Thinking about moving to Birmingham (Homewood, Mountain Brook: houses, rental, lease)

[etjudge]

Hello,

I'm a 33 year old, african american woman, single, no kids.

I am a professional HR recruiter. I want to get out of Philadelphia (high crime, too many unfriendly folks, too fast of pace...and I was born and raised in Philadelphia)...

What are your thoughts regarding job market, culture, things to do, rental properties...People keep telling any where in the south is better than Philadelhpia and other Northern areas....

I was thinking of Raleigh, NC initially, but I want to check out Birmingham to explore options...I will be out to visit Birmingham in the summer...

Thanks.

[rlkkl]

hi i am from michigan and we moved down here 3 1/2 years ago.. we were up by brimingham for the first year and moved futher south from it... the saying is you don't go to birmingham without a gun and i do carry mine when i go up there... you could live in the outter parts but the thing is the area has in the past 7 - 10 has just exploled and is growing faster then anyone can keep.. the state goverment in not like in the north... the schools bite so when you do decide to have children you will want to private or home school.. you dont have to have a teaching lic to be a sub down here... houseing is outrages.. they have over built and most homes are 300,000 - 5 million and not worth it... people are always rude on the roads i would rather drive through chicago or new york then birmingham.. and if you get sick... good luck for the most part everything is like a clinic and they just dont care... nothing is done in a hurry and all goverment offices close a 4:30.. so if you have a 9-5 job you have to take a day off to get anything done.. most counties only have one place to get a drivers lic, tags ect. and if you want information from anyone.. good luck getting it unless you ask they will not tell you anything and most times they won't tell you everything you need... i had to go back for my lic 3 times... in michigan you dont have to take a boaters exame if you have a drivers lic then you can drive a boat(we were regerstering our boat at the time).. they never told us anything so 3 trips and 75$ later... taxes are whacked... food is taxed.. and depending on where the store is you pay a different tax .. i worked in a salon and our tax was 5% if you went across the street to winn dixie it was 11% .. if you want a slow paced life were it is a choice to work state and business open and close when they want and work when they want to great.. will be the place for you.. but if you want service and people willing to do the jobs that are hired to proform then stay north.. which we are looking to moving back north.. if i would known i was moving to the country of alabama ( because they are like nothing i have every seen.. still in the 50's) instead of a state we would stayed north.. ooo and we have 7 out of the 9 posionuos snake in the U.S. and 2 deadly spiders and white scopions.. i killed a copperhead in my closet 6 months after moving here.. they are mean will kill in one bite and chase your butt... july - end of october killer heat and humid.. i do love some things about the state there is great night clubs in birmingham.. mountains trails and rivers (becarefull the snakes) winter weather is mild.. and fishing year round i dont mean to sound so neg but i didnt want to candy coat anything.. being from the north and the fast pace and hard lifes we live is a huge shock coming down to the southren life.. people are friendly and will go out their way to help you but at a slow pace.. bless there hearts... that's anothering too. LOL you can talk trash about anyone IF you end it with bless their heart/ soul.... but you must be careful down here in speaking.. you come off straight forward (which i am deadly honest and say what i think) welll beeeenn in some trouble with hurt feelings.. everyone so touchy.. but in their eyes you rude if you just come out and state the truth.. jobs dont pay much down here either..alabama is beautiful and has some nice areas i just wouldnt go to birmingham...hopes this helps some..

[TheFamilyGrace]

Being born and raised here all I can say is "Stay Away". The phrase southern hospitality is no longer usable. B-ham's crime isn't much better than Philly's.

[Threestep]

Can you give a bit more information about yourself? What do you do professionally, what do you do for fun, what are things you need along the line of medical services ...?

[cpg35223]

Man. My wife and I moved here 15 years ago from Chicago, and our experiences were the total opposite of what RLKKL and TheFamilyGrace describe. Great area, friendly people, good cost of living, lots to see and do. Crime is an issue in select parts of town, mainly with gangs shooting each other up.

[Threestep]

The same here:>) My husband loves to quote my inital response "where is the airport" as he cannot get me to move. 25 years, 10+ moves but leaving BHam will be hard.
Respect people, their way of life, their believes - they will respect and accept you.
Personally I do not understand the posts starting with "I am xxx". In my neighborhood it is not what you are but who you are as a person.

