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Huntsville, Alabama and surrounding areas become similar to northwest Arkansas, road and highway construction, Beaver Lake future water sources, Tennessee Valley
Im not saying that Huntsville isn't seeing growth, but some people blow it way out of proportion.Most cities in the state are seeing growth as much as Hville.It's not all about Huntsville.I think Huntsville seems like it's growing to people from small towns because a rapid growth spurt to a small city.I was going to school in Jacksonville Fl for 3 years before coming to Huntsville and that's where I seen real growth.I seen a city transform by getting a professional football team and improving there interstate infrastructure.KE dont focus so much on Hville because trust me it's not this great busting city.Huntsville is nice quiet city in the Tennesse Valley where people escape the big city.That's why people love it.Honestly if you want to see growth go down I-65 through Jefferson an Shelby county.
Actually according to population estimates Jefferson County is not seeing growth at all. The Birmingham-Hoover metro area has grown 6.3 percent since 2000 to reach 1,117,608 people (an increase of about 65,000 people), ranking it the 48th largest U.S. metro area. From 2000 to 2008, Jefferson County lost 26,543 people to other Alabama counties or other states, giving it the largest domestic migration loss in Alabama. Shelby County was the opposite. It had a domestic migration gain of 29,862 people, the largest in the state. Basically Shelby county gained the lost population from Jefferson. Huntsville metro grew from 342,376 in 2000 to 395,645 in 2008. That's an increase of about 53,000 people for a metro area which is three times smaller than Birmingham and a 15% increase in population in eight years. I'm pretty sure 15% is the largest increase out of the larger cities in Alabama and if you look at the job numbers for Huntsville it's even more impressive. I'm actually interested where Madison County ranks on the growth since 2008 since Huntsville metro gained 53,000 people since 2000 I imagine most of those 53,000 people are in Madison and probably 10-15K are in Limestone so therefore Madison should have seen an increase of about 35-40K since 2000. Makes me wonder why Madison isn't ranked higher than Shelby's increase of 26,000 unless they are ranking it just by percentage which would be higher for Shelby(31%) since its population is less than Madison.
Montgomery grew by 5.6% during the same 2000- 2008 period from 346,528 to 365,924. Mobile grew from 399,843 to 406,309 which is a 1.61% increase. Tuscaloosa from 192,034 to 206,765 a 7.67% increase. All of the numbers are from the census estimates the only double digit number in that data for the larger cities is for Huntsville. That's why people talk so much about the growth in Huntsville they aren't exaggerating it at least not when comparing to other Alabama cities. Now to talk about real growth Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta gained over a million people since 2000. None of the Alabama cities are among the fastest growing in the nation probably only Auburn/Opelika a smaller metro area and Huntsville can even be thought about considered in the fastest growing nationally category.
Last edited by Huntsville_secede; 03-24-2009 at 12:33 AM..
Well you are blind the numbers don't lie.. look at the job increases and the population and the amount of retail.. Montgomery doesn't have the level of retail that Huntsville has gotten over the past few years. Just think BridgeStreet, Valley Bend, Providence, 72 west.. all of the areas have seen huge amounts of retail constructed in the last several years. Madison county had lead the state in job creation probably almost 18 out of the last 22 years. You just don't see it cause you dislike Huntsville and don't want to see it, almost anyone on here that lives or has visited Huntsville often or that has lived here in the past has agreed it has grown a lot over the past few years.
But you know what, for those 22 years Alabama was not seeing industry like it is today.Madison county was getting the most jobs because of the military.
KE you are suppose to be from Alabama come on, ride for the state.
Actually according to population estimates Jefferson County is not seeing growth at all. The Birmingham-Hoover metro area has grown 6.3 percent since 2000 to reach 1,117,608 people (an increase of about 65,000 people), ranking it the 48th largest U.S. metro area. From 2000 to 2008, Jefferson County lost 26,543 people to other Alabama counties or other states, giving it the largest domestic migration loss in Alabama. Shelby County was the opposite. It had a domestic migration gain of 29,862 people, the largest in the state. Basically Shelby county gained the lost population from Jefferson. Huntsville metro grew from 342,376 in 2000 to 395,645 in 2008. That's an increase of about 53,000 people for a metro area which is more than 3 times larger than Huntsville and a 15% increase in population in eight years. I'm pretty sure 15% is the largest increase out of the larger cities in Alabama and if you look at the job numbers for Huntsville its even more impressive. I'm actually interested where Madison Counties rank on the growth since 2008 since Huntsville metro gained 53,000 people since 2000 I imagine most of those 53,000 people are in Madison and probably 10-15K are in Limestone so makes me wonder how Madison didn't see more of a numerical increase than Shelby's (26,000) I'm sure by percentage Shelby would is higher (31%) since its population is less.
When I go there I see a lot more than I see here.So the numbers mean nothing to me.If you guys where to go somewhere other than Huntsville this conversation would probably be different.Huntsville_secede I know you have but your'e from Hville and going for the home team.
But you know what, for those 22 years Alabama was not seeing industry like it is today.Madison county was getting the most jobs because of the military.
KE you are suppose to be from Alabama come on, ride for the state.
