Moving to Redstone Arsenal (Decatur, Madison: townhomes, neighborhoods, retiring)

[armywife57]

My husband is retiring from the Army and starting a second career as a civilian govt. worker at Redstone Arsenal (we think). We are looking for our dream/retirment home in that area and would love sugestions. We want to be ON the water and my husband would like to be close to golf. We looked in the Guntersville area, but didn't really like the lake (all the milfoil and STUFF growing there). We are not fisherman--but boaters/skiers. The Athens area looked promising but don't know about the lake/river there. Priority here is to be on the water, yet not too far of a commute for work. Any suggestions?

[Southlander]

Milfoil is a fact of life in the Tennessee River, from Guntersville Lake through Wheeler Lake. I hate it ,too. But the fish love it. TVA is beginning its annual eradication program in Guntersville Lake. I don't really like the idea of chemicals to cut back on the milfoil, but there it is. If you don't mind paying megabucks, Brigadoon is (mostly) on the water. It's in Limestone County. Finding property on the water is getting very hard these days. Be aware that there are quite a few hurdles to jump in getting a dock built. And check water levels. They can fluctuate greatly from summer through winter. Your dock could be left dry after Labor Day.

[armywife57]

Is the milfoil as bad in Wheeler lake and the TN River as it was in Guntersville? The places I looked in Guntersville were loaded with it and I didn't notice any where I looked in Wheeler. But I was only at Wheeler one day so maybe it was timing?

Are there any waterfront neighborhoods in Decatur or around Triana or Mooresville--those are just places I saw while searching around mapquest, but don't know what if anything is there.

[Southlander]

Wildlife refuge surrounds the river at Mooresville and, going east, most of Morgan County and, I think, Madison. At Decatur, waterfront is industrial except for a very small collection of townhomes between the railroad and U.S. 31 bridges, and a handful near the sewage treatment plant west of the railroad bridge. It's negligible on the channel where the current is swifter. You might have to go as far east as Scottsboro, or as far west as Rogersville and Lauderdale County. That would be quite a commute for hubby, but plenty of folks do it.