[Alatex]

In general, metro Birmingham is much larger than metro Huntsville, and seems disproportionately larger still, because it has been large for a long time, whereas most of the Huntsville-area's growth has exploded in just the modern era.

I'd go so far as to say you'll find a lot more good (as far as local things to do, shopping, dining) in Birmingham, but also a lot more bad (poor older parts of town reminiscent of decaying, "Rust Belt" areas). As is often the case when deciding between a larger city and a smaller one, it depends largely which is more important to you, between being around more good, or avoiding being around more bad.

I'd say if you like Louisville, Indianapolis, Memphis, and Greensboro,
you'd probably like Birmingham, and if you like Greenville, Raleigh, Knoxville,
and Lexington, you'd probably like Huntsville.

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by Alatex

I'd go so far as to say you'll find a lot more good (as far as local things to do, shopping, dining) in Birmingham, but also a lot more bad (poor older parts of town reminiscent of decaying, "Rust Belt" areas). As is often the case when deciding between a larger city and a smaller one, it depends largely which is more important to you, between being around more good, or avoiding being around more bad. .

I'd definitely agree with this.....Huntsville, because it is so "new" has very little area of inner city decay, which is present in all larger cities. Downtown Birmingham definitely has its share of this...