Birmingham, Alabama. Opinions? (Montgomery, Leeds, Pell City: appointed, lease, job market)

[bluebeard]

*Sigh*
I wasn't trying to shred her. I actually felt bad that she felt she needed her city to be cosmopolitan to not be ashamed of it. I don't care whether she's proud of it or not, but no one should be ashamed of the place that created them, whether they currently like or dislike it.
My point was more discussing with you and others that seem to think Birmingham is an oh-so-open-minded lively, culturally active place. I was pointing out that I don't find this to be so true.
If you wanted this to be an "I love Birmingham" session you should have named the thread as so.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

*Sigh*
I wasn't trying to shred her. I actually felt bad that she felt she needed her city to be cosmopolitan to not be ashamed of it. I don't care whether she's proud of it or not, but no one should be ashamed of the place that created them, whether they currently like or dislike it.
My point was more discussing with you and others that seem to think Birmingham is an oh-so-open-minded lively, culturally active place. I was pointing out that I don't find this to be so true.
If you wanted this to be an "I love Birmingham" session you should have named the thread as so.

Presumptive (Look! There's that word again!) child that you are, you obviously did not read my posts very carefully. My only suggestion in my OP is that Birmingham did not fit my original image of Klan rallies, and that it is a town that, on the whole, is a pretty nice place to live with good restaurants and a nice offering of culture amenities. In no way, shape, or form did I suggest that it was a cultural Mecca. Moving here from Chicago, we were quite surprised and pleased. For example, my wife, who loves ballet, was surprised to learn that the Alabama Ballet is only one of a handful of companies in the world allowed to dance Ballanchine. So my OP was a pretty modest thesis, if you ask me.

But I don't suppose you're really interested in actually listening to other people's opinions. I believe your main motivation is to sneer at the place, looking at it from the perspective of a graduate student enthralled with staking out his superior place on that sliding scale of what is chic and urbane. However, it's a pretty shallow pursuit, it reeks of insecurity, and it's a terrible way to judge the overall merits of a community. For if you really get wrapped up in being a poseur, you'll find that there will always be somebody above you, no matter how many rarefied levels of cultural attainment you ascend. After all, I'm sure you would be the veritable Man of Letters or Renaissance Man in Tupelo, Mississippi, but you'd also be small potatoes in New York or the salons of Paris--as would the rest of us.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Presumptive (Look! There's that word again!) child that you are, you obviously did not read my posts very carefully. My only suggestion in my OP is that Birmingham did not fit my original image of Klan rallies, and that it is a town that, on the whole, is a pretty nice place to live with good restaurants and a nice offering of culture amenities. In no way, shape, or form did I suggest that it was a cultural Mecca. Moving here from Chicago, we were quite surprised and pleased. For example, my wife, who loves ballet, was surprised to learn that the Alabama Ballet is only one of a handful of companies in the world allowed to dance Ballanchine. So my OP was a pretty modest thesis, if you ask me.

But I don't suppose you're really interested in actually listening to other people's opinions. I believe your main motivation is to sneer at the place, looking at it from the perspective of a graduate student enthralled with staking out his superior place on that sliding scale of what is chic and urbane. However, it's a pretty shallow pursuit, it reeks of insecurity, and it's a terrible way to judge the overall merits of a community. For if you really get wrapped up in being a poseur, you'll find that there will always be somebody above you, no matter how many rarefied levels of cultural attainment you ascend. After all, I'm sure you would be the veritable Man of Letters or Renaissance Man in Tupelo, Mississippi, but you'd also be small potatoes in New York or the salons of Paris--as would the rest of us.

This whole thing smacks of such irony and misunderstanding I can't deal with anymore. I wasn't picking a fight. Just stating opinions. You obviously know nothing of my values and life experience. I don't really like New York that much and have never been to Paris, and don't plan to any time soon, if ever. Your concept of what I value and enjoy in a location is ridiculous. Anyway, have fun!

[nva79]

i currently live in northern virginia, and when i tell people i am looking at huntsville they give me a funny look. i was in bham for a couple days in june and absolutely loved it. if people visited here, they would be hardpressed to find evidence here of everyone being "hicks". it is very nice and big. the down sides are no professional sports, poor public transit, and some industrial areas. besides that, it is as cosmopolitian as many other cities. and half the price. absolutely loved jim and nicks, 2 pesos, and many other fabulous restaurants. there is probably just as much upscale shopping and golf as many suburban areas in the north. the downtown is really coming along. i just want to say i love birmingham and hate that everyone gives it such poor reviews.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by nva79

i currently live in northern virginia, and when i tell people i am looking at huntsville they give me a funny look. i was in bham for a couple days in june and absolutely loved it. if people visited here, they would be hardpressed to find evidence here of everyone being "hicks". it is very nice and big. the down sides are no professional sports, poor public transit, and some industrial areas. besides that, it is as cosmopolitian as many other cities. and half the price. absolutely loved jim and nicks, 2 pesos, and many other fabulous restaurants. there is probably just as much upscale shopping and golf as many suburban areas in the north. the downtown is really coming along. i just want to say i love birmingham and hate that everyone gives it such poor reviews.

