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Speaking of Birmingham's upscale areas or lack thereof as one poster put it, my ex-coworker said Jay-Z and Beyonce were spotted in Gus Meyer yesterday. Warner Music Group Executive Vice President and former Island Def Jam president Kevin Liles married Erika Jones in Birmingham yesterday and hosted a star studded reception at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa.
Any resorts like that in Jackson posh enough to host such an event?
I wouldn't be surprised if there was.
Renaissance Ross is a Golf Resort. As far as I know Jackson has a share of Golf clubs and they're private meaning the average Joe is not getting in, just like any other city. I don't know if Jackson has a resort or not, but hell New Orleans doesn't even have any resorts and I dare you to say that Birmingham is more upscale than New Orleans.
I lived in Jackson for 9 years and go back quite a bit since I have family there. I've visited Birmingham many times. I'd pick Birmingham between the two.
To me, Jackson is more comparable to Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Shreveport, or Montgomery in size and amenities. Although BR and LR felt slightly more fast paced than Jackson.
Birmingham is a larger city and metro area than Jackson. It feels larger than Jackson. It sort of reminds me of a larger Little Rock or a smaller Nashville, or even Greensboro/Winston-Salem. Their most upscale burbs (Mtn Brook/Vestavia Hills) feel more upscale than Jackson's most upscale burbs (Madison or parts of Ridgeland). However, both cities have their share of crime and poverty. Birmingham started as a city of industry, while Jackson is a government center. They do "feel" different as a result. Both cities have large Medical Centers that have served as their new economies. From what I've gathered from people I know from the Birmingham area they do seem to feel they are a tier above Jackson, and I'd be inclined to agree from what I've observed.
Culturally, I do see a lot of similarities between Jackson and Memphis. A lot of classmates that relocated to Memphis say it feels "like a bigger Jackson". I've heard that too many times for it to be a coincidence. I've never really thought of the Nashville-Birmingham comparison, but it does make sense in a way (they're not that far apart, so there is some influence) I can't quite "place" Birmingham. It isn't as slow-paced in feel as Jackson, but it doesn't feel as fast-paced or dynamic as Nashville, Charlotte, or Raleigh-Durham. It isn't as popular with transplants as the other Mid-Sized Southern metros I mentioned, but it seems to hold it's own.
I agree that Jackson would be better compared to Memphis and it does indeed feel like a smaller version of it. Personally, I don't see a big difference in pace as they seem slow-paced to me. Seriously the only difference that I notice is the terrain, population, and a few amenities. IMO Baton Rouge seems to move faster than both and BR is slow-paced if you ask me.
As far upscale, all people have been able to say in this thread is that Birmingham is more aesthetically pleasing, and it has Saks Fifth Avenue. Basically "it looks better" which is subjective in itself; but then again I've noticed that attractiveness tends to be heavily associated with quality in the southeast for some reason. The only difference I see between home in some suburbs of Birmingham and some of Jackson is that the houses on Alabama sits on hills (because AL is hilly) and have winding driveways. Outside of Saks and a few other stores, you can find the same selection in both cities.
On comparing them. Although Birmingham has a higher metro population, the average incomes, home values, and educational statistics are close if not neck and neck. Actually, Jackson comes out just a little bit more educated than Birmingham.
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If you prefer once city over another that's fine. That's your opinion, but don't come and say one city is _______, ___________, and __________ as if it's fact when it's only a preference and especially when you aren't up to date on either.
Culturally, I do see a lot of similarities between Jackson and Memphis. A lot of classmates that relocated to Memphis say it feels "like a bigger Jackson". I've heard that too many times for it to be a coincidence. I've never really thought of the Nashville-Birmingham comparison, but it does make sense in a way (they're not that far apart, so there is some influence) I can't quite "place" Birmingham. It isn't as slow-paced in feel as Jackson, but it doesn't feel as fast-paced or dynamic as Nashville, Charlotte, or Raleigh-Durham. It isn't as popular with transplants as the other Mid-Sized Southern metros I mentioned, but it seems to hold it's own.
Your analysis is spot on! Two former residents of both places on the exact same page. Thanks, I agree with EVERYTHING you've said!
