Decatur gives BRAC families better choice

Many families involved in BRAC brought in the New Year for the last time in communities they call home. Many of them will be living somewhere in North Alabama this time next year.

Moving brings a load of uncertainties, and these families are thinking what their lives will be like when 2009 rolls around.

People don’t want to leave family and friends. BRAC families worry about the quality of life they will find when they take their new assignment under Base Realignment and Closure.

Decatur and Morgan County have made the decision easier in recent months for BRAC families looking for the ideal place to rear families and enjoy a good quality of life.

This week, the Decatur Police Department released statistics showing the city was homicide-free in 2007. That is a violence trend that’s been declining for several years.

Families looking for a low crime rate should consider Decatur as their new home.

Jobs are a concern, also.

Two-income families worry about finding a job for a spouse when they move. Decatur may have their answer. The Employment Outlook survey by Manpower Inc. this fall said the city is a hot job market. Jobs are here.

Then there is the quality of education to consider.

Last month, the city’s school system received approval for the first International Baccalaureate elementary school program in the state. The IB program is in its second year in the two high schools and officials hope to win approval for the middle years program. School officials, meanwhile, are targeting low-income students for major improvements in test scores.

The school system is a plus for moving here.

But what about housing?

The market is far from stagnant. In the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, greater Decatur area housing prices increased 7.2 percent, ranking it 22nd in the nation.

Rising home prices are measurements of a community’s vitality.

Also, Decatur is getting a major upscale residential development on Burleson Mountain that will add up to 400 homes.

What about the city’s aesthetics?

The city has ice staking, a water theme park, a professional-class public marina, golf courses, bike trails, first-class soccer, baseball and softball fields, a state-of-the-art tennis center, heart-of-the-city parks, organized bird watching, an art museum, a federal wildlife refuge and private development along the Tennessee River.

The 15- to 20-minute commute to Redstone Arsenal isn’t bad, either.