Liberalism: Birmingham vs. Huntsville (Southside, Five Points: fit in, neighborhoods, living)

[Austinhippie]

I've been reading about Hunstville being a northern city in the South. I'm a 32 year-old single female and have lived in the South my whole life--Richmond, Raleigh, and now Austin. I'm politically and socially liberal. Would I find my niche more in Birmingham or Hunstville? I know Birmingham is much larger but that doesn't mean more diverse or more progressive. Thank you so much for your feedback.

[jakabedy]

Alabama in general is very conservative. And the bulk of the areas in the state that vote Democratic are the majority black rural and urban areas. The suburbs as a rule are pretty much conservative, heavily churched, and not progressive.

Birmingham has its liberal niches, but it is nothing like Austin. Every neighborhood and surrounding town will have its liberals, but it is very much a "small blue dot in a big red state" sort of place. For the heaviest concentration of folks you might find in Austin, you might enjoy residing in Crestwood/Forest Park/Highland Park/Five Points/Southside. There is a strong but small gay and lesbian community and many work and live in those areas. There are also a lot of folks affiliated with UAB in those areas.

Huntsville is a bit more "northern" if only because the defense/aerospace industry there is a draw for a lot of folks from outside the state and even outside the country. I don't know that it necessarily translates into more socially liberal, though.

Mine was sort of an overview, and I hope some folks more in tune with Huntsville will pipe up.

[HipLib]

You'll like Birmingham better. All the neighborhoods that Jakabedy mentioned are quite liberal. This is urban living at its best in Alabama, unlike anywhere else in the state. I wouldn't call the GLBT community small. There seems to be gay people just about everywhere you go. Jakabedy was right about the liberalism being confined to the city. Go out to the suburbs and it gets conservative fast. Go futher out into the rural areas and it gets even more conservative. Of course I'm sure you're probably used to that if you live in Texas.

[jakabedy]

ultralib -

I probably did misspeak when I said the GLBT community is "small." I guess I was just thinking, in comparison to Atlanta, or someplace like Austin or Asheville, NC, it is a more insular community.

[sweethome1]

if you're stuck on moving here, the only place I would suggest would be southside/highland....you will not be able to compare the lifestyles/residents of the cities you mentioned to those in birmingham....i would stay where i was or go somewhere west....

[PandaCakes]

It's an interesting mix here in the Birmingham area, for sure. For example, I am very socially liberal. I believe in gay rights, am pro-choice, I may drink a cocktail on a weeknight and I haven't stepped foot in a church in a pretty long time, with the exception of a funeral. I got married in Vegas, and I have bought things in Love Stuff I have met a surprising amount of other people in this area that feel the same way about those certain issues, and live similar to the way I live. However, to me that is seperate from political liberalism, in fact it appears to be in direct opposition at this time. I am not sure where I fall on the political labeling spectrum. I am anti-bailout, pro-capitalism, believe in work ethic and in helping those who help themselves. I not a "fanatic right winger," and I believe the constitution should shape our government, and not the other way around. I believe in the seperation of church and state, but I also believe in the seperate of federal government and state I believe that failure is important (which makes me more or less anti-union), but that replacing flawed systems with failed systems, with regards to our healthcare, is unimagineably stupid. I support a lottery and legalized gambling in this state, with the regulation that other states employ, of course. I imagine that my views on almost everything conflict with each mainstream political party. With that being said, please remember that you may find like-minded people that agree with you on community and social issues, but may not neccesarily fit into the same political box. It makes for good debate that way