AL - Need help with living info!

[PinkMartini]

My DH & I will possibly be moving to AL within the next few months. DH is going down to Birmingham for a physical in 2 weeks and we'll get more info after he passes that. He's looking into getting a job transfer to Huntsville. He's going to spend a few days down there looking around - but what we've found online looks good. We live in Ca now and just can't afford to buy a house here. He's looked up real estate MLS listings there and there are brand new homes there that we can afford! He's been to AL before (and like I said is going down there for a few days in 2 weeks to look around) but I haven't. Hell, I haven't been more east than Arizona :rolleyes: So I was wondering for you ladies, if you could give me some info...

Is Huntsville a nice place to live?
Are there any surrounding areas that would be commutable (within 30 min's drive) that are nice? Any to avoid?
How are the schools there? We have a 4 month old DS but he'll be in school in 5 years...
Seasonal Info – does it rain a lot or snow? I've heard it's pretty humid there, is it humid all year long? How hot does it get during the summer?
What do YOU like best about where you live?
Anything else you think I should know or concern myself with about your state/Huntsville area?

[Sherb]

Crap... I just lost a huge post. I'll re-write it in sections.

[Sherb]

Weather:
Winter: It never stays really cold. It rarely snows. Sometimes there are ice storms which bring everything to a screeching halt. Most places in N. Ala. are just not equipped to handle ice and snow. I'm pretty sure Huntsville proper has salt trucks but most places in the counties and other muncipalities do not.
Summer: Typical highs are in the 80s and 90s. Humidity is high in the summer. You will break a pretty good sweat walking from your air conditioned car into your air conditioned destination. I'll guess that on a typical day you're looking at something like 70% humidity.

Severe weather: There are two severe weather seasons in Alabama. Spring and early winter (November/December) are known for their severe thunderstorms and threat of tornadoes.

Next up: Lifestyle

[Sherb]

Where to live:
Like I said, I've never lived in Huntsville but I do know several people who commute to Huntsville. Depending on where your DH works, you could live in a pretty rural environment and still have a short commute. Several people live in outlying areas like Athens and Decatur. Madison is a community that is technically separate from Huntsville but it has become hard to tell where Madison ends and Huntsville begins.

The cost of living is probably way less than what you are used to. You can probably afford a much bigger or newer house than you can in California.

Huntsville is full of transplants that came there to work in the Space related, technical fields. NASA's Marshall Space Flight and the Army's Redstone Arsenal are located there along with numerous government contractors and support businesses.

Some links for you:
www.waaytv.com - Huntsville's ABC station
www.whnt.com - Huntsville's CBS station
www.waff.com - the NBC station

www.al.com - The Huntsville Times is accessible here

Athens Chamber of Commerce- www.tourathens.com
Huntsville Chamber - www.huntsville.org
Madison- http://www.ci.madison.al.us/

PM me if you need more info - or the screen names of some N. Alabama girls.

[PinkMartini]

Ooooh thank you very much for those 2 posts... So it's pretty humid all year long huh? Severe weather doesn't bother me (although I must admit, I've never really been in it - most 'severe' the weather gets here is 120 degrees out) but I've never been in humidity before... I have heard the south is a wonderful place, probably a lot different than what I'm used to, but I'm up for a change.

[mgmhmj]

I've decided humidity is relative...having lived in AL all of my life, the humidity is God-awful in the summer, but to me, not so much the rest of the year. But to someone who isn't used to it, it probably seems pretty bad year round. I'm from more south/central Alabama (Montgomery), although I lived in Birmingham for a few years, so I don't know much about Huntsville, although I do second the Madison recommendation above. As a born and bred Southerner, I admit I'm biased, but I can't imagine not living in the South. I love that from Montgomery, I can drive 4 hours south and be on some of the most beautiful beaches around, I can drive 2 1/2 hours northeast and get completely lost in Atlanta, a few hours north and be in the mountains, and a few hours southwest and be in Biloxi or New Orleans. I love that Alabama has the highest per capita "green" acreage in the country, although there are times that I swear I'll scream if I see another pine tree driving down 65. I know I have some links saved about Alabama - history, things to do, etc. - so I'll see if I can find them and post them for you.

[ginastorm]

I have some good friends that live in the Huntsville area and I love it up there. I live in Mobile and the climate is a little different than that of Huntsville. I'm glad that Sherb mentioned the potential for severe weather during spring and late fall/early winter. It is sometimes called "Dixie Alley", although the severe weather isn't nearly as active as the Southern Plains.