I am, but people are going to blast on me even harder! Huntsville is big enough for everyone not to see all of its growth. Places like Harvest and Toney, places that I hang in, are exploding and are starting to develop. Alot of Huntsville's growth is starting to be present in areas that alot of people don't find. Remember Huntsville is at a whopping 202 square miles, making it bigger than Atlanta, Seattle, and other larger cities. Because Huntsville is that big, the growth is everywhere; it's just seems a little balanced. Zeirdt Road, Hampton Cove area, East Limestone/County Line Road area, etc. are seeming good growth. Yeah, true enough, when riding down I-565 is seems like you are in the country for half of the trip. That's because the growth is beyond the interstate and has yet to come to the interstate. When and if all of these proposed shopping centers are completed and built, I-565 will look surbia. I noticed you have to be patient. Remember, we are in Alabama, the place where people always like to oppose things. People are going to fight to keep the developers from developing the cotton fields along the interstate; whether they like it or not it's going to come.
Limestone County is started to see boom. In fact, Limestone County is the state's fastest growing county. Most of Limestone's growth is in Athens, East Limestone, and the Huntsville/Madison area. This growth isn't that much seen from t he interstate, but it is yet to hit the interstate.
I think maybe if you take a day or two to just explore Huntsville, you will actually see the growth tht is making people, especially me, jump off their feet.
I am, but people are going to blast on me even harder! Huntsville is big enough for everyone not to see all of its growth. Places like Harvest and Toney, places that I hang in, are exploding and are starting to develop. Alot of Huntsville's growth is starting to be present in areas that alot of people don't find. Remember Huntsville is at a whopping 202 square miles, making it bigger than Atlanta, Seattle, and other larger cities. Because Huntsville is that big, the growth is everywhere; it's just seems a little balanced. Zeirdt Road, Hampton Cove area, East Limestone/County Line Road area, etc. are seeming good growth. Yeah, true enough, when riding down I-565 is seems like you are in the country for half of the trip. That's because the growth is beyond the interstate and has yet to come to the interstate. When and if all of these proposed shopping centers are completed and built, I-565 will look surbia. I noticed you have to be patient. Remember, we are in Alabama, the place where people always like to oppose things. People are going to fight to keep the developers from developing the cotton fields along the interstate; whether they like it or not it's going to come.
Limestone County is started to see boom. In fact, Limestone County is the state's fastest growing county. Most of Limestone's growth is in Athens, East Limestone, and the Huntsville/Madison area. This growth isn't that much seen from t he interstate, but it is yet to hit the interstate.
I think maybe if you take a day or two to just explore Huntsville, you will actually see the growth tht is making people, especially me, jump off their feet.
Not only that but Birmingham is still 3 times larger than Huntsville metro so of course its growth is more noticeable. The 202 square miles is just the Huntsville city limits the area I would have to imagine has to be in the thousands for square miles considering the metro area is spread out all the way to the TN state line to the north.. all the way to the TN river to the south, all the way west to Athens and Decatur.. and East out towards Gurley. Another thing is some of the massive retail expansion you are seeing in Birmingham can also be classified as relocation of stuff they already had from blighted areas. You see that all the time in older larger cities, certain parts of town get run down and the retail and residential expansion occurs in new areas of the city. Jefferson has lost a lot of population and retail to Shelby County. Also Birmingham is still the prime and largest city of Alabama so the retail for Birmingham is not just for Birmingham people all over the state come to Birmingham to shop, Huntsville's retail is pretty much only for people that live in close proximity to Huntsville especially since Huntsville is not directly on I-65. That may be some of the reasons Huntsville's growth isn't as noticeable to you as Birmingham's.
Jefferson County actually is seeing growth. The past two years, it has started to rebound and has actually added some people. It's not much, but it's better than losing people.
I lived in NW Arkansas for a few years, and the one thing I would add to this discussion, is that the major handicap for growth in that area is the local economy's total reliance on Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods. I moved there in 2003, and at the time the area had just pulled itself together enough to begin reacting to the huge influx of people drawn to the area to work at each company's headquarters. The result was an explosion of almost completely uncoordinated growth as the local municipalities tried to keep up. We still own a home there, and through our tenants learned that recent layoffs at Wal-Mart's headquarters created a major chill on the growth in the area.
Have not yet moved to Huntsville, so I can not yet offer any personal observations on a true comparison. But I would encourage the original poster to evaluate whether they are comfortable with living in an area that is so totally reliant on the economic fate of two companies.
I lived in NW Arkansas for a few years, and the one thing I would add to this discussion, is that the major handicap for growth in that area is the local economy's total reliance on Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods. I moved there in 2003, and at the time the area had just pulled itself together enough to begin reacting to the huge influx of people drawn to the area to work at each company's headquarters. The result was an explosion of almost completely uncoordinated growth as the local municipalities tried to keep up. We still own a home there, and through our tenants learned that recent layoffs at Wal-Mart's headquarters created a major chill on the growth in the area.
Have not yet moved to Huntsville, so I can not yet offer any personal observations on a true comparison. But I would encourage the original poster to evaluate whether they are comfortable with living in an area that is so totally reliant on the economic fate of two companies.
Yeah. Huntsville kind of does remind you of Northwest Arkansas. Northwest Arkansas contain a cluster of major or important cities that have grown together and made one big metro.
Huntsville is similar. Huntsville, Madison, Athens, and even Decatur are growing closer and closer to each other rapidly.
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