Moving to Birmingham this summer (Fairfield, Leeds: extended stay, apartment, to rent)

[FeralFemale]

We may be moving to the Bham area this summer. Answers from the sticky thread:

1) In what area of town will you be working? Really important stuff, that. And what kind of commute time are you wanting?

I will be working in Fairfield, but dh may have to commute to Atlanta for a time. So we were looking at the Pell City area and nearby. We don't want to go further east than Pell, but no further west than, say Leeds. I don't want to commute longer than 45min - 1 hour.

2) Do you have a price range for your house or apartment?

We started with 80000 - 120000, but, after looking at a few houses realize that we may need to increase our max price. We want rural, or even a subdivision that has at least an acre of lot so new subdivisions are out of the question. I wouldn't want more than 3 acres, but dh may disagree. New construction or renovation seems to be a must as I did not like older houses I saw in our initial price range.

3) Do you have children? Do they have unique educational needs?

No children and no sign of children of school age for some time.

4) What do you enjoy the most during your free time? The arts? Fine dining? Sports? Hiking? Or just getting away from it all?

We are foodies. We like to garden (raise food). We also have a boat and enjoy fishing.

5) Do you have special medical needs?

We are hoping that Alabama has a good fertility/IVF program

6) Do you want to be in a neighborhood where everyone knows one another or do you simply don't care?

I would love to be good friends with my neighbors but having few or no neighbors isn't that big of a deal.

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We are moving from northern Minnesota (I know, right?). Dh may need to commute to eastern Atlanta for a time, so we are looking at Pell City area (no further east b/c of my commute).

I went down recently for a visit to check out the area and even met with a realtor. I was a little sad about the houses down there. Either they are way more than we need or way less. We would be happy with a small, well maintained home. All we want is a guest room that can double as an office or a 2 bedroom with a small bonus room. A place to put a garden. A basement or good sized utility room would be a dream as we have cats with litterbox needs. Storage seemed to be rare. We don't have a lot of crap, but at some houses I wondered where people stored their stuff (like xmas decorations, etc)

When I visited I really liked it. People are friendly -- except on the highway, lol. Crazy rush hour and drivers. (I did a test run from Pell City to Fairfield at about 330/4pm and it wasn't that bad, but on another day at 5pm saw a whole other shade of traffic)

I'm not even sure what I am asking. I guess, what are the towns/neighborhoods around Pell City we could be considering? Or are there other towns that are within one hour of Fairfield and within 2/2.5 hours of Atlanta? What advice do you have for newbies to the area? What's your favorite and least favorite things about Bham? In the city, people were very friendly towards me. Does that extend to the rural areas (rural N. Mn. is friendly but not inclusive to 'outsiders' so it has been a problem making friends)

Finally, we are originally from PA and are HUGE Steelers fans. I now there is a Steelers bar in Bham. Any other Steeler Nation citizens in on this board? How do you like Bham? To me, it looks SO much like the Burgh.

[birminghamster]

Considering that you have a boat, perhaps you could look at homes on Logan Martin Lake which is near Pell City.

[Miv]

Question # 5: Henderson & Walton Womens Center @ St. Vincent's hospital is the best.

And if all else fails, pick you out an egg from The A.R.T. Foundation of Birmingham.

Pell City to Fairfield.....omg! Did you check out McCalla, that area is pretty rural. But if one of your requirements is an over abundance of wildlife stick with pell city.

[harry chickpea]

If it weren't for the cats, I would say to rent for a while. "Commute for a time to Atlanta" leaves unanswered questions - how long, how important, what flexibility. Atlanta traffic is a whole other ball of wax. While B'ham traffic can be bad, the concept of a regular commute to anywhere much east of Douglasville borders on ludicrous. It can take as long to get from Buford Highway to the Perimeter as is does to cross B'ham twice. BTDT, couldn't afford the t-shirt.

If you are planning what I think you are, I'm not sure you are thinking clearly. It is roughly 150 miles between Atlanta and B'ham. If both of you commute daily, the two of you are driving 300 miles a day. At 30 mpg (unlikely) that is 10 gallons per day. Five day a week commutes means 50 gallons a week, at $3.50 gal that is $175 per week or almost $9,000 per year in gas alone. Even with beater cars (which don't usually get as good mileage) a MINIMUM to budget for transportation is $20K. If you do those miles at an average of 50 mph (I-20 has speed traps and the days of 90mph sail throughs are long gone) that means six hours on the roads between the two of you every day. Commuting after a hard day isn't likely to make you the safest drivers, so you might also PLAN for at least one or two accidents per year.

If you are constantly driving that much and working, you aren't going to be much interested in using that 3 acres for gardening, especially in Alabama heat. From a pragmatic point of view, it would be far cheaper and safer for hubby to rent a room at an extended stay motel outside of Atlanta and drive back and forth to B'ham once a week.

Be aware that the pollution and tornadoes tend to follow similar paths up the north side of town. Morris or north might be an option, good luck on getting anything in a reasonable price range in the southeast quadrant of the city.