Moving to Birmingham, AL need advice!

sproutsfriend · Mar 7, 2005

Don't live near Hwy 280.

CardioTrans, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2005

Trussville or Gardendale would be good places. They both take about 25-30 min to get into downtown depending on traffic. I agree with staying away from 280 area. Very expensive and TONS of traffic, it will take you 45 min to go 4 miles! Hope this helps.

WAREAGLE · Mar 8, 2005

I will be moving to Birmingham, AL to attend UAB's anesthesia program this fall and need to find a place to live. I am looking to buy a house near the campus (atleast within 15-20 driving minutes or closer). If you have any knowledge of good neighborhoods in this area please let me know. Thanks in advance.

We lived in Helena, Al & it is a nice area. Pelham is in that direction as well. The housing costs are rapidly going up so even 15-30 mins away can be costly. We loved helena, but the traffic during rush hour is still bad. Not as bad as Hwy 280-it is the worst so stay away! But, any area you live in right outside of bham will be hard to get anywhere fast 7-8 am & 5-6 pm. It took me 20 min to get to work in the morning at 630 & anywhere from 45-90 min to get home in 5 oclock traffic. Anyway, everthing is out of sight right downtown & immediately surrounding. Try Fultondale-they were building some nice homes from 130-400 thousand & it is right off the interstate north of UAB. Gardendale is also near there. These two are probably the best for price & traffic flow right now. However, Hoover, Helena, & Pelham are pretty nice-Hoover is pricey. They are all south of UAB & you can get downtown by many routes. Trussville is nice, but it is getting expensive as well. You may ask the program director or someone in the program that may be graduating if they want to sell or rent their house or townhome.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions about specific areas or neighborhoods that I may can help you with.

goodluck!!

Jennifer

SleepyRN2B · Mar 8, 2005

I live in Gardendale....Ive been here 25 years... very quite .. 15 minutes from school unless you hit traffic... homes and apartments are reasonable... Woodbrook Apartments are very nice.... Unbelievable church.."Gardendale First Baptist Church"... don't live on 280 unless you want an hour drive one way...

jrec · Mar 8, 2005

Thank you all so much for your replies. My husband and I are moving from the Atlanta area and know that location is everything when it comes to traffic. We were in B'ham this past weekend and liked the Crestwood area...east of the city and very close to UAB. How would the traffic be from there? And possibly Pleasant grove and Hoover. We looked at a few houses in Adamsville, Gardendale, Irondale and etc but didn't have much luck. My biggest concern is the traffic...I don't want to be stuck in the car 45 min everyday. Any thoughts on the areas mentioned? Thanks!

CardioTrans, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2005

Hoover traffic can be horrific. It has one of the larger malls there, so especially around Christmas. Its another area that can take 45 min to go a short distance. Vestavia and Mtn Brook around the Cahaba Heights area is very nice, might be a bit pricy, but just over the mtn from downtown. Pleasant Grove is a nice quiet area as well, very "country" feel. Most of my family live there. You might still run into a bit of traffic on I 59 in the mornings coming into town. On a good traffic day, might take 20 min to get to UAB. That help any??

SleepyRN2B · Mar 9, 2005

Irondale, Adamsville :stone :confused: :crying2:

need I say more

vaRN · Mar 11, 2005

Lived in B'ham all my life. Just moved to TX for CRNA school. Be careful with Crestwood, lived there at one time and the crime rate was high and I did not feel safe most of the time. Hoover- wonderful but traffic is an issue, Pelham-my favorite area-but again a traffic issue at times, Homewood--convenient but pricey, Mountain Brook--really pricey, Trussville-ok but the drive stinks, Helena is nice but stay away from Bessemer. The 280 area is a nightmare, lived there for 3 months and had to escape!!! If you have any questions about certain areas I know the town very well and can probably help with certain aspects of the community you are interested in. Most of my family is spread out around the city. I moved to TX last June and I am moving to Augusta, GA this June for the clinical portion of my program so I know how stressful relocating can be.

I love Birmingham and miss it very much! Good luck!

Oh, and as a 2002 grad of UAB I have a little advice. If you are given the opportunity to get in the deck close to school--TAKE IT no matter what the cost!! It will be worth it, parking is terrible!

INFJ · Mar 11, 2005

I grew up in Birmingham...I agree with most of what the other people are saying. Homewood is a great, safe, and convenient place. Although, like someone else mentioned, it is expensive. Things are really booming out in the Pelham area, and really, once you got on the interstate it is not a horrible drive. I lived in Alabaster/Pelham area when I was in graduate school.

If you have any questions, I would be glad to help any way that I can!

Amy :)

deke · Mar 12, 2005

I really can't guide you as to where to live but I can talk about the drive in.

I commuted to anesthesia school from Tuscaloosa which is an hour west of Birmingham. Pleasant Grove is in that direction. Driving in on I 20-59 from that direction is not bad at all. Many times class starts at 0900 and you will miss the 0800 traffic at the junction (where I65 meets I20-59).

As far as clinicals starting, there just isn't much traffic on the road at that time of the am. When we drove in to school we may experience an occasional slow down as we approached the junction but never were we in standstill and we never were late for class or anything like that. Even if you do get caught in traffic, the instructors are very understanding and they have been caught in traffic too. As far as parking and walking to class, it's not that bad either. I will say this, for a 0900 class I would arrive early b/c the lot fills for that time and your walk can increase exponentially if you know what I mean.

Hope I was of some help. By the way, I have been to Pleasant Grove and it is a nice area from what I saw of it. I was at the little league baseball park and there seemed to be a nice atmosphere there.

jrec · Mar 13, 2005

Thank you all so much for your advice. We are still looking. My question is....Where are all of the inexpensive homes that are close to the interstate, take less than 15-20 min to get to UAB, have a big yard and nearby park for the dogs and are really nice!! :) :chuckle My husband and I are coming to B'ham again in the next few weeks to try and scope out the area. I am still interested in Crestwood/Avondale although someone said it seemed unsafe when they lived there. When we drove through looking at homes it seemed very quite, lots of the houses have been remodled, young and old people were out walking their dogs and running and most of the houses were somewhat affordable in the low 200's or high 190's. I felt pretty safe. Maybe the further out you go it gets worse? Pleasant Grove and Pelham are still in the running although I'm thinking that may be too far out because I seriously do not want to drive more than 20 minutes to school. Please keep the postings on good/bad neighborhoods for people and dogs (we have 3), and traffic and the drive in from different areas coming. It is much appreciated. Thanks again to all who have posted already!-jenn