HUNTSVILLE Alabama: #1 Most Livable In The USA? What We Saw In The Rocket City

We visited Huntsville Alabama. US News & World Report named Huntsville the most livable city in the United States. We took a look around to see for ourselves.

[HumanWayMetaphysics]

I gave a complement to a security guard in Huntsville on how nice and pleasant Huntsville is. His reply "Yep, it's a nice mix of rednecks and rocket engineers that keeps everybody in check". Well said.

[Knowfere]

I was born and raised in Battle Creek MI and moved to Huntsville when I was 32, 25 years ago. I have never looked back and never wanted to leave! Love Huntsville AL

[cindysharp]

I have lived in Huntsville my entire life and our downtown has really started booming in the past few years. There are beautiful homes all over the city. There's so much to offer here.

[kjaubrey]

Huntsville has it's issues like all cities. It has been home for 20 years and there are some great people here. There are some run down parts but the city has cleaned up and grown quite a bit. Overall it is a very safe city. The builders are primarily focused on luxury apartments and homes right now but there are plenty of smaller towns within a 15-30 minute commute that still have very affordable housing and the income potential for the city is good for the region. I never intended being in Huntsville after college but it became home for me.

[Darkmoon]

This is my home town. Born and raised. Never thought I would see Huntsville reach this status.

[WandaBand]

Huntsville native here. Got priced out of my own hometown. Can't afford the rent prices. Had to move to rural alabama and I commute an hour to work. Huntsville is great.... if you can afford it.

[jarbearpops]

I grew up in Huntsville and recently moved away about a year ago, and the change I've seen in that year is insane. Even for how affordable it is to live there, it was even cheaper only a couple years ago.

[kufufinmufinable]

We moved to the Big Cove area just SE of Huntsville about 8 months ago and absolutely LOVE it. I commute to the tech area of W Huntsville for work, but the drive isn't bad at all. Lots of shopping, not crowded, and we love that it's a slower life. Nashville, Birmingham, Lake Guntersville, lots of parks to hike and nature reserves, and everyone is SO nice here. It's a great place to raise a family. Best decision we've made.

[spiritualisrael]

NEW SUB! Thanks for doing my city! I was born and raised here and Huntsville really is a great place to live and raise a family. ❤️

Northwest Huntsville is supposed to be a "not so great part" of Huntsville according to most people, but I grew up in this area of Huntsville and still love it. I can still leave my door unlocked if I want and no one messes with my car or amazon packages. Lol.

God bless you and yours! ❤️

[andrewlide]

I was born and raised in huntsville. Great place to live if you like the city style life with that southern feel. There was still so much they missed. There are even some haunted houses here and much much more that doesn't get mentioned.

[bw]

I’m a police officer here. Moved here from bham back in 2018. Definitely a place to raise a family. Great schools. People overall are really friendly and make my job much easier. Definitely has more to offer as of now imo than Birmingham. Especially considering the difference in the crime rate

[GranmamaS.C]

Huntsville, born and raised there. Have lots of family and friends there. So many memories. ❤️

[X_TheHuntsman_X]

I'm worried that Huntsville is sacrificing necessary urban planning for the sake of quick growth. Our bus lines barely function and everything is basically only accessible by car outside of downtown. The new housing that is being built is also almost exclusively single family detached homes in hellscape urban sprawls that are being bought equally by real people and rental agencies. The more dense housing is entirely rent only. There are no condominiums to my knowledge. So a family's ability to generate wealth from their homes is going to be nigh impossible in the city. It's nice, but we have some serious problems here. It's no fairytale. Many of the issues with transportation and ballooning rental costs are creating a future homelessness crisis, and the city's answer is to Trail of Tears them out to the county instead of providing housing options for them.

[GolfNetwork]

Huntsville is the best-kept secret in the country. We love it here. The people are nice and genuine. The food scene is diverse and there are more family-owned places than chains. Real estate prices have skyrocketed over the past two years just like everywhere else. But it is still relatively affordable, and prices are beginning to normalize. There is crime in every city. And like most, it is isolated to a few specific areas. We have lived in several parts of the US over the years and Rocket City is by far my favorite.

