Moving to Birmingham? Best schools & neighborhoods? (Hoover, Homewood: real estate, 2009)

[Twostep]

Fire ants are almost everywhere in the US so are snakes (both kind :>)).

When you research schools please consider Birmingham's make up of several communities and expand your searches accordingly.

http://www.al.com/news/

http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/go/AL

http://birmingham.schoolinsites.com/

[SElkins]

Hi there! Hope you do decide to consider Trussville. I have lived in Trussville for approximately 19 years. Children have attended all the schools, still there. New primary and intermediate schools recently built. New high school is being built and should be ready in 2008. Trussville is REALLY growing! Lots of restaurants, shopping, churches -- all very convenient. If you drive through Trussville on a typical day, it is very common to see people walking, running, or taking their dog for a walk. The city is beautiful. I have 3 boys who are currently in the school system here, one will graduate this year. Trussville has their own city schools system, which is a new development in the last couple of years. We have programs for wrestling, baseball, football, soccer, and gymnastics and cheering extra curricular activities for girls too. We also have tennis courts in the heart of Trussville as well as another tennis court facility within the sports complex. Trussville has a small town feeling with city conveniences. There isn't very much rental property in Trussville as far as homes since it is mostly families, but you can find some. They really go quick when they come up -- people trying to get in the area for the schools. One of the only apartment complexes in the city is being converted to Condos right now. There is a new set of apartments being built right now. As for home values, I looked up 3 & 4 BR homes since that is mostly what's out there. You can see statistically what is for sale (a lot is new construction), and statistically what has sold.

As of March 2007 Total # of 4 BR Currently Listed 149
Lowest Price Listing $137,900
Highest Price Listing $989,000
Average Listing Price $365,943

As of March 2007 Total # of 4 BR Solds since 1/1/2007 20
Lowest Sold Price $107,000
Highest Sold Price $506,500
Average Sold Price $308,823

As of March 2007 Total # of 3 BR Solds since 1/1/2007 42
Lowest Price Listing $64,000
Highest Price Listing $345,500
Average Price $210,070

As of March 2007 Total # of 3 BR Listings 161
Lowest Price Listing $69,900
Highest Price Listing $536,000
Average Price $248,620

Moderator cut: removed

[Woodzman]

Trussville, Clay area ! You can't go wrong. Good luck

[DaddyJ]

I worked on the Pizitz building when it was under construction. Had not spent much time in Trussville in several years and was amazed at how much it has built up and all the growth and shopping areas now there. It is no longer isolated and no longer has only a few old more or less family owned businesses... it is very much being taken over with the growth similar to Shelby County areas and one good thing is that the older neighborhoods are still well kept.

[Mestizo]

Originally Posted by BirminghamBound

Hi, my husband and I along with our 3 boys are planning to relocate to the Birmingham area. We are moving from Houston so I think the climate is probably similar to here. We are interested to find out where the nice family communites are and also the best public schools. Also might be intereseted in Private Christian School if anyone knows anything about them!!! Thanks so much.

It really depends on what part of birmingham you are moving to. Birmingham can be a very dangerous city.
i would move to Homewood, Vestavia Hills, or Hoover.
My grandma lives in Fairfield and I would definitly avoid that area.

[MyMy]

Please when giving out information about Birmingham Schools, please get the information correct. Yes, Birmingham city schools have lost over a thousand children, but it has been in the past 20 or 30 years. 20 or 30 years ago, we didn't have the growth that we have now in Hoover, Trussville, and Shelby County, so, of course, when you have all of these new developments, those who can afford it will move there. As a result, parents took their children to these new areas and their schools.

Birmingham is a beautiful city. Just like you can't judge a book by its' cover, you can't judge a school by its' building. There are a lot of great things going on in our city and in our schools.

So to Birmingham Bound, I wish you well on your search and I hope you find an area that you will enjoy with your family. I like the suggestion of actually finding an apartment before buying your home.

[wallstreet1986]

Originally Posted by Chris Bassett

Who told you the schools are good in B'ham AL. must hate you or they are crazy as hell. You had better do research if you love your children. Crime is high and the Bh'am Scools lost several thousand students over the last year or so. If the schools in B'ham are better than where your at now you must be on another planet. I wouldn't send my dog to B'ham much less my children.
Have lived in AL for 62 yrs.

Yeah well if you have kids its better to live in the suburbs like Trussville, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, plenty of good places for families. If you lived in Southside Birmingham you could send your kids to private schools, you wouldn't move anywhere else certainly not north Birmingham.

[UABinBHM]

Gardendale area is pretty good... there's a small Christian school as well in the area.

Birmingham city schools, as mentioned, are not that great. However, some of the BEST schools in the nation are located in the suburbs. My alma mater (JCIB) has been ranked in the Top 5 in the nation for the last 3 years rolling... including a #1 ranking in 2004. JCIB is a great school, but it's definitely no private Christian school.

[leelee123]

Hey, BirminghamBound, I hope you will consider the Trussville, Clay area. I have lived in Clay for twelve years, and love the sense of community here. We also are in Trussville alot, for the shopping and we go to church there. Sometimes the people there (I guess the nouveau semiriche) can be a bit standoffish, but the vast majority of them are really nice. We have friends there, in Clay, and in Pinson, which is on the other side of Clay. They are not in the Birmingham school system, which IS pretty bad, they are in the Jefferson County school system, which has some struggling schools, but mostly pretty good ones. Incidentally, Clay-Chalkville High School and Hewitt Trussville High School have a wonderful football rivalry, and their game against each other is called the Claws and Paws Bowl. Both very good teams, and very good schools, with Hewitt usually edging out Clay. There are homes here in many price ranges, and it wouldn't be hard to find a great family home for y'all with three boys who would love all the sports and other activities available.

I really love living here, with the woods on the side and back of us, and have only seen snakes once or twice, and they were non-poisonous, and no poisonous spiders, and a few scorpions, but when one stung my son, the pediatrician said the ones here were no worse than a bee sting.

Anyway, enough raving about MY hometown, it's so beautiful here with the fall leaves all orange, red and yellow...

Good Luck with wherever you move.

leelee

[leelee123]

I also agree with UABinBHM. Gardendale is a very very nice place. My husband now says he sometimes wishes we had moved there

leelee