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Old 03-31-2012, 01:30 PM
 
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Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. So one (really loaded) question: Can you recommend a particular county/city to live in, and why?
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Old 03-31-2012, 02:33 PM
 
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Originally Posted by smellycat42 View Post
Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. So one (really loaded) question: Can you recommend a particular county/city to live in, and why?
Wow. That is loaded. I really prefer Jefferson myself, but it depends on what you want. North Shelby is good, but 280 makes for hellish traffic and it is all too new to really have a personality and vibe to it. Plus it's all chain places to eat, too.

The other surrounding counties are too rural for my personal taste. I like living in Jefferson because all the amenities I want are close at hand.
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Old 03-31-2012, 07:47 PM
 
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Any real or imagined savings you would have by living in Shelby county aren't balanced in time, money, and stress while using your car and your life by commuting a million hours a day.
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Old 03-31-2012, 10:57 PM
 
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
Any real or imagined savings you would have by living in Shelby county aren't balanced in time, money, and stress while using your car and your life by commuting a million hours a day.
I think that is accurate to a degree. If someone can only afford a $120-170K house, doesn't want a townhouse/condo, and wants to be in a decent school district, Jefferson County becomes a difficult target location. Shelby County has a great appeal to folks in that demographic.

Also, if you want acreage of any kind, I find that Shelby County (despite the priciness in the closer-in 'burbs) is hands down less expensive than Jefferson. Have you seen what folks want for land out in the McCalla area?
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Old 04-02-2012, 07:15 AM
 
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I DO understand (and agree) that there is definite value in time, stress, etc. related to living somewhere. But here is another factor, that maybe you can weigh-in on. Schools. We hear all kinds of rumors (and I've read everywhere on here, it seems), that Shelby schools are "amazing", Jefferson County/Birmingham schools are poor to terrible, and that if you want good resale and quality education you "HAVE TO LIVE IN SHELBY". Don't get me wrong, I like Shelby just fine. A lot actually. But there are parts of Jefferson that are just as nice. And it is just like our real estate agent told us, "don't take peoples' personal opinions on schools, because they'll bash a school just because their kid gets in trouble". Opinions can be very biased for personal reasons. He suggested looking at test scores. But here's where it gets me. Coming from GA where for the past 3-4 years there has been a yearly scandal about administration, teachers and students helping each other cheat on the standardized tests, I don't know that I trust the scores either. Too many people involved, too many hands in the pot. So how do you make a decent decision on where to place your family? School quality aside, how does resale fare in certain areas of Shelby vs Jefferson?

Last edited by smellycat42; 04-02-2012 at 07:16 AM.. Reason: misspelling
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Old 04-02-2012, 08:13 AM
 
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When I talked about counties, I wasn't talking about the actual county districts themselves, but all schools within the counties.
I think Jefferson County district schools depend on the individual school. Overall Shelby county district may mostly have higher rated schools, but it varies.
Hoover and Homewood have schools just as good or better, and have housing stock under $200,000.
I'm openly biased in that I'd rather live in a smaller place (both house and land) then commute far. I also have no problems with townhouses and condos, as well, but there are relatively cheaper houses in good schools closer than Shelby county, if you don't need acreage. Also, I'm biased in that if I couldn't afford a convenient house locations, I'd sooner rent. Living far away from where you work can cost more than you end up being able to invest in a house.

Last edited by bluebeard; 04-02-2012 at 09:02 AM..
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Old 04-02-2012, 08:41 AM
 
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Originally Posted by smellycat42 View Post
I DO understand (and agree) that there is definite value in time, stress, etc. related to living somewhere. But here is another factor, that maybe you can weigh-in on. Schools. We hear all kinds of rumors (and I've read everywhere on here, it seems), that Shelby schools are "amazing", Jefferson County/Birmingham schools are poor to terrible, and that if you want good resale and quality education you "HAVE TO LIVE IN SHELBY". Don't get me wrong, I like Shelby just fine. A lot actually. But there are parts of Jefferson that are just as nice. And it is just like our real estate agent told us, "don't take peoples' personal opinions on schools, because they'll bash a school just because their kid gets in trouble". Opinions can be very biased for personal reasons. He suggested looking at test scores. But here's where it gets me. Coming from GA where for the past 3-4 years there has been a yearly scandal about administration, teachers and students helping each other cheat on the standardized tests, I don't know that I trust the scores either. Too many people involved, too many hands in the pot. So how do you make a decent decision on where to place your family? School quality aside, how does resale fare in certain areas of Shelby vs Jefferson?
Well, I don't know who you're talking to, but they don't have the slightest idea of what they're discussing. In terms of overall quality, Shelby County schools are a notch below the top-tier schools in Jefferson County, from Mountain Brook to Vestavia to Homewood to Hoover to even Trussville. That's not to say that they're not bad, but they just aren't on par with the systems I just mentioned.
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Old 04-02-2012, 09:12 AM
 
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Also as far as resale goes, I'd be more scared of Shelby county than Jefferson. Speaking long-term, places closer in to areas will work, would tend to have better resale value. The most recent bubble burst occurred largely in newly settled areas that tended to be exurban communities exactly like in Shelby county.
CPG is right about the generally considered best schools (using test scores and the such). I think the only Shelby county school that keeps up with those at all is Oak Mtn.
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Old 04-02-2012, 09:36 AM
 
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So schools in Jefferson County aren't that bad? Interesting. Just not what I have heard or been told. Well this begs another question, then, that can only be viewed by locals.... Since good schools are usually in areas that have higher taxes (Hoover, Mtn Brook), and the Jeff Co bankruptcy thing seems to be tied to the taxes/future of taxes, is the tax/bankruptcy situation really that severe? Are people over dramatizing it? Should we basically be saying "Forget it, I'm living here no matter what the taxes/sewer/bankruptcy situation", since with the Pros, seem to come the Cons? Does that make any sense?
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Old 04-02-2012, 09:44 AM
 
28,896 posts, read 53,965,887 times
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Originally Posted by smellycat42 View Post
So schools in Jefferson County aren't that bad? Interesting. Just not what I have heard or been told. Well this begs another question, then, that can only be viewed by locals.... Since good schools are usually in areas that have higher taxes (Hoover, Mtn Brook), and the Jeff Co bankruptcy thing seems to be tied to the taxes/future of taxes, is the tax/bankruptcy situation really that severe? Are people over dramatizing it? Should we basically be saying "Forget it, I'm living here no matter what the taxes/sewer/bankruptcy situation", since with the Pros, seem to come the Cons? Does that make any sense?
I think people are way overdramatizing. No way, no how are people going to flee Vestavia, Homewood, Hoover, and Mountain Brook over this. I promise you. The other thing to consider is that people who live in neighboring counties love to talk that way, never considering for a moment that their fates are inextricably tied with both Birmingham and Jefferson county. If it weren't for Birmingham/JeffCo, Shelby, Bibb, St. Clair, and Blount would be sparsely populated and consisting mostly of farm land.
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