Why do people put down Birmingham, AL? (Montgomery, Mobile: 2014, trendy)

[WJSim]

Agreed. Just wish they would get rid of all the horrible and tacky billboards blighting the Bham area as well as come up with better planning than horrible strip malls. Bham has so much potential to be beautiful if more thought and planning was invested .

[southernnaturelover]

I'm not sure Birmingham gets a bad rap as much as Alabama in general. People like Roy Moore and Dean Young certainly don't help.

[Reactionary]

Roy Moore isn't responsible for the corruption (or billboards) in Birmingham.

[sleepless in Bham]

^^Good job using half the address of my place of employment as your user name. The owner has been notified and law enforcement will be notified as well.

What a dumbass...lol

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Roy Moore isn't responsible for the corruption (or billboards) in Birmingham.

My point was that when people think of Alabama's cities, they think of Alabama as a whole, which means they usually think about intolerant backwoods rednecks( like the ones I mentioned). It doesn't seem to be that way for Atlanta, when people think of Atlanta theyre not usually thinking about the whole state of Georgia.

[PortCity]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

It doesn't seem to be that way for Atlanta, when people think of Atlanta theyre not usually thinking about the whole state of Georgia.

Soooo true !!

[WJSim]

Oh dear I must admit this is true. Being a native from Bham, I have lived outside of America for many years and when asked where I'm from people are ALWAYS taken aback and the first response is in regards to racism second religious zealots.

Still want to move back though! Bham is a lovely town, with lovely people only wish it could get rid of the two types mentioned above.

[bhamoutlook]

I think the big problem is that people constantly need to compare Birmingham to other cities. It isn't necessary. If for some reason Birmingham ever reach the level of Nashville or even Atlanta, these same people would start talking about how horrible it is because it's not like New York or Tokyo. They will always look for a reason to COMPLAIN.

I personally don't feel the need to compare cities because how can you? What makes a city good? A higher population? Pretty scenery? Unique experiences? Amenities? Rankings? Education? Crime rate? Affordable housing? Pollution?

A way to measure the merit of a city is completely different for everyone.

[jero23]

I honestly feel like Birmingham ought to divorce its identity totally from Alabama. No, "AL" or "Alabama" after its image or marketing campaign for the city. Focus exclusively on "Birmingham". In a number of ways, the local media ought to do the same to aid the city in this. This way the city would be determine how it is seen and marketed nationally and globally.

[bhamoutlook]

Originally Posted by jero23

I honestly feel like Birmingham ought to divorce its identity totally from Alabama. No, "AL" or "Alabama" after its image or marketing campaign for the city. Focus exclusively on "Birmingham". In a number of ways, the local media ought to do the same to aid the city in this. This way the city would be determine how it is seen and marketed nationally and globally.

I like that idea but it's necessary in many cases to add Alabama to the name. We have a much bigger brother with the same name in the UK.