The Rocket City, Huntsvegas, H-Town, Huntsville, but many refer to it as Home. I am one of those many people, having lived in Huntsville my entire life. I am in college now, but Huntsville will always be home to me. Here are a few things you should be able to understand if you are from or have ever lived in Huntsville.
You're used to hearing: “But, you don’t have an accent…”
And you are probably used to explaining that it is common that people who live in Huntsville are not originally from Huntsville or even Alabama for that matter. NASA and the Redstone Arsenal bring in workers from around the country and world, so the culture of Huntsville is not always your typical southern town.
Antoine Dodson
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, because Antoine Dodson hails Huntsville as his hometown, too. Whenever I tell people that I am from Huntsville, this usually comes up at one point or another, strictly for comedic effect. I never know if I should be embarrassed or proud of this connection but it makes people laugh, so I just keep telling them.
Little Rosie’s
Little Rosie's (and Rosie's) means everything. It is the first place you go when you come home and the last place you go before you leave. That little Taqueria is the home of the best queso in the land and thousands of priceless memories with friends and family throughout the years.
Traffic Snob
Huntsville natives are spoiled when it comes to traffic. Occasionally it takes 15 minutes at the longest to get from one side of town to the other, even though it's not all that small. When you are in a town that has bad traffic *cough* Madison *cough*, you just don't know how to deal with it.
Rocket City Pride
Even if you know nothing about rockets and space exploration, you have a strong sense of pride in saying you are from The Rocket City. Even if it is a little bit faster to drive home through Ardmore, you choose the 565 route just so you can see the Saturn V in all of its glory.
Space-themed Schools
It is completely normal to go to a school named after an astronaut or a shuttle. Challenger, Columbia, Grissom and Chaffee are just a few.
Your high school had a sorority
I never thought this was unique about Huntsville until I came to college. When I would talk about all the sorority dances I went to in high school, my college friends looked at me like I had 10 heads.
Bombs
You are used to hearing what sounds like an attack on the city. But, don't worry, "It's just the Arsenal" is something you hear or say every single day. What you mean by this is that really smart men and women are working on testing bombs on the arsenal, so that bombing noise is normal and even something to be proud of.
White barbecue sauce slays
Gibson’s freaking barbecue. Nothing beats it. White barbecue sauce is a Northern Alabama original and a must-eat.
One second you’re looking at target and the next second you’re in the middle of a cow farm
Jones Valley is the beautiful, green oasis in the middle of town (literally if you looked to the left of this picture there is a Target). If you've lived in Huntsville for over 20 years then you remember when Jones Valley Farm stretched across acre after acre without any commercialization. But now, it is just an everyday occurrence to see the Target red bulls-eye adjacent to a cow field.
The Happy Fun Bump
Enough said. If you've ever driven down the Airport Road hill faster than 40 mph you will catch some serious air and a crazy feeling in your gut. Nothing beats it.
Best place to grow up/raise a family
If you grew up in Huntsville, you know deep down that it is a great place to raise a family. It is big enough that there are a variety of things to do and explore, yet it is small enough to go places in town and see at least one person you know. It might seem like a nuisance to see people you know out and about, but, at the end of the day, it is what makes Huntsville so great.
I know I am not alone when I say I am proud to be from Huntsville. I might not want to move back as soon as I graduate from college, but I cannot think of a better place to call home. From floating at Ditto Landing, trips to Sonic, roller skating at Skate Odyssey, playing putt-putt at Southern adventures, to taking a hike on the Cecil Ashburn trails, Huntsville has my heart.
