Living in Huntsville area?

[woodford 3,660]

Couldn’t find a thread but wanted to ask about Huntsville. Would it be worth moving for a good job?

Born and raised in the Deep South so I know the usual pros and cons of medium size cities like this but I wanted to hear some thoughts from the locals. 
 

According to wiki there’s about 462K in the metro area? That’s more than enough people for my taste. Any good private or charter schools? Golf? Local breweries and restaurants?

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

32 minutes ago, woodford said:

Couldn’t find a thread but wanted to ask about Huntsville. Would it be worth moving for a good job?

Born and raised in the Deep South so I know the usual pros and cons of medium size cities like this but I wanted to hear some thoughts from the locals. 
 

According to wiki there’s about 462K in the metro area? That’s more than enough people for my taste. Any good private or charter schools? Golf? Local breweries and restaurants?

I lived in Huntsville for 55 years before retiring in Auburn, the only place I would leave for. It is a great town by any measure you would likely want. Downtown still has an old southern flair but the metro are is very diverse. Great medical capabilities, schools, restaurants, etc. The 462K you mention is very spread out.Great place to live and raise kids. I still have family and friends there. Send me a PM with any specific questions.

[CoffeeTiger 5,150]

Housing and rental market is VERY competitive right now, and might not let up anytime soon if/when Space command moves to Huntsville.  

 

If you plan to buy a house in Huntsville be ready to overpay. 

[woodford 3,660]

Thanks to both of you. This is all hypothetical. Just wanted to hear some feedback. 
 

How’s Athens or Madison?

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Madison is fine. Madison and Huntsville have grown together. Now just one city almost.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

5 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Housing and rental market is VERY competitive right now, and might not let up anytime soon if/when Space command moves to Huntsville.  

 

If you plan to buy a house in Huntsville be ready to overpay. 

Not as much as lots of places with comparable amenities.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

I have lived in/around HSV for most of my life.  It is great in that:

• You are worst case 7 hours from anything you want: beach, mountains, any size city, gambling, or 3.3 hrs from AU.
• It is great for lots of different things to do.
• Has a lot of small town feel
• Estimated to be largest city in AL in 5-10 years

Housing market is rough right now.  I think this is pretty common through out US at the moment.  Most houses are selling for $30-70k over asking.  

Madison has some great schools.

Decatur (and surrounding area) is nice to live.  Not to bad of drive to HSV (well when 565 is done) and has most things you are looking for.  Houses are a little cheaper than HSV/Madison but not by much.

All in all; I would recommend HSV for a place.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I add this FYI:

Huntsville 3rd best place to live in US, according to new US News & World Report city rankings - al.com

[woodford 3,660]

10 hours ago, LKEEL75 said:

I have lived in/around HSV for most of my life.  It is great in that:

• You are worst case 7 hours from anything you want: beach, mountains, any size city, gambling, or 3.3 hrs from AU.
• It is great for lots of different things to do.
• Has a lot of small town feel
• Estimated to be largest city in AL in 5-10 years

Housing market is rough right now.  I think this is pretty common through out US at the moment.  Most houses are selling for $30-70k over asking.  

Madison has some great schools.

Decatur (and surrounding area) is nice to live.  Not to bad of drive to HSV (well when 565 is done) and has most things you are looking for.  Houses are a little cheaper than HSV/Madison but not by much.

All in all; I would recommend HSV for a place.

Very nice. I knew it was growing, but not like that. I'm assuming the new space race has a lot to do with growth or Space Force?

I like the small town feel. That's necessary for me. Needs to be overly Southern. I know regional cultures are slowly dying because things are so homogenized these days, but still. 

 

[LKEEL75 2,566]

12 hours ago, woodford said:

Very nice. I knew it was growing, but not like that. I'm assuming the new space race has a lot to do with growth or Space Force?

I like the small town feel. That's necessary for me. Needs to be overly Southern. I know regional cultures are slowly dying because things are so homogenized these days, but still. 

 

It is growing for several reasons.

• Cost of living - For a tech town it is one of the cheapest places to live.  It has been called the Little Silicon Valley for years.
• Location - As described before
• Space Race - Space Force has a big part but also Redstone Arsenal is one of the largest military bases in the US.  As more and more bases get closed then they get relocated to HSV

 

[Tigermike 3,046]

Huntsville comes in at #3 on this list.

[CoffeeTiger 5,150]

On 7/12/2021 at 5:02 PM, Proud Tiger said:

Not as much as lots of places with comparable amenities.