As far upscale, all people have been able to say in this thread is that Birmingham is more aesthetically pleasing, and it has Saks Fifth Avenue. Basically "it looks better" which is subjective in itself; but then again I've noticed that attractiveness tends to be heavily associated with quality in the southeast for some reason. The only difference I see between home in some suburbs of Birmingham and some of Jackson is that the houses on Alabama sits on hills (because AL is hilly) and have winding driveways. Outside of Saks and a few other stores, you can find the same selection in both cities.
Do keep in mind that Jackson has only recently caught up with Birmingham in terms of shopping, and it's still behind in some ways. It's not as simple as your making it out to be. Believe me, before Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland, or the Dogwood Festival area out in Flowood opened, Birmingham definitely had an edge over Jackson. The Riverchase Galleria has been around since the 80's. I do believe that The Summit stole of lot of the Galleria's thunder in terms of retail offerings. A Nordstrom is supposed to be coming to the Riverchase Galleria in a few years. Something I doubt will be happening in Jackson anytime soon.
The department store consolidations in the 1990's 2000's affected Birmingham quite a bit. Birmingham used to have a lot of locally-owned department stores (more than Jackson) for a city of its size. Due to the big kahunga of the city in the next state over to the east, there has always been an undercurrent of trying to offer as many retail offerings as possible in the Birmingham area in order for people to avoid heading east on I-20. The Atlanta/Birmingham relationship has always been a shall we say, interesting one.
And it is subjective about what's upscale. But even you noted that the highest income suburb of Birmingham is still higher than the highest-income suburb of Jackson.
Birmingham is a younger city than Jackson, but it became a "big city" well before Jackson did. For example, in 1940, there were 267,583 people in Birmingham, while Jackson had 62,107 the same year. The infrastructure and architecture in Birmingham owes a lot of credit to the steel industry that boomed there, and the barons of the industry. A lot of the older architecture I've seen in the city reminds me of some northern cities. Their upscale areas just feel a lot more manicured to me than anything I've seen in Woodland Hills, Eastover or Northeast Jackson.
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If you prefer once city over another that's fine. That's your opinion, but don't come and say one city is _______, ___________, and __________ as if it's fact when it's only a preference and especially when you aren't up to date on either.
I don't know where this came from, but I think everyone is entitled to their opinion. I only lived in Jackson for 9 years, but what do I know? I'm not the only one who said that they feel Birmingham is more fast-paced than Jackson.
Do keep in mind that Jackson has only recently caught up with Birmingham in terms of shopping, and it's still behind in some ways. It's not as simple as your making it out to be. Believe me, before Renaissance at Colony Park in Ridgeland, or the Dogwood Festival area out in Flowood opened, Birmingham definitely had an edge over Jackson. The Riverchase Galleria has been around since the 80's. I do believe that The Summit stole of lot of the Galleria's thunder in terms of retail offerings. A Nordstrom is supposed to be coming to the Riverchase Galleria in a few years. Something I doubt will be happening in Jackson anytime soon.
It may have been recent, but they've still caught up. I also doubt that a Nordstrom will be coming there anytime soon, but as of right now it's in neither city. Once it's built, then it will be another edge for Birmingham
[quote]
The department store consolidations in the 1990's 2000's affected Birmingham quite a bit. Birmingham used to have a lot of locally-owned department stores (more than Jackson) for a city of its size. Due to the big kahunga of the city in the next state over to the east, there has always been an undercurrent of trying to offer as many retail offerings as possible in the Birmingham area in order for people to avoid heading east on I-20. The Atlanta/Birmingham relationship has always been a shall we say, interesting one.[/qupte]
It still is what it is.
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And it is subjective about what's upscale. But even you noted that the highest income suburb of Birmingham is still higher than the highest-income suburb of Jackson.
Yeah. The average income is like $15,000 maybe $20,000 higher. That's not that big of a difference when we're in the $100,000 range. What I found interesting is that the home value in the same area was $100,000 higher. The suggests to me that either there are a handful of homes on the hill are valued so high that they skew the average or some people are really living beyond their means.
