Okay, tell us why Huntsville is good for raising a family.
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NicoleC I found this an unnecessary statement and I was rather taken aback by the subtlety of racism in this statement "Roughly speaking, you want to avoid NW Huntsville (~ within the city limits). NW Huntsville is the poorest part of town and therefore tends to be the "black" neighborhood and the "bad" part of town."
This is the type of mentality that sets stereotypes in motion...
NicoleC I found this an unnecessary statement and I was rather taken aback by the subtlety of racism in this statement "Roughly speaking, you want to avoid NW Huntsville (~ within the city limits). NW Huntsville is the poorest part of town and therefore tends to be the "black" neighborhood and the "bad" part of town."
This is the type of mentality that sets stereotypes in motion...
But roughly speaking, ALL that was said is true (NW Hsv City). Take the "black" part out for PCness, it is still poor and bad. Look at valleymls for house prices and pics, look at police blotter for crime stats, look at greatschool.org for school stats.
Sorry, but I never met one City-Data poster that said "I want to move on Pulaski, or Seminole". They all end up in HC, Madison City, MadCo.
Roughly speaking, you want to avoid NW Huntsville (~ within the city limits). NW Huntsville is the poorest part of town and therefore tends to be the "black" neighborhood and the "bad" part of town. (It's not that bad compared to what you'd find in most cities.) But there are areas in NW Huntsville that are quite nice, so don't rule out the whole area. Farther out into the country it gets more rural in feel but isn't really distant from Huntsville.
Some portions of SW Huntsville are also a bit rough between Memorial Parkway and the Arsenal. On the other side of the Arsenal south of 565, the new developments are nice but there are some scary neighborhoods in the older portions.
SE Huntsville is mostly 60's homes, mostly nice areas with a range of prices. If you want to be in town, this is probably your best bet. Lot sizes tend to range from 1/3 acre to 1 acre. If tornados concern you, there are homes with basements in SE Huntsville, but basements are not the norm here.
East Huntsville is a mix of older to historic homes, most of them in nice areas but smaller with smaller lots. It's the most urban-feeling part of the city, the area most likely to have walkable neighborhoods and it costs a premium to live there in the nicer areas.
Once you get over the mountains into the area now known as Hampton Cove (versus the subdivision of that name), you are into tract home subdivisions of varying price levels mixed in with older rural-feeling areas. It's an odd mix and a growing area.
NE Huntsville close in is more 60's homes with good neighborhoods and prices, but lousy public schools. Over the mountain is a growing area with a patchwork of new and older subdivisions and rural areas. You can also live up on Monte Sano, which is like being remote but close into town, and surrounded by public forests and parks. But there aren't many homes up there so selection and availability is poor.
Then there's eastern Morgan County south of SE Huntsville -- the river is the dividing line. This is another area that's a mixed bag from trailers to new luxury homes. Expect it to become more developed in the future, but right now it might be too rural for you.
Madison is mostly new cookie-cutter homes but there are some nice older neighborhoods and a few not-so-nice ones. The older homes are more likley to have basements and larger lots. Convenient to shopping, etc., but are less urban than suburban in feel. Madison is really just a bedroom community of Huntsville. There is an old downtown, but it doesn't function as the heart of the city.
Decatur and Athens look a bit rough around the edges but are more of a small city feel than a bedroom community. Still, there are nice parts of both cities; don't let the appearance fool you. You will be getting farther away from the amentities you say are important to you, though, so these are probably not good fits for you.
Before you relocate, come visit for a week and get to know the feel of various parts of town. If you are looking for something in particular, there are little pockets in the area that I haven't mentioned. It all depends on your preferences and pocketbook.
This sounds pretty accurate. Google Street View (some in HD??) is in just about all of the Huntsville metro now so it is a great tool to get the look and feel for neighborhoods.
NicoleC I found this an unnecessary statement and I was rather taken aback by the subtlety of racism in this statement "Roughly speaking, you want to avoid NW Huntsville (~ within the city limits). NW Huntsville is the poorest part of town and therefore tends to be the "black" neighborhood and the "bad" part of town."
This is the type of mentality that sets stereotypes in motion...
Since MrsAndre was asking about black vs. white parts of town, it seemed relevant. You can can me a racist if you like, but I don't see you denying that NW is heavily black and poor, or that many neighborhoods in that area have high crime rates.
Roughly speaking, you want to avoid NW Huntsville (~ within the city limits). NW Huntsville is the poorest part of town and therefore tends to be the "black" neighborhood and the "bad" part of town. (It's not that bad compared to what you'd find in most cities.) But there are areas in NW Huntsville that are quite nice, so don't rule out the whole area. Farther out into the country it gets more rural in feel but isn't really distant from Huntsville.
