Okay, tell us why Huntsville is good for raising a family. (Decatur: rent, crime)

[LCTMadison]

Charles...those pictures will haunt me.

Who would want to shove knives in their nose??? Ouch!

[aly-bound]

So, IS Huntsville a truly "accepting" place? I am originally from Florida, but my husband is Moroccan (Arabic decent).
That is the one thing that concerns me about Alabama, especially with the state of the world right now and some people's "perceptions".
Huntsville, however, seems to be more diverse, much more educated than the rest of the state, am I correct?
Not that the rest of Alabama is uneducated!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by aly-bound

So, IS Huntsville a truly "accepting" place? I am originally from Florida, but my husband is Moroccan (Arabic decent).
That is the one thing that concerns me about Alabama, especially with the state of the world right now and some people's "perceptions".
Huntsville, however, seems to be more diverse, much more educated than the rest of the state, am I correct?
Not that the rest of Alabama is uneducated!

I'd be lying if I said Huntsville was a "diverse" place (my definition meaning there are a lot of people around town other than black or white). However I'd also be lying if I told you'd sense any feelings of alienation. While Huntsville isn't too racially diverse, it is made up of a diverse group of transplants (people from other US cities, often larger cities like DC and Los Angeles). Many of these transplants are used to a mixed culture or diverse environment. Everyone I worked with in Huntsville was from somewhere else (OK, maybe 70%, many of whom are ex-military and are sort of used to relocating).

I also don't sense (though I may be wrong) too much racial tension (between blacks and whites) even though it seems Huntsville is sort of segregated: whites live here and blacks live there. You never see graffiti and I never read of hate crimes.

My understanding is Huntsville isn't just one of the most educated in Alabama, it is one of the most educated in the US. There are a lot of engineering type people in Huntsville and many of the schools are influenced by this as elementary schools have robotics clubs and technology clubs in greater percentages than you'd see at other good schools in the US (again, my impression). I think the tech culture is partly due to dads (like me).

[aly-bound]

That's good to know!

Where we are coming from is not the most "diverse" place at all, but because my roots are there, there was never an acceptance issue. It is a very small town.
I am looking forward to living in a larger more "metro" area.

[MrsAndre]

My question is similiar to Aly-bounds. DH and I are originally from the northeast, but have lived in Florida for a few years. I am white, DH is black. We're living in a predominantly white town in New England right now, so are accustomed to being a minority family. I am assuming that if my husband transfers we would buy in a "white" neighborhood.
Would we be accepted like any other family by the majority of our neighbors or is there still hostility towards mixed race families? Does Alabama still have segregated proms? (please don't hate me for asking that, the Times just had a piece on segregated proms last spring.)
TY in advance.

[ghett61]

Originally Posted by MrsAndre

Does Alabama still have segregated proms? (please don't hate me for asking that, the Times just had a piece on segregated proms last spring.)
TY in advance.

I will leave the first part of your post to be answered by someone that is in a mixed relationship. I mean I know I wouldn't look at your weird or think anything, but I figure that you would get a better answer from someone in a similar situation.

As far as segregated proms go, I have not heard of any. The last one I knew about was in Georgia and that was stopped a few years ago.

[LCTMadison]

MrsAndre...I think you will honestly find that Huntsville is a very accepting city. I personally have many friends in "mixed" relationships, whether they be black/white, white/Asian, ect. It really does not matter to the majority of people at all, as it should not. Underneath our skin, we all look the same!
And, no, I don't know of anywhere in AL that tolerates proms being segregated based on race. That happened here many years ago, back in the 90's, in Wedowee (if I remember correctly) but that is such a small little country podunk town far away from HSV, and that received major outcries from other parts of the state.

I think you will find that HSV is a well educated, friendly, accepting of EVERYONE type of town. Good luck to you!

[friday13]

Originally Posted by MrsAndre

. I am assuming that if my husband transfers we would buy in a "white" neighborhood.

We've integrated way back when. We have only mixed neighborhoods here. (white, AA, asian, indian, german, french, canadian, any race that could make an engineer >> brains bring people to Hsv not race, thus we are a racially/ethnicity diverse bunch)

Sorry, but these questions have been asked over and over ("pure" black, "pure" white, mixed, perceptions, misconceptions etc.), that just by reading prior posts should've given you an idea of what we eat for breakfast.

What exactly are you looking for (or rather not), what would make you "uncomfortable": public display of racism (straight or reverse ) or people looks/stares at you?! Because you may only encounter the latter >> which is purely staring individual's ignorance and bad manners. Ignore them.

[Readdy]

Huntsville is a great place to live and raise a family. Somebody made a Huntsville vs Knoxville vs Augusta thread in the city vs city forum. You guys should share your opinions on life in Huntsville.

[MrsAndre]

friday - I put white in quotes because previous posters stated that the area is, in practice, still largely segregated. (regarding the pictures posted of all the children playing.) In my experience, neighborhoods and towns do still tend to be segregated, while not by law...by some other factor like money or individual choice? I wasn't looking to debate and didn't mean to offend.