I have never lived in Huntsville, but I have visited many times. And I lived in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina for 40 years, so I know a little bit about the South. My wife is from Huntsville, and my mother-in-law and various brothers- and sister-in-law still call it home. It is a fairly typical mid-largish Southern American city, with the major exception that it is a magnet for high-tech firms.
Huntsville has small, well-defined and older downtown sections, surrounded by widely dispersed suburbs. Therefore, not driving will definitely be an issue, as the public transportation system is in no way comparable to that of a European city. I’m in Budapest as I write this, so I have some basis for comparison. There are buses in Huntsville, but a quick look at the route maps show there are vast areas of the metro area that are nowhere close to a bus route.
As for ethnic foods, well, you’re going to find cheap & cheerful Mexican food most anywhere in the Southern US, as well as Chinese, Italian, and the odd sushi bar. What you’re not going to have is your pick of ten different upscale French restaurants. However, if you’re not acquainted with the miracle that is real Southern barbecue, you’re in for a treat. And fried catfish is no slouch, either. (Southerners will deep fry most forms of food, by the way, up to and including vegetables and desserts).
Much of the local economy is driven by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal, the army base. Consequently, there are a lot of high-tech firms, and they attract a fairly well-educated demographic. (Wikipedia says the Cummings Research Park is the second largest in the US.) But this is still Alabama we’re talking about, and the state ranked 45 in education in 2006-2007 (Smartest State 2006-2007), and 45 in the percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or more (Statistical Abstract of the US for 2006). So there are plenty of people on both extremes of the educational spectrum.
The Southern US tends to be politically Conservative, and Alabama is a red state. That is, it voted Republican in the last presidential contest (as well as in all four of the 4 previous presidential elections). That’s not to say there aren’t some liberals interspersed into the population, but this is the Bible Belt. For some people that is a plus, for others, not so much.
Geographically, Huntsville sits at the base of several mountains, one of the most prominent being Monte Sano, which is right at 500 meters tall. There’s a nice state park at the top of it. My wife tells me the Indian name of the valley where Huntsville sits is “valley of bad air” and that a lot of people have sinus problems, but as I always have sinus problems I didn’t notice the difference. And I think the mountains are quite pretty, especially at night when the houses and streets are lit up. The Tennessee River is also nearby, and the dam across the river at Guntersville (approx 40 miles away?) has created a very large lake with lots of recreational opportunities. There are definitely four distinct seasons in northern Alabama, and Mom-in-law says they are currently in the middle of a protracted drought.
My guess is, based on living in a comparably city (Columbia, SC) for a long time, the cultural opportunities are going to be far less than in Europe. E.g., in the past 10 months in Budapest we’ve seen more international music talent come through than we did during 10 years in Columbia. Huntsville, similar in size to Columbia, would compete with Birmingham and Montgomery and Nashville, TN to attract talent. However, Birmingam and Nashville are each only about 2 hrs. away by car (B’ham a little less, N’ville a little more).
If you’re going to there to advance your career in high-tech, it’s a good spot. Likewise if you enjoy hiking and fishing and the change of the seasons. But if you’re looking to be overwhelmed by cultural opportunities, ethnic diversity, and fine cuisine, in my humble opinion, you will be hard-pressed to find them.
How far away is it from airports etc?