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Old 06-12-2013, 12:16 PM
 
Location: Birmingham
11,787 posts, read 17,762,837 times
Reputation: 10120

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Quote:
Originally Posted by cb2008 View Post
Racism towards whites? How does this work? Not trying to divert the thread, but I have never heard this expressed before and am truly curious.
White people are a minority there. A friend of mine that lived there while in school described how hard it was to even get a job delivering pizzas. If you aren't a native or Asian you are out of luck. Haole is the word they use.

To the OP. I can't imagine picking up and moving to a state without having a job lined up - especially not the most expensive one out there - Hawaii. But even though aLabama is much cheaper, you'd still be setting yourself up for disappointment unless you scout the job scene out first.
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Old 06-12-2013, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Birmingham, AL
178 posts, read 370,488 times
Reputation: 68
>(3) In general, is home renting averagely priced or more expensive than average?
This is one area I can truly and deeply help you with.
Rents in Birmingham can be astronomically crazy, depending on your lease, age of the apartments, area and the neighborhood you prefer.
If you are tight on money, be very calculative about renting in Birmingham.
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Old 06-12-2013, 01:07 PM
 
2,450 posts, read 5,600,549 times
Reputation: 1010
I don't know what counts as astronomically crazy. Its actually really cheap here. A quick google gave me this:
WorldTime News Report :: Top 200 US Cities - Average 2-Bedroom Rental Prices
with Bham coming in at 151 out of 200.
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Old 06-13-2013, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
415 posts, read 802,022 times
Reputation: 191
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
I don't know what counts as astronomically crazy. Its actually really cheap here. A quick google gave me this:
WorldTime News Report :: Top 200 US Cities - Average 2-Bedroom Rental Prices
with Bham coming in at 151 out of 200.
Agreed. I'd much rather pay rent in Birmingham than any of the other cities I have lived in.
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Old 06-14-2013, 06:37 AM
 
Location: Birmingham, AL
178 posts, read 370,488 times
Reputation: 68
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
I don't know what counts as astronomically crazy. Its actually really cheap here. A quick google gave me this:
WorldTime News Report :: Top 200 US Cities - Average 2-Bedroom Rental Prices
with Bham coming in at 151 out of 200.
Thats a 2009 report. Let me introduce you to the current trends and compare it with some of the cities I know. I have kept an eye on apartment rents for a little under 2 years and lived in 4 different apartment communities.
Birmingham
Studio (the little 10*10 room) apts 5 points South area - $550
1Br/ba - ranges from $600 to $1000 a month (no utils included, some may have cable) depending on the age of the apartment and the lease. Even the most ghetto'ish apt on 280 rents for $600 at least. Let us say, Birmingham(hwy 280) apartments rent at an average of $800. Compare this with these (1Br/ba) where I have lived or have very close friends living :

Columbus (Ohio) - $540
Minneapolis Downtown - $1000, Extended stays - $900
Paulo Alto (CA) - $1200
Atlanta - $850
Moline (IL) - $675
Lebanon, VA - $550
San Rafael - $950

Given the civic amenities and as most would say, bang for the buck, in my opinion you get the least bang in Birmingham. Usually, salaries offered in IT companys are commensurate with cost of living. Most HR dept people will refer to sheets/reports like the one you referred and come up with a number for salary. Those reports, as I know from experience, dont hold value in todays market scenario.
Birmingham doesn't have even a comparable IT scene. Apt rent is the biggest chunk from cost of living for me. So, if my buddies making way more than me in other cities are paying just a few 100 more in apt rents(and in some cases less), makes it astronomically crazy. Remember, I am also paying for social security but will never get to enjoy its benefits. So that adds some zing to my astronomically crazy comparison.
So all I was trying to say was, a person without a job trying to find housing in Birmingham, shouldn't be unprepared for high apartment rents.

