7000+ people from BRAC are supposed to move to Huntsville in the next 3 years (Decatur: to rent, new house)

[SouthernBoy205]

Originally Posted by phantomplan

There's no reason to be condescending toward people just because they disagree with you. There is no right or wrong in predicting the future, and you shouldn't trash someone just because they are optimistic, either.

Huntsville is heavily vested in military applications for sure, with some having a healthier future than others. The military will not be cutting unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies anytime soon (a lot of H'ville tech companies are involved in that). They won't cut these by much, if any, because these technologies produce a long-term cost savings of curbing the manned aircraft approach when possible. Nor will they cut much from the maintenance contracts for legacy ground and air vehicles. Cutting edge technologies (such as R&D SBIR projects trying to go commercial) will have the hardest time. This will probably decrease the amount of new R&D start ups unfortunately.

My point is that things won't slow down much here in Huntsville. Smart companies will adapt over time to support whatever the next big thing is. Okay you want us to quit working on missiles in the next five years? Lets put together a plan to get contracts related to electronic health records. (or whatever the next big thing is) People in government and commercial will always need tech-oriented products & services, and there will always be tech-savvy companies in our CRP to fill that need.
Moderator cut: leave national politics out of this

I agree with this post, Moderator cut: orphaned .

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by phantomplan

There's no reason to be condescending toward people just because they disagree with you. There is no right or wrong in predicting the future, and you shouldn't trash someone just because they are optimistic, either.

That's right ! Prop for you !

Huntsville is heavily vested in military applications for sure, with some having a healthier future than others. The military will not be cutting unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies anytime soon (a lot of H'ville tech companies are involved in that). They won't cut these by much, if any, because these technologies produce a long-term cost savings of curbing the manned aircraft approach when possible. Nor will they cut much from the maintenance contracts for legacy ground and air vehicles. Cutting edge technologies (such as R&D SBIR projects trying to go commercial) will have the hardest time. This will probably decrease the amount of new R&D start ups unfortunately.

My point is that things won't slow down much here in Huntsville. Smart companies will adapt over time to support whatever the next big thing is. Okay you want us to quit working on missiles in the next five years? Lets put together a plan to get contracts related to electronic health records. (or whatever the next big thing is) People in government and commercial will always need tech-oriented products & services, and there will always be tech-savvy companies in our CRP to fill that need.

Moderator cut: leave national politics out of this

There is no denying that Huntsville is heavily dependent on 1) primarily Army research & development funding, and 2) to a lesser extent but nevertheless important NASA funding. Whether you like it or not, this is the reality and it has been this way since 1941. This city grows or shrinks based on this 2 major agencies funding. Even back in 1970s, I read in the Time magazine that Huntsville has the most engineering PhD's per number of population.

So you maybe disappointed that Huntsville is not a metropolis, but it is not a cultural desert neither. It is a well educated city and supported its citizens well.

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

I did not assert anything. You are interpreting the way you want to interpret. What I was pointing out was that there's a way to get an additional 75,000 people in here as a result of BRAC move. I did not put a timeline in, nor do I specify whether these will be ALL new out-of-towners, local people, etc.

Now you're spliting hair on what the number of jobs & their families mean? Where will they come from? Listen, if I have such crystal ball, I would apply it in my stock market investment and I will not still be working today.

Looks like you're indeed mathematically challenged. You get so wrapped up in the numbers that you can not see the forest but only the leaves.

Okay. Game on. I'll leave the math out of it.

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

Then the TOTAL number of people that's expected to move into Huntsville will be

25,000 jobs X 1 family/ job X 3 persons/family = 75,000 people !!!

Note what you wrote: EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO HUNTSVILLE. That means you, yourself, say those folks are moving into Huntsville.

Here's what I write: wrong, naive, and not seeing facts. Most of those people are already in Huntsville.

[jkratze1]

With only 1 year left for BRAC people to move to Huntsville, are there any estimates on how many of the relocatees have already arrived? How many will arrive in 2011?

[pyro4ik]

my work was BRAC-ed here and less than 50% of people moved from DC. their jobs were filled with folks from AL, PA, IN, MI, and some other states too, but mostly AL. but since we've moved here we've probably expanded by 20% personnel too.....I have no idea what some of these new people do though.

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by pyro4ik

my work was BRAC-ed here and less than 50% of people moved from DC. their jobs were filled with folks from AL, PA, IN, MI, and some other states too, but mostly AL. but since we've moved here we've probably expanded by 20% personnel too.....I have no idea what some of these new people do though.

It maybe really doesn't matter what they do. It is Lt.G. O'Reilly opinion that he can replace senior experienced engineers with fresh out of college kids for complex integration issues such as Missile Defense. I guess that's what really matter as far as jobs go. I hope that his theory will not be tested at the expense of national security.

[Souths_Finest205]

Originally Posted by DavidH74

I think the Rio is going to withdraw from hosting the next summer Olympics and Huntsville is going to host it.

I think we are going to have the world's tallest skyscraper by 2012.

I think we are going to have a subway system when 7,000,000 people move here over the next six months.

I think they are going to relocate the White House to Huntsville.

I think since they call University Drive "the strip" and since Huntsville is named Huntsvegas, University Drive will be just like Vegas one day -- only with more hotels. Celine Dion will move here.

I think they are going to host the Oscars from The Monaco this year.

I think that even though they say now, "Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Only Rome is worthy of Paris", Huntsville will be integrated into the saying one day, and Rome and Paris will be our sister cities.

I think Huntsville will have the world's busiest airport in two years.

I think we are going to have two major league baseball teams like Chicago next spring.

I think every neighborhood is going to have two IKEAs. Hampton Cove will have three. One will be an IKEA inside of an IKEA.

I think Disney is going to open a theme park in Boaz when the last tenants leave the outlet mall. Universal Studios is opening when they tear down Madison Square Mall.

I think they are going to turn the Tennessee River into an ocean -- bring in sand, and turn the water into salt water.

I think downtown Huntsville will become a shopping mecca much like midtown Manhattan, Rodeo Drive, South Beach by next Christmas.

You can't just make up stuff.

I'm not making up stuff. It was in the Huntsville Times, you know. And if you add it all up, it makes sense.

•33,000 - BRAC jobs
•15,000 - BRAC workers' families
•12,000 - Tech jobs
•6,000 - Redstone Arsenal jobs
•3,000 - Other job
•

[FTG-05]

MDA's National Team is moving down here from the WADC area. I've heard that most of the people won't be coming down to Huntsville due to the fact that most of them are underwater on their houses and can't afford to sell.

[Southlander]

I have heard that it's not the engineering jobs for which they hired kids fresh out of college, it's the bean-counting-type jobs. But it's just what I've heard - I don't know for sure.

I know this is just almost unimaginable, but it's entirely possible that not every one of those 33,000 are moving/have moved to Huntsville/Madison. Some may have actually chosen, believe it or not, to live in Athens, Scottsboro, Decatur, Hartselle, Elkmont, Lacey's Spring, Killen, Woodville, Trinity, Capshaw, Paint Rock etc.

Not everyone can take those big, bright Huntsville city lights!

[djmaxwell]

Originally Posted by Southlander

I know this is just almost unimaginable,

almost, indeed.