Moving to Birmingham, AL

[TexasFlyer]

I will be moving to Birmingham within the next month. Any advice on where to live in this city?

Here is what I enjoy as guidance:

1) A neighborhood with a unqiue personality. A place that if you blind fold me and then took off the blind fold, I would be able to tell you immediately I was standing in Birmingham since I would be surrounded by unique places and cultures to this city.

2) I love old versus new, i.e., historic areas and established areas versus new sub-divisions and strip centers. The personality of the old nostalgic stuff makes me smile.

3) A neighborhood where if I walk down the street or just sit in my back yard or on my balcony I feel like I am in the country. There are trees and tranquility, although it may be only a small space as it is in the city.

4) Somewhere that within a Reasonable, Safe, Late Night, Walk I can be at unique restaurants and eclectic dive bars and small store fronts, and diverse live music venues. It's basically a very walkable neighborhood or city area offering a lot of culture and unique vibe.

5) I do not live in apartment complexes as they are a bore. I prefer old homes where I can rent a room or old buildings that been converted to apartments since those usually have pretty cool personalities to them.


To help, here is a list of a few places I lived over the last 15 years and the neighborhoods I fit in best in case you are familiar with these:

1) Dayton, OH = Oregon District (worst city I ever lived, but this little district I could still call home)
2) Boston, MA = Central Square, Harvard Square, Coolidge Corner, North End, & Charlestown (and so many more places around this city!)
3) Austin, TX = West Congress (the best place ever!!!)
4) Atlanta, GA = Little 5 Points (cool place, but never felt safe at night anywhere in this city)
5) Asheville, NC = Downtown (I love this little town and the people too)
6) San Antonio, TX = N. St. Mary's Strip and King William District (very cool neighborhoods in the city)
7) Phoenix, AZ = Cave Creek (my current home is here, it's a fun western vibe, quite unique even though outside the city limits)
8) Columbus, OH = Short North and German Village (been here training the last month and I really love both these neighborhoods already)

 

[SteveC]

I can't help you with Birmingham, but I'm simpatico with your choices. I live in exactly that kind of neighborhood and love it.

 

[Roger, Roger]

So basically you're a hipster?
Good luck with that in B-ham.

 

[gne in prog]

I don't know. When I worked there I had an apartment in 5 points, which was nice and convenient, but I wasn't there a lot. It also wouldn't meet your country requirement Who are you working for there?

 

[arkflyr]

Sounds like 5 points would be what your are looking for. When I was flying there back in 06-07 for Airnet there was a guy that lived in the Terrace Apartments http://www.barbercoresidential.com/index.asp. Walking distance to the restaurants and nightlife, and Vulcan park is right up the hill.

Mountain Brooke is another nice old neighborhood that is over the hill to the south. There is an old town part and some older apartments down there. Can't remember the name of those though. If I were ever to move back those two places are where I would look first.

I lived on the south side of town at 280 near Inverness. It was more suburban and unless there have been some major changes in the last few years, the traffic on 280 can be horrible.

Hope this helps

 

[TexasFlyer]

I don't know. When I worked there I had an apartment in 5 points, which was nice and convenient, but I wasn't there a lot. It also wouldn't meet your country requirement Who are you working for there?

AirNet.

The country in the city feel just means there are trees around and nice parks to relax in (like in Austin or Boston or San Antonio), versus an endless sea of pavement like in downtown Phoenix (yuck).

For example, the house I still own in San Antonio (it's for sale) is off the main entertainment district for locals. Out the front door is a little street of historic bungalows and 8 houses down is the main strip which is full of unique family owned restaurants, dive bars, live music venues, taco stands and food carts, and little boutique stores selling anything from jewelry and books to clothing and antiques. So out my front door it's all city. Yet, if you walk out my back door it feels all country. I have oak and palm and pecan trees with a natural bamboo growth that's been trimmed back to be a fence line so there is not a neighbor in site, although they are only maybe 100 feet away! So while it's only a small back yard, the deck and gazebo area with brick walkway and grass with all those trees make you feel like a small secluded country space since there is not a neighbor in site when back there. Just you and the occasional squirrel. Plus a few blocks away is a great park with amazing green space secluded back in the woods which ultimately is part of the San Antonio Zoo, so the city keeps is up very well. So that is the neighborhood situation I enjoy. I call it my piece of country in the city.

 

[///AMG]

I don't even know where to begin with this one, but Birmingham is certainly not the place I think of when I think of the things you want. There is a little neighborhood around the university which has a bit of a metro/hipster feel to it, but it doesn't have a "country" feel to it, nor is it terribly historic. I think the city you are looking for is Portland, OR. It even has it's own TV show now

 

[astec]

I'd suggest a suburb south. Pelham, Hoover, etc, just somewhere south, B'ham isnt very pretty, nor safe. Those two cities are right at 10-20 min commutes to the airport, given traffic of course.

