Birmingham, Alabama SperlingViews

Birmingham is the place for you. I grew up in this city and as a teenager in the suburbs did not enjoy it much. There seems to be a stark economic dynamic between the urban and rural areas. The old industrial urban downtown is notoriously impovershed and plagued with crime. On the other hand the suburbs, mostly of shelby county, for as long as I remember have been at an insanely rapid state of growth. This development and sprawl constantly cuts into the natural beauty of the area and replaces it with high-end shopping, a bounty of strip malls and monsterous churches. Speaking of which you MUST own a vehicle to get anywhere. This of course created serious traffic problems in my area. The car dependency and hot days also culminates into serious pollution issues. What they called "ozone alert days" are a common occurance. The whole culture of the birmingham metro area seems to be one of consummerism and suburban isolation. But if this is your thing then join in on the great southern migration and buy yourself an SUV, just remember not to go outside in the summertime.

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Education - 9/1/2007

If you plan on moving to Birmingham, AL with children or to have children then you should plan ahead to living in an area where they'll get an quality education from elementary to high school. So[read more...]

Birmingham is great - 5/15/2007

I have lived here since Jan 2001, and have grown to love it. It has all the big city stuff, but still a small-town flavor. Everyone is generally nice and helpful, and the weather is good most[read more...]

Great outdoor activity just around the corner - 4/17/2007

Birmingham is surprisingly outdoor-activity friendly, with a great state park just a few miles south of[read more...]

Birmingham, AL - 12/14/2006

Birmingham is a great place to live if you're family, football, and church oriented. More[read more...]

Life in Birmingham - 7/13/2006

Birmingham has been a great place. I came from more affordable housing so home prices have been a little bit of a shock; however, they are not as bad as Atlanta and the commute is tolerable. I live[read more...]

great ootdoor activitites - 6/13/2006

Oak Mountain State Park is a gem! It offers mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, gold, swimming, fishing, camping, backpacking and more![read more...]

Coming from someone who just moved here.... - 5/27/2006

I currently attend school here in downtown Birmingham. If you plan on moving to Birmingham, having your own transportation is a must! Everything is located on the fully developed outskirts of this[read more...]

Crazy Weather - 2/24/2006

The weather here fluctuates greatly day to day. It can be below freezing one day and warm the[read more...]