Top 10 Reasons to Move to Huntsville, AL
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I know what your thinking….Huntsville, Alabama? What’s there to like about Alabama besides their southern cooking and college football? Actually, there quite a lot to like about Alabama, especially in the city of Huntsville. In fact, many people are quite surprised how different Huntsville is once they arrive. There is so much more to the city than the stereotypical suggestion floating out in the web. Huntsville has a nice balance, whether you love the outdoors, city life or just looking for career advancement. It has been highly rated in many polls and articles as seen here.
1. Jobs
Since the Space Race of the 1960’s, Huntsville has grown from being a rocket city, to a defense, biotech research, hypersonic propulsion, cyber security, radar, aerospace engineering, weapons, combat systems, rotor-wing technology and counter-intelligence. What was once known as the capital of rocket science has now become a mecca for many STEM careers. It is also home to the Toyota and Mazda car plant and owns one of the largest Biotech Research Facility, the HudsonAlpha Institute. Some of the biggest and most well-known defense and technology companies operate out of Huntsville, they include companies such as; Boeing, Blue Origin, Aegis, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Leidos, Jacobs Technology, Aerojet-Rocketdyne, BAE Systems, L3 Harris, Huntington Ingalls, Facebook, SCI Technology, SAIC, DRS Technology, NTS, Colsa, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bell Textron, Sikorsky, Kratos, Sierra Nevada, Radiance Technology, Teledyne Brown, Dynetics, Torch, Intergraph and Adtran just to name a few.
Located in Huntsville is Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park in the US and the fourth largest in the world. It is home to over 300 defense, space, military and high-tech companies and employs over 26,000 people and 13,500 students. Huntsville is also home to several large military commands and government agencies, all of which are located inside of Redstone Arsenal. They include NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Army Materiel Command (AMC), Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, Army Contracting Command (ACC), U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Defense Intelligence Agency/Missile and Space Intelligence Center, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC), Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center, ATF- National Center for Explosives Training and Research, FBI Hazardous Devices School and Federal Bureau of Investigation (also coined as the FBI’s second HQ). Huntsville was also awarded the US Space Command set to transfer from Colorado to Huntsville around 2025.
2. Outdoors Lifestyle
Who would ever imagined that a high-tech city like Huntsville could be home to some of the best scenic views and off-road adventures in the state. It is the perfect city for those who enjoy the outdoors, whether it is sightseeing, camping, hiking, rock climbing, caving, fishing, boating, swimming, off-roading or just getting out to enjoy the fresh air. It is truly a great destination for those who enjoy the outdoors.
Along the Tennessee River, just to the west of the city, you’ll treasure Wheeler State Park where endangered Whooping cranes harmonize within the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. On the opposite side of the city is Lake Guntersville, a well-known bass tournament spot and among the best fresh water fishing in the entire U.S. To the southwest you’ll stumble upon the intriguing William B. Bankhead National Forest. This forest inhabits over 181,200 acres of untouched woodland, waterfalls, ferns and wildflowers as you make your way down the national 71-mile-long scenic and crystal-clear river, known as "The Sipsey Fork." Also, a must, just south of the Downtown Huntsville is the county owned Green Mountain. Here you can hike through the various trails while you enjoy the views of the 17 acre “sky fed lake,” positioned on top of the mountain. Next you may want to explore and hike through the other established trails on Keel Mountain, Huntsville Mountain, Berry Mountain and the refreshing views at Rainbow Mountain. My favorite place to hike is just above the city center, on top of the 2,140 acres Monte Sano. These trails host many beginner paths along with some moderately to difficult ones which include several scenic waterfalls, bluff vistas, springs and caves. The trails consist of 20 miles of hiking and 14 miles of biking trails. For some great and easy trails, check out Hays Nature Preserve which nests several miles of paved trails that follow along the Flint River.
Within the Tennessee Valley, you’ll find many beautiful escapes to all the mountains, wildlife sanctuaries, caves, waterfalls and the nearby Lake Guntersville Resort State Park. For those who want to take a break from the Summer heat, a short 35-mile drive from the city takes you to Cathedral Caverns, a unique cave system which stays moderately cool at 60 degrees year-round. The caverns host the world’s largest cave opening at 125 feet wide and 25 feet high and consist of 1.3 miles of underground trails. For those who are disable, it is wheelchair accessible. If you enjoy hiking, Cathedral State Park is also home to 493 acres of hiking trails.
3. Top Attractions and Things To Do
Huntsville is a small to mid-size city located at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It obviously does not have the same kind of amenities seen at a large city such as Washington D.C., but Huntsville still has an impressive number of things to do. Whether you are city person or love the outdoors, you can always find something here to plan your weekends. The area boasts some of the best freshwater fishing, hiking trails and caving. It is also home to the U.S Space & Rocket Center which ranks as the top attraction in Alabama followed closely by Huntsville Botanical Garden. Soon it will also be home to the state's largest zoo with ziplining, adventure treks and an aquarium. Other great attractions can be found at my "Top Attractions" page.
