Athens & Madison Thoughts (Huntsville, Decatur: houses, established neighborhood, new construction)

[1DogGuy]

We're exploring the area and thought we were set on Madison, but after driving neighborhoods, we don't like the tiny lots and houses clustered together. The newer house interiors and shopping centers are beautiful though.
I noticed Athens has houses with 1/3 and 1/2 acre lots, which we're used to. How are the schools there?
What other area would you live in if you wanted a decent yard and had to commute to Decatur downtown? I don't mind seeing my neighbors, but not on top of me.

Thanks!

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by 1DogGuy

We're exploring the area and thought we were set on Madison, but after driving neighborhoods, we don't like the tiny lots and houses clustered together. The newer house interiors and shopping centers are beautiful though.
I noticed Athens has houses with 1/3 and 1/2 acre lots, which we're used to. How are the schools there?
What other area would you live in if you wanted a decent yard and had to commute to Decatur downtown? I don't mind seeing my neighbors, but not on top of me.

Thanks!

Athens, South Huntsville, Near Downtown Huntsville are all nice choices . Commute to Decatur, look at Hartselle, Priceville possibly.

[harry chickpea]

If you are commuting to Decatur... look how many bridges cross the river, quadruple the current population, and decide where you want to be in ten years.

With commutes, a minimum of three alternate routes are only common sense. Four or more make even more sense. I made the error a couple of times - once in Atlanta, which anyone who has ever lived there knows is a huge mistake.

[dwhisent]

I agree with Harry, but Decatur is looking into an additional bridge - of course who knows when or if that will happen. But I will say I moved to Athens from Harvest a few years ago, and I have not regretted it for a minute. It's a great place to live. It's an easy shot to Huntsville (by multiple routes) and is convenient to Decatur via 31 or I65. There are several good places to eat and are easy to get to. As anywhere, some schools are very good, some not so good, it's pretty easy to look up the school rankings to see where you want to be.
I live in a subdivision on the east side of Athens and have a 1-acre lot. But like everywhere else, a lot of the new places they are building have small lots, more money for the developers that way.

[1DogGuy]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Athens, South Huntsville, Near Downtown Huntsville are all nice choices . Commute to Decatur, look at Hartselle, Priceville possibly.

Are the schools around Hartselle and Priceville good? I hadn't considered South of the river. I think we'd be interested in Toyota Field season tickets. We went to the rocket museum, probably wouldn't do that more than once per year. Bridge Street Town Center was neat. It's hard to figure out where to be in a metro area you're visiting for the first time.

[Rick In Madison]

I was think Priceville, Somerville, or Hartselle.
I have a coworker who lived in Hartselle for many years move to Priceville to change school systems. I'm not saying Hartselle schools are bad; just that was his motivation for moving for his family.

I had another coworker who lived in Somerville on family land. They had about 2.5 acres for their lot. He eventually moved to Madison and then to Huntsville.

[Preston3124]

Originally Posted by 1DogGuy

We're exploring the area and thought we were set on Madison, but after driving neighborhoods, we don't like the tiny lots and houses clustered together. The newer house interiors and shopping centers are beautiful though.
I noticed Athens has houses with 1/3 and 1/2 acre lots, which we're used to. How are the schools there?
What other area would you live in if you wanted a decent yard and had to commute to Decatur downtown? I don't mind seeing my neighbors, but not on top of me.

Thanks!

As far as Madison goes I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I will agree that most of the new construction is being done on small lots which I also don’t care for. However, most of the older established neighborhoods have larger lots. For example, our neighborhood has lots around 1/2 acre and most of the neighborhoods east of Hughes Road are the same.