Thirty, Black, Professional (Birmingham, Hoover, Homewood: relocating, housing, rent)

[valentine1110]

Hey there... my husband and I will be relocating to Birmingham in the near future. Trying to figure out a good area to live...not that we are opposed to living around other races but would like to know the best area for a young, black couple to look into buying a home. We would also like to know what the nightlife scene is like for us being that we don't have kids yet and still have a pretty active night life...if anyone can give us any "serious" feedback it would be appreciated....

[p4rs3]

Originally Posted by valentine1110

Hey there... my husband and I will be relocating to Birmingham in the near future. Trying to figure out a good area to live...not that we are opposed to living around other races but would like to know the best area for a young, black couple to look into buying a home. We would also like to know what the nightlife scene is like for us being that we don't have kids yet and still have a pretty active night life...if anyone can give us any "serious" feedback it would be appreciated....

You still need to provide more info. Are you planning on having kids soon? How long are you planning to live in Bham? How much are you willing to spend?

Just from a cursory read of your post I would suggest somewhere near Southside, in particular near the Redmount Lake View area. The area I am mentioning is very expensive, but I would suggest it for any young professional couple regardless of race.

[valentine1110]

Thanks for the reply but we don't want to be too far out and are not looking to spend more than 250,000...any other suggestions. And we do plan on having kids but are not too concerned about schools at this point since there is the great possibility that we could relocate again within the next 5 years (before they are school aged), yet we would not want to be in a terrible school district which will impact the resale of a house. Would like to as close to downtown Bham as possible since we both will be working in the downtown area.

[cpg35223]

Let me try and answer your questions one at a time.

I think a great area is the Oxmoor Valley. It's beautiful there, there seems to be a lot of young professionals moving into that area. It seems to be diverse, and it's convenient to plenty of retail shopping. It's also about 10-15 minutes from downtown via I-65. And, if you or your husband like to golf, it's where you'll find a couple of world-class golf courses.

Now, Southside of Birmingham (more specifically, Highland Avenue, Forest Park, Avondale, and Crestwood) are great neighborhoods in the center of things. A good area that has been steadily improving over the past 20 years. You can still find houses there that fit your price range. It's also pretty diverse as well.

I'd recommend western Homewood as another great area, but east of Green Springs Highway, the cost gets very high per square foot, as is Mountain Brook. That being said, the Cahaba Heights section of Vestavia may also be a good location for you. It's next to a lot of shopping, and is a really convenient part of town. The advantage of Homewood and Cahaba Heights is that you'll already be in two really good school systems without having to move later on. I can't say the same thing about Birmingham school systems.

If you don't minding living a little further out (20-25 minute commute to downtown area...sorry if my assumption is wrong about where you two will be working), Hoover is a really good community with solid schools and a lot of retail. I believe there are some affordable houses there, as well.

A general rule of thumb would be to live not too far outside the I-459 corridor. The commutes get more painful the further out you go.

As far as nightlife goes, I think most of that is concentrated in the Five Points, Lakeview district for restaurants, music, etc. There are venues outside of those areas, but that's where you'll find the most. There are plenty of great places in town, so I think you'll be pleased with the variety.

Good luck! We moved here 15 years ago from Chicago and love it here.

[Bravo35223]

First, welcome......

Second, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised about living in the Birmingham area....there is a lot to do from a dining and entertainment standpoint and there are superb, suburban public schools to choose from.

Birmingham's suburbs tend to be pricey however because the public schools are of private school-quality. If you could push your housing price into the $300 range, you could find something in Cahaba Heights or possibly Homewood, but these would be older homes. (Remember, if you want to live close-in, you are going to be living in an older home. The new(er) homes are miles outside of the city).

I suggest you try to find a neighborhood and stick with it. Housing prices here are depressed as they are everywhere. A combination of low prices and low interest rates make it a great time to buy.

GET A REALTOR and dedicate 3 days to driving around the metro. Repeat. YOu need to get on the ground here and see it for yourself as there are meaningful tradeoffs regarding which area you select...

Good luck and stay in touch with us!

[gustygulas]

You may want to check out Crestwood. It is about 5 minutes from Downtown. You can get a great old historic house and be with a lot of young couples and families.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by gustygulas

You may want to check out Crestwood. It is about 5 minutes from Downtown. You can get a great old historic house and be with a lot of young couples and families.

We were in South Avondale. That, along with Crestwood, is a great neighborhood to live in. But be prepared to move when your kids hit school age. Sad to say, the Birmingham city schools are terrible. We knew parents who tried to send their kids, and were shocked at how behind in the curriculum the classes were.

[valentine1110]

Thanks that is a great help. We will look into those areas!

[valentine1110]

Originally Posted by Bravo35223

First, welcome......

Second, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised about living in the Birmingham area....there is a lot to do from a dining and entertainment standpoint and there are superb, suburban public schools to choose from.

Birmingham's suburbs tend to be pricey however because the public schools are of private school-quality. If you could push your housing price into the $300 range, you could find something in Cahaba Heights or possibly Homewood, but these would be older homes. (Remember, if you want to live close-in, you are going to be living in an older home. The new(er) homes are miles outside of the city).

I suggest you try to find a neighborhood and stick with it. Housing prices here are depressed as they are everywhere. A combination of low prices and low interest rates make it a great time to buy.

GET A REALTOR and dedicate 3 days to driving around the metro. Repeat. YOu need to get on the ground here and see it for yourself as there are meaningful tradeoffs regarding which area you select...

Good luck and stay in touch with us!

You all are so helpful...this is my first time trying this out and I see it really works. I am impressed, I wish I got on here when we moved to Texas...lol, we may have saved ourselves some headache

[valentine1110]

Does anyone have recommendations on a good realtor? If so if you have a website that would be great.