Tip: Voting in Huntsville steal leans Republican. This is even though Huntsville is now the largest city in Alabama. Hopefully that doesn’t change if it keeps growing.
...and all this is before Space Force Command and the FBI (fully) moves in. The infrastructure is struggling to keep pace, but the whole area is blowing up.
The Polaris Slingshot is assembled in Huntsville. Did you know that?
But seriously what seems to have happened is the Nashville area got so large that nearby alternatives became more attractive.
Alcoa/Maryville/Knoxville is one (Smith&Wesson located to Maryville), Huntsville is another.
Besides lower taxes look at the Nashville to Huntsville corridor. It’s smack in the middle of the eastern United States so it’s attractive to lots of people.
I’ve always loved Huntsville. I have a grandson at UAH right now and he loves it too. I think he will probably stay there after graduating. So many opportunities for a young person there.
We used to live in northeast Alabama and occasionally spent a day in Huntsville shopping, watching minor league baseball, etc. Always seemed like one big suburb - was no real downtown area. It does attract tornadoes though - used to be the most tornado-struck city in the country, don’t know if it still is.