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

This certainly doesn't look like Alabama!

Huntsville, Alabama. The rocket city. The space rocket capital of the nation. It’s been called the best most affordable place to live in the nation. You may not know it, but Huntsville is the biggest city in Alabama now. The poverty and crime in Montgomery and Birmingham have driven a lot of people away from those places. And many are coming here. When it comes to growth and innovation, Huntsville is by far the best, most exciting place to live in this whole state. It’s a truly progressive, metropolitan area in the heart of the deep south.

So, I had to go there and see it. The day I picked to drive through Huntsville was a really nice one. It was late in the day in late November of 2021. We’re going to drive around the downtown Huntsville area and talk about this city for a bit.

Now you might not think of Alabama as being very modern and innovative, but there’s some of that here. Right now, you could consider Huntsville a mid-sized city - there’s just over 200,000 people here. This place has a small town feel, but it’s growing fast. Look at that population growth!

A long time ago, Huntsville relied on cotton and the railroad for a lot of its industry. That’s how it was in a lot of the south in the 1800s. At one point, this was even the state capital. But then in the 1940s, during world war 2, the army established some chemical munitions plants, and that brought in a lot of growth. But it wasn’t until 1950 that a missile center opened up and that jump started a population explosion here. The US government then began a program called the Ordnance Guided Missile Center and developed the Redstone Rocket.

That set the stage for the United States Space program to begin here in Huntsville. Today, NASA has a big facility here, where it builds rockets and does a lot of research. A lot of the technology invented here helps with defense as well as space exploration and space research. Rockets were developed here which put the first satellites into orbit and sent men to the moon. Propulsion for the space shuttle was developed here, and modules for the international space station were designed and built in Huntsville as well.

However, in the 1970s, the government ended the Apollo space program, and Huntsville’s economy was nearly crippled. But a resurgence in space exploration and defense systems has been a big boost to the Huntsville economy over the last 30 years. Since the year 2000, Huntsville has become home to the second largest technology and research park in the nation.

Biotech is also a big deal here. Only North Carolina’s research triangle park is larger. They do a lot of genetics work here, and study infectious diseases and cancer research. If you’re an engineer, you’d fit right in. Outside of the Silicon Valley, there’s very few places with more high tech talent. They call it the Silicon Holler.

Boeing, the US Army, the FBI, Google and Facebook have a presence here.

There’s also a Toyota manufacturing center and Mazda manufacturing center here as well. So, safe to say, there’s a ton of jobs and opportunities.

In terms of things to do, there are festivals here all year long and a lot of artsy things. There’s also a big brewery scene here.

It’s fairly conservative here, despite the fact there are people here from all over the world. And because it’s so transitory, the culture here is really diverse, especially for Alabama. To be honest, it doesn’t even feel like Alabama.

They have an awesome park in the heart of downtown called Big Spring Park. Here, they have events and festivals all the time. Like, when I was here, there was an annual event they call the Tinsel Trail.

And the cost of living is SUPER low here. This has been called the best most affordable place you can live in the nation. The average home price is about $250,000 right now, and that’s a STEAL.

Of course no place is perfect. It’s super hot and humid and there’s mosquitos and tornadoes. That’s not fun. While downtown is really safe and fun, there’s bad neighborhoods all over the place It’s not really that violent, but property crimes are up there. The poverty rate for a lot of the population is also higher than the US average.

But Huntsville, Alabama. One of the best places you can live in the south, people. And definitely the best place you can live in the state of Alabama.

#alabama #moving

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[tomoyahirooka]

I'm from Japan and live in Tokyo. Actually, I went to Alabama to study abroad and stayed at my friend's house in Huntsville. This city is great for me. It's not a too big and small city so I felt comfortable. My favorite place is Big Spring Park. Its Christmas decorations are beautiful!! Someday, I'd like to go there again.

[karikasumi]

I live in Huntsville and this is such a nice review! I love Huntsville because it's got the benefits of a big city but you can go 20-30 minutes and be in the country with fields and cows. 🥰. It's growing a lot and things are getting more expensive but we have a bunch of fun things to do with the traditions of the South. Come visit if you can! 😊

[steinravnik]

My family moved to Huntsville in 1987 and it has always been Alabama's best kept secret.

[facelesscovers]

I work in Huntsville as a Glazer and I can assure you it is booming. We have so many new projects going up and of housing we are doing. If you move here, just help us keep it beautiful 👌

[cesarsoto-sanchez]

I moved to Alabama in late 2005 and it's crazy how to see Huntsville grow from that time to current times.

[SharaBinghamMills]

I never looked for homeless people so hard before in my life and I don't know why? Because it was Alabama? Look at that city. It's clean and prosperous. I wish Seattle looked like that. Thanks Nick.

[MrMet-ihjv]

Shh, don’t talk about it. You wouldn’t want Californians to find out this place exist

[ashleywatkins]

I definitely moving back. I'm originally from Nashville and fell in love with Huntsville after a few daytrips there. I love how it has a big city feel while being small. Nashville is pretty much an over crowded tourist city now. I can't wait to go back 🥰

[RecordStoreDeva]

I lived there for 5 years. Best five years of my life! I plan on moving back next year. Love that town!

[sphhuntsville]

I attended & played football at Alabama A&M University here in "The Ville" as we call it. I graduated & now work in Aerospace. I love Huntsville. It's an absolute great place raise a family & an impressive college/sports town as well on weekdays & Saturdays for HBCU football, Pro-Baseball, & Hockey Teams.

[MrJestyler]

Heard nothing but good bout Huntsville. It is now the largest city in Alabama based on both area and population.

[jbwbama]

Great review. I have lived in Huntsville for little over a year, and it is the best decision I could’ve made as a young professional starting my career in a place that I could grow with. Great economy and job market. I think Huntsville is going to be big time in the near future.

[LadyJub]

As a Huntsvillian, I'd also like to point out that we're getting a huge amphitheater that's opening this Spring (2022)! I'm hoping to see some big bands adding Huntsville to their tours in the future!

Edit: Looks like I'm gonna be working there when it opens :D

[kamala]

I lived in Huntsville as a child in the late 80s and I've been trying to get back ever since. I love Huntsville.

[leasandiford]

A lot of my colleagues who majored in Engineering at Tuskegee University got Engineering jobs at NASA.
I use to travel all around Alabama when I was a Caseworker in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1990's but I never had the opportunity to visit Huntsville. What a beautiful place!

[dougdouglas]

I live in Georgia now but Huntsville is my hometown. So happy to see Huntsville listed as #1 place to live in America. Thank you very much for the video tour of downtown!

[blnd]

I love Huntsville. I lived there for awhile as a child with my grandparents. It was beautiful. Fireflies in the summer. A space museum. Green and plush. Great memories.

[LongHairedCountryRedneck]

Lived here all my life wouldn't live anywhere else I have stayed in other places, Houston Texas, Syracuse New York, New York City, New Orleans, Atlanta Georgia for extended periods up to a year but I've always came back home to Huntsville Alabama. Best place in the country to live

[joyofcardboard]

Oh man don't tell everybody about it! Lol. Seriously though thanks for doing this, Huntsville and it's suburbs are an absolute jewel.

[donaldprice]

Home sweet home!!! Proud of Huntsville!!! Thanks Nick!°