Ya I will miss my little apartment here but onto newer prospects hopefully in the Birmingham area soon.

Same. I personally wouldn’t live in Birmingham or any of the surrounding areas unless a very well paying job came my way that I just couldn’t turn down. I grew up in Arab and for my money, you can’t beat it. The school system isn’t ranked in the top 5 anymore, but is still a good one. Plus, I’m not a fan of that much traffic. I lived in Trussville a few years during my early career in the investment world. It was a really nice town, the traffic was just awful. Anyway, I’m not trying to knock Birmingham because it is just a matter of personal preference. When my fiancé was in grad school at UAB she lived in Vestavia and loved it. That said, if I had to live there and could afford it I would live in Homewood or Mountain Brook.

I live in Trussville and It's perfect for my family. I can be downtown in 25min, but still feel like I live in a small town where everybody knows everybody (it is growing though.) I would be hard pressed to find a better place to raise a family. I think it would suck as a single young guy though.

Avondale area...

I've got my girlfriend so I'm not shopping the market.
I want access to fun but not needing it nightly sorta thing.

What would a starter home in Trussville go for?
$150-175K'ish?

Forest Park isn't bad at all. It is an old neighborhood. Some apartments in the area are old and run down. But, it is a good area for a single person. Close to lakeview and a lot of places to eat, drink and be merry.

You will be hard pressed to get in below about $200k in Trussville. School system is one of the best in the state so people are paying for it. There are some garden homes in Carrington Lakes for less than $200k which is a really nice neighborhood, but it's Way out.

Gotcha, similar with Auburn. People are paying more for the schools.
Not having kids right now schools aren't really a concern but generally nice areas have nice schools.

Thanks for the info.

Thank you for that info.
Ya I don't mind older and well kept. My current place fits that description.
I just don't want a roach as a roommate and science project growing from the ceiling.

If it were me and I was moving into Birmingham with no kids yet, I would live in Crestwood on the edge of Crestline. It's like a poor man's Mt. Brook. You are right near everything without the Mt. Brook cost of real estate and taxes. When kids come along, you can then move over into the Brook, or move to the suburbs.

My wife & I lived in Hoover, Vestavia, Southside, and Gardendale over a 10 year period. I'd never move back to Bham, but if I was forced to, I'd probably live in Homewood. If money is a concern, live in the Gardendale area & drive 10 miles to downtown. If sanity and wide open spaces are concerns, skip the whole Bham area. Never again for us.

It's hilarious when people talk about things they don't know about.

There are plenty of places to rent in cahaba heights, 280, vestavia, Hoover for $900ish for a 2 bedroom. You can rent a house in a nice area for $1000ish. There is no way in hell you could pay me to live in a cramped space downtown. Much less pay $1500 a month for that little space.

This thread ended up just as expected, but there is lots of good info here. It's all about what you want.

FWIW- we live in Crestwood with kids. Ours go to private school, but many of the families in the neighborhood send theirs to Avondale. Previously lived at the Summit (280) and Crestline Park. You couldn't pay me to live out 280 again and I'll never live in Mtn Brook.

Different strokes for different folks.

As a youngin I was told the exact opposite and followed the advice. I think about that conversation often, which ended with this memorable phrase, "There is no bad place to live in this country, but there are a lot of bad jobs."

Very glad I followed this. Its afforded me opportunities to live in many great places and see tremendous career growth.

so are you implying that Birmingham is a great place to live?

^^^^ this. Crestline is quiet with alot of young decent people. Cahaba heights is affordable too with a small town feel to it

Have you lived in Forest Park?

Birmingham metro area; yes.

I live on the edge of Forest Park and Highland park, and it's a great area.