Well, it's just a few. And it really boils down to simple laziness. It's not hard to find good things in any community.

[nva79]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Well, it's just a few. And it really boils down to simple laziness. It's not hard to find good things in any community.

just a few what?

[Keeper]

Folks, let's get back to the original post.

Our opinions on a location or issue are just that, opinions. Highly subjective. Personal preferences. Quirks, even. Leave wiggle room for dialogue, others may not see things the same as you, or been there as long as you, and any one of us can be wrong. Pouncing on someone you disagree with runs contrary to the spirit of this board and its members. We are here to help each other.


We may attack ideas (politely) but we do not attack the speaker of the idea. Be careful with your words, there is a point where being direct crosses a line into blunt, in-your-face hostility.

[lovesroses]

Hi, I'm the poster who spent alot of my childhood in Cahaba Heights and left the area to attend college in Atlanta. My poor writing skills make the post ambiguous and I'd like to clarify. On recent visits back to Birmingham, I've found the city to be more cosmopolitan. I mean Birmingham,not Cahaba Heights..

What do I mean by cosmopolitan? Perhaps its the wrong word,but having lived in several cities considered to have culture(Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston), I think I have the perspective to comment.

Birmingham has come a long way. I'm not speaking of racial attitudes which I am unable to comment on since I dont live here anymore and don't see how people interact. I am speaking of things that make a city a great place to live and improve quality of life - Birmingham has a good major medical center-UAB made the top 50 ranking lately of US News & World for geriatrics and gynecology.Other things that come to mind are the revitalization of South Side as a place for young professionals to live; chef Frank Stitt's regional cooking putting Birmingham on the international culinary map; excellent shopping in the Meadow Brook area. I dont even have a SFA nearby in Houston. A great museum- I saw the Pompeii exhibit in Jan. there, months ahead of it coming to Houston.

Be proud of Birmingham. Its got alot to offer.

[bluebeard]

I missed the Pompeii exhibit. I told myself I was going to go basically the whole time it visited. Stupid me.
The brewfest is probably my favorite yearly festival. I volunteered last year and it was a ton of fun. The film festival and gay film festival are both entertaining as well. My girlfriend loves animals, so she loves the pet parade in Highland. The civil rights museum is really good.

I think in my opinion what I miss the most about other places is not supposed "culture" in the manner of being on nationally and internationally recognized lists by experts of whatever, but a certain diversity. When you've grown up in places that have it, and are part of it as well, that becomes an entrenched part of your value system and it really tugs you back so a similar style place, and you can really feel out of place in a place that isn't like that. For example, the fact that what I consider to be hate speech was present on this board, but no one attacked it (unless it pertained to blacks) shows a very strong difference of ideas even between me and the people on this board, to the extent that I find highly offensive. Not to mention I specifically miss the food available where I grew up. Not because it's high culture, but because its what I'm used to, its my comfort food. It's hard feeling you're always noticed for being different. In the end, birds of a feather flock together, people always self-segregate and it takes a person greater than me to fight that trend. It hardly makes a place inherently better or worse. In some abstract sense I believe there are no better or worse places. your opinion of a place is based on your own expoerience which is largely based on chance, who you happened to meet, etc... However, I have my sets of values, just as everyone does, and most of Birmingham's just tends not to match how I view the world. Me being down on the place is a result of me not fitting in and feeling overly judged as compared to other places.

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by bluebeard

I missed the Pompeii exhibit. I told myself I was going to go basically the whole time it visited. Stupid me.
The brewfest is probably my favorite yearly festival. I volunteered last year and it was a ton of fun. The film festival and gay film festival are both entertaining as well. My girlfriend loves animals, so she loves the pet parade in Highland. The civil rights museum is really good.

I think in my opinion what I miss the most about other places is not supposed "culture" in the manner of being on nationally and internationally recognized lists by experts of whatever, but a certain diversity. When you've grown up in places that have it, and are part of it as well, that becomes an entrenched part of your value system and it really tugs you back so a similar style place, and you can really feel out of place in a place that isn't like that. For example, the fact that what I consider to be hate speech was present on this board, but no one attacked it (unless it pertained to blacks) shows a very strong difference of ideas even between me and the people on this board, to the extent that I find highly offensive. Not to mention I specifically miss the food available where I grew up. Not because it's high culture, but because its what I'm used to, its my comfort food. It's hard feeling you're always noticed for being different. In the end, birds of a feather flock together, people always self-segregate and it takes a person greater than me to fight that trend. It hardly makes a place inherently better or worse. In some abstract sense I believe there are no better or worse places. your opinion of a place is based on your own expoerience which is largely based on chance, who you happened to meet, etc... However, I have my sets of values, just as everyone does, and most of Birmingham's just tends not to match how I view the world. Me being down on the place is a result of me not fitting in and feeling overly judged as compared to other places.

As the group knows, I usually weigh in pretty heavily on these threads...but I've watched this one from the sidelines...

I ask this sincerely...why don't you fit in here??