Please help! Moving from Sugarland, TX to Birmingham (Hoover, Homewood: relocating, realty)

[Sugarland TX]

Hi,
This is my first time posting anything but I'm hoping someone will assist. My husband and I are relocating to Birmingham b/c of a job promotion from Sugar Land (a suburb of Houston, TX). Sugar Land was just rated the #3 Best places to live in 2006. So, I am looking for somewhere safe and nice and a suburb. Our current home in Sugar Land is about $200-220K now...2 stories, 2700sq. ft...3 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, study, living, dining, and greatroom....and everything is big in texas! (purchased several yrs. ago at about $150K). So we have great living in an excellent area for cheap. Looking for a home somewhere between $200-250K...and although I hear Mountain Brook and Redmont Park are perfect.....they appear to be way out of our price range. We don't have any kids yet but they are in our plans. We are in our mid to upper 30's so want a quiet neighborhood with a great schhol district but we also want to be in an area where there's a mall, restaurants and shops. Basically, we don't want to have to go into the city for anything if we don't want to. Is there a possible location that could fit into the above painted description? Please help!

[Southlander]

Sugarland, there have been quite a number of discussions on this forum about Birmingham. Use the search function. That price range will not get you what you'd like in Mountain Brook, Vestavia or Homewood. You might want to look at Hoover, Pelham or the areas out 280. Those areas have lots of shopping, schools etc. You wouldn't have to go far, but you will have to have a car.

[HSVmom]

You could probably find something to suit you in Hoover or Pelham, as mentioned before. Depending on where you work, you may also want to consider Chelsea in Shelby Co. There are some very nice new neighborhoods in Chelsea, and it's not far from The Village at Lee Branch and Brook Highland shopping centers.

[mp33]

Try Tussville, about 20 minutes northeast of Bham -- we are moving there from Southern California in 2 weeks. The town has most everything in it... shopping, movies, and a sense of community, and you're just a hop-skip-and-jump from all else Birmingham has to offer. And, the schools are VERY good from what I've seen and heard. As for houses, what you already have in Texas ranges from $300,000-450,000 in Trussville...more or less.

Good luck!

[MissingTX]

My advice to you is to stay in TEXAS. I have lived in Hoover for 2 years. I HATE it!!! My husband was transfered here with his job. Everything is more expensive ...except(the one good thing) for the property tax. We were able to afford a more expensive home in a nice neighborhood due to the tax's being so low.

Be prepared to go back in time about 10 years...because Alabama is stuck!!!!! I never realized what a great thing we had in Texas until I came here.

Good Luck...

[Bbluefish]

Hi Sugarland Tx!

My hubby & I are your age & based on the description of what you are looking for, I must encourage you to look at Meadow Brook, Brook Highland, & anything out in the 280 area...this whole area is only 7 miles down highway 280 from Mountain Brook & has every amenity you could possibly imagine!

I lived in Meadow Brook in your price range in a brand new home built in 2000 up until 9 months ago...3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, kitchen, dining room. living room, great room, 2 car garage, etc...

Within 1 mile of my house I had a post office, UPS shipping store, a clean Walmart SuperCenter, various new & nice movie theatres to choose from, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. The Summit is close by with SAKS & every dining & retail option you can almost possibly imagine!!!

You get the best of all worlds living on 280...I would get my hair cut & do errands or have dinner in Mountain Brook...then be home in just a short time (just fighting those darn 7 or 8 traffic lights going down 280!!) Don't let everyone scare you about their "horror stories" of 280 traffic...yes it exists but most of the time it flows pretty quickly :-)

You also don't have to move as far out from the city as Trussville...it's lovely & has it's own charm by being it's own community but you won't be part of the "Birmingham social scene" much less the Mountain Brook one by living there!!! Certain parts of 280 truly are the "most affordable" of Birmingham considering the amenities offered :-)

Good Luck! You will LOVE Birmingham!!!

[TexasNative11]

I have never posted a reply to anything/anyone before but felt compelled to respond since I am a Texas Native myself. I am a mid-30's mother of four and my husband and I own a business on the Hwy 280 Corridor. We relocated here from Houston in 1999. We love it here! Equivalent housing here does tend to be more expensive. Mountain Brook is "old money" area. (Think University area around Rice U. and Texas Med Center) Hoover or the surrounding area is the place to be. Excellent schools (Oak Mountain or Spain Park High school systems are the goal here if you have kids) Also many private schools in this area. You can use realtysouth.com to search for a house by school district. (No, I am not an agent but recently moved myself) Birmingham has everything! The climate here is MUCH nicer than Houston's heat & humidity. We have great parks, a zoo, botanical gardens, natural caverns, a science museum for the kids, art and music cultures and nightlife. Great for family! Not as huge as the hustle and bustle of Houston but plenty big enough to find everything convieniently. I think you will find it to be very similar to Sugarland. (My brother and sister-in-law live in Sugarland.) Good luck and welcome to Birmingham!

[robroebuck]

You will love Birmingham! It is only a rare case when someone moves to Bham and doesn't fall in love with it! You've been given some good advice in earlier posts, but it all depends on where you want to be, work, and what you like to do. The great thing about the Birmingham area is that it has some great school systems, so it's not hard to find an area based on that, but housing is a bit pricey here.

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I'd be happy to answer more questions and help you find something!

[suicidesamurai]

Originally Posted by MissingTX

My advice to you is to stay in TEXAS. I have lived in Hoover for 2 years. I HATE it!!! My husband was transfered here with his job. Everything is more expensive ...except(the one good thing) for the property tax. We were able to afford a more expensive home in a nice neighborhood due to the tax's being so low.

Be prepared to go back in time about 10 years...because Alabama is stuck!!!!! I never realized what a great thing we had in Texas until I came here.

Good Luck...

Do us a favor and MOVE BACK TO TEXAS.

[Sugarland, TX]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! I haven't been on this site in a while as I have been wrapping up my current job and trying to sell our home. But I am back on the site and plan to keep viewing it. I had no idea I would even get a reply back. And you all were soooooo helpful! We have been able to direct our realtor in Birmingham on the areas you all recommended. The areas in particular we are focussing on are the 280 area you suggested: Meadow Brook, HighlandLakes, Chelsea, - ShelbyCounty, & Hoover. We have upped our price range on a home purchase to $250-300K. Our realtor has mentioned an area called Alabaster that no one had mentioned. Can you all please help???!!!! She said it is South on 65. We have seen a lot of the homes online and they are really nice and most had a lot of the features we liked: finished basements, screened in back decks plus uncovered decks also, hardwood flooring, 2 story homes with spacious floorplans. But is it too far out from everything???? The realtor said they are building up the area, etc. What are your thoughts? My husband will work out of the house and commute to Hoover maybe once a week...so there's no commute issues there. But...Although I may not get a job immediately (not sure yet), I am in the Pharmaceutical Industry so I work from home also...but I do have a territory to cover...and in Houston, my territory is the area where I live. Do you know if we lived in Alabaster for example...if that area is even developed enough to be considered a territory if I took on another Pharma job in Birmingham? Or should I just stick with the other 280 areas as those are nice also. I'm just afraid that the homes in HighlandLakes or Meadow Brook are too "out of our league". The homes I fell in love with (that were similar to the ones in Alabaster) were about $400K. Anyway, ... I'll be there this week to house hunt. Wish me luck that I find a home!!!!