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No, no it doesn't. Jacksonville has a slight edge in medical(Mayo Clinic) and education... Well maybe a tie. Ok, I guess Birmingham might get that one.
It's not by a huge margin or anything, but I do think B-ham gets medical and education with UAB.
I wonder who has the edge in retail? I'd think Jacksonville but I'm not sure.
Jacksonville due to the Beach. That is just about it. Everything else is about the same. I guess Jacksonville location is better too. Drive to some nice coastal places.
How is Birmingham retail better than Jacksonville retail? Chain stores are chain stores..
Saks Fifth and Parasin WAS headquarted in Birmingham...And Saks Fifth is still has a heavy presence in Birmingham even after they moved there headquarters in 2008.
Jobs - Jax. slightly lower unemployment and slightly higher median income
housing - Jax. more diversity in options
education - slight edge to Bham. (well I'm not too sure about this one) Jax has a reputation for bad public schools in the city but the magnet programs are very strong including several tops in the country. Private schools are also good, and districts outside the core county rank among the highest in the state. So I'd say overall the school system is maybe a little above avg. Assuming the same for Bham. Higher ed seems to tilt slightly in favor of Bham (I think UAB should rank a tad higher than UNF though the latter has gained a lot of ground in the past decade...Same with Samford and JU...even to the point that JU has improved drastically in the last 5 years or so)
the arts - Jax. Jax punches slightly above its weight in the arts. The local music scene is a point of pride for many who are a part of it, though it hasn't reached mainstream consciousness. The museums are about on par for a metro of its size, we have one of the largest and best arts education organizations in the country, and we have the highest caliber symphony in all of the Southeast outside of Atlanta and Texas (if you wish to include TX in the SE). Only clear leg up that Birmingham has is the Opera.
nightlife - Jax. It's been undersold on these forums but the nightlife is quite decent and light years improved from ten years ago. Actually quite drastically improved from five years ago, and every year seems to add one new district or hub of activity.
sports - Jax. I guess cause of the Jaguars, the only major league team between the two cities. College sports is also big in Jax and at the very least equal to Birmingham.
transportation - Jax. Mass Transit is weak and I think Bham would have the edge, but Jax has several major investments on the horizon and should see the state of affairs improve in the coming years. Logistically with the port, railroad hub, and two of the country's largest interstates running straight through the city, Jax has some clear advantages. And comparing the airports (traffic, # of destinations/airlines) really isn't close either.
medical - slight edge Bham. (again I'm not too sure but when I'm not, I err on the side of giving advantage to the city I'm less familiar with) UAB has a strong reputation and from the academic side this is no contest. But Jax does have a large educational presence with UF Health and if it weren't for the ridiculously high number of schools that already exist in the state, Jax almost certainly would have a medical school by now. On the treatment side, Jax punches above its weight. Most notable are the Proton Therapy Institute which was/is one of the leaders in its focus, Mayo Clinic, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
I will add one more category...downtown revitalization...which is strongly in favor of Bham. This is one area that makes me jealous of Bham and something we can study to improve in Jax.
Jobs - Jax. slightly lower unemployment and slightly higher median income
housing - Jax. more diversity in options
education - slight edge to Bham. (well I'm not too sure about this one) Jax has a reputation for bad public schools in the city but the magnet programs are very strong including several tops in the country. Private schools are also good, and districts outside the core county rank among the highest in the state. So I'd say overall the school system is maybe a little above avg. Assuming the same for Bham. Higher ed seems to tilt slightly in favor of Bham (I think UAB should rank a tad higher than UNF though the latter has gained a lot of ground in the past decade...Same with Samford and JU...even to the point that JU has improved drastically in the last 5 years or so)
the arts - Jax. Jax punches slightly above its weight in the arts. The local music scene is a point of pride for many who are a part of it, though it hasn't reached mainstream consciousness. The museums are about on par for a metro of its size, we have one of the largest and best arts education organizations in the country, and we have the highest caliber symphony in all of the Southeast outside of Atlanta and Texas (if you wish to include TX in the SE). Only clear leg up that Birmingham has is the Opera.
