Moving from Colorado (Birmingham, Homewood, Vestavia Hills: middle-class, section 8, houses)

[jamango]

Hi Everyone. Thanks in advance for your help. We are looking at a possible job transfer to the Birmingham area. My husband will be working in the Brookwood Village Mall area. We would like to buy a house there and our price range is anywhere up to 200,000. Bottom line, where is the best place for a decent commute with safe schools and a community feel. Can't wait to get back to the south. We have been in colorado for a year and HATE it!

[Threestep]

Decent commute makes sense - but where to?

[jamango]

My husband will be working in the Brookwood Village Mall area which is in Homewood I think.

[cpg35223]

Consider the Cahaba Heights area of Vestavia. It's still an affordable area, only 3 miles or so as the crow flies, and the schools are very good.

[san phlegmatico]

We would like to buy a house there and our price range is anywhere up to 200,000. Bottom line, where is the best place for a decent commute with safe schools and a community feel

You could probably buy a house in that price range in Avondale.

I have no personal experience living in the Avondale community, but a few prolific posters here do and perhaps they will chime in. I am surprised they haven't already, as they are wont to espouse the virtues of their favorite Birmingham neighborhood -- qualities which you are seeking: safety, community spirit, neighborly "feel," a convenient-to-everything central location, and good schools --

Hey, the public schools can't be as substandard and dangerous as advertised, for if they were indeed so run amok with thugs and stricken with urban blight, it would reflect a subpar quality of residents in that particular school's zone. And that simply isn't the case.

See if you can follow me:

For the sake of argument, let's say the Avondale community, Crestwood, portions of Southside, and perhaps other contiguous districts comprise Public School X. Which is something pretty close to the actual zoning.

Now we know Avondale is a mostly nice area populated predominantly with professionals, middle-class, working-class, and otherwise nice people; we know Crestwood to be of a similar constitution, if not nicer; we know Southside in-general to be in the same ball park (these premises, we handily accept under the consensus weight of myriad postings in this City-Data forum -- a forum which prides itself on empirical data and reputable posters' analyses).

Every morning, a nice All-American family in our X school zone rousts Little Johnny out of bed -- Rise and shine! -- serves him a stack of pancakes and glass of skim milk, dresses him in sparkling new duds from The Gap, bags him a lunch, pats him on the butt, and sends him off to the local schoolhouse X. Little Johnny is happy, good, and nice.

When Little Johnny arrives, he looks around the schoolyard and sees mostly boys and girls like him: a brown-bagged lunch, a smile on his and her face, a new pair of shoes. He sees a few oddball thugs-in-training, an occasional Dennis the Menace, some scowling faces... but mostly happy, good, and nice little boys and girls.

Which makes sense! You've got Avondale/Crestwood/Southside feeding Schoolhouse X. As per this city-data forum, the constitution of the families in these areas are mostly happy, good, and nice people. Happy, good, and nice beget happy, good, and nice offspring which grow up to attend the local school and comprise a mostly happy, good, and nice student body. Right?

Where am I going wrong? Unless... the aforementioned communities are bifurcated-yet-intermingled: a stew of rival factions composed equally of the likes of Section 8 Queens, gun-toting criminals, trust funders out on the tiles playing boho, the non-working and unemployed, the strays, the dopers, the stragglers, the hobos, the homeless, the crack denizens, the dealers, pimps, hos, future rappers, and mo', on the one hand;

And only sprinkled with professionals, middle-class, working-class -- THE HAPPY, GOOD, AND NICE on the other.

But that surely can't be the case. I mean, look at the preponderance of evidence!

Moderator cut: comment

Seriously, O.P., you should take a hard look at Avondale. It's right up your alley. (Not a dangerous back alley.) In your wheelhouse. (I didn't say crack house.)

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by san phlegmatico

You could probably buy a house in that price range in Avondale.

I have no personal experience living in the Avondale community, but a few prolific posters here do and perhaps they will chime in. I am surprised they haven't already, as they are wont to espouse the virtues of their favorite Birmingham neighborhood -- qualities which you are seeking: safety, community spirit, neighborly "feel," a convenient-to-everything central location, and good schools --

Hey, the public schools can't be as substandard and dangerous as advertised, for if they were indeed so run amok with thugs and stricken with urban blight, it would reflect a subpar quality of residents in that particular school's zone. And that simply isn't the case.

