Boston to Birmingham - would you do it?

[3boysathome]

I live in Bham now and will be headed back to New England as soon as my husband completes his job commitment here. Would never consider staying longer than we have to, we just haven't adjusted to the very conservative political culture here.

[soccerphysio]

Originally Posted by Back Again

What part of LI are you from? I was born & raised in N. Massapequa and went to Farmingdale HS - Class of 77

East Northport, and graduated from Northport HS in 1987.

How long have you been down here?

[UpstateBooster]

Originally Posted by 3boysathome

I live in Bham now and will be headed back to New England as soon as my husband completes his job commitment here. Would never consider staying longer than we have to, we just haven't adjusted to the very conservative political culture here.

Why is believing in hard work, and individual responsibility so abhorrent to some people???

[Back Again]

Originally Posted by soccerphysio

East Northport, and graduated from Northport HS in 1987.

How long have you been down here?

Ive been here 10 years now

[hrtofdixiechk]

Originally Posted by soccerphysio

I am a native of Long Island, and moved here in 1994 for work, so I was in your exact position 15 years ago.
First the good:
1. The people here are extremely friendly, and you probably won't find a better place to raise kids.
2. Despite the stereotypes, the suburbs have some excellent school districts (we are in the Spain Park district in Hoover). The added bonus is that the teachers truly care about the kids, and make them feel like family.
3. Housing costs and property taxes are incredibly lower than the northeast. Our house cost $450,000 here, but would easily fetch $700-$900,000 on Long Island, with property taxes 25% of what they would be up there.

The Not So Good:
1. While you hate winters now, you will HATE summers here; incredibly hot and humid, and full of bugs. Summer used to be my favorite time of year, now I can't wait for late fall to get here, and I long for a big snowstorm!
2. If you haven't had problems with allergies, you can expect to have them here. Birmingham is loaded with pollen during certain times of year, so it seems as if sinus problems are a constant issue.
3. While the people are great, it is difficult to make good close friends easily as a male unless you immerse yourself in the Auburn-Alabama college football scene. Not many Yankee fans here for me to bond with, and let's be honest, sports interests are how most guys "bond."
4. While others will say the beach is close, it is still a 4 hour ride. I really miss the life of the New England coastline being a bike ride away; lakes and rivers don't do it for me.
5. While there are quite a few great restaurants, I miss the wide array of cuisine like in NY and Boston, especially Italian food, bagels, etc. That may sound like a small issue, but I actually miss the food quite a bit!

I would definitely move back to the northeast if given the right opportunity (I actually had a job offer this summer, but with the economy and housing market, didn't make sense financially). But having said that, we live a very good life here in Birmingham, and as I said before, is a fantastic place to raise a family, which sounds like a top priority for you.

Good luck to your yankees tonight for the world series! We are in the hoover area as well and BIG baseball fans!

[Joei]

From BackBay to Alabama? I just cant even imagine. I was in Boston for a week this year, and prior to that I was in Birmingham/Atlanta for about 5 days.

For me personally, the money just isnt in Birmingham/Atlanta. Bostonians were alot less frugal...

[hrtofdixiechk]

Originally Posted by 3boysathome

I live in Bham now and will be headed back to New England as soon as my husband completes his job commitment here. Would never consider staying longer than we have to, we just haven't adjusted to the very conservative political culture here.

I am from Alabama, but have lived in the northeast as well. I love it up there...Boston, New York, Providence, and New Haven....loved 'em all. But, I do love my hometown too!

[soccerphysio]

Originally Posted by hrtofdixiechk

Good luck to your yankees tonight for the world series! We are in the hoover area as well and BIG baseball fans!

Thanks, but not looking good right now!!! Oh well, it would be nicer to win it at the new Stadium anyway.

[3boysathome]

Originally Posted by UpstateBooster

Why is believing in hard work, and individual responsibility so abhorrent to some people???

It's not, i just can't adjust to the culture of thinking that non-conservatives may also believe in it. It's really the non-acceptance of others that I haven't gotten used to. I wouldn't even call myself particularly liberal, but it seems unacceptable to have any disagreement with the far right here. It's just not the longterm place for me.

[Charlesaf3]

Originally Posted by 3boysathome

It's not, i just can't adjust to the culture of thinking that non-conservatives may also believe in it. It's really the non-acceptance of others that I haven't gotten used to. I wouldn't even call myself particularly liberal, but it seems unacceptable to have any disagreement with the far right here. It's just not the longterm place for me.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm not that worried politically - I'm a libertarian, ie I believe in low taxes, guns, and gay marriage. In other words, I can find something to agree on or disagree on with just about anyone out there. I have a law degree, and a bunch of well used carrharts and tractors, so no problems there either. Summers, yeah, not looking forward to that. I lived in Miami for 7 years, so I know what its like. But I have a beach house in New England I'd be keeping and looking to spend as much of the summer there as possible. (I have to admit on that front, I haven't really thought of Birmingham as close to the beach, since currently I'm an 8 minute walk from the beach, and its been within a 10 minute drive for most of my life. On the flip side, because of that I'm not all that into going to the beach) As I mentioned, I've lived in the south before (real south, not Miami) and I like southern culture. But I've never lived in the DEEP south, like Alabama. What I would need is enough people like me to find a niche. No offense to anyone, but I find most new houses pretty horribly built and ugly, and would never ever live in an HOA. (I used to be a real estate developer, I know exactly how badly built most new houses are). As long as there are old neighborhoods, and a few people like me, I would expect to be happy. I wouldn't expect Birmingham to be Boston or New York. But if life revolves around gated communities and trips to the mall for everybody, I'd want to kill myself. That's my personal vision of hell. As an aside, looking into Richmond VA as well. I have a feeling that may be a better fit, though mildly more expensive, and mildly worse job opptys for my wife. Still pretty good though, and I've lived 4 years in VA - I know I like it.