 

[at1024]

I don't even know where to begin with this one, but Birmingham is certainly not the place I think of when I think of the things you want.

I have to agree with AMG on this one. Although I never lived there I used to go out there every so often and I never got the impression of any of those things you listed. My biggest concern would be finding somewhere clean AND safe inside the city. There's a reason they call it "the dirty south" and bham most definitely lives up to that reputation.

 

[///AMG]

I have to agree with AMG on this one. Although I never lived there I used to go out there every so often and I never got the impression of any of those things you listed. My biggest concern would be finding somewhere clean AND safe inside the city. There's a reason they call it "the dirty south" and bham most definitely lives up to that reputation.

Agreed. There is history to Birmingham, but it is a history of violence, that seems to still be present. I've spent a good amount of time in big cities throughout the south, and the two that stick out in my memory as always tickling my spidey sense for danger were Bham and areas around Memphis (though I never went downtown there). I don't think that the "historic" areas of Birmingham have seen the gentrification that you might have seen in places like ATL or elsewhere. It's just kind of dirty and sketch there. I'd find a nice house outside of town, and enjoy the safety and relative peace and quiet if I were in your shoes. Like I said, if you are looking for a younger hipster crowd, then somewhere around UAB is probably the place to look, but that area is more along the lines of clubs and newer more upscale restaurants and such. That and typical frat/sorority shennanigans that are always present at southern universities. You probably won't find many historic bungalows or trendy renovated lofts to live in around there.

 

[zachoe]

Birmingham goes from very poor to very rich very quickly. There are some very wealthy areas. I know that the area around the airport is very sketchy. One user mentioned Mountain Brooke; it has been a while since I've been there, but I had family who lived there and IIRC was very nice.

 

[AUAeropilot]

I grew up in Pelham, 15 minutes south of Birmingham on I-65 (parents still live there since 1983 and I visit at least once a month). As I read your post, I immediately thought 5 points (a scaled down version of ATL’s Little 5 Points), or the area around UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham). UAB has previously been a majority commuter school but the area around it has really grown up and students appear to be living on/around campus a lot more. As others have said, you can go from a wonderful area to an unsafe one in the matter of one or two blocks in Birmingham proper.

If downtown doesn’t fit the bill, I would suggest Mountain Brook or looking south of the city. Mountain Brook is a “yuppie” type of area, but I can’t speak with regards to its night life. Mountain Brook will definitely give you trees and tranquility (Something to be mindful of in the rare winter ice storm, plenty of trees to block roads and bring down power lines). Mountain Brook also provides easy access to Highway 280 that can connect you with the downtown area in a matter of minutes. Hoover and Pelham are your more typical suburban areas. The populations in these areas appear to be your 30 and 40 year olds with families, which leads to lower night life opportunities as opposed to college town feel around 5 points and UAB.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about a specific area.

Good luck.

 

[TexasFlyer]

Just arrived a few hours ago and drove around. Decided I want to be within a 0.5 mile radius of the 20th and 12th intersection (5 Points area). Have a couple apartment search firms to help me on that mission. I'm looking forward to spending the next year or more of my life here. So fingers crossed that I enjoy the ride

 

[Pilotforhire587]

Have fun!

 

[TexasFlyer]

Mission accomplished. Found a place in a historical building in 5 Points, within 2 blocks of my target intersection. BHM is not a bad place. It's not very hot, but the humidity is brutal. Besides that one fact, I am finding this city alright and the people and neighborhoods quite nice. And I am also enjoying airnet and flying the 'van as well.

 

[Pilotforhire587]

Glad it all worked out man! If you ever find yourself in TN let me know.

 

[TexasFlyer]

Glad it all worked out man! If you ever find yourself in TN let me know.

I love TN (and Western North Carolina). As matter of fact, I'll be in Gatlinburg camping the last weekend in August. I do a yearly motorcycle ride and every year but one it has been around WNC and Eastern TN area. This is one of my favorite areas of the country (only second to the Texas Hill Country).

 

[skydisaster]

Good luck in Birmingham! I just left Huntsville after ten years to move to Phoenix. I spent a good bit of time in BHM, and it was one of my least favorite towns in the Southeast. It has imploded on itself over the last few decades, and everything has move to the suburbs.

Tell Bob (if you have not met him yet, you will) that Paul said hi.

 

[N8389P]

Run FAST and FAR!