Some portions of SW Huntsville are also a bit rough between Memorial Parkway and the Arsenal. On the other side of the Arsenal south of 565, the new developments are nice but there are some scary neighborhoods in the older portions.
SE Huntsville is mostly 60's homes, mostly nice areas with a range of prices. If you want to be in town, this is probably your best bet. Lot sizes tend to range from 1/3 acre to 1 acre. If tornados concern you, there are homes with basements in SE Huntsville, but basements are not the norm here.
East Huntsville is a mix of older to historic homes, most of them in nice areas but smaller with smaller lots. It's the most urban-feeling part of the city, the area most likely to have walkable neighborhoods and it costs a premium to live there in the nicer areas.
Once you get over the mountains into the area now known as Hampton Cove (versus the subdivision of that name), you are into tract home subdivisions of varying price levels mixed in with older rural-feeling areas. It's an odd mix and a growing area.
NE Huntsville close in is more 60's homes with good neighborhoods and prices, but lousy public schools. Over the mountain is a growing area with a patchwork of new and older subdivisions and rural areas. You can also live up on Monte Sano, which is like being remote but close into town, and surrounded by public forests and parks. But there aren't many homes up there so selection and availability is poor.
Then there's eastern Morgan County south of SE Huntsville -- the river is the dividing line. This is another area that's a mixed bag from trailers to new luxury homes. Expect it to become more developed in the future, but right now it might be too rural for you.
Madison is mostly new cookie-cutter homes but there are some nice older neighborhoods and a few not-so-nice ones. The older homes are more likley to have basements and larger lots. Convenient to shopping, etc., but are less urban than suburban in feel. Madison is really just a bedroom community of Huntsville. There is an old downtown, but it doesn't function as the heart of the city.
Decatur and Athens look a bit rough around the edges but are more of a small city feel than a bedroom community. Still, there are nice parts of both cities; don't let the appearance fool you. You will be getting farther away from the amentities you say are important to you, though, so these are probably not good fits for you.
Before you relocate, come visit for a week and get to know the feel of various parts of town. If you are looking for something in particular, there are little pockets in the area that I haven't mentioned. It all depends on your preferences and pocketbook.
I think that post was poorly worded, and from a market standpoint NW and NE have a stronger better market than SW (outside of Merrimack area).
I have an investor who has been looking in SW and NW/NE HSV, and there are some rough parts of SW. There was a report done last year I believe about the crime rate around the Redstone gates.
If you take a drive through neighborhoods down along Patton/Drake area, then go up around Mastin Lake, you can see a huge difference.
We actually have a client who live in Highlands in NE HSV, has lived there since those houses were built, owns about 4 houses in that neighborhood as does his daughter, and he would not live anywhere else. My home inspector grew up in NW HSV. I have a house currently under contract there for a very sweet client, and the neighbors we have met in the neighborhood are just wonderful, they even invited us over for a bbq!
I think that post was poorly worded, and from a market standpoint NW and NE have a stronger better market than SW (outside of Merrimack area).
I have an investor who has been looking in SW and NW/NE HSV, and there are some rough parts of SW. There was a report done last year I believe about the crime rate around the Redstone gates.
If you take a drive through neighborhoods down along Patton/Drake area, then go up around Mastin Lake, you can see a huge difference.
We actually have a client who live in Highlands in NE HSV, has lived there since those houses were built, owns about 4 houses in that neighborhood as does his daughter, and he would not live anywhere else. My home inspector grew up in NW HSV. I have a house currently under contract there for a very sweet client, and the neighbors we have met in the neighborhood are just wonderful, they even invited us over for a bbq!
Spoken like a realtor
But what Nicole said is what a potential homebuyer needs to hear.
Huntsville is decently sized but has a small town attitude. It's a car town, the public transportation is awful. City planning is also awful and people here don't really seem to really take ownership of their community (ie letting chains and big companies set up shop wherever they please).
I moved here and didn't particularly like it as an unmarried 24 year old engineer. I'm moving back to Chicago this summer. If you like southern culture/ more individualist type of people, you might like it. Really, the schools aren't that great compared to others nationwide. Yes the test scores are probably comparable but people here aren't very... open minded or particularly worldly and well rounded and yes it rubs off on the kids. There is much more to school than test scores or accolades.
As for the segregation issue... up north is just as bad. There are neighborhoods in Chicago that are 99% black or 90+% white.
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