Moving to Birmingham? Best schools & neighborhoods? (Hoover, Auburn: home, rent)

[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.

[steveklein]

the winters are a bit colder (not much), and the summers are definitely not as hot as houston; for every day it gets to 95 in birmingham, it probably gets to 100 in houston. doesn't sound like a big deal... but those triple digits down in houston start to take their toll i bet

the best public schools in the birmingham area are vestavia hills and mountain brook. these areas are pretty expensive to live, but if you can afford it... they are great communities. tons of activities for kids like sports and whatnot... very family oriented communities. they are also the closest suburbs to the city of birmingham, so commutes are not bad.

also good are homewood and hoover. homewood is pretty expensive and very convenient to downtown, while hoover is bigger, a little further away from downtown, cheaper, and a little more diverse than vestavia/mountain brook

there are a handful of private schools worth looking at, though not as many as you might think.

john carroll catholic is a catholic high school (obviously), though not everyone who goes there is catholic (go figure).

briarwood is another christian high school in the area, though i personally don't think it's all it's cracked up to be. personally, i think the public high schools in the area (hoover, oak mountain, vestavia hills, etc.) are better than briarwood in terms of educational quality.

if possible, rent in one of these communities for 3-6 months if you can while you learn the area before you take the plunge and buy. i know if i was moving to a new city, i would definitely want to learn the lay of the land and the communities.

[BirminghamBound]

Thanks for the info. Do you know anything about Trussville? Or Alabaster? I also wonder about fire ants and poisonous snakes? It would be great to think that we might escape some of the creatures we have around here.

[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.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by BirminghamBound

Thanks for the info. Do you know anything about Trussville? Or Alabaster? I also wonder about fire ants and poisonous snakes? It would be great to think that we might escape some of the creatures we have around here.

Both are nice communities. Pretty reasonable cost of living in both areas. These are growing cities whereas the others I mentioned are more established. Lots of new construction in both Alabaster and Trussville. Good schools in both areas I believe, but maybe a notch below Hoover/Homewood (which is a notch below Vestavia/Mtn. Brook)

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.

Schools in Birmingham city are bad. Howeer, there are some great school systems and private schools outside of the Birmingham City Schoo System. I wouldn't send my dog to a Birmingham city school either... but I earned over 50 hours of college credit at Hoover High School before enrolling in Auburn and had no problem completing my degree in 2.5 years. I'd say public school served me well.

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by BirminghamBound

Thanks for the info. Do you know anything about Trussville? Or Alabaster? I also wonder about fire ants and poisonous snakes? It would be great to think that we might escape some of the creatures we have around here.

oh... about the snakes and ants... sure they exist... but unless you live in the woods, you'll probably never encounter them. trussville and alabaster are full of cookie cutter subdivisions with lots of grass and not too many trees, so there are virtually no snakes.

ants are ants... but i've lived here over 20 years and only been bitten a few times... and certainly nothing serious.

[fishmonger]

There's a few good schools in the Birmingham city limits (mostly sattelite or private schools, though).

[Southlander]

Yes, Alabama has fire ants. And poisonous snakes. Probably won't find too many snakes around tree-less subdivisions. Fire ants go where they want. You can put poison on the mounds...they die but usually pop up elsewhere. Teach the kids about the ants and snakes and you should have no more problem in B'ham than in Houston.

[ymcity]

i think alabama is a good place,although there are fire ants

[Twostep]

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.

I am anxious to hear what you will have to say about Minneapolis.