Birmingham vs. Nashville - comparisons (skyscrapers, state, America, population)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by BuffaloHome

Oak Mountain State Park is not in Jefferson County. Jefferson County, at 1,124 square miles is more than twice the size as Davidson County, 526 square miles. So if you want to include parks in counties immediately surrounding Jefferson, then we should also include parks in counties immediately surrounding Nashville.

To be fair, Oak Mountain State Park is reasonably close to Birmingham (about 30 min) and is only in another county because of how the county lines are drawn. If Birmingham were smack dab in the middle of the county, the park would in all likelihood be in Jefferson County, so I think it's fair game. And any park reasonably close to Nashville (30 min or so away) in an adjacent county would be fair game also.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by cherokee48

Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve are the largest parks in the city proper, but bear bear in mind Birmingham is not a consolidated city/county like Nashville so it leaves blind spots when making comparisons. 20 minutes South of downtown Birmingham lies the largest state park in Alabama in Pelham at Oak Mountain State Park with more than 9,000 acres and 51 miles of trails. Oak Mountain has the area's beach as well as horseback riding and a BMX track among the usual outdoor activities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Mountain_State_Park

Thanks to the Red Rock Trail System the area also has over 100 miles of paved trail and plans for more than 700 miles of trail once completed.

Red Mountain Park's 15 miles of trail are extensive are quite the hike. On the Smythe Trail is .53 miles but the catch is a large elevation change of 180 feet, as well as other trails on the mountain that take hikers and runners up and downhill

Birmingham also has a US National Park Service presence downtown in the Civil Rights District at the national monument.

That's not in Birmingham or even Jefferson County.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

To be fair, Oak Mountain State Park is reasonably close to Birmingham (about 30 min) and is only in another county because of how the county lines are drawn. If Birmingham were smack dab in the middle of the county, the park would in all likelihood be in Jefferson County, so I think it's fair game. And any park reasonably close to Nashville (30 min or so away) in an adjacent county would be fair game also.

Well in that case we can include Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, and Cheatham counties. They have their own parks and rec systems with extensive trail systems and activities. Scenic views are also interesting in and around Nashville. Radnor Lake, Percy Warner Park, Love Circle, Old Hickory Lake, Percy Priest, Stones River, Cumberland River etc. to name a few. A drive along interstate 840, Highway 109, Interstate 65 North, Highway 100, U.S. 41, Interstate 40 coming from the west side of town provides some really neat views.

[mcalumni01]

Can we all just agree that both places have nice things and be done with it.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

Well in that case we can include Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, and Cheatham counties. They have their own parks and rec systems with extensive trail systems and activities. Scenic views are also interesting in and around Nashville. Radnor Lake, Percy Warner Park, Love Circle, Old Hickory Lake, Percy Priest, Stones River, Cumberland River etc. to name a few. A drive along interstate 840, Highway 109, Interstate 65 North, Highway 100, U.S. 41, Interstate 40 coming from the west side of town provides some really neat views.

I said parks within 30 min or so of the city can reasonably count. I'm not talking about every single park in the metropolitan area. I see no reason why Oak Mountain State Park can't count for Birmingham just because it is in a neighboring county when it is closer to the city than Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, half of which is within Jefferson County, is.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

I said parks within 30 min or so of the city can reasonably count. I'm not talking about every single park in the metropolitan area. I see no reason why Oak Mountain State Park can't count for Birmingham just because it is in a neighboring county when it is closer to the city than Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, half of which is within Jefferson County, is.

I said that includes those counties not what you insuated here. There are parks within those counties that are within the 30 min constraint you included.

[Shakeesha]

This development looks neat. We used to have Gus's here but they closed down. It would be interesting to see how Birmingham and Nashville's restaurant scenes compare.


https://www.al.com/bhammag/2020/04/b...-and-more.html

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

It would be interesting to see how Birmingham and Nashville's restaurant scenes compare.

i don't know anything about nashville's restaurant scene, so i can't compare the two.

but for its size, and relative to its peers, i think it's safe to say birmingham punches above its weight in this area. numerous accolades, james beard nominees/winners, etc. (and i have no doubt nashville has these as well)

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

i don't know anything about nashville's restaurant scene, so i can't compare the two.

but for its size, and relative to its peers, i think it's safe to say birmingham punches above its weight in this area. numerous accolades, james beard nominees/winners, etc. (and i have no doubt nashville has these as well)

Seems like Nashville's new restaurants come and go. One minute they make big announcements in the paper a new place is coming, then it is boarded up in less than a year. What I have observed about Nashville that is different from similar sized cities is the sheer lack of mid-upscale restaurants. You either get very high end fine dining or a sports bar and grill fried food type of place. Italian and seafood are also lacking.

[jjbradleynyc]

I still think this is an unfair city comparison.

Nashville is in a different tier of cities than Birmingham.

Nashville city is 692,000, Birmingham city is 209,000
Nashville metro is 1.95 million, Birmingham is 1.15 million
Nashville has 3 pro sports, Birmingham doesn't have pro but focuses more on top notch college
Nashville is booming with downtown construction skyscraper development, while Birmingham has been pretty stagnant for decades
Nashville has a huge entertainment and tourism economy with country music while Birmingham has more niche tourism, smaller scale
Nashville is a capital city, while Birmingham is not

Birmingham looks like a beautiful city though, in its geographical location with rolling hills and views. Seems like a much larger Chattanooga, upon driving through.

I hope Birmingham grows and develops, and moves into a more dynamic city.

I'm actually visiting Birmingham for work, the first week of June for a couple of nights. It will be my first time exploring the city some. I'm looking forward to it.