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Well, Birmingham has a top-notch law school, Cumberland, which is part of Samford University. It's located in Birmingham's southern suburbs, which is about as close to heaven as you're going to find for beauty, ease of living, and amenities. Plus there are dozens of prestigious law firms in the market for internships and the like.
There's a pretty active arts scene in Birmingham. In fact, the Places Rated Almanac ranked it among their top ten for smaller market arts. Lots of concerts, performances, musicians, artists, festivals, etc. etc. etc. You'll find something to do every weekend if you so desire. At the same time, plenty of locally owned, quality restaurants, nightclubs, etc. etc.
As far as professional sports is concerned, you'll have trouble here. No pro basketball, football, or hockey. Our only pro sports is a AA baseball team affiliated with the White Sox. If you want to watch pros, you'll have to drive two hours to Atlanta.
Birmingham's a pretty conservative community, but not radically so. However, it is a religious community. Chances are, your denomination will be represented somewhere with a strong congregation.
Overall, especially if you live between downtown and the I-459 corridor, there are plenty of nice neighborhoods and shopping.
The city doesn't have tall mountains, but lots of hills, making it a pretty scenic place. Plus trees as far as the eye can see. Birmingham never subscribed to the theory that one should mow down all the trees to make a subdivision, and it shows.
Perfect. Thanks for your help. Cumberland is THE reason I'm looking at B'ham--and the fact that it sounds like a great community in which to live. Is there a lot of outdoorsy activities--hiking and such within a short drive from Birmingham. And what areas would you recommend?
Clayton is a suburb, believe me. It's the seat of St. Louis County, but by all common sense is a suburb of St. Louis because a mere 16,000 people actually live in the city of Clayton. St. Louis City and St. Louis County while not considered the same by the city boundaries are by all means one and the same.
lol. I know....I know. But Clayton, though a technicall a "suburb," is actually very urban. It's older, upscale, and it houses county government--it's like it's own core urban city in its own right. And compared to West County--which is more like what you expect from contemporary American suburbia--it IS urban.
Denver as a metro area is actually pretty liberal, as radraja states. Boulder is certainly at the top of that chain, but Denver is more liberal than it gets credit for - perhaps not on the scale as Seattle or San Francisco, but moreso than many midwestern and southern cities.
That's not my experience AT ALL but....oh well. It's good to know nonetheless!
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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Houston is not all that religious or conservative either, contrary to popular belief. Both Denver and Houston are more live-and-let-live. I wouldn't recommend Houston without knowing what law school you'd be attending. It's a huge city and you will want to base your decision on where to live in it on where you'd be working and/or going to school.
Houston is not all that religious or conservative either, contrary to popular belief. I wouldn't recommend it without knowing what law school you'd be attending. It's a huge city and you will want to base your decision on where to live in it on where you'd be working and/or going to school.
Definitely true. Houston is more of a post-grad option for me--as I'm looking at UT with no intentions of staying in Austin. The only reason the city matters to me is that I plan on staying in the area--or at least state--in which I study law.
I always thought Houston was pretty conservative and mega-churchy. That's not true? How would you compare it to Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, or B'ham?
Perfect. Thanks for your help. Cumberland is THE reason I'm looking at B'ham--and the fact that it sounds like a great community in which to live. Is there a lot of outdoorsy activities--hiking and such within a short drive from Birmingham. And what areas would you recommend?
Any number. We don't have a National Park, but we have two nearby National Forests, Talladega and Bankhead, plus a pretty ambitious state park system, including places such as Oak Mountain, Bucks Pocket, Cheaha, etc. etc. etc. The Appalachians allow all kinds of opportunities for hiking. In fact, the Appalachian Trail is slated to extend into Alabama in a few days via the Pinhoti Trail.
At the same time, Alabama has more navigable waterways than any other state, I understand. That means lots of opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, and other boating. Plus you have the Gulf Coast beaches about 3.5-4.0 hours away.
Location: from houstoner to bostoner to new yorker to new jerseyite ;)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WestCoDude
Definitely true. Houston is more of a post-grad option for me--as I'm looking at UT with no intentions of staying in Austin. The only reason the city matters to me is that I plan on staying in the area--or at least state--in which I study law.
I always thought Houston was pretty conservative and mega-churchy. That's not true? How would you compare it to Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, or B'ham?
I don't know Atlanta or Birmingham well enough to comment, as I've never lived there.
Denver didn't seem all that different from what I'm used to in Houston... just quieter and much less diverse. Boulder was noticeably more "crunchy" however, kinda like Austin, only prettier and more outdoorsy.
I don't know Atlanta or Birmingham well enough to comment, as I've never lived there.
Denver didn't seem all that different from what I'm used to in Houston... just quieter and much less diverse. Boulder was noticeably more "crunchy" however, kinda like Austin, only prettier and more outdoorsy.
Thanks Houstoner.
From my experience in Texas--a lot of time in Houston and limited time in DFW--I think that Houston is by far the more cosmopolitan, international of the two cities. It is more Nouveau South than Heart of Texas, in my opinion. I still think it's maybe a little more conservative than you give it credit for being--at least for a large, major American city. Then again--it is so stunningly diverse maybe the traditional political divide just doesn't work in much of Houston....
Hardly any new lawyer going to practice in DC takes the DC bar because you can waive in from ANY state. Thus, if you have any interest in practicing in either Maryland or Virginia, even though you will be working in the District, you would be best served to take the bar of that state. You get two for one that way, and it is a lot harder (if it is even possible) to waive into VA or MD after taking the DC bar.
Of course, if you plan on moving to Denver or Houston someday, you would probably want to take the Colorado or Texas bar instead of VA or MD.
Hardly any new lawyer going to practice in DC takes the DC bar because you can waive in from ANY state. Thus, if you have any interest in practicing in either Maryland or Virginia, even though you will be working in the District, you would be best served to take the bar of that state. You get two for one that way, and it is a lot harder (if it is even possible) to waive into VA or MD after taking the DC bar.
Of course, if you plan on moving to Denver or Houston someday, you would probably want to take the Colorado or Texas bar instead of VA or MD.
I would assume that most NoVa firms require new associates to take the MD bar. I know that most St. Louis firms require new lawyers to take the Illinois bar because, obviously, that broadens potential clientele.
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