It really is a beautiful area and the people are extremely friendly. You'd be close to the beach (about 6 -7 hours) and close to other major cities like Atlanta, Nashville, etc.

[savannahgrl]

I love Huntsville! It is such a beautiful area. My grandparents lived there at one time and I loved to visit. I can't give answers to your questions since I did not live there, but can tell you that as a kid I loved it. I remember that they had little festivals and parades that were so much fun and ice cream trucks that went through the neighborhoods in the summer. Lots of great memories!

[PinkMartini]

Ahhh thanks ladies :)

Yea, I'm sure the humidity is relative. It does get humid out here, but it's very rare. I'm just excited about us being able to buy a house - I'll deal with humid weather if I have to. Plus it's not like we'd be 'stuck' anywhere for good. My DH is eligible for a transfer after 18 months, so I'm not worried :)

Any more info/links would be appreciated

[Sherb]

And really - the humidity is only bad in the summer. And every place has air-con.

[isign]

If you moved, we could meet in the middle for play dates :). The humidity is bad if you aren't used to it, but you adjust. I like living in the South more than I have anywhere else.

[dreamgirly]

I moved from FL (lived there all my life) to Huntsville. I lasted 11 months there.

We lived in Madison, a suburb to the west of Huntsville... I preferred the housing there to Huntsville proper, but we did not own a home there. One thing you will have to get used to is RED CLAY. It gets everywhere. The new carpet in our apt was stained within a few months even though we tried to steam clean it out. It is colder in the winter ~ there is ice ~ and to me, I felt land-locked. It is 5.5 hrs away from the nearest beach (I'm used to 2 hrs at the MOST!) and there is a lot of concrete-pavement... for some reason I got the worst headaches in the summer, and it has nothing to do with humidity. It is HOT, no ocean breeze to cool you down.

I loved the trees there. I call them lollipop trees... like the kind you draw as a kid... Definitely checkout housing in Madison. We lived close to downtown and could walk there from our apt; it was really quaint and "southern charm" was everywhere. Cost of living is SO CHEAP!!! And their interstate system w/ 565 is fantastic. You can get just about anywhere in 15 minutes. There are 2 malls, and they're building another one... there's a univ there - UAH if you or DH are interested in grad school. I do not have personal experience with the public school system, but I did notice a church on just about every corner. ;)

I will never forget... our first day living there we stopped at JC Penney's to look at sheets, the sales lady overheard us and said "Y'all from up North? Yankees?" :O OMG my look must have been priceless. DH & I laughed so loud and walked away. Since you have never lived in the south, it is something to get used to... but H'ville is a good stepping stone since there are so many young professionals from all over... it is an engineering hub. There's a cool bar downtown, I forget the name of it, maybe Humphrey's???

I wouldn't entertain the idea of making H'ville my long-term residence. It's a great place to raise kids, lots of churches, LOTS of kids (you can't escape them!) everywhere, etc. Just wasn't for me. Anyway. PM me if I can be of more assistance.

ETA: forgot to include the scary part - TORNADOES! I am used to hurricanes - time to prepare, evacuate, etc. There were constant tornado warnings, and some people even had shelters. I didn't ever see one, but the weather people on TV freaked me out every time there was a warning in effect. "seek shelter, etc."

[tippy]

My DH & I will possibly be moving to AL within the next few months. DH is going down to Birmingham for a physical in 2 weeks and we'll get more info after he passes that. He's looking into getting a job transfer to Huntsville. He's going to spend a few days down there looking around - but what we've found online looks good. We live in Ca now and just can't afford to buy a house here. He's looked up real estate MLS listings there and there are brand new homes there that we can afford! He's been to AL before (and like I said is going down there for a few days in 2 weeks to look around) but I haven't. Hell, I haven't been more east than Arizona :rolleyes: So I was wondering for you ladies, if you could give me some info...

Is Huntsville a nice place to live?
Are there any surrounding areas that would be commutable (within 30 min's drive) that are nice? Any to avoid?
How are the schools there? We have a 4 month old DS but he'll be in school in 5 years...
Seasonal Info – does it rain a lot or snow? I've heard it's pretty humid there, is it humid all year long? How hot does it get during the summer?
What do YOU like best about where you live?
Anything else you think I should know or concern myself with about your state/Huntsville area?

Hey PinkMartini!
DH and I currently live in HSV. We moved here 3 yrs ago from South Florida (needless to say it was a huge change from us). It took me quite a bit of time to get adjusted to living in Hunstville since I am from a big city, but I think most of that was b/c I missed my fam/friends.