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Birmingham is a younger city than Jackson, but it became a "big city" well before Jackson did. For example, in 1940, there were 267,583 people in Birmingham, while Jackson had 62,107 the same year. The infrastructure and architecture in Birmingham owes a lot of credit to the steel industry that boomed there, and the barons of the industry. A lot of the older architecture I've seen in the city reminds me of some northern cities. Their upscale areas just feel a lot more manicured to me than anything I've seen in Woodland Hills, Eastover or Northeast Jackson.
I fully agree with you on the history aspect. As far as being manicured, that's a perception/feel thing. In a way it's subjective
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I don't know where this came from, but I think everyone is entitled to their opinion. I only lived in Jackson for 9 years, but what do I know? I'm not the only one who said that they feel Birmingham is more fast-paced than Jackson.
It wasn't directed toward you. If you took it that way, hey. It was general statement. If you read through the entire thread hopefully you'll see where I'm coming from. As far as me making it seem simple, I'm just giving my opinion and still nobody has been able to elaborate on it outside of aesthetics. You did give the most insight on it though.
^^
I guess people who haven't been to Jackson in awhile would be surprised there is an Apple Store there now. I worked at Northpark Mall on and off throughout high school and college, remember the booming days and subsequent decline of Metrocenter plus all those shopping trips out of town to New Orleans, Atlanta, or yes, Birmingham because of the dearth of retail options in Jackson at the time. I think there are people who don't realize that there are options in the Jackson area now that weren't there even a few years ago. I still give the edge to Birmingham though. It's a larger market and trade area for starters.
While I feel that Jackson may be catching up in many ways, it still feels sleepier to me compared to Birmingham (and we're talking about a metro area of 600,000 vs a metro area of 1.2 Million, so I'd expect it to). The history and economy of each city and how they developed goes a longer way towards explaining my feelings on the issue more than the shopping or how "upscale" either city is. Birmingham historically was a lot more industrial and blue collar than Jackson (historically a political center surrounded by agriculture). They may have their similarities (they've been hubs of banking, medicine and railroad freight), but there are significant differences between the two, so I really don't see them as "even" at all.
^^
I guess people who haven't been to Jackson in awhile would be surprised there is an Apple Store there now. I worked at Northpark Mall on and off throughout High School and college, remember the booming days and subsequent decline of Metrocenter plus all those shopping trips out of town to New Orleans, Atlanta, or yes, Birmingham because of the dearth of retail options in Jackson at the time. I think there are people who don't realize that there are options in the Jackson area now that weren't there a few years ago. I still give the edge to Birmingham though.
While I feel that Jackson may be catching up in many ways, it still feels sleepier to me compared to Birmingham (and we're talking about a metro area of 600,000 vs a metro area of 1.2 Million, so I'd expect it to). The history and economy of each city and how they developed goes a longer way towards explaining my feelings on the issue more than the shopping or how "upscale" either city is. Birmingham historically was a lot more industrial and blue collar than Jackson. They may have their similarities, but there are significant differences between the two.
Now, even I agree that Birmingham has a slight edge over Jackson when it comes to shopping and size. Like you said the histories of each city somewhat explain why they are where they are right now. I just found this whole Birmingham is better because it "looks" a certain way and has this store argument to stupid and I wanted to point out that statistically they aren't that far apart.
Neither do I, but there are lots of similarities. I ran that same question by my Dad this morning (JSU Alumni) and he laughed at the notion too.
I remember the Metro. My aunt would always say "it's a big nice mall but they put it in the wrong part of town." We always tend to go to the newer mall in north Jackson (Northlake I think) since I'm not about to sweat at some strip mall. I never miss JSU's homecoming or the preceeding parade downtown!
Why people often take offense to the truth when it differs from what they feel is beyond me. At no point did I mean to 'infer' that Jackson was horrible or that Birmingham was better. It's just bigger with more options, and that's just the truth. You and I both know so that's all that matters.
Jackson doesn`t even compare to Huntsville,Montgomery,or MOBILE. So why and the hell would you comapre it to Birmingham.
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Birmingham metro is larger than New Orleans.
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