Moving Here? Need Advice? Help Us Help You. (Birmingham, Hoover: new construction, schools)

[Tourian]

Well, UAB is the southside of Birmingham. It practically covers it. So, all the apartments being built in Parkside are right there at it within easy walking distance. I think some will be complete by August. Then there's Lakeview and Highlands and South Avondale which are within biking distance. The blight in the area is Southtown Projects which most people would feel uncomfortable walking or biking nearby, but it can be avoided. I'm not so sure what you can get for $600 though.

[steveklein]

$600, safe, and walkable neighborhood is going to be a tough find to be honest. There probably are some older homes and apartments that rent for somewhere in that range in Southside, Forest Park, Highland Avenue area... but most are going to be a little more than that. And some of these areas are pretty long walks to UAB. It kind of depends on where you are from as to what you consider "walking distance". When I think walking distance, I think half mile to maybe a mile tops... and most areas in that distance from UAB are going to be more like $900+. If you rent over the mountain, you can definitely get a 1 bedroom in Hoover for that. It is about a 15-20 minute commute into UAB and not walkable at all... but there is plenty of shopping, dining, etc. in Hoover

[foxxee911]

We are looking to move to Alabama in 2016. It will be my fiancee and our little boy who is 4.
1) In what area of town will you be working? Really important stuff, that. And what kind of commute time are you wanting? I dont know much about Birmingham to know what side of of town to prefer. We like it quiet and we like to drive to go shopping and visiting.

2) Do you have a price range for your house or apartment? The price range really no more than 700-800

3) Do you have children? Do they have unique educational needs? Our son will just begin school once we move

4) What do you enjoy the most during your free time? The arts? Fine dining? Sports? Hiking? Or just getting away from it all? We enjoy fishing, shopping, reading, all kinds of sports. We love to get away from it all when time allows.

5) Do you have special medical needs?
Currently we don't have any special medical needs.


And the list goes on and on. Now, let me tackle some other frequently asked questions.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by foxxee911

We are looking to move to Alabama in 2016. It will be my fiancee and our little boy who is 4.
1) In what area of town will you be working? Really important stuff, that. And what kind of commute time are you wanting? I dont know much about Birmingham to know what side of of town to prefer. We like it quiet and we like to drive to go shopping and visiting.

2) Do you have a price range for your house or apartment? The price range really no more than 700-800

3) Do you have children? Do they have unique educational needs? Our son will just begin school once we move

4) What do you enjoy the most during your free time? The arts? Fine dining? Sports? Hiking? Or just getting away from it all? We enjoy fishing, shopping, reading, all kinds of sports. We love to get away from it all when time allows.

5) Do you have special medical needs?
Currently we don't have any special medical needs.


And the list goes on and on. Now, let me tackle some other frequently asked questions.

Hi. We want to help, but where will you be working? Do you have some specific part of town?

[KaraG]

Hey all, helping family members find a home ASAP, they just took a job in Homewood and are moving in from out of state.

1) In what area of town will you be working? Really important stuff, that. And what kind of commute time are you wanting? Homewood, as short as possible

2) Do you have a price range for your house or apartment? No time to buy unless someone has an owner financing option, would pay $2000/month rent, need single family house, 4 bedroom, dogs ok

3) Do you have children? Do they have unique educational needs? 4 young children, 1 in special ed classes now

4) What do you enjoy the most during your free time? The arts? Fine dining? Sports? Hiking? Or just getting away from it all? Playgrounds

5) Do you have special medical needs? No

6) Do you want to be in a neighborhood where everyone knows one another or do you simply don't care? They like the Edgewood area, but right now we are kind of desperate to find any place large enough to house them on short notice. Most interested in proximity to work, safe safe neighborhood, good schools, hopefully can buy in the same area.

Having a very hard time finding anything online, feel free to PM me as well. I am about 4 hours away and will gladly drive over to help check out places for them. Had no idea it would be so challenging to find a place.

When we moved cross country a few years ago, we were very blessed to find a home where the owners offered financing. We moved right in and paid them off when we refinanced 2 years later. If anyone knows of anything similar that's available right now, would love to hear, they are a very nice family and don't really want to move twice.

[steveklein]

There should be tons of places in Hoover and probably Vestavia as well which are both close to Homewood, have good schools, and have single family homes for rent at or under 2000/month. Craigslist would be a good starting point.

[KaraG]

Thanks, have been looking on craigslist for Vestavia & Homewood. How far is it from Hoover to Homewood, around Oxmoor Rd? Can you ride a bike? Or is that weird here?

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by KaraG

Thanks, have been looking on craigslist for Vestavia & Homewood. How far is it from Hoover to Homewood, around Oxmoor Rd? Can you ride a bike? Or is that weird here?

Hoover is pretty spread out... but from what is considered the center of Hoover is like 10 minutes to Homewood. If you are on the western side of Hoover around Ross Bridge or on top of Shades Crest Road, you can be on Oxmoor Road in just a couple of minutes.

Virtually nobody commutes by bicycle. Unfortunately, Birmingham is not a very bike-friendly city... and the suburbs aren't either. There are almost no bike lanes on the busier thoroughfares in and around the city.

Here are a couple of rentals I found using a quick Craigslist search that are close to the Oxmoor Road area of Homewood:

https://bham.craigslist.org/apa/5044350363.html
https://bham.craigslist.org/apa/5023037376.html
https://bham.craigslist.org/apa/4959988213.html

A little further away but still not that far:
https://bham.craigslist.org/apa/5019797358.html

[KaraG]

Thanks - will check those out. And thanks for the bike info.

[n0loh]

To answer the questions...

1) In what area of town will you be working? Really important stuff, that. And what kind of commute time are you wanting?
I will be working in Irondale. A 30-minute commute would be the longest I'd like.

2) Do you have a price range for your house or apartment?
I would like to rent a small house for no more than $750/month.

3) Do you have children? Do they have unique educational needs?
No children. I am a single widower.

4) What do you enjoy the most during your free time? The arts? Fine dining? Sports? Hiking? Or just getting away from it all?
I am a home body. Always nice to have restaurants and retail near.

5) Do you have special medical needs?
No.

6) Do you want to be in a neighborhood where everyone knows one another or do you simply don't care?
A safe neighborhood would be nice, but no need to know everyone, I guess.

I start work in a few weeks. Moving from Iowa. I have looked at some rentals online, and most in the price range I want look decent. Some in East Lake, Midfield, Dora and Leeds. There seems to be few in Irondale.

Also, I would like to know opinions on Internet providers.

Thank you for your assistance.