Best place to live for families between bham and tuscaloosa (Northport: elementary school, to move)

[gobama]

If you can find something near on on Lake Tuscaloosa, u will get ur money back and probably then some if u move again. The new County School is in this area. I have lived in Northport and Tuscaloosa and perfer the west side of the river

[jgean]

My family might be moving to the Tuscaloosa area ourselves. I have a potential job offer n Cottondale. I would prefer not to be all the way over by Birmingham. Schools are very important to me, 2 kids in first grade and one in middle. This is an old thread but I am wondering if the schools mentioned are still good. I am also looking to possibly be out toward McCalla or Shelby County.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by jgean

My family might be moving to the Tuscaloosa area ourselves. I have a potential job offer n Cottondale. I would prefer not to be all the way over by Birmingham. Schools are very important to me, 2 kids in first grade and one in middle. This is an old thread but I am wondering if the schools mentioned are still good. I am also looking to possibly be out toward McCalla or Shelby County.

I would look north of Tuscaloosa, there are some decent places up that way. Generally speaking, Tuscaloosa schools are not great. All of the schools all the way to Birmingham are bad until you hit Hoover. Shelby County would be a haul for you everyday since there are no real good backroads from there to Tuscaloosa, so you have to go up and over on the interstate.

If you want truly good schools and city/suburban amenities, Hoover is where you start, and just make the drive. Or, go up to Northport and above that area, and I mean Tuscaloosa has all the normal American 'stuff'. McCalla is hit or miss, there's some general 'lawlessness' in the water out in western Jeffco. I personally would avoid it, but I guess it depends on what you want. You can find some land up that way I guess. Everything between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham is backwoods Alabama, again, avoid.

[jgean]

I figured that might be the answer. I don’t mind the drive but I wouldn’t want it to be over 45min or so. Thanks for the feedback.

[bfmx1]

Sorry I cannot offer exact schools, but don't totally discount some of the small town much more affordable schools just outside the metro.

Yes all the schools will be pretty "bad" by whatever standards people use to rate schools but that doesn't really mean a bad experience or under-serve their students.

Some of the best teachers/instructors in the state are in these small town schools.

I went to a HORRIBLE high school.. Yet, it was fine and some went on to great schools and did something good with their lives. Teachers weren't dumber or anything like that. Sometimes the best life experiences can be found in the small town.. Forget the school "ratings" they're mostly bunk anyways except for certain parameters.

You're much better off teaching your kids wise stewardship of money by living somewhere you can easily afford as opposed to suffering just to get squeeze them into a certain school system.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

Sorry I cannot offer exact schools, but don't totally discount some of the small town much more affordable schools just outside the metro.

Yes all the schools will be pretty "bad" by whatever standards people use to rate schools but that doesn't really mean a bad experience or under-serve their students.

Some of the best teachers/instructors in the state are in these small town schools.

I went to a HORRIBLE high school.. Yet, it was fine and some went on to great schools and did something good with their lives. Teachers weren't dumber or anything like that. Sometimes the best life experiences can be found in the small town.. Forget the school "ratings" they're mostly bunk anyways except for certain parameters.

You're much better off teaching your kids wise stewardship of money by living somewhere you can easily afford as opposed to suffering just to get squeeze them into a certain school system.

While I agree with this, he did say schools were very important to him/her. And as a starting point, I would not steer people toward smaller towns in the South in general, as they aren't very welcoming to outsiders. Remember, "in general" are the key words. He would need to visit the area and get a very good lay of the land before doing that. He may find that he loves the small town feel, but I find visitors to this forum aren't generally the small town type.

I'm not a fan of the public school system at all. I homeschool. Even knowing that, I understand the realities of the situation and I would never steer out-of-staters to something that could be controversial, especially not knowing where they are coming from.

[jgean]

My wife and I are coming from South Carolina. We currently live just outside of Greenville in the Upstate. It’s not the country but not the city where we live. We don’t mind the little/small towns but I’d agree, sometimes it’s’ tough to fit in.

I agree the scores on the schools can be misleading. Our high school here doesn’t have the best scores but it’s a fine school. It’s all in what you make of it. Being from out of town it’s tough to decide on a starting point.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by jgean

My wife and I are coming from South Carolina. We currently live just outside of Greenville in the Upstate. It’s not the country but not the city where we live. We don’t mind the little/small towns but I’d agree, sometimes it’s’ tough to fit in.

I agree the scores on the schools can be misleading. Our high school here doesn’t have the best scores but it’s a fine school. It’s all in what you make of it. Being from out of town it’s tough to decide on a starting point.

Going from Clemson to Bammer country?? Lord help your soul....

[jgean]

I’m a diehard Alabama fan so this potential job is even that much more appealing. We will be in the area next weekend to check things out. Hopefully more people will provide some input to the schools in the surrounding areas. It does look like their is a fair amount of new home construction going on.

[Blazin65]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

I would look north of Tuscaloosa, there are some decent places up that way. Generally speaking, Tuscaloosa schools are not great. All of the schools all the way to Birmingham are bad until you hit Hoover. Shelby County would be a haul for you everyday since there are no real good backroads from there to Tuscaloosa, so you have to go up and over on the interstate.

If you want truly good schools and city/suburban amenities, Hoover is where you start, and just make the drive. Or, go up to Northport and above that area, and I mean Tuscaloosa has all the normal American 'stuff'. McCalla is hit or miss, there's some general 'lawlessness' in the water out in western Jeffco. I personally would avoid it, but I guess it depends on what you want. You can find some land up that way I guess. Everything between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham is backwoods Alabama, again, avoid.

Wow. I've often thought of moving somewhere between McCalla and Tuscaloosa (no kids). But I didn't realize it was that bad. I guess I will mark that area off my list. LOL.