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So I'm strongly thinking of moving to Huntsville Alabama and of March 2020. My sister moved there 8 years ago and loves it. We grew up in Washington State the desert side of Seattle. That's where I currently live. I'm looking for knowledge of Huntsville. The good, the bad and everything in between. What do you like beat and what don't you like about it. How often do Hurricanes or Storms happen? Gators? Bugs how bad or big are they? Are people really nicer down there? How about culture? Fun things to do places to go? I don't have any kids but I have a niece and nephew both school age. Things I could take them to that I might still enjoy? I love the zoo nand animal places like that or just local hangouts.
LOL. You’d have to go to Mobile to experience hurricanes and gators. Huntsville is better known for tornadoes.
Actually, there are alligators here. One was spotted just last week in Lake Forest, a neighborhood on the south side of Martin Rd west of Zierdt Rd. I've heard they were imported to the area some years ago. Some say it was to prevent the species from going extinct in case of major hurricanes around the Gulf, but that seems like a very unlikely reason to me.
But to the OP's question: Huntsville is a nice town, but it all depends on what you like.
We don't have hurricanes, but occasionally decadent hurricanes from the Gulf will pass through or nearby. The highest winds I recall from one of these storms was about 50 mph. Rains can be heavy, and sometimes tornadoes are spun off the low pressure.
We have bugs, pretty much like anywhere else. They're not big, not small ... nothing special about them.
Are people nicer? Probably nicer than those from the northeastern big cities, but not sugarly sweet. It's not really a Southern town, or at least like the stereotypical friendliness you hear about. Generally speaking people are friendly but don't go overboard with it.
Culture? Plenty ... nice art museum, really good botanical garden, outstanding symphony orchestra, there's a Broadway Theater series in the fall and winter ... certainly not as cosmopolitan as NYC, but not backwoods either. Most people are quite highly educated.
We don't have a zoo and I've never heard anybody proposing to have one either. Personally, I hope we don't because I don't like keeping wild animals under those conditions, but that's just me. The nearest ones are in Nashville, and I think Birmingham still has one. There have been "petting zoos" off and on around here, but not sure if there's one at the moment or not.
Plenty of local hangouts. Several local breweries and clubs. One area that's lacking a bit for comparably sized towns is the availability of local restaurants, especially upper end ones. There are several "meat and 3" places that specialize in country food, but to me, most are not very good. Plenty of chain restaurants, and other attractions like Dave & Busters and Top Golf. The city is trying to make itself attractive to younger people now, and seems to be succeeding.
It's a fast growing town for Alabama, but not booming like Nashville, Austin, or DFW. What used to be cotton fields are now turning into neighborhoods. The airport's pretty good and rapidly getting better. I don't shop a lot, but in my opinion you can find just about anything you want in the local stores ... no need to travel to Atlanta unless you just have to have ultra-upper end merchandise.
Huntsville/Madison is generally a very forward thinking and progressive (not in the Democrat meaning, but in a "moving forward" sense), but there are still pockets of old fashionedness from some of the original residents.
In general, it'll be much more politically conservative than Washington state.
Actually, there are alligators here. One was spotted just last week in Lake Forest, a neighborhood on the south side of Martin Rd west of Zierdt Rd. I've heard they were imported to the area some years ago. Some say it was to prevent the species from going extinct in case of major hurricanes around the Gulf, but that seems like a very unlikely reason to me.
I believe that alligators were introduced about 35-40 years ago in an attempt to control the beaver population in the Wheeler Wildlife refuge along the river. Our winters are a little too cold for them to flourish but they have survived and are occasionally still sighted today.
My wife and I just moved back here after living in Albuquerque, NM for a little over 2 years. I'm not sure how the desert side of Seattle is but Albuquerque is:
-Higher altitude (4500-6000ft)
-Windy (dust/sand) most of the year
-Wet season July-September
-Mild summers (little humidity, duh)
-Winters were a little more severe being in a higher altitude and high winds
-No tornadoes but like I said above very windy
-Bug wise we had no mosquitos or fire ants but more cockroaches for some reason
-A lot more crime (remember Breaking Bad?)
We just missed the way of life here in Huntsville, and moved back three months ago.
One thing I'll say about the cultural things here...be prepared to pay. A lot. I don't have any clue how things are in Washington State or Seattle, but if they had free museums, nicely up-kept park areas to visit for free, etc. you may be in for a bit of a shock. I lived in WI for a few years and got used to having a lot of great FREE things to do. It's a little bit of a bummer that here you have to pay for every single thing. And also the library system isn't as good, lol. But, I pretty much grew up here and it is very nice in many ways mentioned above.
One thing I'll say about the cultural things here...be prepared to pay. A lot. I don't have any clue how things are in Washington State or Seattle, but if they had free museums, nicely up-kept park areas to visit for free, etc. you may be in for a bit of a shock. I lived in WI for a few years and got used to having a lot of great FREE things to do. It's a little bit of a bummer that here you have to pay for every single thing. And also the library system isn't as good, lol. But, I pretty much grew up here and it is very nice in many ways mentioned above.
