Family Relocating to Birmingham (Hoover, Homewood: to rent, house, neighborhood)

[miamimomma]

We are relocating to Birmingham and our top priority is a great elementary school and great family neighborhood. What is a good area for a home in the $400,000 price range?

I am a stay-at-home mother. Are there any nice mommy groups?

THANKS!

[Threestep2]

A bit more information might be helpful:>)
Commutes can be tricky. What will be the location of your husband's employer?

[miamimomma]

My husband will be working in the Birmingham airport and he can do up to a 45 minute to one hour commute if that is where the best schools are. I would like to be close to some shops in a nice family neighborhood.

Thank you for you quick reply.

[Threestep2]

45 to 60 minutes will not get him far in Birmingham's traffic:>) Start your search in Trussville. Because of taxation you may want to stay out of Jefferson County. Shopping is everywhere. It will be your least problem.

If he commutes during off hours my area might be for you particularly because of schools - Inverness/Greystone.

[cpg35223]

$400,000 will buy you a nice house in every community and, compared to Florida, the property taxes are negligible. So it really boils down to schools. In order of preference for schools, I would recommend the following:

1) Mountain Brook. The best elementary school is probably Brookwood Forest, which also has the most affordable home prices. The test scores are slightly lower than the other three MB elementary schools, but that's chiefly due to the very strong special needs programs in that school that tend to attract lots of families.
2) Vestavia.
3) Oak Mountain/Spain Park
4) Homewood/Hoover
5) Trussville

Any would make a good choice for you. Really, at this point, you need to define your interests so that we can narrow down more for you.

[miamimomma]

You have been very helpful. Thank you very much.

[pvjd]

Vestavia and Hoover, and both have great schools and amenities.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by pvjd

Vestavia and Hoover, and both have great schools and amenities.

Does she want to rent for under 1200 or buy?

[bonzai]

Originally Posted by miamimomma

We are relocating to Birmingham and our top priority is a great elementary school and great family neighborhood. What is a good area for a home in the $400,000 price range?

I am a stay-at-home mother. Are there any nice mommy groups?

THANKS!

miamimom, I would stick to Mountain Brook or Homewood, both have awesome schools, and have nice quaint homes. Homewood has lots of kids to play with outside, depending on the street you buy and there is lots more diversity (people) the other areas that have been mentioned above are good;
but Mountain Brook and Homewood, are the best, you will love them.

[gghayes]

I recently retired to Birmingham from Miami and live across the street from my daughter and her family in Mountain Brook. Her kids go to Brookwood Forest elementary and she is extremely please with it. She went to Ransom as Miami had few if any good public schools, so she is thrilled with that such a good school is public. There are tons of kids in the neighborhood and the people are very friendly with lots of southern hospitality.