The Next Atlanta (Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile: low crime, houses, college)

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

While I agree the number of tiny little cities in Jefferson County is mindboggling, to me the most damaging thing has been the fracturing of the public school systems. Despite all the mutilple city governments in Metro Atlanta, there is a limited number of large county school districts. Until and unless the laws are changed in Alabama to discourage the splitting off of independent school systems and encouraging some of them to reconsoldate, the schools in Birmingham and Jefferson County are forever doomed.

I agree. I think steps towards consolidating services, rather than city boundaries is the way to go. and eventually might even happen.

[Newsboy]

By the way, Bluebeard, I don't know where you got the idea that you have to drive to Buford Highway to grocery shop. BUFORD HIGHWAY?! That's Atlanta's International Village -- Little Havana and Asian Town all rolled into one! When was the last time you spent any time in Atlanta? The entire North-South MARTA line through the heart of the city from downtown through Midtown to Buckhead and on up to Perimeter Center is now lined with nodes of high-rise residential towers, each with sidewalk cafes, bookstores, coffee shops, drug stores and YES! Grocery stores accessible to residents BY FOOT! In fact, there are several walk-up (no parking lots) Kroger and Publix grocery stores on the ground floors of high-rises in Midtown and Buckhead.

You need to come see for yourself. You very well CAN live in the city of Atlanta without a car. Thousands of people do it!

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by Observation

No, it never will. Birminghams time came, the city leaders squandered it, and it is now gone.

It's destined to become more of what it already is. A metro of thriving well off suburbs and a dying inner core plagued with violence, and poverty.

Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte. All three of these cities have thriving cultural and business centers in there core city. All three have large sprawling million dollar neighborhoods in the city core, all also have sprawling middle class neighborhoods in the city. All have top notch residential hi-rises, 2 have skyscrapers, all of them have events that bring over 50K people to the city each year and on top of that a thriving economy that is based within the anchor city.
On top of that all 3 have professional sports teams.
Also all 3 are already bigger than B-Ham and to top it off are growing at a much more rapid pace.

Take away ATL, CLT, or NSV suburbs and you still got one helluva city in every case.

Now take away Birminghams metro and leave just the city, what do you got? Mostly blight.

I'm not dissing B-Ham, this is just reality. Birmingham isn't even on Knoxville or Memphis level, How on earth can it compete with Nashville, Charlotte or Atlanta?

If it ever does want to compete the city itself is going to have to be cleaned up so people will feel safe living in the city itself and not trying to escape to the burbs, which is what's currently happening. B-Ham has been losing population sense the 70s. Charlotte (the city not the metro) in 10 years gained 200K people, B-ham (the city) only has 230K people. It's close to impossible for B-Ham to ever become the next Charlotte, so how is it gonna be the next Atlanta?

You sure you wanna stick by that statement?.

I guess Bham should just turn out the lights because we are failing in our attempts to compete with the "shinning cities on a hill" otherwise know as Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta. Maybe Bham should compete with places like Jackson or Sheveport for the hog calling tournaments, and Monster truck rallies.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

By the way, Bluebeard, I don't know where you got the idea that you have to drive to Buford Highway to grocery shop. BUFORD HIGHWAY?! That's Atlanta's International Village -- Little Havana and Asian Town all rolled into one! When was the last time you spent any time in Atlanta? The entire North-South MARTA line through the heart of the city from downtown through Midtown to Buckhead and on up to Perimeter Center is now lined with nodes of high-rise residential towers, each with sidewalk cafes, bookstores, coffee shops, drug stores and YES! Grocery stores accessible to residents BY FOOT! In fact, there are several walk-up (no parking lots) Kroger and Publix grocery stores on the ground floors of high-rises in Midtown and Buckhead.

You need to come see for yourself. You very well CAN live in the city of Atlanta without a car. Thousands of people do it!

I have. Buford Highway pretty much is sprawl. It sucks to get around without a car in that place. MARTA does not go close to the places I go in that area. Maybe the buses go closer, I don't know.
The grocery stores and restaurants I like tend to be in that area. They are in fact, the only reason I'd even ever want to move there.
I have been to Atlanta multiple times very frequently and likely will go back soon for work.

[Newsboy]

Buford Highway = Montgomery Highway

[Observation]

Originally Posted by sleepless in Bham

You sure you wanna stick by that statement?.

I guess Bham should just turn out the lights because we are failing in our attempts to compete with the "shinning cities on a hill" otherwise know as Nashville, Charlotte and Atlanta. Maybe Bham should compete with places like Jackson or Sheveport for the hog calling tournaments, and Monster truck rallies.

Bham is a step above Jackson & Shreveport but is still a step below Knox or Memphis.
Memphis has some of the richest history and best food in the south and has a casino, Memphis draws tourists from the entire nation. Knoxville has the University of TN, one of the top Division 1 schools in the nation for both athletics and Education and draws people from the entire world. The world fair was also held there in 1984.
Both are also larger than Bham with less crime (even Memphis has lower crime that Bham)

With that being said both Bham is a step below Knoxville & Memphis, and those cities are a step below Nashville, which is a step below Charlotte, which is a step below Atlanta.

Bham should never be mentioned in the same sentence as Atlanta unless geography and both being in the south is all thats being discussed.

[sleepless in Bham]

Originally Posted by Observation

Bham is a step above Jackson & Shreveport but is still a step below Knox or Memphis.
Memphis has some of the richest history and best food in the south and has a casino, Memphis draws tourists from the entire nation. Knoxville has the University of TN, one of the top Division 1 schools in the nation for both athletics and Education and draws people from the entire world. The world fair was also held there in 1984.
Both are also larger than Bham with less crime (even Memphis has lower crime that Bham)

With that being said both Bham is a step below Knoxville & Memphis, and those cities are a step below Nashville, which is a step below Charlotte, which is a step below Atlanta.

Bham should never be mentioned in the same sentence as Atlanta unless geography and both being in the south is all thats being discussed.

Knoxville?, seriously?

Knoxville proper population: 183,546
Knoxville Metro population: 655,400

Birmingham proper: 212K
Birmingham metro: 1.1 million

So Birmingham is a step below Knoxville...really?

Knoxville, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Lexington, Montgomery, Jackson, Sherevport are tier 4&5 cities

Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville, OKC, Jacksonville, Richmond are on tier 3

Nashville, Charlotte, Tampa, New Orleans, Austin are on tier 3

Atlanta, Houston, Dallas are all on tier 1

[brent6969]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Buford Highway = Montgomery Highway

Are you freaking kidding...I gave you positive support before, now I digress after that statement//////////////

[brent6969]

Guys you need to take the words of Charlotte and Nashville out of this category with Atlanta...Atlanta is so far above these cities............................................ ..........................................

[PortCity]

Originally Posted by brent6969

NO, you don't KNOW. Savannah is far from boring and is on par with Mobile. And GA is far from being South Dakota, does SD has almost 10 million people vs Alabama's 4.8 million??????

Dude if you couldn`t git the sarcasm then it wasn`t meant for you to get it LOL.

Outside of Atlanta... Georgia is just as sleepy as South Dakota I don`t care what you say !



Outside of the Atlanta metro Georgia is just South Dakota.Now SAVANNAH is nice and honestly I don`t see WHY IT ISN`T THE BIG GUN IN THE STATE.BUT IF ATLANTA WASNT IN GEORGIA I THINK SAVANNAH WOULD BE LIKE 600-700K STRONG.


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