Here are a couple of options for reduced cost cultural options:
1. The Huntsville Museum of Art has reduced admission on Thursday Nights - The cost is $5.00. The Art Museum is only worth visiting when there is a special exhibit which you find interesting.
2. If you're not opposed to driving, the Birmingham Museum of Art is free and has quite an extensive collection. While you're in Birmingham, you may want to check out the Botanical Gardens which are also free - both are owned by the City of Birmingham. The Birmingham Zoo is just across the street from the Botanical Gardens.
3. The Space and Rocket Center has some pretty good films in the National Geographic Theatre that are an interesting option. When you exit the theater, you walk into the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, so as a bargain, you get a free view of the rocket hardware they have there.
Even though these are not "cultural attractions", the extensive Greenways and Trails that are located within the City of Huntsville are quite unique to be in a city of this size. You have the option of experiencing mountain hiking just a couple of miles from the Downtown area.
Because Huntsville was a small town of 16,000 people in 1950, (before the Space Program began), there are not the established Art Museums and a Zoo like you find in other similar sized cities which began theirs during that time period. For example, in addition to Birmingham, Chattanooga has the Hunter Museum of Art, and Nashville has Cheekwood and the Frist. Speaking of these two cities, Chattanooga also has the Tennessee Aquarium and a zoo; Nashville also has a zoo and the Adventure Science Center. Both of these Tennessee cities are within a two hour drive.
We moved here from Long Beach, CA two years ago, and we love it. YES, the people are so much nicer. My neighbors all wave as we drive in and out of the neighborhood. Everyone stops to say hello, and the people who work in the stores and restaurants are so friendly and helpful. Everything is a lot cleaner too. None of the trash, graffiti, and general nastiness I was used to in Southern California. The schools are also much better too (at least in Madison, where we live). You will find here all the stores and many of the entertainment options you are used to. Huntsville and the surrounding areas always have things to do as well. There are history walks and ghost tours, pumpkin patches and arts festivals nearly every weekend. I love that fact that there is no traffic. People say there is, but if you are from a big city, it is nothing. I have never had to sit in stop-and-go traffic like what I experienced on the 405 freeway. Housing is cheaper, gas is cheaper, electricity is cheaper, taxes are cheaper. It was like we got a huge raise when we moved. One of the downsides is that it takes longer to get things done here. The area is growing so fast that you might have to wait longer than you are used to in order to get things done like carpet installation or electrical work. Sometimes that work costs more too. Summer can be pretty brutal. The humidity is hard to get used to. However, the mornings are generally cool enough for a run or bike ride, even in the summer. It is not like Houston when it is 80 degrees at 7:00 a.m. To sum up, we feel like our lives have improved in almost every measurable way. There are things we miss, but they are not enough to make us regret the move.
We moved here from Long Beach, CA two years ago, and we love it. YES, the people are so much nicer. My neighbors all wave as we drive in and out of the neighborhood. Everyone stops to say hello, and the people who work in the stores and restaurants are so friendly and helpful. Everything is a lot cleaner too. None of the trash, graffiti, and general nastiness I was used to in Southern California. The schools are also much better too (at least in Madison, where we live). You will find here all the stores and many of the entertainment options you are used to. Huntsville and the surrounding areas always have things to do as well. There are history walks and ghost tours, pumpkin patches and arts festivals nearly every weekend. I love that fact that there is no traffic. People say there is, but if you are from a big city, it is nothing. I have never had to sit in stop-and-go traffic like what I experienced on the 405 freeway. Housing is cheaper, gas is cheaper, electricity is cheaper, taxes are cheaper. It was like we got a huge raise when we moved. One of the downsides is that it takes longer to get things done here. The area is growing so fast that you might have to wait longer than you are used to in order to get things done like carpet installation or electrical work. Sometimes that work costs more too. Summer can be pretty brutal. The humidity is hard to get used to. However, the mornings are generally cool enough for a run or bike ride, even in the summer. It is not like Houston when it is 80 degrees at 7:00 a.m. To sum up, we feel like our lives have improved in almost every measurable way. There are things we miss, but they are not enough to make us regret the move.
Southern California has the worst traffic in the US, and the 405 is the worst of the worst. The only place remotely comparable in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic areas is Atlanta. Nashville is getting worse, but they've kept up with it quite well with road construction. The worst thing about Huntsville traffic, other than ALDOT not keeping up with road construction needs, is that some choose to drive like maniacs and are constantly changing lanes instead of just cruising along.
The humidity is not only hard to get used to, it's impossible to get used to. I've lived in the Southeast my entire life and it still bothers me. Spring and fall are pretty nice though (normally ... this year late summer-early fall has been brutally hot). Winters can be depressing with short days and lots of rain and quite chilly temps.
Regardless of the negatives, this area is a great place to live. Residents generally are also on the upper end of educational attainment, which makes it considerably more sophisticated than most places in the Southeast. And crime is pretty low in almost all neighborhoods ... downtown is safe at night.
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What is your sister's opinion of the place?
I've lived in the Southeast my entire life and it still bothers me. Spring and fall are pretty nice though (normally ... this year late summer-early fall has been brutally hot). Winters can be depressing with short days and lots of rain and quite chilly temps. 