See if you can follow me:

For the sake of argument, let's say the Avondale community, Crestwood, portions of Southside, and perhaps other contiguous districts comprise Public School X. Which is something pretty close to the actual zoning.

Now we know Avondale is a mostly nice area populated predominantly with professionals, middle-class, working-class, and otherwise nice people; we know Crestwood to be of a similar constitution, if not nicer; we know Southside in-general to be in the same ball park (these premises, we handily accept under the consensus weight of myriad postings in this City-Data forum -- a forum which prides itself on empirical data and reputable posters' analyses).

Every morning, a nice All-American family in our X school zone rousts Little Johnny out of bed -- Rise and shine! -- serves him a stack of pancakes and glass of skim milk, dresses him in sparkling new duds from The Gap, bags him a lunch, pats him on the butt, and sends him off to the local schoolhouse X. Little Johnny is happy, good, and nice.

When Little Johnny arrives, he looks around the schoolyard and sees mostly boys and girls like him: a brown-bagged lunch, a smile on his and her face, a new pair of shoes. He sees a few oddball thugs-in-training, an occasional Dennis the Menace, some scowling faces... but mostly happy, good, and nice little boys and girls.

Which makes sense! You've got Avondale/Crestwood/Southside feeding Schoolhouse X. As per this city-data forum, the constitution of the families in these areas are mostly happy, good, and nice people. Happy, good, and nice beget happy, good, and nice offspring which grow up to attend the local school and comprise a mostly happy, good, and nice student body. Right?

Where am I going wrong? Unless... the aforementioned communities are bifurcated-yet-intermingled: a stew of rival factions composed equally of the likes of Section 8 Queens, gun-toting criminals, trust funders out on the tiles playing boho, the non-working and unemployed, the strays, the dopers, the stragglers, the hobos, the homeless, the crack denizens, the dealers, pimps, hos, future rappers, and mo', on the one hand;

And only sprinkled with professionals, middle-class, working-class -- THE HAPPY, GOOD, AND NICE on the other.

But that surely can't be the case. I mean, look at the preponderance of evidence!

Moderator cut: comment

Seriously, O.P., you should take a hard look at Avondale. It's right up your alley. (Not a dangerous back alley.) In your wheelhouse. (I didn't say crack house.)

Actually, your typical unfocused rant aside, Avondale is a pretty good choice. But I recommended Cahaba Heights because some houses are going for under 200K in that neighborhood and it's a shorter commute to Brookwood.

[jamango]

Thank you! I appreciate the advice. It is a daunting thing to move to a completely new place where you don't know a single soul. Even more so when you are responsible for your child and their well-being. We have moved our kids sooo much due to my husband's work, and I feel very guilty about it. So, any research I can do to make sure they can start out on the best foot possible--I will. Thanks again to those who gave guidance. It means a lot that strangers are willing to reach out and help others.

[autiger92]

Try Trussville. Excellent schools. Very strong sense of community. Nice parks. And you'll be able to find something in your price range there. The commute would be a little longer than from the Cahaba Heights area, but I think Trussville may have more to choose from in your price range--some newer homes, too. Good luck and welcome!

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by jamango

Thank you! I appreciate the advice. It is a daunting thing to move to a completely new place where you don't know a single soul. Even more so when you are responsible for your child and their well-being. We have moved our kids sooo much due to my husband's work, and I feel very guilty about it. So, any research I can do to make sure they can start out on the best foot possible--I will. Thanks again to those who gave guidance. It means a lot that strangers are willing to reach out and help others.

I would strongly suggest the Cahaba Heights section of Vestavia Hills also. Best combination of schools and short work commute.

[Threestep]

I was not quite awake this morning:>)
How old are your children? How many do you have? Do you plan on working and if so as what? Aside from schools and a budget of 200k - what else is important and in what hirarchy?
Unless we know a bit more about you we can just guess.
Personally - I do not mind five extra minutes to have an alternate route plus a mountain between me and the city (noise, smog, weather).