I grew up in Huntsville, and my sister went to UAH (I went to Auburn and now live in Ohio). She went on to medical school and became a doctor.
Huntsville itself is prosperous and safe. No slums, and rather clean.
UAH is probably as good as those for STEM subjects; in other words engineering, computer science, math, physics, chemistry, pre-med, etc… Personally, I do not recommend attending UAH for any other majors unless the student is a commuter who cannot afford to leave Huntsville.
So, yes, UAH has distinct commuter school aspect. However, it has a strong contingent of non-commuters and the dormitories are very nice for those who live on campus.
A year or so ago, Huntsville was listed as the most expensive U.S. city to fly into and out of. However, the airport is pretty good and you can go anywhere.
Employment is more than NASA and rockets, Huntsville has become more diversified. In addition to aerospace, it has high tech (Intergraph Corp), pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing (Toyota engines). Huntsville easily has the best educated populace in the state of Alabama. Almost 40% of adults over age 25 have a bachelors degree, and 20,000 of those have engineering degrees.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/03/huntsville_best-educated_of_al.html
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2014/09/at_25th_huntsville_leads_alaba.html
http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=194&Itemid=355