I'm not sure how it compares to other similar area's, but I do know housing prices around Huntsville have exploded in the past year. 

Good Houses are getting multiple cash offers $20-40,000 over asking, within 24 hours of hitting open market. Several modest houses on a street i go down on my way to work went on sale over the last couple months and each house lasted a few days, maybe a week before the 'for sale' sign went to 'pending' or 'sold'.

 
 

[AURex 2,024]

I have lived in Huntsville (although not currently), have family there, have work there, so lots of experience in the city. My comments pertain to the Huntsville metro area, which includes the somewhat more-upscale area of Madison (western suburb) and southern suburbs.

1. Highest per capita income in the Southeast, because ya know, NASA, aerospace, Toyota, biotech, etc
2. Housing is rather expensive, but that's true of ALL tech/growing cities -- you can still rent for a reasonable price
3. Youngish lifestyle is pretty good, with brewpubs etc, but party/nightlife is limited
4. Fine dining is very limited and fast food predominates, because well, engineers and military grunts
5. Shopping is just your standard mall/shopping center choices, because again engineers and military grunts
6. UAH and biotech/bioengineering/aerospace, and of course all NASA-affiliated enterprises are very good
7. Lots of auto manufacturing bringing money into the city
8. Not really the place for indie and art theater/movies, but some good city music events like Panoply
9. Not a university town, despite the UAH presence, so not a lot of "cultural" stuff, HOWEVER the symphony orchestra is excellent
10. Huntsville is part of "tornado alley" so lots of severe thunderstorms and risk of tornados in the area during the season
11. Reasonable driving distance to Chattanooga, Atlanta and Nashville for real city benefits
12. With lots of highly educated people from all around the country (NASA/aerospace), Huntsville/Madison is more liberal than the rest of the state
13, Good access to nature -- Monte Sano for hiking and Guntersville for lake fun, but no parks like 6 Flags.
14. Not much in the way of "history"  except for NASA Space Center and rocketry things
15. This is typical rural southern town (you interpret that) with a decent contingent of eggheads and techies and executive types on the edges

That's my observations and others may differ.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

On 7/12/2021 at 11:05 AM, Proud Tiger said:

I lived in Huntsville for 55 years before retiring in Auburn, the only place I would leave for. It is a great town by any measure you would likely want. Downtown still has an old southern flair but the metro are is very diverse. Great medical capabilities, schools, restaurants, etc. The 462K you mention is very spread out.Great place to live and raise kids. I still have family and friends there. Send me a PM with any specific questions.

You have to be an absolute moron to downvote this earlier post.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Proud Tiger

[alexava 6,973]

I live in Athens,work in Huntsville. Just sold my rental house because prices went crazy and I didn’t think it would ever be worth more. Got 150k + equity in my house now after only 4 years but if I sell I have to buy another one. 
    I think it’s great here but never lived anywhere else. The cons; Need more golf courses, traffic is getting annoying. 
 

[augolf1716 21,253]

5 hours ago, alexava said:

Need more golf courses,

Huntsville never has been known for its golf courses even in my day living up there can't think of a course I really liked

[alexava 6,973]

On 7/23/2021 at 4:32 PM, augolf1716 said:

Huntsville never has been known for its golf courses even in my day living up there can't think of a course I really liked

Several in Huntsville and surrounding areas have closed. It makes me sick Muni( Huntsville municipal) closed. Politicians suck, they converted it into mountain biking trails,lol. There are some nice private courses but I don’t have the time to justify that $. 

[alexava 6,973]

On 7/23/2021 at 4:32 PM, augolf1716 said:

Huntsville never has been known for its golf courses even in my day living up there can't think of a course I really liked

Was RTJ in Hampton Cove there when you were?

[augolf1716 21,253]

Just now, alexava said:

Several in Huntsville and surrounding areas have closed. It makes me sick Muni( Huntsville municipal) closed. Politicians suck, they converted it into mountain biking trails,lol. There are some nice private courses but I don’t have the time to justify that $. 

Played the Muni a few times. I totally understand about the private courses. It can be frustrating

[augolf1716 21,253]

2 minutes ago, alexava said:

Was RTJ in Hampton Cove there when you were?

No I was long long gone by the time RTJ was established

[alexava 6,973]

4 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

No I was long long gone by the time RTJ was established

Its good and affordable with a trail card. Then RTJ in the Shoals is even better. I’m right in the middle. I still don’t play any of those as much as I would like.