[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by friggsdottir

What on earth makes you think I lived in Gurley? I have never lived there! Drove through it once or twice on my way to Chattanooga, but that's it. I lived in Madison for a while, which boasts the best schools in all of Alabama, but you have to keep in mind that it's the best of the worst in the country.

Actually, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, and Hoover have the best schools in the state, but who's counting? Sorry. Your zip code is one away from Gurley's. But given how the best restaurant in Madison is an Applebee's, comparing Birmingham to your experience is a bit of nonsense.

My point, by the way, remains unchanged. As someone who has lived around the country in places such as Chicago, Baltimore, and San Diego, I can pretty much say that your contribution to this thread is pretty much baloney. I'm guessing that you moved to Alabama with a bad attitude, didn't make friends, and was looking for the exits as quickly as humanly possible. We've loved our sixteen years here.

[friggsdottir]

Wow, taking the time to look up a poster's zip code to find out where they are on the map, and I'm the one being accused of having no friends and no life? Funny. Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore must miss the heck out of you!

Even though it is negative, my input is still helpful, especially coming from someone who moved from a different country to pursue a job opportunity in Alabama. I figured, hey, it's still America, right? It must just be stereotypes. Well, the truth is that the stereotypes about Alabama are very true, interrupted by a few moments of decent civilization here and there. I wish someone had candidly warned me before I made the move. And suggesting that someone take their family to visit and experience a possible move is hardly "baloney" advice.

And my previous statement stands.. I'm so glad your listed schools are the cream of the crappy crop. Good luck with that.

[scottish lass]

Thanks for your input everyone. I totally understand feeling patriotic and defensive about where you call home - I feel the same about Scotland and some of the things said about it on this site make it sound like the worst place in the world! Obviously everyones experience of a place is different and to visit would be ideal. We are looking at doing that if possible but it is so expensive and if my husband decides to go to seminary we will not have an income for 3 years so trying to save up! We are open to suggestions about where to go in North America it is just that a fortuitous contact developed at Beeson which caused us to investigate it further.

[Keeper]

Check out Greatschools.org for schools. There is a lady from Scotland who lives in Arab, a small city about an hour from BHM and she likes living here.

I have to disagree with friggsdottir's opinion of all AL schools. FL has far worse schools than AL. Are there bad schools in AL, of course there are but they are not all bad.

[Threestep2]

If everything fails there is homeschooling but this would isolate the kids. Transportation is a must. OP's spouse will probably come with a J visa so she will not be able to work (aside from three kids to take care of).
My suggestion - work out a realistic budget. Start-up costs such as move of household or setting up new, drivers licenses, deposits, basic household supplies and staples, vehicle/insurance... Trust me it does add up. How will the family be covered for medical/dental services? Then your normal cost of living from rent, utilities to groceries plus the planned trips to Scotland. Appartments generally come with laundry facilities and often recreational options such as a pool and the renters do not have to keep up a yard.

[bluebeard]

The mentioned school districts are very highly rated on a state basis, and decently rated on a national basis. I'm not one for national rating lists of largely subjectively rated institutions such as education, but Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, and Homewood get rated pretty well. I'm from California, from a school that occasionally makes the national news and is pretty consistently in the top 100 and I would have little fear putting my kids in those schools districts. Not to say Alabama and Birmingham is perfect and I'm as enthusiastic as some others are about how amazing it is here. I like some things a lot, other things not so much. But it is true that the state is unfairly maligned and stereotyped in the media. And in the end, it comes down to the individuals and communities you interact with, not national and international lists and reputations.
I'm friends of a friend to people that attended Beeson, and they generally were nice, smart, non-provincial people. I think you should do well there.
I don't know anything about Madison or Gurley, so I can't speak on that. I will say that people seem to have different standards in different places they travel to. I met some guy in Cambodia that said he would never live in the US because of the government. In Cambodia. A country that committed genocide on half its people, tortured a good portion of the rest, and reduced its educated population to nil. And these same individuals (not party, individuals) are the same that run the country. If people only traveled and moved to where they agreed with everything, they most likely would just stay where they are born, where people would tend to share the same value the most. And there's nothing wrong with that either, just a statement on living with differences.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by friggsdottir

Wow, taking the time to look up a poster's zip code to find out where they are on the map, and I'm the one being accused of having no friends and no life? Funny. Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore must miss the heck out of you!

As opposed to leaving a state and coming back occasionally to post bitter rants on their CD site? Give me a break. I bet people just love having you as a neighbor.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by friggsdottir

Wow, taking the time to look up a poster's zip code to find out where they are on the map, and I'm the one being accused of having no friends and no life?

CD is full of trolls, sometimes investigating them is the only way to call them out.

[Reactionary]

From the Alabama State Department of Education - 2010 Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) results averaged for reading and math across the six grades tested (3rd through 8th):

1 Mountain Brook City 89.5
2 Vestavia Hills City 82.3
3 Cullman City 79.4
4 Arab City 78.2
5 Madison City 77.4
6 Homewood City 77.1
7 Auburn City 74.6
8 Muscle Shoals City 73.8
9 Trussville City 73.5
10 Guntersville City 73.0
11 Hoover City 71.8
12 Winfield City 71.3
13 Hartselle City 70.5
14 Oneonta City 67.9
15 Enterprise City 67.8
16 Madison County 67.3
17 Athens City 66.5
18 Autauga County 66.1
19 Jasper City 65.0
20 Baldwin County 64.9

Note that "the state as a whole on average scored at the 57th percentile, meaning our average student performed seven percentage points higher than the national median".

The SAT scores are the starting point for a post from my friend Ben:

Economic Status: The Primary Predictor of Academic Performance | flashpoint (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2011/05/17/economic-status-the-primary-driver-of-academic-performance/#more-8178 - broken link)

[OpelikaMan]

Check out Opelika, Al. It's a good place to live and work. Very pro-active gov't with business and industry. Good schools, roads, police, fire, and hospital. Close proximity to Atlanta, Montromery and Columbus.