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Old 11-03-2012, 02:26 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,928 times
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If I were moving to Birmingham, Alabama, and had a budget of 350K for a home, and a very smart child about to enter high school (who also loves the arts and eclectic classes that go beyond the mandated math, history, science etc), and had a liberal political viewpoint and loved old homes.....which neighborhood should I pick? Help me, help me...don't know where to begin the search! FYI, the right school is my highest priority, prefer public, but will do private if have to, and can go beyond 350K if it "buys" me the right school. Thanks!

Last edited by sati08; 11-03-2012 at 02:39 PM..
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Old 11-03-2012, 06:05 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
1,654 posts, read 7,347,764 times
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Oh my . . . paging CPG!!!

I can't say that anyone one school will be the be and end all for your child. I will say that is sounds like your child is primed and ready for the International Baccalaureate program. On that end, it would mean sending him or her to Jefferson County IB or Hoover. So, Homewood would be an option. Oh gosh, I am so removed from this that I don't really know anymore. You could probably find something in Mountain Brook, but keep your politics to yourself there. Well most of the burbs are conservative, so tread carefully there. You could potentially find something in Forest Park and the like.
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Old 11-03-2012, 06:18 PM
 
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I'll just say right off that there is no perfect choice, only good ones.

First choice? Southside/Forest Park and Altamont (Private School). Cool older neighborhood with a variety of political viewpoints. However, Altamont is not as strong in the arts. A little more house for your money: Birmingham Homes for Sale - RealtySouth

Second choice? Mountain Brook. Superior public school. Outside of a sizable Jewish community, however, the school system is not very diverse and MB is pretty conservative. Very, very good arts programs.

Third choice? Homewood. More diverse. While the schools are good, they're a notch below Mountain Brook. Good arts programs

As Penn noted, another option is the IB school which is exceptional. Don't know about the arts programs. And, if your child really wants to focus on an art-driven curriculum yet another possibility is the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which is one of the best in the country.

Here are some other questions for you:

In what part of town will you be working?
What activities do you enjoy the most?
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Old 11-04-2012, 10:53 AM
 
7 posts, read 11,928 times
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I was thinking that ALtamont looked promising, though I much prefer a public school. Anyone know if it is hard to get in there at the older grades? Had not looked at Homewood, so thanks for that suggestion. I noticed IB programs at two high schools, but it appeared the curriculum only kicked in at Junior year? Kids went to an IB elementary, so IB would be great.

CPG35223, I would say that we enjoy ethnic foods, great library, bookstores, greenspace/parks, swimming, etc. Kids enjoy non-competitive swim team via park and rec dept. Multilingual family, and need advanced language instruction in our school, or access to that. Used to shopping at Whole Foods or similar in addition to mainstream stores and love to garden. Want a neighborhood that is friendly and has a community vibe, with no McMansions. Sustainability is important to us, we have chickens, compost etc, so no restrictive covenants that would prevent that. Asking too much???
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:00 AM
 
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Forgot to add we also are looking for a progressive church that is active in social issues and accepting of gay/lesbian etc. with strong youth programs...currently attend an indepentant Baptist church, but open to any protestant or nondenominational. Thanks!
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:04 AM
 
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I'll second CPG35223's advice to check out the Alabama School of Fine Arts it's a public magnet school with a top-notch arts program and a diverse liberal atmosphere. He's also spot on concerning Forest Park/South Avondale/Southside being a first choice neighborhood. Sounds like a great fit for you.

I say this as a completely neutral Highland Park resident and ASFA grad.
Alabama School of Fine Arts
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Old 11-04-2012, 11:14 AM
 
28,895 posts, read 54,157,635 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sati08 View Post
Forgot to add we also are looking for a progressive church that is active in social issues and accepting of gay/lesbian etc. with strong youth programs...currently attend an indepentant Baptist church, but open to any protestant or nondenominational. Thanks!
I'm thinking that Southside/Forest Park would be the first place I'd want to look based on your criteria. That means, however, putting your kids into Altamont which is private. We lived in the Forest Park section of Southside for years and loved it, but moved when faced with putting three kids through private high school. So we moved to Mountain Brook. While we made the right choice financially and from a lifestyle perspective, I do wish it weren't so lily-white here.

The second alternative to me would be Homewood. It's an excellent school system.

Mountain Brook is the best public system in the state, but the area is pretty homogenous. It's very beautiful, but you need to understand that.

All three would mean a superior education for your children. I think what your next step should be is just touring around those areas with a good realtor and checking out the schools online.
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Old 11-04-2012, 12:30 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,928 times
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Thanks to all for the suggestions! You have given me a starting point, which is what I needed. The Alabama School of Fine Arts was not on my radar screen, and you confirmed my initial impression that the Southside/Forest Park neighborhood and Altamont might be worth checking out. Any possible churches? We will sorely miss our current church...
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Old 11-04-2012, 12:47 PM
 
4,739 posts, read 10,440,815 times
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sati08 - why would you want to leave your liberal utopia and move to Birmingham?

IIRC keeping chickens in any of the area's city limits is prohibited, except for Mountain Brook of all places. However if a neighbor complains then you can't keep them.
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Old 11-04-2012, 12:52 PM
 
28,895 posts, read 54,157,635 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Reactionary View Post
sati08 - why would you want to leave your liberal utopia and move to Birmingham?

IIRC keeping chickens in any of the area's city limits is prohibited, except for Mountain Brook of all places. However if a neighbor complains then you can't keep them.
Reactionary, can you ever simply answer a post without dragging politics into it? My political convictions are different than the poster in question (And probably pretty closely aligned to yours), but all the woman needs is advice, not sarcasm.

And, yes, one can keep up to four chickens in a Mountain Brook backyard as long as none of those are roosters.
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