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by rlkkl

hi i am from michigan and we moved down here 3 1/2 years ago.. we were up by brimingham for the first year and moved futher south from it... the saying is you don't go to birmingham without a gun and i do carry mine when i go up there..no there is no such saying. I live in a suburb of Birmingham that is very close to downtown and we have not had a homicide in 11 years. I don't lock my doors at night and can get to downtown Birmingham in 8 minutes, you could live in the outter parts but the thing is the area has in the past 7 - 10 has just exploled and is growing faster then anyone can keep.. the state goverment in not like in the north... the schools bite so when you do decide to have children you will want to private or home school..wrong again Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia, Homewood and the Shelby County Schools are all excellent and provide private school quality education for free. I have friend whose daughter has just been accepted to Princeton, out of one of the public schools that this poster describes as " the schools bites so when you do decide to have children you will want to private or home school. This is absolutely incorrect. you dont have to have a teaching lic to be a sub down here... houseing is outrages.. they have over built and most homes are 300,000 - 5 million and not worth it... people are always rude on the roads i would rather drive through chicago or new york then birmingham.. and if you get sick... good luck for the most part everything is like a clinic and they just dont care...wrong again, the UAB Medical Center is listed in numerous publications as being one of the top hospitals in the United States and Birmingham is covered with excellent hospitals including Brookwood, St. Vincents, Baptist Trinity. Birmingham is widely regarding as one of the leading medical centers in the United States. nothing is done in a hurry and all goverment offices close a 4:30.. so if you have a 9-5 job you have to take a day off to get anything done.. most counties only have one place to get a drivers lic, tags ect. and if you want information from anyone.. good luck getting it unless you ask they will not tell you anything and most times they won't tell you everything you need... i had to go back for my lic 3 times...this is because Alabama's government is one of the few that does a criminal background check before issuing a license. Thousands of criminals have been apprehended at county courthouses across Alabama when check of the US national criminal information database revealed there were outstanding warrants for their arrest. Story in the paper three months ago about a man arrested for a murder that occurred in NYC in 1982. He was stunned. One minute he is applying for a driver's license and a few minutes later, deputies have him in handcuffs for extradition back to New York. YES, the state of Alabama is very, very strict regarding the issuance of driver's licenses. It's your problem that you go to the county courthouse unprepared with the necessary documents, which are listed on the State of Alabama website. I think you need a long look in the mirror. in michigan you dont have to take a boaters exame if you have a drivers lic then you can drive a boat(we were regerstering our boat at the time).. this is because Alabama is much stricter on allowing people to operate boats than in Michigan. In Alabama to lawfully operate a boat, you must have passed a written examination that demonstrates you know about buoy identification, how to overtake slower boats safely, what the rules are relating to the interaction between power boats and sailboats. It's like Michigan requires no boat drivers license but Alabama does. Good for Alabama. this promotes safety and since it has been in place the number of deaths on the state's waterways has decreased. Too bad Michigan is not as progressive.they never told us anything so 3 trips and 75$ later... taxes are whacked... food is taxed.. and depending on where the store is you pay a different tax .. i worked in a salon and our tax was 5% if you went across the street to winn dixie it was 11% .. yes food is taxed, but Alabama is ranked #50 in the nation in taxation burden (meaing.....uhhhh - LOWEST). Face it, you will pay less tax here than if you lived there. Documented.,if you want a slow paced life were it is a choice to work state and business open and close when they want and work when they want to great.. will be the place for you.. but if you want service and people willing to do the jobs that are hired to proform then stay north.. which we are looking to moving back north.. if i would known i was moving to the country of alabama ( because they are like nothing i have every seen.. still in the 50's) instead of a state we would stayed north.. ooo and we have 7 out of the 9 posionuos snake in the U.S. and 2 deadly spiders and white scopions.. i killed a copperhead in my closet 6 months after moving here.. they are mean will kill in one bite and chase your butt...I've lived here 53 years and have yet to meet anyone who has been bitten by a snake. Not to mean that it does not occur, but the picture being painted by this poster that suggests that poisonous snakes are a meaningful threat in your daily living is absolutely incorrect. july - end of october killer heat and humid..wrong again, the hot weather lasts from July until mid-to-late September. October is a stunningly beautful month with highs in the 70's and low humidity. i do love some things about the state there is great night clubs in birmingham.. mountains trails and rivers (becarefull the snakes) winter weather is mild.. and fishing year round i dont mean to sound so neg but i didnt want to candy coat anything.. being from the north and the fast pace and hard lifes we live is a huge shock coming down to the southren life.. people are friendly and will go out their way to help you but at a slow pace.. bless there hearts... that's anothering too. LOL you can talk trash about anyone IF you end it with bless their heart/ soul.... but you must be careful down here in speaking.. you come off straight forward (which i am deadly honest and say what i think) welll beeeenn in some trouble with hurt feelings.. everyone so touchy.. but in their eyes you rude if you just come out and state the truth.. jobs dont pay much down here either..alabama is beautiful and has some nice areas i just wouldnt go to birmingham...hopes this helps some..

Please see my replies in red. This poster has put up considerable amount of completely false information. Sorry folks, couldn't give this guy a pass with so much absolutely incorrect information.

[Threestep]

Good morning Bravo! Reading over the poster's other contributions I will practice active disregard until he has something to say.

[tmlynn]

I was in this Birmingham forum b/c my husband is entertaining a job in AL and we happen to live in MI. Oh yeah RKKL it's just grrrreat here in MI. Puhleeze! Guess that's why people are moving outta here in droves! Us included!

It's people like this that southerners really dislike. I've never been to AL and I didn't believe a word he was saying. Except for a few ignorant people who have posted negative things most of the things I am reading about this city are glowingly positive.

Thank you Bravo35223 for setting the record straight. So far, I pay the most attention to whatever threads you reply to because your information is well prepared and well spoken.

[Bravo35223]

Originally Posted by tmlynn

I was in this Birmingham forum b/c my husband is entertaining a job in AL and we happen to live in MI. Oh yeah RKKL it's just grrrreat here in MI. Puhleeze! Guess that's why people are moving outta here in droves! Us included!

It's people like this that southerners really dislike. I've never been to AL and I didn't believe a word he was saying. Except for a few ignorant people who have posted negative things most of the things I am reading about this city are glowingly positive.

Thank you Bravo35223 for setting the record straight. So far, I pay the most attention to whatever threads you reply to because your information is well prepared and well spoken.

Thank you....my associates and I are here to serve you...please let us know how we can help you.