Life After Moving To Huntsville: What’s Changed

Five months ago, we said goodbye to Memphis and moved to Huntsville. For both of us, Memphis has always been home. Moving to Huntsville brought us so many changes—some have been great, some challenging, and some just…different. At the same time, it’s been emotional, exciting, and exhausting.

In particular, we can’t get over how friendly people are here. From CEOs to drive-thru workers, to the guys who bag our groceries—everyone smiles, says hello, and strikes up a conversation. Surprisingly enough, this has been really hard to get used to!

When I’m driving and put on my blinker to merge into another lane, no one speeds up to block me. They slow down and wave me over. Every. Single. Time. Mind blown. 

Without a doubt, speed limits are wild– 70 on the expressway and 45–50 on regular streets is completely normal here. And when people complain about traffic, I just smile—because clearly they’ve never experienced real gridlock traffic.

There’s literally something happening here every day: festivals, farmers’ markets, expos, and concerts. Nearly all of them are free, and almost all are family-friendly.

Also, we can walk everywhere without constantly looking over our shoulders. I can get gas without worrying if it will be my day to be carjacked. That alone is huge.

Publix? Yes, it’s fabulous and more expensive than Kroger or Aldi. I don’t care. It’s worth it.

Making new friends without school-aged kids and a built-in social network is very tough. Downsizing has been extremely challenging for me, and it’s also been emotionally and nostalgically difficult. (As long as Jim has ice cream, a TV, and air conditioning, he could live anywhere.)

Renting is both wonderful and weird. It’s fantastic not worrying about what will break or need fixing next. I still think about planting flowers and adding bushes, but then I remember—I can’t do that here.

The Huntsville airport is beautiful and has 12 gates. TWELVE! While I seriously love that I can leave my house, drive to the airport, park in the garage, go through security, and get to my gate in 30 minutes, booking flights is a new challenge that requires creativity and extra planning.

And yet, some things are very tough. Being away from Andrew is painful. Being closer to Grace at UT Chattanooga is great, especially for Jim. And with Gian all the way in Colorado at UC Boulder Law School, seeing him feels almost impossible.

Lots of change, lots of new, and lots of letting go. Memphis will always be home—that’s never going to change. And, exploring our new city doesn’t mean forgetting; it means we’re starting a new chapter, which is pretty fun too.

What about you? Have you ever had to start over somewhere new? What was difficult, what helped, and what would you do differently next time? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!