Need Info on Huntsville, AL

[Basket Mommy]

My husband is considering accepting a job in Huntsville. I grew up in Birmingham, but I admit I know very little about Huntsville.

I'd love a private Christian school for the kids (not Catholic) or even a great public school with lots of parental involvement. The kids are 1st grade, 2nd grade, 4th and 7th grades.

Also, we'd need a church, Southern Baptist or non-denominational if possible.

Great neighborhoods? Areas to avoid? I'd love any info you can share!

Thanks!

[Strmchsr]

I LOVE Huntsville. I lived there for 5 years when I was the pastor of First United Methodist and a new church plant there. It's a very "different" town. With NASA, Redstone Arsenal, and more tech companies than any place other than Silicon Valley, it doesn't feel like your typical southern town (especially when the university and every high school has a hockey team and hockey is more popular than football). Lots to do for families and a very family friendly place. Nashville, Chattanooga, and Birmingham are all only about 90 min away, which gives even more options. Also, the largest percentage of PhD's of any city in the country. I easily had 40-50 people in worship every week who had helped build the Saturn V rocket that sent us to the moon.

As for where to live - there's many choices. Some folks like to live in downtown Huntsville in the historic district or in Blossomwood. Both great areas. Others live on the southern part of town with a lot of new development. Or to the west of town and in Madison where much of the growth has occurred. Basically, you can't go a direction in Huntsville that isn't growing. There are a couple of less desirable areas, but not many. It's not like your typical city where

As for Baptist churches, FBC is good in downtown Huntsville. Whitesburg is one of the "hot" Baptist churches. Willowbrook is also an excellent Baptist church. Like most southern towns, you can't throw a rock without hitting a church, so you'll have a lot of choices. I would also throw in that you should look at First Methodist. It's one of the best churches in town. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to PM me.

[Basket Mommy]

Thanks, Chris! I might be PMing you as we try to make the decision to move or not.

[JCDarzi]

I'm a life long resident of Huntsville. We have two children, one in second grade and one in PreK. We love Huntsville. With my husband's line of work, we've had many opportunities to move but we really do love it here.

You've already received some great advice and I'll try not to repeat. Like many cities, the suburban areas around Huntsville are the growing areas. Madison, Hampton Cove, Monrovia and Buckhorn/Riverton area are all nice places to live. If you want to live closer in to town, Blossomwood or SE Huntsville in the Jones Valley area are good.

We send our children to a private school in Huntsville. We chose not to send ours to a Christian school but it was a tough decision. That said, the first two I would consider would be Westminster Christian Academy (Presbyterian) or Whitesburg Academy (part of Whitesburg Baptist, a VERY large Baptist church in Huntsville). I have friends with children in both and they seem to be very happy. Randolph School is also another good private school to consider.

There are lots of great churches in Huntsville. I agree that the ones listed from a previous responder are great ones to consider.

Good luck with your decision making. I know it's so hard to decide to move. If you have any questions, feel free to message me or respond to this message string. I've got 42 years of Huntsville experience. :-)

[delaford321]

I live in Nashville, I'd say any move that puts you closer to Nashville is a good one! Come to some Titans games!

[TigChatt]

I have only lived in Huntsville since August when hubby got a job outside the military. I love it here. I don't know much about it either but I love it here. Way better than California like I was stuck in.