Move to Alabama or Florida? (Birmingham, Huntsville: renting, how much, houses)

[Becky2517]

Originally Posted by pamnbam

LCTMadison always has great tips!

There are quite a few newer neighborhoods in West Huntsville (near Triana/off Zierdt Rd) that might fit your price range. Not sure about the demographics, though, so I agree that a visit is in order.

My husband and I made 3 trips to Huntsville to talk with a realtor and look at houses before settling on an area/neighborhood. We have been very pleased with our decision! Best wishes!

LTC does, doesn't she! Never once steered us in the wrong direction/neighborhood! We even bought a house I hadn't seen, only online, but, hubby did - After living here for just over 2 months, I can honestly say it's been our best (& final) move! From our house to a fantastic medical provider & shopping, everything has been positive ('cept ISP)! People are friendly & helpful, stresslevel is at close to zip, weather is hot & humid...which is perfect for gardening, fair amount of decent restaurants...we're close to absolutely everything & no traffic to speak of, cost of living (compared to DC) is great - I loved the FL panhandle & the beaches, but this area is far, far better!

[FatTails]

I lived in Florida (Daytona) for three years and after being in HSV for 6 months, I can say this place is way better than FL. I've also visited my share of states/cities and I would say Tampa is the unfriendliest city I've ever had the displeasure of visiting. Alabama has prettier scenery, friendlier people, better schools (well, HSV does), etc.

I'll also add that I would take the greatschools ratings with a grain of salt. They are definitely an important tool for evaluating a school, but ranking a school based solely on its standardized test scores is misleading, in my opinion anyway. Especially when a school with a 10 may average a 99% on a state test while a school with a 7 gets an incredibly low score of 90% on the same test.

[brianjb]

I have lived in Florida for several years. I grew up there, went to high school there and college there. I also lived in Huntsville for about 7 years.

There are pros and cons to both, but I would prefer Tampa to Huntsville.

[Junita]

Seems like everyone here is so friendly! Thank you ALL so so much! I totally understand about high taxes, we live in one of the highest taxed areas in the country! This year we pay $7,000 for our small and old house! We probably pay half of my husband's income on taxes here. Traffic is the worst here as well (although not as bad as in NYC or LA!).

My family have been slowly moving to FL from overseas, so we have been skyping for years!

Originally Posted by brianjb

I have lived in Florida for several years. I grew up there, went to high school there and college there. I also lived in Huntsville for about 7 years.

There are pros and cons to both, but I would prefer Tampa to Huntsville.

Wow! Seems like you moved a lot too! Can you tell me why you prefer Tampa?

[ReggaeBusRider]

Originally Posted by Junita

Wow, thanks for all the info and support! We are not really thinking about high schools right NOW haha, I don't even wanna think that my baby is almost one year old!

What neighborhoods would you recommend? Our budget would be 200k - 250k. We want a newer home in a neighborhood with other young families.

On a funny note, I've always LOVED the southern accent, but I'm not sure how common it really is!? My hubby would say a few really southern words here and there and I'm like, say it again!

What type of area do you prefer? In your price range, you will have many options for nice homes around 2200-3000 sq ft. I live 8 miles east of Huntsville and love it. It is scenic, small town feel, very "down to earth" friendly people, beautiful nature trails and golf courses.

I also lived in Madison slightly closer to Huntsville and I did not like it. It is the opposite of where I live now and housing, taxes, and WATER are expensive. I do have many friends that live there and they like it other than the poorly planned roads. If you like "hustle and bustle" Madison is about the best you will find around here.

One thing you do not have to worry about is finding the southern drawl. It will be wherever you live!

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by ReggaeBusRider

What type of area do you prefer? In your price range, you will have many options for nice homes around 2200-3000 sq ft. I live 8 miles east of Huntsville and love it. It is scenic, small town feel, very "down to earth" friendly people, beautiful nature trails and golf courses.

I also lived in Madison slightly closer to Huntsville and I did not like it. It is the opposite of where I live now and housing, taxes, and WATER are expensive. I do have many friends that live there and they like it other than the poorly planned roads. If you like "hustle and bustle" Madison is about the best you will find around here.

One thing you do not have to worry about is finding the southern drawl. It will be wherever you live!

If you live in HC like you have said many times then your taxes are actually HIGHER than Madison as HSV has a higher tax rate (Madison is 5.75 and HSV is 5.8). Just barely, probably not enough to even notice, but it is. In fact....here's a homestead tax comparison of a $200k house....in HSV, $1112, in Madison, $1102, New Hope/OCX/Gurley $802, Madison County $682. When you look at those comparatively, while living in the city does cost more in taxes, you also have more city services not available in the county and that can affect your homeowner insurance rates in the county (due to volunteer fire, etc), so many times it becomes a wash.

Expensive water??? REALLY? That's a first. My water bill is typically around $25-$30 for a family of three.

