Greystone farms in hoover - anyone know anything about it? (Birmingham: cul-de-sac, best neighborhoods)

[agt]

I kind of have 2 threads....We are moving back to Birmingham after living in Georgia for 15 years. Although we both grew up here, it's changed a lot. So feel like newcomers in our home search. We're looking at homes in Greystone Farms and haven't been able to find much out about the community (there's plenty of homes for sale) but wondered if it is a friendly/involved community. We have 3 kids and definitely want a good environment for them as well as a nice home. We moved from an Atlanta suburb that was a wonderful small close-knit community and would love to find the same here.

Any input would be great about Greystone Farms which brings me to my 2nd thread - I've noticed there are A LOT of homes for sale in that neighborhood and wondered if there are any "problems" or "issues" that someone new coming in would like to know.

[Threestep2]

The Farms consists of several very diverse neighborhoods ranging from starter homes to 500k. Particularly the smaller homes have a rather quick turnaround - location!

What do you want to know about The Farms?

[Back Again]

Only problem with Greystone is there were A LOT of homeowners that were over leveraged and it finally caught up with them

You can now get some great deal in Greystone.

[mama-2-4]

Hi there - Although I live in Maryland, my parents live in Greystone Farms and we visit frequently. We have two small children and we live in an older, well established and close knit community in the suburbs of D.C. We frequently consider moving to the Birmingham area, so I've thought about this a lot. For starters, Greystone Farms does not have any sidewalks and all the front doors are set back from the street. My parents are really outgoing friendly people and they only know a couple neighbors. Also, there's no neighborhood listserv or anything to try and build community. Also, it's a 3 mile drive from the middle of Greystone Farms to get down the mountain to the nearest stoplight, so it's tough to "just run out" to the store. Oh, and the traffic is bad. I think it just says a lot about a community whether they have sidewalks or not - and it says a lot about the people that choose to live there. Oh, and people speed horrifically on the streets. I won't let my daughters play in the front yard. I do still consider moving to Birmingham, but we'll pay the same amount of money for a smaller house in an older neighborhood closer to actual Birmingham.

[Threestep2]

Pardon me. Are you confused about this neighborhood? All of Greystone Farms has sidewalks, small sitting area type gardens to chat with neighbors, an 11 acre maintained/stocked lake with walking trail and bridges, pool, the Farmhouse which cannot only be rented for a nominal fee for private parties but which also hosts a number of community affairs throughout the year from kids fishing tournaments, Christmas Parties, weekly get togethers of several groups of residents. Head scratch - I just checked the front door. It opens towards grey pavement aka street. 25mph is the speed limit. None of my neighbors have an issue with kids playing in the front yards or on the street.

It is two miles from the front gate to WallMart. Shopping list? Having husband call when he is on 280 on his way home? Most of my neighbors call when they are going grocery shopping to ask if I need something. Vice versa.

I do not know about your partents' situation. Our neighbors are a crazy mix of great people. You can hang out at the mailbox with a glas of wine and may get a refill plus the local gossip and a sunburn. The last impromptu get together had a headcount of about 35 on a Friday night. The menu was a bit interesting.

Let me know next time you are in BHam.

[agt]

Thanks for the input Mama2-4. We looked at some of the older homes in other areas, which we love, but don't want the maintenance of an older home - our last two homes were older and we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it again. It's not the price that matters so much as the community. We had great neighbors at our last neighborhood - we were very lucky and hope to find that again. I feel that amenities such as pools and sidewalks do seem to help community interaction. I have not been able to find a website for the neighborhood with a list of events or anything like that which concerns me a little - is there one - if so, what's the address? Continue with the information, it's been helpful.

[pennquaker09]

Originally Posted by agt

Thanks for the input Mama2-4. We looked at some of the older homes in other areas, which we love, but don't want the maintenance of an older home - our last two homes were older and we just couldn't bring ourselves to do it again. It's not the price that matters so much as the community. We had great neighbors at our last neighborhood - we were very lucky and hope to find that again. I feel that amenities such as pools and sidewalks do seem to help community interaction. I have not been able to find a website for the neighborhood with a list of events or anything like that which concerns me a little - is there one - if so, what's the address? Continue with the information, it's been helpful.

Greystone is a HUGE development and I personally think that each neighborhood has it's own kind of feel. Like, on the street my parents on, you can't actually walk over to the neighbors house as they are all set back from the street a great deal.

As far as pools and community interaction, a lot of the people I know in Greystone have their own pools because the Greystone Country Club is a private club and not everyone is a member there.

[soccerphysio]

Originally Posted by mama-2-4

Hi there - Although I live in Maryland, my parents live in Greystone Farms and we visit frequently. We have two small children and we live in an older, well established and close knit community in the suburbs of D.C. We frequently consider moving to the Birmingham area, so I've thought about this a lot. For starters, Greystone Farms does not have any sidewalks and all the front doors are set back from the street. My parents are really outgoing friendly people and they only know a couple neighbors. Also, there's no neighborhood listserv or anything to try and build community. Also, it's a 3 mile drive from the middle of Greystone Farms to get down the mountain to the nearest stoplight, so it's tough to "just run out" to the store. Oh, and the traffic is bad. I think it just says a lot about a community whether they have sidewalks or not - and it says a lot about the people that choose to live there. Oh, and people speed horrifically on the streets. I won't let my daughters play in the front yard. I do still consider moving to Birmingham, but we'll pay the same amount of money for a smaller house in an older neighborhood closer to actual Birmingham.

Not exactly sure what you observed, but your analysis could not be further from the truth. Is 3 miles such a cumbersome distance? Stay in D.C. with the incessant traffic noise in exchange for the luxury of being 2 miles closer to the stores.

You have the nerve to pass judgment on those of us that actually live here because "not having sidewalks says a lot about those that live there?" Keep your "holier than thou" attitude in D.C. Please, enlighten us with your rationale as to how sidewalks (or lack thereof) are a reflection of the people that live in a particular neighborhood. What an incredibly ignorant statement.

As for community unity, there may not be a plethora of planned events, but there definitely is a strong bond, and it revolves entirely around the children. We moved into the Milners Crescent subdivision a year ago, and we were totally blown away by Halloween. Each cul-de-sac had mini bonfires and potluck dinners made by all the neighbors, and there were hundreds of kids (and parents) just walking the streets socializing.

As for not allowing kids to go in the front yard, I have no earthly idea why that would be; you must be one of those overprotective parents, which I guess is needed in D.C. My 3 kids leave the house in the morning, come back at lunch, then go back out again, just like when I was a kid growing up in NY. I guess "speeding" is a relative term.

Now to the original poster; the Milners Crescent subdivision is one of the best neighborhoods to be in. Greystone Farms is a gated community, with a huge lake that kids can fish in, and is in the Spain Park School district of Hoover, which is awesome. The teachers at Greystone Elementary really, really care about the kids. My 4th grade son's teacher sent each kid in her class last year a post card from Europe while on vacation this summer.

As for the number of houses for sale; no reason for concern, simply due to market issues. I would recommend you keep looking at houses here, and I guarantee you will be pleased.

[Threestep2]

As for the comment about being over leveraged. In my section of The Farms every house on the market is due to marriage, pregnancy or job related moves.

[pennquaker09]

There's only one house in my parents section of Greystone that is for sale and it's an anomaly as it's listed at about 5 million.