances regarding animal control. I would go to the court house and check the ordinances since they do not appear to be online. Call the mayor or city council and complain. If the dogs bark at night after 9pm they are disturbing the peace.

[Thomas Avery Blair]

Seeking current "quality of life" insights about Hartselle, AL My wife and I are both senior citizens and we currently live in NE Florida. It is far too expensive to live in Florida these days, and we live near Jacksonville, FL ("murder capital of Florida" for nearly a decade!).

Any updates on housing, police protection, societal morality issues, etc. will be deeply appreciated.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by Thomas Avery Blair

Seeking current "quality of life" insights about Hartselle, AL My wife and I are both senior citizens and we currently live in NE Florida. It is far too expensive to live in Florida these days, and we live near Jacksonville, FL ("murder capital of Florida" for nearly a decade!).

Any updates on housing, police protection, societal morality issues, etc. will be deeply appreciated.

Mr. Blair,
There are, as far as I know, NO Hartselle posters here. I am in Decatur (and there are only a couple of us). Hartselle still has excellent schools that ranked highly in the test results released last year. Housing - several new subdivisions, and a very affordable historic district. ValleyMLS.com can show listings under "Morgan County." You can specify "Hartselle High School" to see listings inside the town limits, but surrounding areas are also known as Hartselle even though they are not inside the town limits.

Police protection - there is a full-time police department. Not sure what you mean by "societal morality issues." The town is dry and the surrounding county is dry (and in Alabama, dry means totally dry - no alcohol at all) but nearby Decatur is wet, except no Sunday sales.

It is a small town. It does not have the zoning restrictions of bigger towns, but it does have zoning.

A personal visit is highly recommended.

[Keeper]

I can't tell you about Hartselle but I can tell you about living in a small town in AL. I moved to Arab from Tampa. The ppl are all very nice and friendly. Your neighbors will come over to welcome you. For me, I bought in a neighborhood of older houses with 3/4 acre lots. No cookie cutter homes although some do resemble each other. Church is BIG here. Everyone will invite you to their church. You can probably find everything you want at either WalMart or other stores nearby. Property taxes and HOI are cheap compared to FL. Auto ins is about the same

I love living in Arab. It is very safe with a few breakins or someone stealing something from the yard or from someone's car who left their car unlocked.

I agree with Southlander, you should come up for a visit. We do have 4 seasons. There are tornadoes or at least tornado warnings which can be un-nerving when you first move here