Last edited by happybuddha; 06-14-2013 at 06:45 AM..
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Old 06-14-2013, 09:07 AM
 
2,450 posts, read 5,600,549 times
Reputation: 1010
I had immediately started to dismiss your comments since I know that some of what you said is quite ridiculous A $1200 apt in Palo Alto? Talk about outdated. I could probably count them on my fingers, and perhaps my toes. And to compare that to the ease of finding a comparable apartment for $600-1000 in Bham, is silly. And caring about 2009 vs today would only matter if the rents rose MUCH more quickly than most of the other metropolitan areas on that list. According to this they actually fell from 2009-2011.

http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr11-07.pdf

And while you may focus on the strength of the tech sector, thats not what housing prices follow alone.
However, I decided to look into the idea of affordability of the rents given incomes both from the above link and the following link

Charts and Graphs | MetroTrends

While not astronomical, we do fair a bit below average worse than average by a measure I'd consider pretty valid: the proportion of income that goes to rent and utilities. Of course its very much dependent on your individual situation (I know for mine it doesn't get much better), but it does appear overall the rent is high for the incomes, when compared on a national scale.

Also, if you get a green card (as you must eventually if you wish to continue working in the US), then you receive social security.
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Old 06-14-2013, 02:28 PM
 
Location: Birmingham, AL
178 posts, read 370,488 times
Reputation: 68
Guess my buddies got lucky in Palo Alto.

I hope I ever get to be able to use/trust surveys available on the internet. I will tell you this, my last apt manager was very friendly and when my time to leave the apts came I asked him for his opinion on other apts. He sat me down with a confidential survey his reality company pays for and showed me the situation on 280. 98% of the apartments have a 98% occupancy rate. Blimey ! I always wondered how people afford such rents (for such sub standard apartments) and used to think I am way too underpaid. When I bounced this off the manager, the manager said, the income I stated on my application form, has been one of the highest stated incomes since the manager was in charge (about 3 years) and this was in a pretty good apt community. Just how are people breaking even and saving for a rainy day ? Hallelujah ! So I decided that I wanted to go cheap and live on a shoe string when I was single in 2012. Mobile home communities (around Pinson) quoted a fee for $500 (or was it $600) for a months slot. Then I went the RV route. The RV parks cost way too much. Parking an RV in a Walmart parking lot and a weekly refill seemed the best option. But google-fu showed that to be a bad option. I would rather pay 750 and stay on 280 instead of commuting across it in rush hour and to live in a dangerous situation. But 750 ? 750 ? With utils and all its about 950.

When I moved to Bham in 2011, Colonial village was quoting $475 (that thread must still be lying somewhere around). Today's cheapest rental option is $600. To me, an (about) 27% of a jump in rents in 2 years is big.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
..but it does appear overall the rent is high for the incomes, when compared on a national scale.
Is all I was saying

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluebeard View Post
Also, if you get a green card (as you must eventually if you wish to continue working in the US), then you receive social security.
Right. Once the powers to be can come to a conclusion on how quickly and respectfully and gently and softly they want to treat illegal immigrants am sure they will have time to think about how they want to hasten the fellas standing in the legal queue. To get a GC, from where I see, its a 12 year wait, at least. I am sure another developed country like Canada (like it has done in the past) or Australia would welcome and care for skilled labor currently toiling on American soil. There goes my SS

Cheers
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Old 06-17-2013, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
415 posts, read 802,022 times
Reputation: 191
Quote:
Originally Posted by happybuddha View Post
Then I went the RV route. The RV parks cost way too much. Parking an RV in a Walmart parking lot and a weekly refill seemed the best option.
For future reference, most Walmart locations have signs posted that state they do not allow overnight RV parking.
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Old 06-18-2013, 06:44 AM
 
Location: Birmingham, AL
178 posts, read 370,488 times
Reputation: 68
Quote:
Originally Posted by rawrockills View Post
For future reference, most Walmart locations have signs posted that state they do not allow overnight RV parking.
Yeah. ...And still I used to see one (for about 6 months) parked until recently at walmart on 280. It used to be parked parallel and was towards the Bank/express oil change. Wanted to knock on its doors and see if s/he wanted a room mate
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