[dannymahathey]

Just ran a across your channel and right away was impressed with your travels. I was born in Huntsville in 1951 and have remained here ever year except the years I served our country. Just a quick thank you for the coverage you gave our city. We are not perfect by a long shot, but we try. Thanks for coming. If you are ever in the area again, just stop on in. We will treat you so many different ways you are bound to like one of them!!

[TheOtteroo]

You missed the Research Park area, Where space industry, missile defense industry, research industries are located. Basically the tech industry area, it is beautiful. Mid city, and the Whole shopping area of University Drive are also in that area. Technically, there is also the Madison area which connects with Huntsville but is not incorporated into Huntsville.
Huntsville is HUGE! The outlying areas connected to the city are not even being counted, just because they are not incorporated, but just look the entire metro complex on a map and you start to realize, Huntsville, does not just consist of Huntsville proper. Hampton Cove, Owens cross roads, and you even missed the whole south side of Huntsville proper which goes all the way to the Tennessee River. That’s where I live. I actually prefer the South side. Lots of nature walks, and shoot, we have Alligators here in South Huntsville. (I have lived here 17 years and seen one, so far.)
Huntsville is a very vibrant city, that does not let blight take hold here. Since moving here, I can’t tell you how many buildings have been torn down to make way for new development. The new development has been fantastic.
The South side Hays Farm Project alone raised my home value $23, 000 dollars overnight. They are pumping 3.6 million in refurbishing the area. It is beautiful. The most water in Huntsville, is right here in South Huntsville. You just have to know where to find it.
The military base realignment and consolidation a.k.a. “BRAC” closed military bases all over the country and brought a whole lot of military here, about 8000 troops and their families. Redstone Arsenal, the military base here, is also not considered part of Huntsville, but Huntsville completely surrounds it.
Traffic is 10 fold what it was, just a few short years ago because of BRAC, Jobs and a growing vibrant city attracting talent from all over the world to come here and they did and still do come here. The city has grown incredibly fast since we moved here in 2007 during the economic crisis! Just think about that for a minute, back then during the economic crisis, it was announced that Huntsville was THE fastest growing city in America.
What you saw of Huntsville, was but a tiny portion of what there is.
I think you are going to have to come visit again and take a second look.
You missed a lot. We can save you some money if you stay with us. Would be glad to show you around.

[Kerndog]

There was so many other cool things you missed. Like the Trash Pandas stadium, Monte Sano, the rail road museum, the VBC, Cummings Reasearch Park, and so many other amazing things here in Huntsville! If yall have time, yall should definitely come back and see the many other great things Huntsville has to offer.

[evalucilledixon]

Great take of the old town Huntsville but wow! there is so much more to see. The University of Alabama--Huntsville is about 3 miles from the Space and Rocket Museum. There are phenomenal shopping areas, residential areas with massive homes, great apartment and condo neighborhoods; the income is great; a nice variety of employment opportunities. Monte Sano Mountain is a lovely mountain residential area. The schools are great centers for learning. Entertainment is abundant. I realize another 24 hours of video might provide more reasons why Huntsville is a great place. Yep! I was born and raised in Huntsville. ~ L

[DefyLogicband]

You should've really had a native Huntsvillian to show around and get a TRUE representation of ALL of Huntsville, not just a few parts. Also, I was born here 54 years ago, and I can assure you, the Huntsville I grew up in is not the Huntsville of today (yes, I wax nostalgic often).

[cinderbella]

I live in Huntsville. You cannot appreciate the downtown in a car. I know because untill I actually explored on foot I didn't notice how very unique and nice it is. Beautiful area you drove. There are some homes that are pre civil war. Very lucky to have saved these homes from fire and destruction. I believe Huntsville made a deal with the north for preservation.