MS Delta hostage, get me outta here (need advice) (Birmingham: how much, headhunter)

[MS DELTA]

I have a family of 5 with a child in HS, MS and Elementary. We currently live in a very poor MS Delta town (pop 35,000) where my husband has lived his whole life. The upside is that he graduated from Auburn and he loves the Birmingham area. My job is to convince him to move there (or the outskirts, rather)

He is a Civil Engineer and has a great job (100k) here but our town is in horrible shape. I also work outside of the home making a very modest amount. In the past 3 yrs we bought a 300k home just to be in a safe area and still the public schools here are THE BOTTOM of the barrel. Everyone who cares about safety and education are forced to pay for private school. We are paying about 16k annually in private school, over 4k in property taxes and have ZERO attractions or industry here. Stores are closing faster than we can keep up and the moral is pretty low throughout. Multiple home invasions, the Mayor could not care less... No safety, no neighborhood jogs, no clean, safe parks, etc etc . It seems we are always broke with no real joy or fun to show for it. I want out!!

That being said, I do have 3 wonderful, healthy kids and am thankful for them. I just want better for them. I have been scouring the internet looking at info on the schools in Mountain Brook, Vestavia HIlls, Hoover, etc etc.. No doubt the public schools are IMPRESSIVE. Wow!!

My husband is a sports nut and my middle child is shaping into that as well. I have been poking around in all of the above mentioned areas. Especially Hoover... However the Hoover growth worries me a bit. We are not so much interested in the "cookie-cutter" home style. Really like older homes that have character but wonder if they are even available in the areas where there are wonderful public schools. Also, Its hard for me to get a grasp on how much extra funds we will have with lower property taxes and public school access. And of course, my husband would have to find a comparable job.

We are a very active family.. We are Episcopalian, very active in church and school.. and of course every aspect of our children's lives... Kids in multiple sports, husband plays tennis and softball, I play tennis and enjoy running/working out. For once, I would love a neighborhood where children and families are out moving about, playing, riding bikes, enjoying life.. Access to parks, swimming, hiking, recreation, shopping, etc . Does this place even exist?

Any advice or guidance would be wonderful. We do not know anyone, although it seems like it would be worth it to hire a consultant.. Praying that city data can help.
thanks in advance.

[jakabedy]

You can get all of that in the Birmingham area. For school sports, Hoover is probably the most sports-focused, followed by Vestavia Hills. Mt. Brook is more academic -- they have the sports teams, but its not as big a deal there (colleges don't look to Mt. Brook when they're recruiting). Homewood is right in there as well.

$300K doesn't get you into Mt. Brook, and doesn't get you far in Homewood. Those are the closest-in suburbs and you'll find a lot of 1920s-1940s houses there. You can still find Vestavia for 250-300K and definitely can get Hoover for that price range. Those are newer suburbs with the bulk of the building from the 1950s to the present (although there is some 1920s stuff in the Shades Crest Road area of both cities).

Another area to consider would be Trussville -- decent schools and the "Cahaba Project" was a WPA neighborhood built in the 1930s -- really neat area and probably in your price range. But it lacks the "prestige" of the four areas noted earlier.

For a community pool, you're probably looking at the newer developments in Hoover or Vestavia (Liberty Park, Ross Bridge, The Preserve, Lake Cyrus, etc.) . . . or joining one of the Country Clubs or one of the Swim and Tennis clubs, or even the YMCA.

Any of those areas are near good restaurants and shopping. Recreation is nearby -- Ruffner Mountain in East Lake; Oak Mountain State Park south of town.

I'm not a realtor but have worked with a good one. If you're interested, PM me and I'll give you his contact info.

In any of the areas above, you'll find plenty of jogging and dog-walking and bicycling going on.

[Threestep2]

It reads like OP made a series of bad decisions. Unless her husband can trasfer with his current employer as he is the main bread winner his job search and selling the house should be priorities.

OP mentioned horrendous property taxes. I do not see a big difference.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by newbamadoc

You are idiotic. 100K with three kids, 16K private school, a 300K housenote, car notes, TAXES, food, clothing, etc. can be spent quickly.

For some people 100k annual income are unreal. For others the bare minimum.

Where do you see the reason to be judgemental?

[newbamadoc]

Originally Posted by Threestep

For some people 100k annual income are unreal. For others the bare minimum.

Where do you see the reason to be judgemental?

I was responding to the other poster that I felt was being rude. In what way did I judge anything? I just made the point that 100K after taxes can be spent quite quickly. Especially, when you take into account the OP's circumstances.

[MS DELTA]

This is all so amusing.
Threestep

It reads like OP made a series of bad decisions. Unless her husband can trasfer with his current employer as he is the main bread winner his job search and selling the house should be priorities. OP mentioned horrendous property taxes. I do not see a big difference.

Hmm which part was the "series of bad decisions"... having 3 kids? Buying a home in a safe location?... Paying expensive property taxes? OR choosing not to send my children to a school that is 97% NOT our ethnicity and is unsafe, very poor state testing and the laziest teachers anywhere...

Moderator cut: orphaned

I think that newbamadoc was just countering what the other two disillusioned posts stated and agreeing that 100k can indeed disappear very quickly with a hungry family of 5 in our position!

[Keeper]

Please.. stay on topic.

[cpg35223]

There is a headhunter in town that specializes in technical placement. Good guy: BETTER HIRE: Finding People Who Work

[Juleysis1990]

Your husband needs a job first but 100k should go a long way unless you have A lot of debt