Japan to Birmingham... (Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills: crime, house, to buy)

[Japan2Bama]

Found a lot of great info on this site! Looking for some general info about great towns to live in with a reasonable daily commute to Birmingham Int'l Airport. We are coming from Tokyo, Japan, so we are used to a horrific traffic situation, but we really don't want to travel more than 30mins to work.

I've never been to Alabama, so I'm looking for some info on towns in the Bham area...we are looking to buy a home for under 200k and we're planning to stay awhile, so good schools would be beneficial.

My husband's work told him to look in the Moody/Leeds/Mt Olive/Mountainbrook area. Anything to say about these areas?

Any opinions about Odenville? I'm finding some nice homes for great prices, but know nothing about the area.

Also..looking for some info about the general area surrounding the airport. What's this area like? I've done some looking on Google maps and it doesn't look like the nicest of areas.

Thanks all! It certainly is difficuly researching and house hunting from across the world, so any help is appreciated.

[Threestep2]

I really hope you will enjoy your stay in Birmingham. Several of my neighbors are Japanese of various age groups. There is a small grocery store on HWY 31 which caters to them but they mostly shop at HMart in Duluth. The Birmingham Japanese Society is a very active group.

You mention a 30 minute commute. Where will your husband work? Lets take the search from the destination on out. What are specific needs you have besides commute?

[Japan2Bama]

Originally Posted by Threestep

I really hope you will enjoy your stay in Birmingham. Several of my neighbors are Japanese of various age groups. There is a small grocery store on HWY 31 which caters to them but they mostly shop at HMart in Duluth. The Birmingham Japanese Society is a very active group.

You mention a 30 minute commute. Where will your husband work? Lets take the search from the destination on out. What are specific needs you have besides commute?

Thank you..but we're not Japanese, my husband is in the US Air Force and we've been stationed in Japan, now it's on to Alabama. He'll be working out of Birmingham Int'l Airport,

[Back Again]

I live in McCalla and have a part time job with TSA at the Bham Airport and depening his hours, it can take from 20 mins (No Traffic) to 45 Mins (Traffic but no accidents).

[bosshawk]

You will need to give some more info.

Do you have kids in school? This could honestly be the number 1 question and can eliminate several otherwise nice areas unless you want private school.

Do you want city life or country life? Most of the places you have listed are what would be considered very suburban, bordering on exurb. Odenville in particular is out there.

You seem to want a single family house. Do you want a large yard? What kind of price range are you looking at? There is everything from $140,000 - $800,000 depending on locale and size.

The airport is fairly central within the area. With that said, you do not want to be within 3 miles in any direction of the airport. It is mostly light industrial, very poor, crime ridden. The airport itself is fine, but you do not want to live in any areas around it.

Mt. Brook - richest city in the state, old money, can't go wrong if you can afford it, 15 min. drive to the airport

Vestavia - very nice area, suburban, again can't really go wrong if you want a suburb and afford it. 20 min. drive to airport

Forest Park/Highland Park/Southside - Nice areas of Bham proper. Best option if you want a house but still have a semi-urban feel. If you do not have kids, it is honestly the best place to be in the city. Most cultural and "hip" part of town. Prices can vary, but generally higher than many. 10 min. drive to airport

Homewood - nice suburb just south of town. Prices vary widely. Avoid West Valley ave. area. 15 min. drive to airport

Hoover - Catch all suburb south of town. Lots of commercial, rather diverse, good schools. 20-25 min. drive to airport

280 area - Lots of nice homes, lots of commercial, good schools. Be prepared to sit in traffic for most of your life (Move 1 mile in 15 min.). 20-60 minute drive to airport

Anything south of Hoover is suburban, and possibly farther away than you want to be. These would include Pelham, Alabaster, Helena

North of town is smaller and less developed. If that is your type of thing, there are lots of decent areas such as Gardendale, Fultondale.

East of town, Trussville is where most of the action is and is a nice area. It is about a 20 min. drive to airport. Farther out, Moody/Leeds are growing, but starting to get on the outskirts of everything. You would be looking at 2030 min. drives everywhere.

Odenville/Springville are definitely exurbs. Unless you are looking for a more rural feel, I would stay away.

There will be fans of all the places I mentioned. Birmingham is a very suburban, sprawling area, and even using the word Birmingham instills fear in most of them. However, most of the bad parts of the city are concentrated in the Western portion, and those places should be avoided.

If you would like any more info, let me know.

[sedriskell]

I agree with "bosshawk", a very good description. It is easy to get a bad impression of Birmingham, but looks can be deceiving. Anything "Over The Mountain" like Mountainbrook, Hoover, Vestavia Hills, etc... is going to be good, safe, with great schools. Those areas definitely have the best schools in the state. It's very hard to call them suburbs, which is what they are by definition, but the are within close access of major thoroughfares.

As long as you know the back roads and alternate routes you're fine. Again, Mountain Brook, Hoover and Vestavia Hills are your best options.

[ironhorse655]

I just retired from the unit you are going to....117th............you can't go wrong with the Trussville area...15 minutes to work (I'd be happy to show you the quick routes to work)...schools are good and the area is nice..(raised my kids here)............I grew up in Mt. Olive....rural area....nice brand new school...(Gardendale High School)........not much to do.....about 30 minutes to work.....If I can be of any help let me know....I can also hook you up with some folks at the base if you would like to speak with them ......