nightlife - Jax. It's been undersold on these forums but the nightlife is quite decent and light years improved from ten years ago. Actually quite drastically improved from five years ago, and every year seems to add one new district or hub of activity.
sports - Jax. I guess cause of the Jaguars, the only major league team between the two cities. College sports is also big in Jax and at the very least equal to Birmingham.
transportation - Jax. Mass Transit is weak and I think Bham would have the edge, but Jax has several major investments on the horizon and should see the state of affairs improve in the coming years. Logistically with the port, railroad hub, and two of the country's largest interstates running straight through the city, Jax has some clear advantages. And comparing the airports (traffic, # of destinations/airlines) really isn't close either.
medical - slight edge Bham. (again I'm not too sure but when I'm not, I err on the side of giving advantage to the city I'm less familiar with) UAB has a strong reputation and from the academic side this is no contest. But Jax does have a large educational presence with UF Health and if it weren't for the ridiculously high number of schools that already exist in the state, Jax almost certainly would have a medical school by now. On the treatment side, Jax punches above its weight. Most notable are the Proton Therapy Institute which was/is one of the leaders in its focus, Mayo Clinic, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
I will add one more category...downtown revitalization...which is strongly in favor of Bham. This is one area that makes me jealous of Bham and something we can study to improve in Jax.
Let's update this as of 2020 (I'm here to revive a 5-year-old forum)
Jobs = tie
Housing = tie. JAX has nice coastal suburbs such as Nocatee. Birmingham has the hilly and picturesque suburbs of Mt. Brook, Vestavia, and Homewood among others.
Nightlife = slight edge to JAX.
Sports = tie. A mediocre NFL team and a college football team who play for the national title almost every year is a draw to me. (Yes, I realize UA is in Tuscaloosa but it's in the TV market so I'm counting it)
Transportation = JAX by alot. Everything you said in 2015 is the same now.
Medical = slight edge to BHAM
These metro areas are almost identical in many ways except one in on the coast and one sits at the western end of the Piedmont.
I'm not sure I'd give the edge to Bham here. Jacksonville's Mayo Clinic campus, along with it's other growing hospital systems would seem to hold up well in this comparison
Quote:
These metro areas are almost identical in many ways except one in on the coast and one sits at the western end of the Piedmont.
I don't think I agree with this. They may have been a closer comparison 20 years ago, but over the last 10 years Jacksonville has really pulled away in population, economy, retail, and just overall amenities. From a an overall metro standpoint, they don't feel anything a like. Jacksonville feels like a Floridian sunbelt city, Where Bham feels more like an old south legacy city.
Birmingham has definitely done better in the urban development department. Jacksonville for it's decent urban bones may be the only larger city untouched by the urban development wave of the last 15 years, but it's suburban growth still follows the more explosive patterns of it's sunbelt counterparts.
Overall in the current state Jacksonville has moved into that 1.5 million metro group with Milwaukee, Providence, and Hampton Roads. Where Birmingham has been a bit more stagnant more in common with Memphis, and Buffalo. It's actually closest to Grand Rapids, and Rochester on paper.
I'm not sure I'd give the edge to Bham here. Jacksonville's Mayo Clinic campus, along with it's other growing hospital systems would seem to hold up well in this comparison
I don't think I agree with this. They may have been a closer comparison 20 years ago, but over the last 10 years Jacksonville has really pulled away in population, economy, retail, and just overall amenities. From a an overall metro standpoint, they don't feel anything a like. Jacksonville feels like a Floridian sunbelt city, Where Bham feels more like an old south legacy city.
Birmingham has definitely done better in the urban development department. Jacksonville for it's decent urban bones may be the only larger city untouched by the urban development wave of the last 15 years, but it's suburban growth still follows the more explosive patterns of it's sunbelt counterparts.
Overall in the current state Jacksonville has moved into that 1.5 million metro group with Milwaukee, Providence, and Hampton Roads. Where Birmingham has been a bit more stagnant more in common with Memphis, and Buffalo. It's actually closest to Grand Rapids, and Rochester on paper.
I agree as well. Jacksonville has moved into a larger group of cities. I will likely visit this summer. I hope Jacksonville can get some urban development going.
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