Visiting Huntsville - where to go? (Birmingham, Decatur: extended stay, hotel, houses)

[DvlsAdvc8]

My wife and I are considering relocating to Huntsville. We currently live outside Washington DC, having moved here from Long Beach MS. We both miss the somewhat slower pace of life in the south, but still need the high tech economy. Huntsville looks like it was made for us.

When we lived on the Mississippi coast, we both worked for a NASA contractor at Stennis Space Center (Computer Sciences Corp). We transfered to DC after Katrina (lost everything). We may be able to transfer to Huntsville as well.

I'm 30; my wife is 29 and we have a 12 month old daughter. I'm an IT guy (Programmer/Analyst/DBA sort) and my wife is a Financial Analyst.

We're planning a trip to Huntsville in late June - that I'm combining with a motorcycle trackday at Barber in Birmingham.

To make the most of our limited time, what would you recommend doing and seeing while we're in Huntsville and the surrounding area? We'll probably be staying for 2-3 days.

Any other comments and advice would be helpful. I've been scouring all the threads and this seems like a very nice community!

Hope to see yall soon.

[NicoleC]

Huntsville does sounds like a good fit for you. Late June should be very nice for a visit although we could have some early hot weather. Since I assume this is not really a vacation and is most scoping out the area for relocation, I would first want to know what your commute tolerance is and general price range?

If you don't mind a longer commute and want a more rural lifestyle, you should probably drive east along 72 to Scottsboro, head SE towards Hampton Cove, drive west towards Athens (which will also encompass a swath of Madison) and SW towards Decatur and Hartselle. This will give you a general sense of the character of the outlying communities and how far away they are. Just remember the best parts aren't on the main drag.

If you want to stay closer in, your price range will be more important to steer you to parts of town that are good candidates for you. Also, if you prefer public or private schools once your daughter is of school age -- some really great neighborhoods have so-so schools, so being open to private schooling will improve your options. If not, no worries; Huntsville has some very good school districts.

For recreation, the Botanical Gardens will be fabulous in June and Huntsville offers both low-brow BBQ joints and some more elegant dining, depending on your preference and whims that day -- there is good food at both ends of the spectrum. Where are you planning on staying when you are here?

[DvlsAdvc8]

Thanks for the reply Nicole. Our trip is a little bit of vacation and little bit of scoping the area out. We have family in Meridian MS who will be coming out the the racetrack, and then we'll all probably spend time in Huntsville.

Probably 30 mins is the most I'd like to commute. That's the same as my commute now, but I only travel 13 miles lol.

We're first time homebuyers looking in the neighborhood of 200k give or take.

We will probably stay at something like an extended stay hotel. Somewhere that we don't have to eat out every breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Do you know of any neighborhoods or developments that might be good to check out? As it stands, we're going to run through the malls and retail spots - but don't really know much as far as where to look for homes.

[NicoleC]

In that price range within 30 minutes of Research Park, you are probably looking at a resale home in Madison and outlying areas, or south-east Huntsville.

There are some very good buys in SE Huntsville but many of the homes are 60-70's ranchers and may need some work and/or updating. These tend to be unimpressive looking brick ranchers, often basement ranchers, but SE Huntsville is a great area with good schools, convenient to shopping, activities and most of Huntsville.

You could go north to Harvest or towards Decatur, but you are getting in the 30-45 minute commute range. Especially toward Harvest, increasing congestion is going to send that commute time upward in the near future.

Madison and the outlying areas have a very suburban feel, most of it cookie-cutter with less than optimal construction quality. But the schools are good, the homes are newer, and if you want less of an urban feel closer into town, Madison may be a good choice. There are some new construction homes around $200k, but the newer resale homes are a much better value and the market is less competitive, which is helpful for a first time buyer who wants more time to look around.

If you are open to private schooling, you can find older, smaller homes in Five Points and the Medical District in very quaint, historic neighborhoods convenient to everything. Moving northward, there are some very good buys in Chapman Heights, but again, the schools are not that good and the homes are going to be a bit older and may have issues. IMO, this area is a better place to live, more convenient and is more attractive, but you are often dealing with even older homes and the inevitable issues that some with them. On the upside, this area seems to be poised for better housing price growth than SE Huntsville and Madison is a built overbuilt right now which will hinder property value growth.

You may also find some options in NE Huntsville over the mountain. There are some congestion issues coming over 72, but they don't last long. NE Huntsville is a newer growth area with, at the moment, little to offer but much in the planning stages. You won't find new construction in your price range, but there are some resale homes.

I think if you check out the neighborhoods while you are here, you will be better armed to window shop on ValleyMLS.com for actual prices and amenities available that suit you.

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by NicoleC

You may also find some options in NE Huntsville over the mountain. There are some congestion issues coming over 72, but they don't last long. NE Huntsville is a newer growth area with, at the moment, little to offer but much in the planning stages. You won't find new construction in your price range, but there are some resale homes.

The geography of NE huntsville is very nice, It's what attracted me to that area. I think there are a lot of new neighborhoods in the NE Huntsville area with houses around the 200K range. Chase Creek at SpringHill off of Jordan road ranges from about 170K to the lower 200s. Brooke's landing off of Jordan Road (close to shields road) has some houses in that range too. Genesis right across from Brooke's landing also is in that price range i'm not sure how many lots they have left though. Those are some of the ones on the 72 side.. there are tons of new neighborhoods down the far end of Winchester which is probably a longer commute than the ones I mentioned above. The congestion can be a pain but you can really avoid it altogether depending on what time you leave for work. When theres an accident its a nightmare but non peak hours it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so to get to research park. But like NicoleC says the best thing to do is to go to ValleyMLS.com. You can even search for houses in just a particular portion of town say if you want to live in Madison City limits, or west huntsville city limits or northeast madison county.

[Southlander]

Got a friend from here in Decatur who is now at Stennis.
You may want to plan more than a day at the Barber track...a separate day for the museum...it's incredible!

[NicoleC]

Don't forget the:
Official Subdivision Guide - Huntsville / Madison County Builders Association

... for new construction.

[HsvMike]

Everyone has given great advice. You can really find a home in all parts of Huntsville / Madison County for that price. It really just depends on what kind of home you are looking for. ( size, age, ammentities, rural, suburban, city etc. ) The North / South line for Hsv is University Drive. The East / West line is Memorial Parkway. That should help you looking on a map when everyone talks about specific areas.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Got a friend from here in Decatur who is now at Stennis.
You may want to plan more than a day at the Barber track...a separate day for the museum...it's incredible!

We may do that. As it stands I'm on the track for the whole weekend so maybe we'll look at the museum Friday.

[DvlsAdvc8]

Originally Posted by HsvMike

The North / South line for Hsv is University Drive. The East / West line is Memorial Parkway. That should help you looking on a map when everyone talks about specific areas.

Very helpful thanks!