Moving Here? Need Advice? Help Us Help You. (Birmingham, Hoover: buy, preschool)

[Tourian]

Winn Dixie
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market
Aldi
Piggly Wiggly
Publix

[NinaFabulina]

Hello All!

I have a job opportunity, and I'd like to hear opinions on a few things.. first off, a little about me. I'm a 30 year old single Puerto Rican little lady, engineer, with two cats and no children to her name. I'd like to live somewhere were I could go out, meet people and do things, since I know nothing and no one in Alabama. I also need to be somewhere safe, because I'll be totally on my own.


1) The opportunity is for Evonik Industries in Birmingham - what I presume from Google Maps to be the northern area of Hoover. I'd like a commute under 20 minutes if at all possible.

2) I'd like to keep my home under 200k-ish. I'm looking forward to maybe getting a cute little bungalow?

3) No kids.. 'scept the cats.

4) I'd like to have some place to walk and exercise, shopping near-by, restaurants and craft beer are my hobbies. I like trying new things!

5) No major medical needs other than a good chiropractor and an endocrinologist.

6) I'd really like it if I could be in a friendly neighborhood, I think that would ease the brazen transition I'd be making.

I grew up in Miami, but I've been living almost 15 years in PR now.. so, thoughts? Is there a Latin community anywhere in particular? Areas I should avoid? Things to think about?

Thanks for the help!!

[Tourian]

Evonik is on Lakeshore, no? It has a Birmingham address but you will "feel" like it is in Homewood.

Homewood specifically Edgewood checks all the boxes and will give you places to walk, jog and plenty of places to eat nearby. Houses there aren't cheap so that amount of money will most likely be something smaller and older than say...

Helena which is going to stretch your 20min commute depending on when you leave but the houses are cheaper and you'll get something newer and larger than you will in Homewood or Vestavia. But it is more for young families than it is for singles and suffers from traffic as it is served by two lane roads.

However Homewood will put you closer to the craft beer scene and the Latin communtiy that tends to live along Valley ave. in Homewood and Lorna rd in Hoover.

[steveklein]

You can also look in Deer Valley and Lake Cyrus in Hoover which are further out from the city and might be a bit boring based on your interests, but are certainly within 20 minutes to Evonik via either Ross Bridge Parkway or the Lakeshore Superspeedway... and have lots of 3 bedroom homes in the sub-200 range.

[savva100]

America! i never been there though

[QuizYa]

Can anyone offer advice about elementary schools? We're moving to Bham and my son will be starting kinder in the fall. I would prefer a short commute to UAB but want to find the most appropriate school. Kiddo has some special needs (high IQ + anxiety issues) so we're debating public vs private. I haven't seen much about online about "gifted" programs in the Bham schools. Any advice would be appreciated.

[preguntas]

Epic School in the Birmingham system; otherwise Homewood, great schools and about a five to ten minute commute to UAB. (down the road, Alabama School of Fine Arts , downtown)

[bhammom]

Hi! Have lived all up and down the east coast, and in this area, the right public schools are very good, I'd go public, no need for private. Best schools in birmingham are Mountain Brook, followed by Vestavia and Homewood. I got my Master's in EDU and student taught at Liberty Park Elementary and Mountain Brook Elementary. Both were AMAZING and worth looking at. Liberty Park in Vestavia is going to be a commute (20 min) but great schools, safe, lots of young kids and much bigger house for your $$. Homewood and Mountain Brook are much closer to the city, but price per square foot is insane!!!!! Still, those homes have the historic charm and you can walk to restaurants, coffee shops and the like. Liberty Park is more green/outdoorsy if that makes sense? Lots of lakes, trails, parks, etc. More diversity in Homewood than the others if that's important, and not quite as $$ as Mnt. Brook. Liberty Park is more transient (ppl. from others states - lots of ppl from TX, NC, etc), where Homewood and Mountain Brook are more ppl. that grew up in Bham. Then there's Vestavia East and West, but can't speak to those as I don't know many ppl. there. Feel free to message me if I can be of any help! My family and I (2 kids under 5) love Birmingham!

Originally Posted by QuizYa

Can anyone offer advice about elementary schools? We're moving to Bham and my son will be starting kinder in the fall. I would prefer a short commute to UAB but want to find the most appropriate school. Kiddo has some special needs (high IQ + anxiety issues) so we're debating public vs private. I haven't seen much about online about "gifted" programs in the Bham schools. Any advice would be appreciated.

[QuizYa]

Originally Posted by bhammom

Hi! Have lived all up and down the east coast, and in this area, the right public schools are very good, I'd go public, no need for private. Best schools in birmingham are Mountain Brook, followed by Vestavia and Homewood. I got my Master's in EDU and student taught at Liberty Park Elementary and Mountain Brook Elementary. Both were AMAZING and worth looking at. Liberty Park in Vestavia is going to be a commute (20 min) but great schools, safe, lots of young kids and much bigger house for your $$. Homewood and Mountain Brook are much closer to the city, but price per square foot is insane!!!!! Still, those homes have the historic charm and you can walk to restaurants, coffee shops and the like. Liberty Park is more green/outdoorsy if that makes sense? Lots of lakes, trails, parks, etc. More diversity in Homewood than the others if that's important, and not quite as $$ as Mnt. Brook. Liberty Park is more transient (ppl. from others states - lots of ppl from TX, NC, etc), where Homewood and Mountain Brook are more ppl. that grew up in Bham. Then there's Vestavia East and West, but can't speak to those as I don't know many ppl. there. Feel free to message me if I can be of any help! My family and I (2 kids under 5) love Birmingham!

Thank you! I will send you a message!

[bradelyjacc]

Moving to another place is quite difficult job, but with above information, one can get to know a lot about Alabama. The society matters a lot when moving to other place. So its better to research on apartments where you feel secure, moreover it is surrounded by all the basic facilities at just next step of your door.