Accepted job offer...excited! (Huntsville, Madison: apartment complex, renters, houses)

[onelilredrose]

OK, so hubby accepted the job offer for Huntsville! We think his start date will be the first week of April (so soon!).
We are looking at some rentals online and unfortunately cannot afford a visit to the area before we move.
We are hoping to find a decent 3 bedroom less than $800/month, hopefully more than 1 bath with a yard.
My hubby is from Chicago and misses lightening bugs, wants to know if there are any in Huntsville.
We would like to live near a wooded area or somewhere close for us to pack up and go camping/4wheeling for the weekend.
Is Huntsville a dry city? Any bars in the area looking to hire part-time waittress?
Woo-Hoo Huntsville, here we come!

[nalabama]

Huntsville is wet and has plenty of bars. I don't know of anyone who wanted to work as a waitress who had any difficulty finding work.

$800 a month for a 3/2 in Huntsville's safer areas is getting more rare, but I'm betting you'll find something if you bring references and present well.

And yes, Huntsville has ligtening bugs. Camping is available in Monte Sano State Park, as well as Guntersville State Park. Don't know of any nearby areas that welcome 4wheelers, but maybe others will come online and help you out there.

Good luck and welcome.

[Huntsville82]

We rented our first year here to make sure of the area that we wanted to live in before we bought. There are very few rentals in that price range in decent areas...especially in decent school districts. However, you might try watching the MLS to see if there are houses in your price range that are sitting on the market for a long time, contact the realtor and ask if the owner might consider renting it out. That is how I found our rental. The owner was thrilled.

[N00B]

Congrats on the new job offer and best of luck. I myself have been applying like crazy to get a job in the Huntsville area.
I have not been looking into rentals but as mentioned above $800 seems doable and the checking of MLS is also a great idea as well.

Valleymls.com is what I pretty much use as well as FSBO.com

[autobahn]

There are a couple of ATV places down by Cullman. It is about 45 minutes from Huntsville.

Here is one of them...
Stony Lonesome OHV Park - Cullman County, AL

[onelilredrose]

Thanks for the ATV park link...we are getting even more excited!

[jdbiron]

If your willing to go with an apartment complex you can get a very nice 3 br in Madison in some nice areas. @$800 you can get pool ect.. Apartment Ratings :: The leading source of apartment reviews by renters for renters. if your willing to go that route. I think you may have trouble finding a house in a good neighborhood @$800 a month (but i don't know the current market)

[rnc76]

If you aren't worried about school districts, I think you'll be able to find a 3/2 or 3/1.5 for 800 in a safe area.

ValleyMLS.com
http://realestate.al.com/

These are probably your best resources to get started.

For camping, there are a LOT of places within a few hours for camping in N.Alabama, N.Georgia and Tennessee. Heck, right here in town, we have Monte Sano State Park. DeSoto State Park in NE Alabama is a beautiful park. The Bankhead National Forest/Sipsey Wilderness offers backcountry camping just about 1-1.5 hours away. The Smokies are about 4-5 hours from here with a variety of camping from car/RV camping to backcountry sites. There are many more throughout the region.

[Mawoods]

Don't forget that we are close to the beach and there are state parks there that have camping.
We have tons of lightning bugs!!!!!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Mawoods

Don't forget that we are close to the beach

Six and half hours, 360 miles is close?