Would like to move to Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery: rent, neighborhoods, purchasing)

[fluffyisgone]

I am from Philadelphia, and have the pleasure of visiting Alabama several times over the last few years. I am seriously considering moving to the state. I would like to live in either Birmingham or somewhere south of there. Perhaps within 50 miles. Please advise about Birmingham. I would rent to begin with, and then consider purchasing outside of the city.

[ShadowCaver]

Hey there. In case you haven't seen these...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...irmingham.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...irmingham.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...irmingham.html
http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaba...-al-links.html

FWIW, I have visited B'ham a few times, and found it quite eclectic - dirty and ran down in few places, yet potentially vibrant and happening in others; as most cities are. Having a fondness for metallurgy, I enjoyed the city . Well, besides downtown, w/ its goofy street naming system... Some very good people, great food, and interesting sights can be found there. Good luck!

[jtla]

Well, I guess it would help to know what you want to know about Birmingham. More people live in the southern suburbs than in other directions, but that doesn't mean that's what you're looking for.

If you're concerned about schools, that could affect where you look to live. In Alabama, every county has a school system, but that's not the only ones. Each incorporated city can create their own school system. That's why you'll hear a lot of talk about neighborhoods (and why some of the neighborhoods cost as much as they do).

Fifty miles south of Birmingham is halfway to Montgomery and pretty darn rural. You could be looking at a ten or fifteen mile drive just to go to the grocery store, much less Wal-Mart.

As for the strange street naming in downtown, what is so weird about them all being numbered, streets running N-S and avenues running E-W (20th St or 8th Ave)? I found it extremely easy to find things downtown when I first moved here.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by jtla

...snip...

As for the strange street naming in downtown, what is so weird about them all being numbered, streets running N-S and avenues running E-W (20th St or 8th Ave)? I found it extremely easy to find things downtown when I first moved here.

Not necessarily strange, but frustrating - when you are quickly searching for the name, it is much easier and faster to glance and then see the first part of the sign, as normally if its a street or avenue or blvd or whatever for the most part don't matter. Vast majority of towns have numbers going in one direction, with then other nomenclatures in the other. Guess its a pet peeve of mine, esp. when idiotic street departments name every fricking road the same, except the blvd, st, rd, etc - like if everything is Rose Road, Rose Blvd, Rose St., and ya go around in circles cause ya don't know if the person who is given directions meant which!!!

[Southlander]

Simple: streets run one way. Avenues run the other. You may have 4th Avenue North (north of the railroad) or 4th Avenue South (south of the railroad).
You obviously never been to Atlanta: Peachtrees everywhere!

[Twostep]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Simple: streets run one way. Avenues run the other. You may have 4th Avenue North (north of the railroad) or 4th Avenue South (south of the railroad).
You obviously never been to Atlanta: Peachtrees everywhere!

And no peaches:>)

[Twostep]

Not a bad idea to move to this area. I had 48 hours to get used to the idea and survived just fine:>)

What do you do professionally? As mentioned before 50 miles is quite a ways from nowhere and to absolutely nowhere. What do you need, what do you want, do you have others you have to be concerend about?

A couple of days back I posted a number of links to information about Birmingham. Unfortunatley noone bothered to add to it! Hint! Read through some of them.

I dare to say that everyone here will answer questions but you have to give us something to work with first.

[ShadowCaver]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Simple: streets run one way. Avenues run the other. You may have 4th Avenue North (north of the railroad) or 4th Avenue South (south of the railroad).
You obviously never been to Atlanta: Peachtrees everywhere!

lol,,, yes, I know/realize such - you may have missed what I said - when glancing at a street sign, how often does a person really care or pay attention to the suffix, if its a street, ave, blvd, whatever? Vast majority of the time, all a person has to do is look at the main part, the name, esp. when the ave, the st, the blvd, etc. are in smaller typesize, making it even more difficult to determine where ya are at. And yes, I've been to Hotlanta, many times; and matter of fact that is where I first came across this kind of mess. Esp. an industrial park north of there, where every fricking road was the same name, except the st, the ave, the circle, the blvd, and so on...

[Southlander]

If you lived there, you'd probably learn to pay attention to that kind of stuff. It's all good, my friend!

[Valnf]

Second fastest growing county in Alabama is Eastern Shores (Baldwin Co.) close to Mobile. Very new and beautiful. I am from New England and thinking of moving there.