Possibly relocating to Birmingham (Hoover, Bessemer: relocation, real estate, travel)

[breck00]

Hey everyone!

My husband may be getting a new job at the Mercedes plant in Vance and we are wondering where the best places for a family to live are. We have three children and excellent schools and a safe community are VERY, VERY important to us. Our price range for a home is between $250k and $350k. From our research, it seems that Helena would be the best choice. My husband is used to a 30-45 minute commute so being close to Vance is not necessarily a priority. Is Helena the best choice for us? What other areas would work? Thanks!

[Historic Bessemer]

There are lots of very nice homes in Mc Calla................15-20 minutes from the Merc. plant..........also in Cottondale and Northport!

[Bravo35223]

Breck:

I would very highly recommend Vestavia Hills....you can find a home there in the $350k range and it has superb schools..that are geared toward preparing your children for college admission. Your husband would have a 40-45 minute commute but it would be a snap on I-459 to I-50/20.

I had a friend 15 years go who moved here from Savannah and I recommended Vestavia to him. He had been paying $20k per year for private schools for his children there.

He put his kids into the Vestavia school system and after graduation they went to:

1) University of Texas - Austin
2) University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
3) Unversity of Richmond.

Scroll down this page and look at the statistics...average SAT score on all three sections is over 600....96% of graduates went on to college.

School Profile

This is a GREAT time to buy a house around here as the market has gotten very soft. There's a lot of inventory out there and your timing is great.

Look at the City Data on Vestavia Hills...there hasn't been a murder in the past six years - zero....great government/police department...

Vestavia Hills, Alabama (AL) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news

[Southlander]

Helena is mostly a lot of subdivisions that sprang up as the Galleria area developed. But there are beautiful homes in many different price ranges and the Hoover school district is excellent.

[Threestep]

Helena is kind of a sleep tow; suburbia at its best.

[gustygulas]

Helena is a very nice city and I believe you would like it. There is heavy traffic. Also check out McCalla which was mentioned earlier. There are a lot of homeowners in McCalla that work at the plant. You can also live closer to Birmingham and be in Vestavia where Bravo is a big supporter. You have some great choices for your price range.

Gusty Gulas

[robroebuck]

As stated, lots of good options. Hoover may be the best mix for convenience to Mercedes, schools, and your desires. Really can't go wrong with any of the suggestions!

[Historic Bessemer]

The schools around the merc plant in McCalla and Brookwood have become very good schools over the past 5 yrs. Big influx of residents due to the merc plant has brought about big change in the area!

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by Historic Bessemer

The schools around the merc plant in McCalla and Brookwood have become very good schools over the past 5 yrs. Big influx of residents due to the merc plant has brought about big change in the area!

Yes McCalla is growing explosively....there was an article in the morning paper about another development there where 600+ homes are about to go under construction...and lots of new retail coming in too....the western part of Jeffco is definitely heating up...

[breck00]

Thanks for all the suggestions! We thought about McCalla first but when we researched the school system (via greatschools.net) we found that those schools were rated very poorly compared to those of the Hoover area. Our kids currently go to schools rated a "10" by greatschools.net so we would hate to put them in a "4" school district. My husband actually got the job offer yesterday so we will be driving down to Birmingham next week to check out housing, schools etc. before we make a decision.

Thanks for all your help!