As far as housing, the prices are pretty comparable when looking at Madison and Hampton Cove, so I am not sure what you are talking about.

Hustle and bustle is about the LAST way I think anyone would describe Madison (or really ANY part of HSV period). Its typically described as a "bedroom community". I still laugh anytime anyone complains about traffic here.....really, go live in Bham or ATL or even Destin, FL and get back to me....

Really.....this is getting beyond ridiculous. This board is meant for HONEST posting and feedback and with the amusement park junk, Bridgestreet shutting down, and other ridiculous stuff its really getting old and it doesn't help ANYONE who wants good, honest information about the area.

[ReggaeBusRider]

@Junita - I will not speak for others as some do for me... you just have to ignore the noise here sometimes.

When I said 8 miles east of Huntsville, I was referring to Big Cove and surrounding areas. Very friendly "southern" people and a variety of home options from country home to new neighborhood developments. Here are the facts about taxes:

Madison County Property Tax Facts

For a 200k home in Madison, Hampton Cove or most other areas you will pay around $1100/yr. In the Big Cove area, you will pay around $670. I tend to be cheap so that is a big deal to me.

The water thing is just a pet peeve (being cheap as usual). When I lived in Madison I payed $40/month. Now I pay $15.

I hope ya'll spend some time investigating the area... I am sure you will find an area you love!! BTW, stay away from these turf wars... some people get downright silly if you critique their area!

All the Best,
RBR

[Becky2517]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

Expensive water??? REALLY? That's a first. My water bill is typically around $25-$30 for a family of three.

As far as housing, the prices are pretty comparable when looking at Madison and Hampton Cove, so I am not sure what you are talking about.

Hustle and bustle is about the LAST way I think anyone would describe Madison (or really ANY part of HSV period). Its typically described as a "bedroom community". I still laugh anytime anyone complains about traffic here.....really, go live in Bham or ATL or even Destin, FL and get back to me....

Really.....this is getting beyond ridiculous. This board is meant for HONEST posting and feedback and with the amusement park junk, Bridgestreet shutting down, and other ridiculous stuff its really getting old and it doesn't help ANYONE who wants good, honest information about the area.

Right on! I was lucky & only got good info before moving here from this board - found our realtor, learned about the area, shopping, living, taxes etc & while informative, it didn't sway our decision one way or another! Unless I've missed something, I don't think any participant here has a magic crystal ball to foresee/predict the future of MSM, BS, amusement parks or anywhere else for that matter...one thing I have noticed tho, the Negative Nellies are primarily men! I did extensive research before moving here, from statistics to CoL comparisons, drew my own conclusions & was happy with what I found - opinions are all relative, & I was very pleasantly surprised when I arrived here, after hubby had been here for 2 months & already loved living here - H'ville/Madison is a well kept secret in the Gov contracting/security world & had we listened to people's "Alabama, why???" We would still be dealing with big city life, taxes, insane traffic & the stress of DC metro life. I truly had to laugh at "hustle & bustle"...have you been to Madison lately?? What traffic?? If you get stuck in "traffic", use your handy GPS, take a side road & you're home in no time! As I'm sitting on my patio this morning, watching no less than 6 new houses being built, very nice ones I might add & a lovely, quiet neighborhood (minus said construction), I've seen the name "Lake Foreclosure" being used to describe our adr - if so, why are there so few houses for sale, but a ton of new construction? In my experience, foreclosures only happened to those who overextended themselves & got "silly financing" (balloon, interest only, really??) to get the bigger, better home...buy & live within your means & you won't be house-poor & end up losing your house! We're close to E V E R Y T H I N G, decent prices (in my opinion), combined utilities are lower (again, my opinion, & we're certainly not cheap), great, friendly neighbors...I've lived all over Europe (from there) & US (legal immigrant), this is our last move & we're beyond happy! The very best advice I can give anyone looking at moving to the area, be it Madison or H'ville (to me it's one big, continuous area) - do your research x 10, visit, draw your own conclusions & enjoy the move!

[Junita]

You guys, no need to start debates, home is where the heart is right?? Really, I just wanted to know if I should move to AL to start with, not sure exactly where yet. I know you are all trying to help and you have no idea how grateful I am to this!

I think, the jobs are in Huntsville (at least where my husband's jobs will be) but we are starting to consider Madison to live, I heard it's newer?

I'm sure any traffic in any part in Alabama won't be as remotely as bad is in Chicago (what a relief!)

I'm glad our price range would get us a decent home, where we are now, 400K wouldn't get you a nice newer home at ALL, really it just depresses me living here sometimes.

I've been looking at the pictures here of the Huntsville-Madison area and I gotta admit it's all so gorgeous

[ReggaeBusRider]

Excellent!! I think you and your family will love it here and you are right; there is no traffic here compared to a big city. I commuted in D.C. and Honolulu for years and there is no comparison.

Send me a DM if your husband has any questions about local government contracts. It is becoming a tough contractor environment but there are still opportunities.