Atlanta weather and schools compared to B'ham (Birmingham, Fulton: houses, transfer)

[Geeyes]

I have been fortunate to have lived in beautiful B'ham for some time(Inverness area) and kids went to Shelby County schools.They absolutely loved it.Unfortunately we moved due to a job situation .....and boy! did we miss B'ham. We thought we'd get used to living here over time , but no - we just want to come back.Problem now is - jobs in my field(IT) are so hard to come by in B'ham.We have been looking for months for an opening.So we are thinking of moving to Atlanta while still looking for a move to Birmingham.
Can anyone tell me how Atlanta weather and schools compare to B'ham.....more specifically which high schools in ATL are comparable to Shelby county /Vestavia hills high schools.
Thanks in advance.

[Keeper]

How about the H'ville area? With BRAC coming there are going to be jobs, depending on your area of expertise.

[Geeyes]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into H'ville. Is H'ville weather similar to B'ham?...my daughter, who has ezcema, did extremely well in B'ham - I suspect it had to do with the weather there.

[Threestep2]

Tell me a bit more about your IT job. PM :>) You cannot say in general that IT jobs are scarce in BHam.

[Bravo35223]

Yes it would be helpful for you to explain your IT profession to us. I have worked in the industry for a long time here....I know firms that do software development in specific verticals including trucking and healthcare, firms that are very successful integrators and web developers. Also, Regions and Compass Banks have huge data centers here with hundreds of technical jobs in each. Same with AT&T.

Here are some examples....this firm develops software for the construction industry.

Updata Advisors | Command Data Incorporated and Alkon Corporation Sign Agreement to merge.

This firm employs 160 IT professionals and is the leading provider of software for the trucking industry.

McLeod Software (http://www.mcleodsoftware.com/about_us.aspx - broken link)

This firm is the leading provider of software for ambulatory care facilities in the U.S. and was named one of America's Top 100 Healthcare IT firm.

SourceMedical-Surgery Center, Rehab/Therapy

These are just three software firms headquartered in Birmingham that come to mind.

What is your skillset?

The weather in Birmingham and Atlanta is statistically virtually identical. They are located 130 miles due east-west of each other.

People I have known who have lived in both cities say Birmingham has better public schools than Atlanta does. Many of these are employees of The Southern Company and BellSouth. Each firm has thousands of employees in both cities and transfers back and forth are extremely commonplace.

On the other hand, another comment frequently made by these same people is that housing in Birmingham is more expensive than Atlanta. This is likely a by-product of the better surburban school systems, which make Birmingham's suburbs more pricy. I have a friend who just moved here from Houston who remarked how houses in Birmingham were more expensive than Houston.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Geeyes

I have been fortunate to have lived in beautiful B'ham for some time(Inverness area) and kids went to Shelby County schools.They absolutely loved it.Unfortunately we moved due to a job situation .....and boy! did we miss B'ham. We thought we'd get used to living here over time , but no - we just want to come back.Problem now is - jobs in my field(IT) are so hard to come by in B'ham.We have been looking for months for an opening.So we are thinking of moving to Atlanta while still looking for a move to Birmingham.
Can anyone tell me how Atlanta weather and schools compare to B'ham.....more specifically which high schools in ATL are comparable to Shelby county /Vestavia hills high schools.
Thanks in advance.

I would try ITAC Solutions, a placement firm that specializes in technical positions such as yours.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by Geeyes

Can anyone tell me how Atlanta weather and schools compare to B'ham.

BIRMINGHAM FAA ARPT, ALABAMA - Climate Summary

ATLANTA WSO AIRPORT, GEORGIA - Climate Summary

Southeast Regional Climate Center - Historical Climate Data for the Southeast

[pennquaker09]

My partner is from Atlanta and I have to say that just from visiting, the traffic is horrid. I'm okay with a commute, but it just seems like the logistics were not there when Atlanta started expanding.

Atlanta does have some great schools, but they designed their high schools with magnet programs which isn't big in Bham. And the Atlanta high schools are going to be more diverse. even the schools in the affluent areas such as Buckhead and Druid Hills are more diverse. North Atlanta High School is the best of the 9 high schools (in the Atlanta Public school system). But from there I think it would depend upon where you settle in Atlanta. You will have so many more options there than in Birmingham. For instance a portion of Druid Hills is in Atlanta and is zoned for Grady high school and another portion is served by Druid Hills High School which is not a part of the Atlanta Public school system. The Fulton county schools are better than the ATL public schools, however. For me or anyone else to really give you any valid information, we would have to know more about where you wanted to live and what not.

My personal suggestion would be Alpharetta because this is where all of the jobs in your field are located. My partner's father works for Cingular (the new AT&T blah blah) and then there is Lucent, HP, Sun Microsystems, Verizon, Siemens, and other some other companies located there. I will say that this is where a lot of the traffic is.

[Geeyes]

Thanks everyone for all the info...I am already checking out the company websites. We are focusing on DH to secure a job first (Unix admin) ... and hopefully we will all be there after the school year ends.