4. Most affordable city to live
Just a few years ago, Huntsville was considered the most affordable high-tech city to live and work. In 2018, the U.S. News and World Report ranked Huntsville as the number 1 most affordable city to live due its low home prices, taxes and cost of living but in the past few years, economics caught up with Huntsville and we are now seeing home prices escalated significantly. If you owned a home in 2012, you most likely saw its value double. While this might scare a few people from relocating to Huntsville, I must reassure you that Huntsville affordability is still lower than most high-tech cities. In a sense, we are only catching up to what many considered as being undervalued a few years ago. Check the local inventory and homes in the Huntsville area.
5. High-Tech Workforce
Huntsville has been considered as one of the nation’s most educated cities for decades. Forbes ranks Huntsville as the top city for having the most engineers per capita. It is a job mecca for engineers, scientist and specialized technicians and boast one of the highest paying wages in the Southeast with a means salary around $102,766 annually. Most of the talent supports the military and space industry on the Redstone Arsenal. Huntsville is also home to two large Car manufacturing plants, Toyota and Mazda and one is considered one of the leading cities to invest in robotics. Huntsville is also a hub for bioscience experts, with over 1,000 people working at the HudsonAlpha Campus.
6. Higher Education
Who loves college football? Huntsville is home to the nation’s best football college, University of Alabama (Huntsville Campus). This campus offers some of the best aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering programs in the country with an almost 100 percent job placement after graduation. If you are into robotics, Calhoun College has one of the best teaching facilities in the nation. While many of these colleges specialize in some type of STEM programs, they also offer programs in nursing, agriculture, religion, business and many others. The following is a list of Huntsville local colleges:
- University of Alabama of Huntsville (UAH)
- Faulkner University
- Alabama A&M University
- Huntsville Bible College
- JF Drake State Technical College
- John C. Calhoun State Community College
- Virginia College
- Oakwood University
- Strayer University
Huntsville and Madison are also highly ranked for local public schools in the state. For more information on public schools visit these websites below.
7. Restaurants and Music
Huntsville is not only known for their high-tech industry but also for its local authentic food, offering a good selection of locally crafted and privately-owned restaurants. It is also home to many of the well-known franchises such as the Cheese Cake Factory, Connors and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Visit my restaurant review page to see all the great restaurants in our area. Many of these restaurants host local bands and musical talents, creating a great atmosphere. Our locally own restaurants and cafes love to support local businesses and farmers, buying locally grown produce, herbs and meats.
Some of my favorite places to visit is our numerous arrays of coffee shops. They include: Alchemy Coffee, Honest Coffee Roasters, Charlie Foster’s, Rooster’s Crow Coffee Roastery, South Brew Coffee, Olde Towne Coffee, Piper Leaf & Tea, Off Beat Coffee, Just Love Coffee, Gold Sprint Coffee, Flint River Coffee, The Kaffeeklatsch, and Angel’s Island Coffee. These locally owned coffee shops not only bring us unique aromatic flavors but they help bring diversity to our great city. From pizzas to southern comfort food to international foods along with those amazing street tacos, you’ll experience the blend of multicultural flavors which are found nowhere else in the state of Alabama.
While you sit back and enjoy a meal or just some coffee or Alabama’s favorite Milo’s ice tea, make sure to check out the many bar side establishments that offer adventurous experiences such as Top Golf or Dave & Buster's. Also, check out the dozen or so local breweries offering great and favorable side dishes. You will not miss a beat here in the valley. Don’t forget to check out our amazing local music artist performing at breweries, restaurants, cafes, venues and festivals. With local tunes that light up the night and cuisines that are fresh and local, Huntsville will not disappoint you.
8. Easy Commutes
Unlike most cities, traffic jams have become a normal disruption in life, surprisingly however, Huntsville has less commuting congestion compared to most cities of similar size. Honestly, I would have listed this much higher on my top 10 list, but the city is growing so fast, road improvement hasn’t been able to keep up with our daily traffic, adding a few minutes to the average commuter each year. As an example, I live 28 miles from the city center and Downtown and yet, it’s only a 35-40 minute commute time. During rush hour, adding another 10 minutes to the travel time is not a big deal, especially from someone who lived in both Atlanta and Tampa which can take 30 minutes to travel 10 miles! The average commute in Huntsville is 19 minutes, which overall beats majority of U.S. cities which averages 26.4 minutes.
