Visited Huntsville area last week, loved it! I like a place in New Market but hubby works at Redstone. (Moores Mill: houses)

[wls2624]

Judging from the map, it looks like an hour's drive, not counting traffic. I was able to find a house with the acres I need for my dogs and I heard Buckhorn is a decent school district. Hubby would be using gate 7. Would it be a hard commute? How long would you guess the drive would be with traffic? Is New Market a decent place? Is Buckhorn a good school, High School, Middle and Elementary?

[caution]

I live out that way but can't really comment on the schools at all. Chances are that the schools are fine, but there's a hive-mind concept in this area about what schools are the "best" and the rest get bashed frequently.

The area is great.

Here are the good parts:

- inexpensive homes (I got a big ass house. I could move the Gitmo kids in upstairs.)

- nice people

- the area is "diverse" and that's code speak for my mixed race marraige does not get double takes on my street becuase people who are not white live there. :-) :-) :-) I hear that further out there are some folks who don't take kindly to dark tans, but I've not seen them, or if I did, they kept to themselves.

Here are the down sides to living out there:

- to go to a store other than Publix, you have to drive about 15-20 minutes.

- traffic is relative to where you are moving from, it takes me about 25 minutes to drive 13.6 miles to work in HSV. no matter where you live here, if you work on Redstone, the line at the gate will be a bit of a wait -- but they are in the middle of a long term automated entry system to help out (it's still a few years out, but gates are being upgraded for the tech)

- when school is in session, everyone in the entire state drives their kid, and their kid only, to school (with the exception of a few people who put their kid on a bus at like 545 AM) this makes going down Winchester (NE of Homer Nance where the Publix is) a 20 minute ordeal unless you get by the school zone before 7 AM

- you have to go over Chapman Mountain to come to town (unless you use Memorial, kind of the long way) and Chapman Mountain 72/565 should be renamed "Darwin's Run" because of the frequency of accidents in an area that should be mostly accident free. something about that small hill causes chaos, anarchy and anger in drivers, and it's worse when it rains, looks like it might rain, or smells like rain.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by wls2624

I was able to find a house with the acres I need for my dogs

Is Buckhorn a good school, High School, Middle and Elementary?

Do you have kids? Ages?

Have you lived on a large lot (like 2+ acres) with kids before? If not, your dogs may love it but your kids may hate it. Too sparse. Your kids would appreciate having a higher kid density. Play dates with the kids 1/2 mile away won't cut it.

Buckhorn HS is a Great Schools 10 of 10. That's really good.

Buckhorn High School - New Market, Alabama - AL - School overview

[hey teach]

We live in the Riverton area, just west of New Market. We love it here. I teach in Huntsville, my husband goes to Redstone every day. As Caution stated there are pockets of traffic problems. School zones and the intersection of Moores Mill and Winchester to be specific. But considering we had a 90 minute commute in our previous life, I consider our current drive easy.

I personally do not have school age children, but have friends that do. Everyone I know is thrilled with the area schools.

Are you looking at a subdivision with large lots or a random house on a piece of acreage. I live in a subdivision, but out here random houses are not unusual. I think your kids will adapt. We lived on a 500 acre farm when my children were young, we managed. The world does not revolve around play dates. If this property fits your family needs everything else should work itself out.

[wls2624]

The kids loved the house and the space. Where we live now, we have to drive to play dates anyway so no difference there. I was just wondering about the commute and he schools and area. Sounds like it is nice. Driving 20 -25 minutes to go to the store or what have you is the norm for me now, so no biggie there either. Hubby drives 30 min to work right now but looks like it would take him and hour or more with traffic. Was just wondering if that was correct. The road with the accidents and angry drivers, is there an alternate route?

[caution]

There are alternates, but the bad parts of traffic are VERY tiny compared to elsewhere. A slow down here (like over the hill at Chapman Mtn) is treated as "heavy traffic" but it only takes 5 minutes to get through it, unless there's a wreck.

I'd guess 20-30 minutes to the gate, and however long it takes to get in the gate (I don't go on Redstone that often)


There is an alternate - Winchester to Memorial Parkway to wherever and there are "mini alternates" to get to Hwy 72/565 while avoiding Moore's Mill Road itself. Although, when I make my "short cut" I often see the same cars who went Moore's Mill a few minutes later, lol.