Well, well, well. One of our illustrious members is going west, so let's take a look.
PRO - They actually have a bypass. Whereas 285 is the gateway to gridlock and the demarcation line separating the well-to-do (ITP) from the poor folk (OTP), Birmingham's 459 bypass is really out there and there's very little traffic. Stay off 280/31 going south in the afternoon, though. It is definitely Atlanta worthy.
CON - I once went to a meeting in the middle of the day in downtown Birmingham. (for a picture of the skyline, think Macon) I thought perhaps I had come on some sort of holiday at first. If daytime downtown is on life support, then nighttime B'ham is in the grave.
PRO - A very southern city
CON - A very southern city
PRO - Lots of SEC football talk. Paul Finebaum's show is the finest anywhere and almost exclusively football.
CON - And by football, I mean Alabama and Auburn. A year ago, Super Bowl week, the whole show was devoted to the anniversary of the Bear's death. And it was like, the 23rd anniversary. "Pawl, I steel 'member th' dayay. 'Twas een skool win m' mumma came up thar and they got me out th' claisroom and done tolt me. I run home cryin' 'Th' Bayer's done gone! Th' Bayer's done gone!'"
PRO - Nice little hills everywhere.
CON - This has the overall effect of creating a valley that feels like a sauna in the summer.
PRO - Preschool, recreation still pretty cheap.
CON - They haven't quite reached the level that one would call quality education. And that's coming from a UGA resident. I'm thinking Loganville-esque.
PRO - The south side is actually quite sophisticated, a lot like Atlanta's older, maintained neighborhoods. Mountain Brook is one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation.
CON - Everything else is essentially, Loganville-esque. And there's a definite snobbery there, that seems odd, but lots of southern, social types who still care about that kind of stuff.
PRO - Easy to get to the airport. In and out is a breeze.
CON - Currently, you can fly to Dallas, New Orleans, and Huntsville, non-stop.
All in all, very much like Atlanta was growing up. Very provincial, with a serious younger brother complex, but Neal Boortz says he wishes he could live there. They say that B'ham had an opportunity to be Atlanta in the 60s but passed on an airport and later, upgrades to Legion Field that would have made them a big league city.
4 comments:
Well, I guess I'll go ahead and step up.......It will be interesting to see how our Super G flag is received in the 'ham....I can tell you this....I have spent a single night in Birmingham since this whole thing happened....and the lead story was about a big rubber band ball named Charlie.......dear God, what have I done??????
Guess that's better than a lead story involving the latest, murder/bank robbery/sugarloaf prostitution ring.
Chunk
Few other positives about b'ham-
-short trip to Dawg-Tide game
-will have plenty of visitors, that same weekend
-central time zone, SC at 10am, football at 11am,
an extra hour on you return trip from athens
I think those are positive things!!!!
As a Birminghamian and friend of Tommy's, please allow me to offer my two cents:
I have to object to the comment re: quality education; the Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills public systems and the Briarwood Christian private system are as good as any you will find elsewhere
Agree with you on the airport thing however there isn't another city in the nation where the airport is comparable to Atlanta's...I've been to my fair share of airports and I would have to say that other than College Station, TX, B'ham is the worst I have ever been to...but there are more direct flights than those listed (Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, etc.)
I missed the story about the rubber band ball...there are many other Georgia fans...I would guess it is between Georgia and Tennessee as far as what school has the most fans here (other than Auburn and Alabama), all are tolerated...just don't call in to Finebaum and complain about the lack of 'other SEC school' coverage
Some other PROs and CONs:
CON - City of B'ham local government is a joke
PRO - Most of the 'Over-the-mountain' communites (i.e., Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, etc.) are incorporated and have fairly progressive local governments
PRO - the City of Hoover standard police car is a Chevy Tahoe
CON - drive the speed limit in Hoover...they are still trying to pay for them...speeds of up to 80 are tolerated on 459 ('the bypass') but it isn't like 285 where you will get run over if you're doing less than 90
CON - Vestavia Hills High School's mascot is the Rebel (like Ole Miss) and they still fly confederate flags
PRO - the community and school system of Vestavia Hills is nothing like the picture painted by MTV's 'Two-A-Days' (and the football team doesn't 'play dirty')
CON - no big league pro sports teams
PRO - all of the attention is on SEC sports
CON - the restaurant scene is certain to provide fewer options than in Atlanta (although there are some great local restaurants)
PRO - some of the best BBQ around
CON - it's not Atlanta
PRO - it's not Atlanta
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