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I would appreciate some feedback. My family might be relocating to Birmingham from Memphis. We have been in Memphis a Year. I would like to know how you feel about Memphis versus Birmingham. Also, We are looking for a great school district, but also a home with a little land (3 acres on up)
Best public school system by far is Hoover. The Hoover/Inverness area is a great place to live (most parts that is).
Mountain Brook is super nice, but also SUPER PRICED too.
By all means avoid the Bessemer and some of the other places. BAD AREAS!!
Stonebridge is really nice also and has a great golf course too.
I loved living in B'ham, but got a GREAT job offer here in Little Rock, AR, so here I am
If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask..I LOVE making new online friends and also love helping others....guess that's why
I became a nurse, huh??
Best public school system by far is Hoover. The Hoover/Inverness area is a great place to live (most parts that is).
Mountain Brook is super nice, but also SUPER PRICED too.
By all means avoid the Bessemer and some of the other places. BAD AREAS!!
Stonebridge is really nice also and has a great golf course too.
I loved living in B'ham, but got a GREAT job offer here in Little Rock, AR, so here I am
If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask..I LOVE making new online friends and also love helping others....guess that's why
I became a nurse, huh??
First, there is NOTHING wrong with the Bessemer area, if fact I can show you some million dollar homes here. True, there are low income areas in down town Bessmer, but then there are low income and bad areas in ever town, that is no reason to tell someone to stay away
Second, where will he/she find a home in their price range with 3 acres in Hoover/Inverness/Mountain Brook area? I can also show you bad areas there as well.
blueboo, find yourself a good Realtor that knows the Birmingham area well. You can find what your looking for in decent school systems, but not in the Hoover/Inverness/Mountain Brook areas. No, your most likely not going to get the BEST schools, if you want land, but you will not get bad schools either.
Bessemer IS one of the fastest growing places in the Birmingham area and you can find home with acreage with in your price. There are other areas around Birmingham as well.
Best of luck
Last edited by Back Again; 05-15-2009 at 09:50 PM..
If you'd like to get several acres of land and are willing to drive 40 minutes to Birmingham, you should look at some of the areas outside of Jefferson County. We have lived in St. Clair County for several years and love it here. My commute into town on I20 is relatively easy. I can't speak first-hand about the schools (my kids are preschool age), but I've heard some good things. I'm not a realtor, but I doubt you'll find acres in your price range in the surburbs south of town without going really far away from the city.
Areas north of the city might be a good option (Gardendale, Mt. Olive?), but others on this forum are probably more familiar with those areas than I am.
Depending on where in Birmingham you'll be working, I think you can find what you're looking for within a 40 minute commute. (Just be sure to test out the commute at rush hour before you decide - 15 minutes on Sunday afternoon can turn into 45 minutes in Monday morning traffic.)
I've seen many of your posts since I've been on this forum and I understand you're a realtor. As a realtor, you know that in the greater Birmingham area, schools are pretty much the number one selling point for homes, followed by safety/perceived safety. These are the two main things that control price and potential for resale.
I also sense that your business focuses on the western part of Jefferson County and am aware of the ethics requirements of your profession. However, because you must know that newcomers to the area aren't savvy to the particular city/area names that coincide with the stronger schools or "better" areas, I would ask that when dealing with newcomers, you be extremely clear when equating a city name (like "Bessemer") to an area (what you called the "Bessemer Area").
You stated "Bessemer IS one of the fastest growing places in the Birmingham area." This is simply not correct. Bessemer is a shrinking municipality with not-so-excellent schools and crime issues. (I am a former Bessemer resident, so I come to this with firsthand knowledge). What you are talking about as a growing area are those areas of unincorporated Jefferson County that are near Bessemer, often described as the McCalla area.
Please be very clear in your posts. I believe it is better to state nothing at all than -- as a professional whose advice newcomers will rely on-- to state incorrect or incomplete information.
I've seen many of your posts since I've been on this forum and I understand you're a realtor. As a realtor, you know that in the greater Birmingham area, schools are pretty much the number one selling point for homes, followed by safety/perceived safety. These are the two main things that control price and potential for resale.
I also sense that your business focuses on the western part of Jefferson County and am aware of the ethics requirements of your profession. However, because you must know that newcomers to the area aren't savvy to the particular city/area names that coincide with the stronger schools or "better" areas, I would ask that when dealing with newcomers, you be extremely clear when equating a city name (like "Bessemer") to an area (what you called the "Bessemer Area").
You stated "Bessemer IS one of the fastest growing places in the Birmingham area." This is simply not correct. Bessemer is a shrinking municipality with not-so-excellent schools and crime issues. (I am a former Bessemer resident, so I come to this with firsthand knowledge). What you are talking about as a growing area are those areas of unincorporated Jefferson County that are near Bessemer, often described as the McCalla area.
Please be very clear in your posts. I believe it is better to state nothing at all than -- as a professional whose advice newcomers will rely on-- to state incorrect or incomplete information.
If you re-read my post, I did not say Bessemer was fast growing, I said the Bessemer area - Yes, like it or not, Exit one off I-459 (including Letson Farms) by the new Target Shopping Center IS considered the Bessemer area even though it is not Bessemer, nor McCalla, it is unincorporated Jefferson County, but has a Bessemer zip code. So if a newcomer was to look up the 35022 zip code, they would see Bessemer, or Helena and the area off exit one is clearly not the Helena area, so if they followed some of the advice given here, they would miss out on a good place to live, where you can still get a home at a decent price without being on top of each other.
If you want me to be clear on what I concider the Bessemer area, I would like the same respect too from those who state to stay away from the Bessemer area.
I'm sorry if I upset you, but it is also upsetting to the homeowners here, like me, when we hear people say, "Stay away from the Bessemer area! " To us, that is the same as if someone from Orange Beach, AL said. "stay away from the Birmingham area, it's a bad city", I definitely think the homeowners of Mountain Brook would take offence to that.
You are correct, I am a Realtor, but I sell everywhere, I do not stand up for the Bessemer area as a Realtor, I stand up for it as a happy homeowner of 10 years here. If you read my posts, I always state that when people tell you to stay away, they are talking about the downtown area, but then most downtown areas are never as nice as the areas that
surround them. Funny how janel3151 said to stay away from Bessemer, but not a word about the Ensley area???? I wonder why?
You say I push the western area...no more then I see Hoover, Mountain Brook or the Inverness area being pushed. Plus in this case, blueboo wanted some land with a budget of $245K, which you will not find in Hoover, Mountain Brook or the Inverness area like Janel posted.
Finally, I have tried to advise all newcomers to work with a Realtor, it is in their best interest, but that part of my posts always seem to get cut - good advice or not.
I'm not trying to start a fight with you, but, I will continue to stick up for the "Bessemer area" as a homeowner - even though I am a Realtor, I do get to post as a homeowner, don't I?
Last edited by Back Again; 05-18-2009 at 07:39 AM..
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B'ham areas
