Help!! Possibly relocating to Huntsville for job opp (Birmingham, Madison: house, buy)

[WISTOMOVE]

Ok everybody I need some help fast. I have a possible job opportunity in Huntsville (Redstone) that kind of came out of nowhere so I really don't know much about the area and I need to figure it out quickly. I'm looking for information on:

Housing : looking for something between 300-350,000, 4 bedroom if possible within a 15-20 minute commute to Redstone/schools.

Schools : Any info on elementary, middle and high school. We have one child in each.

Recreation : What outdoors rec is available in the area, specifically water/fishing/camping? Are there any museums or other cultural amenities close by?

Shopping : what grocery/big box/mom&pop stores do you have? How about a farmers market?

We're still trying to decide if this is a move for us so any help is very much appreciated. Thx.

[IRBS]

You should probably visit before you make the decision, that would answer many of your questions.

Housing: You wont have any trouble finding your requirment here. You pricerange and size is about par for the course here.

Schools: Many good school districts here. Best bet is to do some reading and find a few that you like and then ask some more specifics. There's probably 3-4 good schools for both your middle and high schooler. Really depends on what part of town youre looking into.

Recreation: Wheeler Lake, Lake Guntersville, Monte Santo State Park, Lake Guntersville State Park, Cathedral Caverns, Museum district downtown, Ton's of historical sites around...Minor League Baseball, Hockey and Arena 2 Football...

Shopping: Just about whatever you want and if it's not in Huntsville Nashville and Birmingham are both very close. There are a few Farmer's Markets in the area.

Like I said, visit and do some reading. I love Huntsville and wont ever live anywhere else. (I work for Uncle Sam too...)

[caution]

that price range was a little "overbuilt" if you ask me-- there were several on the market when we went house shopping in December

350K will buy a hell of a house down here, unless you get up on the mountain maybe

15-20 minutes to Redstone could be several places -- unless you count the wait time to get in the gate, I hear that can sometimes get backed up (I work in town, live 13.8 miles from work, and allow 20-25 min. to give you a general idea of "traffic.")

I don't know about schools. (Many threads on that)

Recreation and culture is probably relative to where you're coming from. We moved from the DC area and "had it all" in that department so weren't that impressed (no worries though). However, if we were moving from another similar sized southern city, it would have been a recreation and culture "upgrade".

Shopping is here. Most anything you'd expect (malls, Bridge Street, big box chains, etc. etc.)

I'm glad we moved becuase I was tired of the high cost of living and break-neck pace in DC. A caviat though, I was raised in the south, so I was ok with the weather and other southern things.

[Charles]

Check valleymls.com for a great housing tool

There are good schools and there are bad schools. Check out greatschools.net and the AL dept of Education and also this forum (search)

Most stores are here but depending on where you are coming from (a large city) you may find not everything is here. Huntsville is not a huge town and it doesn't support every nook and cranny business.

Madison and South Huntsville are within those commute requirements.

I don't know about all the water/fishing/camping but I've read that there is lots of it in this region.

Schools

Here are the Huntsville City, Madison County and Madison City High School 2008 proficiency data sorted by subgroup for both reading and math.

Huntsville High School did quite well as did Grissom and Bob Jones.

(Click on the image expansion bar at the top of each image.)


Math



Reading

[WISTOMOVE]

Thanks for the info so far. Just a little more background, we are from a smaller (60,000) town in the upper midwest. Cultural events are a 3 1/2 hour drive from here but we do have access to major rivers and lakes within 10 minutes of our house. Currently my commute is about 12 minutes on average (I know I'm spoiled but I like it). Coming down to visit first doesn't appear to be an option at this point so I'm trying to gather as much as I can in a rather short amount of time (I know, not exactly optimal) so keep it coming. What's the economy like outside of the military, i.e. manufacturing/production/distribution?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by WISTOMOVE

What's the economy like outside of the military, i.e. manufacturing/production/distribution?

Probably better than where you are coming from.

[emglo]

We relocated to Madison from Iowa in January and really enjoyed the temperate climate, especially after hearing all of the snow the midwest had. We've found you can get much more house for your money because of much lower property taxes. The schools are much better here than they are in Iowa, which was surprising to me. Now that it's summer, I wasn't that prepared for the humidity, combined with the heat, which is much worse here than in the midwest. The sweet tea and BBQ is fantastic! We are very happy that we made the move here, especially since we finally sold our house and have purchased one in Madison. It seems like this area has not been hit as hard with the recession, especially when I see plants and businesses closing in my hometown. Good luck with your decision!

[WISTOMOVE]

So what about tornadoes?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by WISTOMOVE

So what about tornadoes?

Search the forum:

//www.city-data.com/forum/hunts...tornadoes.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/hunts...-concerns.html

[Keeper]

If you like boating/fishing/camping you are just a short drive away from the Lake Guntersville where they have several professional bass tournaments every year.

Tornadoes warnings are something you learn to deal with around here. The local TV stations do an excellent job of tracking any possible tornado development. There are sirens in most areas unless you live way out in a rural area. IIRC it has been 1989 since there was a direct hit in H'ville proper.

Depending on where you live now, summer is HOT but it only last 3 months and you are only 5 hours away from the Gulf.