9. Shopping, Entertainment and Airport
For a small to mid-size city, Huntsville has almost all the amenities you would like. We have two malls, an indoor mall anchoring a Dillard's and Belk and an outdoor shopping mall with various large restaurants such as The Cheese Cake Factory. Then there is Midcity that host TopGolf, Dave & Buster's, The Camp, REI COOP and the Orion Amphitheater that can host large concerts. Huntsville is also home to Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, the largest privately owned arts facility in the sourthern US with 152 working studios, 200 artists, 7 galleries, theatre, community garden and performance venues. Lincoln Mill is our newest entertainment center, located in a restored 215,000 sqft building with retail, food and entertainment. For those who love the brewery/bar scene, check out Campus No. 805, a transformed old Stone Center building which includes several breweries, restaurants, bars, retail and entertainment venues. Just a few blocks down, make sure you visit the Stovehouse, a century-old Martin Stove Factory converted to a premier destination for dining, shopping and entertainment. Located at the entry of MidCity is The Camp, an outdoor venue with food, drinks and a farmer's market during the growing season. For all you health nuts, we have all the major health foods stores such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Sprouts, along with some privately owned health food stores.
Huntsville International Airport was voted as the best small airport in the U.S. by USA Today-10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards 2020. Huntsville International Airport (HSV) is the largest commercial airport in North Alabama serving as the main hub for cargo transport. It also hosts and transports over 1 million passengers annually. The airport is conveniently located and easily accessible from Downtown making it easy to arrange travel. Delta Airlines is Huntsville International Airport’s main carrier, which means almost all of its flights, to and from Huntsville go through Atlanta Airport, making it the main hub for all travel within the US and to Europe. Breeze Airways is Huntsville’s discount airline making travel to several cities and states very affordable.
10. The People
Finally, my last pick, why to move to Huntsville are the wonderful people who live in this great city. While Huntsville is considered to be the melting pot of the south, the people of Huntsville tend to be a mixture of native and multicultural groups who all seem to get along. While Huntsville is known for its southern hospitality, the city is filled with compassion and generosity. In some sense, Huntsville does not feel or seem to be part of this great state of Alabama. What I mean is, no other place in Alabama do you find such a diverse group of people but yet a friendly atmosphere than in the beautiful city of Huntsville.
This completes my top 10 reasons to move to Huntsville. If you have any comments or questions or need help in Real Estate, please send me an email on the contact section.
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Andrew Lang, 04/2023 - Undoubtedly the most reliable, well informed, and honest realtor in my experience buying real estate. Jenn answers your questions before you ask them and never failed to respond to my direct text or phone call at any time. If your looking for real estate in Huntsville, AL and surrounding areas, Jenn is the right choice.
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Ryan McGreevy, 08/12/2022 - Ryan McGreevy - Working with Jennifer Gates at Legend Realty was great! She was professional, knowledgeable, and very easy to work with. Coming from out of the area she was very familiar with all of the communities in which we were looking, which ultimately helped us settle on a property. I highly recommend Jenn and her network of partners!
J. Travis Edwards, 05/13/2022 - Professional and very thorough! An eye for detail and follow up. Would highly recommend. Not only found a realtor, but a lifelong friend.
Jason Russell, 02/22/2022 - Jen is one of the most considerate professionals I’ve ever met. Going above and beyond to ensure we were satisfied at many touch points during our building process. She is very well prepared and a heart of gold!
12/18/2021 - Jennifer is a fantastic realtor who goes above and beyond for her clients! We were relocating from out of state and needed to maximize our time for our house hunt. Jenn understood our criteria, narrowed down a great list for us and helped us find our home that first weekend! Throughout the process she was a wealth of knowledge both of all things real estate, and of the local area. We are thrilled with our new home and now our new friend. I can't recommend Jenn highly enough!
k. teach, 09/27/2021 - We were from Virginia and didn’t know the area but we were looking for a house for our son moving to Huntsville. Jenn was so much help showing us all the areas and various houses available. We finally settled on a home and she has been so much help with all of our questions she’s great!
Keri Lynn, 07/15/2021 - Jennifer has worked with us in several transactions. She is an outstanding agent and helped us with a purchase that had 14 other offers! She goes above and beyond and is outstanding!! 5 STARS all the way!
02/01/2021 - Jen Gates has been the most thorough realtors that my husband and I have ever worked with. Our process from start to finish was a piece of cake. We were so thrilled with the process of selling our home, that we are using Jen to assist with building and purchasing our new home.
12/20/2020 - I have sold a couple of homes and worked with several realtors. Jennifer, has been the best by far. Not only did my house sale in less than 24 hours, but Jen was in constant contact with me along the way and helped out in every way she could. My entire experience was not only pleasant, but it was a blessing. I highly recommend.