Huntsville, Alabama

enigmaunbound
7mo ago
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Based on the little time I've spent in Chi town. You will either be surprised how laid back all the drives are. Or you will be homicidally incensed how slow everyone is driving and offended at the following distances.

Huntsville has a lot of little tribes of people. Many of them are from small home towns around here or center on a church.

There is a welcome beer and young adult culture building up. We have a rather cool maker community. We decorate with rockets and missiles.

Occasionally the town goes kaboom. It's cool, just something out on the arsenal. That's what it's there for. In the county you will often hear rapid fire gun reports. That's usually also fine. Or if it's not, it will be in Nextdoor in microseconds.

You will meet interesting people who can't tell you what they do for a living. Also boring people who also can't tell you what they do.

Drive by and marvel at egg beater Jesus. Visit the Space and Rocket Center. Lowe Mill and Campus 805 are always fun destinations. We occasionally have good music at a number of venues. Usually not head line acts, but occasionally when they get bored they drop into town.

GinaHannah1
7mo ago
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We moved here from Chicago 25 years ago (Fox River Valley specifically). We like it here - jobs brought us here along with cost of living, although that has risen considerably. We do love Chicago and visit when we can. I’d say the main thing we miss from there is the restaurant scene. We love all types of international food and you’ll only find a smattering of that here, which is no surprise given it’s a much smaller metro. People here are friendly, similar to the Midwest, and there are a lot of transplants from everywhere. Regarding traffic: I remember people in Chicago driving fast up there, but it seems culturally there was more of an attitude of cooperation when it came to zipper merges, etc. You won’t find that here. But then that was 20+ years ago so maybe it’s changed up there. Very few people here signal when turning or changing lanes. One thing we DON’T miss is winter.

hsvpunk
1y ago
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As an Alabama native and having previously lived in summit county Colorado I can say that yes it’s cheaper. But if that’s the area you love you’ll be somewhat disappointed.

I was a ski and ride instructor there and nothing I miss more than being 30 minutes from my happy place. I dream of moving back often but COL & deteriorating values for Colorado were why I left and moved back to Alabama, previously Birmingham area.

Huntsvilles nice. Relatively kind folks. What it offers is fair for city size. But having been here 10 years I can say that while you may have a leg up initially. This area is growing quickly and land when I moved here was ~ $75 per acre. Now upward of $175-250k per acre here in Madison.

I’d be mindful that any area in the country that desirable causes higher costs. And I think that’s true here. $400-500k homes in neighborhood next to me now fetch $800k-1.1m. That’s new builds 10 years ago that have doubled.

OneSecond13
1y ago
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https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/best-places-to-live-in-the-us-for-families

Huntsville was rated the #1 city in America to raise a family. Colorado Springs didn't even make the top 25. I can say from living here 30+ years that Huntsville has been a great place to raise a family. Our kids got a great education, there was always plenty to do with them, and now they have both finished college and are married. They have good jobs in the area and own their own homes. What more can a parent ask?

You trade the mountains in Colorado for the Gulf Coast. Make sure you take advantage of the beach (consistently rated among the best beaches in the world). It is glorious. They are different from the Rockies, but the Smoky Mountains, like the beach, are a 1/2 day drive away. Incredibly beautiful as well.

Your comments about crippling debt are concerning. Spending above your means is not a problem you will solve by moving. All of us have to live within a budget or debt at some point becomes unmanageable. With five kids I am sure that is even more difficult.

Is Huntsville, Alabama: The BEST Place to Live in the Deep South