Huntsville area info!

[mmgraham102602]

Hi! My family and I are looking into the possiblity of moving to Huntsville in the near future. I am still a nursing student up here in Columbus Ohio. I am looking for info on good schools down there. I have all pre-reqs finished to begin but everything up here is wait listed at least a year. I also was wondering what the starting salary was for a RN down there? Where is the best area to live with the best schools? I have never been down south before but have heard that the bugs are huge and was wondering exactly what KIND of bugs and just how big. lol. Up here, its rare to see a spider (unless its fall or spring). Do you guys ever see snow? Or ever have tornadoes... just general stuff too. Any info you would like to volunteer would be great. Thanks so much!

[Jedi of Zen]

Hey,

I've lived in the Huntsville area on and off for most of my life. This is probably isn't what you want to hear, but honestly, I hate it here. And I will probably look for a job elsewhere once I'm done with school. lol.

However, I'm sure there are others who have great things to say. lol.

The heat and humidity are both pretty intense down here, although imo the worst of it is usually between May and August. Bugs and spiders are actually quite active this time of year. The other morning I was leaving for work while it was still dark. Once I got in my car and turned my lights on, I suddenly saw this huge spiderweb all over in between the front of my car and a nearby tree. I'm lucky I didn't walk into it, because I think the spider in question was a brown recluse.

Anyway, about schools: I go to Calhoun Community College. UAH is probably the big-name school here, and then there are several other community colleges around.

Salaries: I work at Huntsville Hospital, and I have heard mostly bad things about salaries, lol. Most of the people I've talked to say that starting base pay for RNs is around 18-something an hour. However, I've also heard that it can jump up to 30 an hour if you are willing to work the weekend night shifts.

The "nicest" area in Huntsville is probably the south end, around Airport Rd.