Hi! I'm New Here! (Birmingham, Huntsville: for sale, coupons, hotel)

[TC2coolmom]

Originally Posted by pamnbam

Hi everyone! I've been lurking on and off for a couple of months, and I figured I might as well create an account.

My and family and I currently live in the greater Washington, D.C. area and we are looking to move to Huntsville next year. We've taken quite a few trips to the area over the last three years and we've finally decided on a home in Lake Forest. We're really excited and will close in February.

I'm happy to be here and hope to learn lots from you "seasoned" people in Huntsville!

My husband and i are also from D.C. left in 2002 and moved around too we found Madison Al. It took alot to get use too ,comming from such a busy , lots to do city to the slow pace of life here. It has a been a wonderful transition and i hope you enjoy it as much as we have. Good luck.

[pamnbam]

Originally Posted by writerwife

Hi Pam, and almost welcome to the area! :-)

Here's a thread that has local and sorta local (or day trip) places to visit with many of them off the beaten path.
//www.city-data.com/forum/hunts...-visitors.html

Thanks so much for this! There are a lot of places on this thread that I hadn't heard of before! There's just so much to do and take kids to down there!

Originally Posted by Keeper

Check out the photo thread and the AL scenic trips thread. They are both stickies meaning they are at the top of each forum. There are so many things to see and do around here. I love fall here.

Thanks, Keeper! I always enjoy pics!

Originally Posted by ghett61

I actually did the opposite move a little over a year ago. I lived my whole life in north Alabama, so it was a good change for me. My whole family still lives in Alabama. Here are 3 things that popped in my head that are minor differences.
1. There just really is not a grocery store that compares to Wegmans.
2. You have to either go to Nashville or Birmingham to get your Chipotle fix.
3. I could eat Middle Eastern kabobs for the rest of my life and die happy, but unless things changed recently, you cannot find that in Huntsville area.

Oh no! No Chipotle? Believe it or not, I've only been there three times in this area, but I've never been disappointed. Wegman's is a great place! We love to just go there for lunch sometimes. Their prices are kind of high, though. I would definitely miss those two things. I've never tried Middle Eastern kabobs, but there's a place around the corner from me; I better try one before March!

[pamnbam]

Originally Posted by TC2coolmom

My husband and i are also from D.C. left in 2002 and moved around too we found Madison Al. It took alot to get use too ,comming from such a busy , lots to do city to the slow pace of life here. It has a been a wonderful transition and i hope you enjoy it as much as we have. Good luck.

Hi TC! Yes, I agree with getting used to the slower pace of life--literally! Whenever we come down to Huntsville, I'm surprised at how slowly people drive and have trouble with merging.

It's interesting, though, that 565 is a huge (4+ lane road) with never any traffic and I live along the I-95 corridor, and it's three lanes in most places and constant traffic. So all the people passing through and the local traffic has to share the road and it gets so congested.

I love the way Huntsville is designed, with many ways to get somewhere, because that's definitely lacking up here. Memorial Parkway's flyovers are a dream! Here, whenever there's too much traffic, the solution is to build another traffic light!

But malls opening at 12 and later on the weekends (I think it was like that at Madison Square), that's going to take some getting used to, but I think I'll live!

[djmaxwell]

Originally Posted by pamnbam

Memorial Parkway's flyovers are a dream!

You are the first person I have ever seen make that statement. My wife & I moved here 6 years ago from Denver and absolutely love it, but the Parkway is one of the most bizarre roads I've ever seen.

[pamnbam]

Originally Posted by djmaxwell

You are the first person I have ever seen make that statement. My wife & I moved here 6 years ago from Denver and absolutely love it, but the Parkway is one of the most bizarre roads I've ever seen.

LOL!! If only you could see the traffic mess we're going to leave behind. I guess Memorial Parkway is a little bizzarre, but it's just so easy to get from place to place!

From 565 at Memorial all the way to Airport Road, it would literally take 20 minutes to go the same distance here. There's a traffic light every 500-1000 feet or so on the main roads around here.

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by djmaxwell

...the Parkway is one of the most bizarre roads I've ever seen.

That's why the locals call it "the rollercoaster."

[BobWallace]

Originally Posted by ghett61

3. I could eat Middle Eastern kabobs for the rest of my life and die happy, but unless things changed recently, you cannot find that in Huntsville area.

Jamo's serves kabobs:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/m/r/168/968599

[lindy112]

Originally Posted by pamnbam

LOL!! If only you could see the traffic mess we're going to leave behind. I guess Memorial Parkway is a little bizzarre, but it's just so easy to get from place to place!

From 565 at Memorial all the way to Airport Road, it would literally take 20 minutes to go the same distance here. There's a traffic light every 500-1000 feet or so on the main roads around here.

I completely agree with you! We moved to Huntsville from NOVA a year ago and I think those "flyovers" on the Parkway are awesome. I can think of at least 5 roads in NOVA that would benefit from this system.

[lizinva]

We just moved here from Northern VA. We just closed on our house a week ago this past Friday. I am surrounded by boxes but happier than a pig in a mud puddle.

NO TRAFFIC! People will talk about the traffic but compared to the D.C. area this is a dream

There are some adjustments but I actually think they are positive in some ways. I do miss the variety of shopping and it is a slower pace here but I think that forces us to enjoy the important things in life.

Having lived in Japan and German before the internet I guess I would have to say that made me realize that there really is quite a bit here.

There are a couple of greek places that have kabobs, I haven't had time to try them out but I am sure you can get a good kabob here somewhere!

If you like BBQ there is plenty of that.

There is some fine dining here such as Cotton Row and Connors. I haven't tried Connors but I love Cotton Row.

If you like to hike and bike there is a lot of that here and every weekend there are a ton of things to do in the area.

We ended up in Madison and we are very happy with our choice of neighborhood and my husband loves his 20 minute commute to the Jet Plex.

[ghett61]

Speaking of traffic and driving, one thing you will notice is that people in north Alabama do not stop 3 car lengths behind the car in front of them at traffic lights. I still have not figured out why so many people do that up here.