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I was speaking culturally/vibe/citylife. In that regard there is zero similarity.
But to your point, there are some superficial similarities. Both cities were booming in the first half of the 20th century. Chances are a lot of the same construction companies were used for houses, building, and such. However, Birmingham came to a near dead stop growth wise, Atlanta kept on going. Then there is the fact Birmingham is considerably hillier than Atlanta, built on a street grid, was a steel town, more blue collar. Add it all up and there as different as can be, but not completely without similarities. Get what I'm saying?
The biggest difference is in the places in Atlanta that are largely transplants and immigrants. There the culture and values can be vastly different.
When I lived in West Palm Beach FL, the culture was typical "South Florida", it kinda had a different vibe than Miami, but it still felt like South Florida. In other words, it didn't feel like the rest of the South. I guess. When I moved to Austin, the culture was distinct from the rest of Texas East of I-45. Austin also felt different from the rest of the South,, like it didn't belong. Now that I live in Charlotte, I feel a different vibe. Charlotte feels somewhat like a smaller Atlanta, it feels like a typical Piedmont city, it feels like the poster boy for the Piedmont. Like a smaller Atlanta, and a bigger Birmingham.
I see the Dallas/Shreveport/Monroe similarities. But Dallas/Memphis/Little Rock?
Especially Little Rock, it feels more like Dallas than Shreveport IMO and if you're going west to Monroe you might as well throw in Memphis and a large chunk of Mississippi.
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Originally Posted by waronxmas
I was speaking culturally/vibe/citylife. In that regard there is zero similarity.
But to your point, there are some superficial similarities. Both cities were booming in the first half of the 20th century. Chances are a lot of the same construction companies were used for houses, building, and such. However, Birmingham came to a near dead stop growth wise, Atlanta kept on going. Then there is the fact Birmingham is considerably hillier than Atlanta, built on a street grid, was a steel town, more blue collar. Add it all up and there as different as can be, but not completely without similarities. Get what I'm saying?
Atlanta feels like a larger version of Birmingham with bookoos more to do and see honestly IMO. While not exactly alike, they are awfully close. If Birmingham hadn't stopped growing I bet that they would feel a lot alike vs. if Jackson on Memphis grew to the extent of Atlanta.
I was speaking culturally/vibe/citylife. In that regard there is zero similarity.
But to your point, there are some superficial similarities. Both cities were booming in the first half of the 20th century. Chances are a lot of the same construction companies were used for houses, building, and such. However, Birmingham came to a near dead stop growth wise, Atlanta kept on going. Then there is the fact Birmingham is considerably hillier than Atlanta, built on a street grid, was a steel town, more blue collar. Add it all up and there as different as can be, but not completely without similarities. Get what I'm saying?
I hear what you're saying but I don't fully agree. I think we're getting off track with growth and street grid debates. What I'm saying is this, as a previous Bham resident, my friends from Atlanta would often come down for the certain occasions and first timers would always expect this extreme dose of "southern culture" in Birmingham that they wouldn't find in Atlanta. They always ended up coming to the same conclusion that I did.
From a Birminghamian's perspective, Nashville has always felt like more of the exact same thing while Atlanta is just a whole lot more of the same thing with a twist. The most significant difference culturally to me is Atlanta's much larger LGBT presence and many more transplants; hence the twist. They're two hours away from eachother; Birmingham culture practically is Atlanta culture-lol Whenever I go out here, I constantly run into Birminghamians, so trust me all of the trends, slang and things of that nature ALWAYS end up in Birmingham almost instantaniously-lol.
Last edited by NorthDeKalb; 07-31-2010 at 09:18 PM..
Birmingham and Atlanta used to be a lot more similar 60 years ago, but they diverged quite dramatically starting in the 70s. Atlanta became a big international city with a diverse population, Birmingham stalled out and remained a medium sized city with pretty much the same demographics. Though some similarities remain, they do not remotely have the same culture and spending 2 minutes in either city that would be come dramatically clear to anyone.
remotely come close to having the same culture? please dude. stop being such a devensive homer. how about a current map? their csa's border eachother, atlanta CSA is IN alabama. either that or you don't know what "culture" is...
edit: I see you just posted, that isn't culture "vibe/shops/city life" lol... basically atlanta is a lot more wealthy than Birmingham and that is why they have the amenities among other things. Nobody is denying it is much more successful city than Birmingham, or anywhere else surrounding it. So is Atlanta a bigger city? Lots more going on? Better jobs? Better skyline? Nicer areas? No doubt about it! It isn't close, it's the same culture though.
the particular kind of southern culture that is in both is pretty much the same, it isn't old south va culture, and it sure isn't the kind you find in Louisiana or Texas.
Plus you have TONS of people from Bham that come into Atlanta for the amenities there plus tons who move there for a better job.
Dallas, Memphis, Little Rock, Shreveport, and Monroe all share similar cultures. There isn't much difference culture wise between Dallas and Memphis.
Dallas and Memphis have almost zero similarities except they are both in the South. Memphis does share similarities with Little Rock and Shreveport, but Dallas is like another world. For one, Dallas is a modern city with a booming economy while Memphis, Little Rock, and Shreveport are very gritty, dated, and depressed and all of them have very high crime rates for their sizes. Dallas is much more similar to the plains cities like OKC than it is Memphis.
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