Helena Best for Kids (Birmingham, Pelham: sales, mortgage, how much)

[Reactionary]

According to 'Business Week':

No. 13
Helena, Ala.
Nearest city: Birmingham (20 miles)
Population: 10,296
Median household income: $62,908

OnBoard Scoring

Total: 296.80
Test scores: 92.52 (40th)
Cost of living: 86.71 (36th)
Recreational/cultural activities: 28.04 (10th)
Schools: 2.18 (20th)
Crime: 87.36 (35th)

Best Places to Raise Your Kids, 2007 - BusinessWeek

[Bravo35223]

It is a very nice town...one of my new business associates lives there a loves it.

I was really baffled about that CD visitor who flew down here with her husband and found a bunch of poorly constructed homes there and then turned down the job offer at Mercedes...

very puzzling

[gustygulas]

Yes Bravo that was puzzling. I guess we cannot please everyone.

[73mountaineer]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

It is a very nice town...one of my new business associates lives there a loves it.

I was really baffled about that CD visitor who flew down here with her husband and found a bunch of poorly constructed homes there and then turned down the job offer at Mercedes...

very puzzling

I was surprised at that as well, especially the comments about having to pay much more for a comparable home.

Like the other poster, we live in the suburbs of Chicago as well & have found the cost of living here to be outrageous. Mid $200k prices for less than a 2,000 sq ft home with annual property taxes of over $4k per year. Not to mention sales taxes of over 7.5%, and many other cost of living issues. Traffic & many other headaches have us looking elsewhere after only living here for 13 months.

I am looking into a position at my present company's corporate headquarters in Birmingham and would welcome any comments from the folks on this forum regarding relocation to the area. We have two small children, ages 9 and 6, and are used to a more relaxed lifestyle, having relocated to the Chicago area from Northern West Virginia.

[Bravo35223]

I will be happy to help....please narrow it down a bit so I can be helpful.

1) Where is the location of your office here?

2) How much can you afford to spend on a home?

[73mountaineer]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

I will be happy to help....please narrow it down a bit so I can be helpful.

1) Where is the location of your office here?

2) How much can you afford to spend on a home?

1 - The office is at 1200 Urban Center Drive, Birmingham.

2- We would probably be looking at homes in the $200-230k range, possibly a little more since the property taxes are lower there (our taxes here on a $230k home are $4200 per year, and that's dirt cheap for this area).

I've been down to the area twice in the past couple of months on business and Alabama has a much better "feel" to an old country boy like me than Illinois.

Like I said, we are still only exploring this possibility at the moment - call it preliminary research - while I decide if it is worth falling into disfavor with my current boss to pursue a position at corporate.

Thanks!

- Steve

[Bravo35223]

Steve:

Your office is in Liberty Park on I-459, the loop road around the southern perimeter of the metro. For houses in that price range, I would check Pelham. Your property taxes will drop from $4000 to about $1000, which would give you another $275 per month to put into a mortgage payment, so you might be able to buy more house and get a bit closer to work.

You'd have about a 20 minute drive to work (from Pelham) but that's a piece of cake compared to what you are likely having to drive now...

[73mountaineer]

You sure nailed it on the commute time - my average commute now is probably 45-60 minutes, up to 1.5 hours or more...to travel 15-30 miles, depending on which site I am visiting on that day. Nice, huh?

I'll check into the Pelham area. A friend of mine down there lives in Sterrett (sp?) - what is that area like?

Thanks!

- Steve

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by 73mountaineer

You sure nailed it on the commute time - my average commute now is probably 45-60 minutes, up to 1.5 hours or more...to travel 15-30 miles, depending on which site I am visiting on that day. Nice, huh?

I'll check into the Pelham area. A friend of mine down there lives in Sterrett (sp?) - what is that area like?

Thanks!

- Steve

Steve, Sterrett is in a beautiful mountain valley...down Highway 280 and across Double Oak Mountain and down the other side. That would be a tougher commute but if you are up to it, why not? You could still get to work in 35 minutes or so.

[73mountaineer]

Heck, even 35 minutes is an improvement! No kidding, I left my main office - 14 miles from my house - a couple of weeks ago & caught the commute wrong...an hour and a half later I pulled into my driveway! An hour is not unusual. I have another site about 30 miles from home and the quickest I have ever made it from there is about 60 minutes, but 1.5 hours is the norm.

I told my friend at Corporate that I am interested in the position and asked him to do some discreet checking on it for me.

Anything else that you can offer about the area would be very helpful & appreciated!

Thanks!
- Steve