Anyway, HSV is a very pretty city. It is very family oriented, and it's pretty quiet for the most part. Madison and Decatur are the major cities that people commute from. I haven't really been to Decatur (that's 30 mins away), but Madison is really nice.

As far as climate, it is pretty humid most of the yr. Winters are mild (though they are harsh for me being a native South Floridian ;) ), and it really only gets bad during Jan and Feb where it will fluctuate between 30s and 40s. It rarely snows (it's mostly ice that everyone watches out for, which rarely happens too), and when it does snow they shut everything down. Summers are pretty hot since there is very little breeze coming through.

The thing that I like the best about living here is that the cost of living is so low. Back home DH and I would NEVER be able to afford a house, and here we can afford a really nice one even with DH not working right now. Also, HSV is pretty centrally located to many places, which makes for nice little road trips (Atlanta is 3 hrs away, Nashville is 1.5 hrs away, B'ham is 1.5 hrs away, Chattanooga is 2.5 hrs away). And because of the Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) that the President signed the area will be expanding. They are already doing a lot of development in the area (hotels, shopping malls, businesses, etc).

The thing that took me the longest to get used to is the fact that it is a small city (I am from a big city), and there isn't that much to do, and it is hard to meet people/make friends. But on the upside that has led to a much stronger relationship b/w DH and myself.

Anyway, if you have any specific questions about the area, feel free to PM me!! HTH!! :) I'm excited that someone else will be moving to HSV!!

[PinkMartini]

Thanks for more info ladies :)

Well DH leaves tomorrow morning for AL so we'll see how his trip goes... He's flying into B'ham and driving up to Huntsville...

I do have another ? for those of you who live there/have lived there...

I've heard a few negative things re: acceptance of people not from the south. Is that true? All I've ever heard were great things about southern hospitality and then when I start digging a little deeper, I'm hearing that 'outsiders' are not welcome...

[tippy]

Thanks for more info ladies :)

Well DH leaves tomorrow morning for AL so we'll see how his trip goes... He's flying into B'ham and driving up to Huntsville...

I do have another ? for those of you who live there/have lived there...

I've heard a few negative things re: acceptance of people not from the south. Is that true? All I've ever heard were great things about southern hospitality and then when I start digging a little deeper, I'm hearing that 'outsiders' are not welcome...

i haven't experienced any negativity being an outsider. for the most part, everyone that i have ever dealt with has been so helpful and nice. i have heard some people complain about outsiders (most often northeners or "yankees" as they refer to them), but i have not experienced anything first hand. i do get picked on quite a bit at work b/c i am a city girl and haven't experience a lot of country living like most of the people i work with have. but they always do it in fun. i think for the most part huntsville and b'ham are forward thinking cities. and there are quite a bit of people that relocate to huntsville from other parts of the country/world, so people that are originally from here, i think, are quite accepting of outsiders. jmo!

[dreamgirly]

My girl Tippy! <waves>

H'ville doesn't seem to be as "southern" as say, Montgomery AL or even old-money sections of Atlanta. I went to a wedding in Montgomery (and another in Atlanta) where I was quizzed by the other guests "So where are you from originally? They meant where did my family come from... where were my roots, "who is your mother" type of things... judging me by my family tree. It was not that way for me in Huntsville, it's a little more progressive since there are a lot of outsiders (engineers) coming in from all over to work on the Arsenal & w/ Nasa. But it is still very conservative - suffocating almost.

And yes, as Tippy mentioned, there are lots of "countryisms" to get used to. For instance, a lot of people hunt & fish. I was not used to that. They talk about a deer they killed & brought home to feed their family, now it's stuffed & hanging on their wall. Totally grossed me out, but hey that's what they like to do...

[May27JnJ]

Thanks for more info ladies :)

Well DH leaves tomorrow morning for AL so we'll see how his trip goes... He's flying into B'ham and driving up to Huntsville...

I do have another ? for those of you who live there/have lived there...

I've heard a few negative things re: acceptance of people not from the south. Is that true? All I've ever heard were great things about southern hospitality and then when I start digging a little deeper, I'm hearing that 'outsiders' are not welcome...

My family is from the Decatur and Hartselle area which is maybe about 30 minutes from Huntsville. I love it there! I love to visit and my family love it there.

As far as people being accepting. I think that southerners are very welcoming! People don't pay attention to that stuff. Very carefree. I can just speak for my family and the places I've been. I would NEVER see a problem of people not being accepting. :D

[savannahgrl]

bump for Jenn