[harry chickpea]

Veering off-topic to Miami briefly, lots of expensive cars and lots of foreign ways of driving make for high auto insurance. Lots of seniors and lots of healthcare fraud make for high health insurance rates. Lots of graft and lots of infrastructure building like metrorail, busways, etc. make for high taxes. Lots of Cubans and lots of other displaced foreigners with big money and a desire to be in a similar climate make for high property prices. Then add a hurricane or two to mix things up and the prices are bound to be a lot higher than conservative Alabama, where budget crunches keep government from growing out of control, infrastructure is limited, and fewer people are driving expensive cars.

[tallrick]

So if I moved to Alabama my 1969 Dodge Charger would not seem out of place? Have had the same cars since high school.

[dan5323]

Why is Huntsville different????

[Fed up In clearwater]

Ok I am hearing many good things about Alabama that I want to hear, nature, good friendly people. Hot??? I live in Florida and have for over 30 years. The temperature today Jan 7th will be 82. I am working my tail off to get a job in Huntsville. I am in the Aerospace Industry.

My big question is, I am single, 50 and have no family there. A few friends who have moved to Huntsville is all.

How is it if you are a single woman 50? Is it social for single people? Or is it mainly a culture if you have kids and family? I am not talking about nightclubs or bars. Mostly what I am asking is are the singles outgoing and easy to talk to? Here in Florida if you are not a 25 to 35 year old woman showing a lot of skin and hang out in bars your 50 year old men will not speak to you... I am hoping there are less shallow people there who would value a woman who likes to hike or canoe for fun instead of hang out in a club.

[AnotherBravesFan]

Hi. My husband and I will be leaving S.D. for Huntsville in '08/'09. Our impression of the area and of Huntsvillians is quite positive so far. Yes, it's family-oriented, with many engineering, defense & science-related companies that attract a different type of person than a "resort" destination. That's one of the things we LIKE about it, that it's off the radar screens of most tourists, snowbirds, and the college "spring break" crowd. UAH seems like a gem of a school as well. Some here have criticized Huntsville as being "boring", but I think I (and you) could be happy there. I'm 45 with no kids and hope to find people like you who enjoy the outdoors. I plan to join the newcomer's club; they have an interesting website... I must say that I have been impressed with the locals who post here on this forum and hope they are representative of the community. Good luck to you in your job search. Maybe I'll run into you on the trails in '09.

[dbkeel1]

I now sell homes in the Huntsville and Madison area so I'm partial, but the property tax rates are cheap ($365 per $100K assessed value in Madison County and $580 per $100K in Huntsville). The community is highly educated and doesn't settle for inferior schools, an issue for us when we relocated here after 6 corporate moves. We'd seen the same state ranking that many people have seen and it always seemed that Alabama and Mississippi ranked low. Not so, Huntsville and Madison.

You have a wide choice of either city or rural living with new subdivisions popping up everywhere due to the expected windfall of Base Realignment and Closing; the entire Army Materiel Command, Missile Defense and more are relocating here by 2011 from Northern VA. Buying now would be prudent as home values have risen some 15% in the last 18 months. If you prefer rural and don't mind a little commute, there are options that include land from 1 acre up.

Location; you're 1.5 hours from Nashville, Chattanooga and Birmingham, 2.5-3 hours to Atlanta and 4 to Memphis. Water recreation; the Tennessee River flows through here (we're known as the Tennessee Valley) and Lake Guntersville is 30 minutes SE. Beaches; 5-6 hours due south. Mountains; you can be in Gatlinburg, TN in about 3 hours and Asheville, NC in about 6 hours.

[nalabama]

Fed Up,

Try the Sierra Club, Canoe Club, and Ski Club. Hikes on Monte Sano meet at the State Park parking lot--see the paper for details. There should be some guys out there that will value these shared interests, but you might have to settle for someone younger than 50. Good luck with your job search.

[lisamm]

Well I moved to Huntsville, Al from NY. Alabama is a great place to raise your kids. It's more family oriented, less crime. Parents seem to care and keep track of their kids, the school systems are great and work with you when your kid has a problem. The people are great, strangers say good morning, good after noon where in NY you get the middle finger. The only thing i couldn't get use to was the hot humid weather and how everything closes so early, NY life, the city never sleeps. I loved it in NY and lots of fun things to do but when you have kids you think differently. Don't you see anything different about living in Alabama. The way people greet you. In Ny no one even talks to you but give you dirty looks. It takes time to get use to a slower life style but then again it's not for everyone. Maybe alabama is just not for you and maybe you should move somewhere else.

[Zanzibar]

Only 2 weeks in to my move to Bama from CA- what I like is the people (very friendly), the housing costs (dirt cheap!), the ridiculous natural resources that have been a boon to the economy, and lack of congestion (CA was rough in that way).

What I don't like is the pedestrian-unfriendly total lack of urban planning that seems to characterize most cities towns, but it seems that there is some impetus to change all that.

Honestly, I think AL is up and coming, though it does seem things do move slower in the south.

[lisamm]

Originally Posted by IDVague

You say you are lucky to have a "good" job, but in another thread you say you are near the poverty level. How can it be both?

Southern Girl you want to see dirty, try living up North and yes the jobs pay more here but it doesn't make a difference when you have to pay 2,000 a month rent for a 3 bedroom apt. or a house will cost over 400,000 and the food is expensive and the gas bill is about $500 a month . I lived both North and South and in my opinion Huntsville is a great place to live and raise a family.