[TJJT]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Ha, don’t go to Baldwin County, because it’s quickly becoming like that.

I don't understand it with AL, LA, MS, and AK because they aren't in the megalopolis zone like the I-85 strip and radiuses around Atlanta and Charlotte.. It's like people are doing it just to be politically correct..

[jero23]

Originally Posted by TJJT

I don't understand it with AL, LA, MS, and AK because they aren't in the megalopolis zone like the I-85 strip and radiuses around Atlanta and Charlotte.. It's like people are doing it just to be politically correct..

Birmingham is included in the Piedmont Megalopolis region. It's the westernmost urbanized region apart of it.

[wharton]

Originally Posted by TJJT

I quoted their criteria.. It was entirely sorted by level of gentrification.. Remember.. Only a mentally ill person wouldn't want to live in a planned community and have everything they own legally socially regulated..

I guess I'm mentally ill, LOL. In fact I not only lived in a planned community, I retired decades early, since I owned a company the built homes in planned communities, for other mental patients that wanted to be there. They were crazy enough to want and appreciate the planned and well managed amenities, the well kept roads and parks, the private security patrols, the fact that you didn't have to do battle with a neighbor who decided to fill their yard with junk cars, raise goats, or paint their house florescent pink. They actually paid MORE to be there than if they were outside of the community, or in a less desirable planned community.

Given that millions of people actually like the planned communities they live in, your claim that there is something mentally wrong with them say a lot about you. I could care less how you want to live. If a single wide up on blocks, with a straight pipe dumping human waste into your yard, (common in rural Alabama) is something that appeals to you, enjoy yourself. I have no interest in calling you names, or "legally socially regulating" anything you do. Have fun.

[FireStation46]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

What would you expect when the ratings are reported by a yahoo?

Vermont is what? #5? Take a read over in the Vermont forum to see how that is working out for them. Click-bait.

How did WA get to be #1?

Author shuffles the data deck to fit their leanings. Likely they have never been to Huntsville, Montgomery, gulf shores or hunting in Sumpter County.

Author upset WA State Cougars not on same level as the Tide?

[GreggT]

Originally Posted by wharton

I could care less how you want to live. If a single wide up on blocks, with a straight pipe dumping human waste into your yard, (common in rural Alabama) is something that appeals to you, enjoy yourself. I have no interest in calling you names, or "legally socially regulating" anything you do. Have fun.

Gee I live in rural Alabama, I know of no one who dumps raw sewage into their yard. Maybe you are confused on what a septic tank is.

[jbtornado]

Originally Posted by empires228

I always have to question these lists for several reasons. For one, Colorado is one of the higher infrastructure states and their roads and bridges make Missouri look nice and Nebraska pre-flood was no picnic either when I drove all over the state last August either. It is a well known fact that most of Colorado road budget is allocated to making sure that the more dangerous mountain routes are maintained, but outside of that the city roads in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo aren't up to par with most of Kansas City and Wichita (more like Omaha and Topeka), and I-70 and US-50 take huge dives in quality the minute you cross the state line coming in from Kansas. I-80 and US-81 in Nebraska were even worse then US-50 in Colorado was. None were as bad as the Cimarron Turnpike in Oklahoma, but I just had to laugh that they were right below Kansas, a state with pretty nice roads despite having the transportation budget crippled by that idiot Sam Brownback.

Sam Brownback was one of the worst things to happen to Kansas. I'm still here

[robertbrianbush]

Originally Posted by GreggT

I guess Alabama has the highest Homeless population in the US......Oops that is California who has 25% of the countries total
I guess Alabama's cities streets are full human waste and needles.....Oops, that is also California
I guess Alabama has one of the highest tax rates in the nation......Oops, almost the lowest
I guess this report took cost of living versus income into consideration......Oops forgot that
I guess due to record growth in the state, the only people relocating to Alabama are completely clueless.
Crime rate, guess they forgot that
Natural environment? Give me a break, some of the most beautiful beaches, lakes, miles and miles of undisturbed forests, some of the best hunting iand fishing in the US.
This lady who wrote the articles needs to tell all these companies moving to Alabama either moving from other states or from other countries, creating jobs, and growth just how awful the state is.
Fiscal responsibility? Balanced budget, extremely low tax burden?
This lady must have done her research from CNN and MSNBC.

Yep. California is a real basket case . Let's just gloss over it being one of the nation's leaders in population, innovation, creativity, social progress, agriculture, natural, global cities and done of the best research universities in the world, etc.Heck, Cali is even one of our top ten oil producing states.
Not knocking Alabama, but I don't get the California hate that some folks exhibit. We should be grateful that our country has both Alabama and California.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by jero23

Birmingham is included in the Piedmont Megalopolis region. It's the westernmost urbanized region apart of it.

Here's a map of the mega regions. It shows what we know ... most of population of Alabama is in the northeastern quadrant, and the immediate Gulf coast.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...egaregions.png

[Hoping4Huntsville]

The amount of growth along the region between Atlanta and Raleigh is astounding. We traveled home to VA to visit family over the fourth and the changes are pretty significant. We moved to NC in 1999 and left moving to SE Alabama in 2013 and the growth just in the last six years in CHLT, GSO, W-S and Raleigh is amazing. Greenville and Spartanburg have blown up in the past decade as well. Atlanta is a given as usual. It would be interesting to jump ahead a hundred years and see what it all will look like. What is anyone's opinion on HSV and BHAM and their growth? Could they eventually become tied together down the 65 corridor and would that be beneficial to both cities and the state? What high growth areas will bring NOAL and ATL together? Regional growth and the typical prosperity it brings fascinates me. Just curious.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Hoping4Huntsville

The amount of growth along the region between Atlanta and Raleigh is astounding. We traveled home to VA to visit family over the fourth and the changes are pretty significant. We moved to NC in 1999 and left moving to SE Alabama in 2013 and the growth just in the last six years in CHLT, GSO, W-S and Raleigh is amazing. Greenville and Spartanburg have blown up in the past decade as well. Atlanta is a given as usual. It would be interesting to jump ahead a hundred years and see what it all will look like. What is anyone's opinion on HSV and BHAM and their growth? Could they eventually become tied together down the 65 corridor and would that be beneficial to both cities and the state? What high growth areas will bring NOAL and ATL together? Regional growth and the typical prosperity it brings fascinates me. Just curious.

I've never quite understood that Piedmont Megaregion, because there are VAST amounts of open space between Huntsville and Atlanta, Huntsville and Birmingham, and Birmingham and Atlanta (and Nashville and Memphis). So, I think they are just drawing lines between interstates because that's really the only link. Maybe some supply-chain economics, or business similarities going on, but that's still mainly just roads. Or, it's just based on population. With all that said, I don't see some 'link' between these cities anytime soon. The economies and drivers are so different.

So, the more and more I learn, the less I agree with the Megaregion concept. Perhaps the 'core' of it is legitimate. Really the only one I can halfway see the similarities is the Texas Triangle, or ring of fire, as some call it, and only because it's contained in the same state and the economy is VERY similar in all areas. But even those 3-4 cities are separated by many miles.

But to answer your question, no, I don't see Birmingham and Huntsville growing together anytime soon. Much more likely is Huntsville and Decatur, or long-term, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa (and even those are very distinctly separated).