Birmingham is number 1 on list of most affordable cities (Vestavia Hills: transplants, sales)

[spidac]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americ...134900449.html

[205Bhamurbanite]

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[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by Left Seat A320

Being affordable is not the same as desirable, well-run, progressive or anything else. There is always a reason why things are "cheaper", whether you're talking about food, clothes or vehicles. Being cheaper can also mean you're getting less. Conflating affordability with "quality" can be quite hazardous to your health and well-being.


Birmingham is certainly cheaper, but it's also the county seat to Jefferson County which filed one of the largest municipal/county bankruptcies in American history.


As a pilot, I fly in and out of Birmingham but I would not likely choose Birmingham to live in and move my family to. Not likely at all. There are just too many other viable and better options. Sometimes you pay for what you get, but certainly not all the time of course.


Memphis TN made the list as being more affordable as well. I darn sure wouldn't live in Memphis either.


Buffalo NY made the list too. Enough said.

Left seat-what areas would you consider as viable options?

[MagicCityMick]

Nice distinction, imo. May serve to attract some to the area. Highly underrated and affordable city with some of America's nicest and most proximal suburbs.

You have to marvel at the en vougeness of hating on Birmingham. People can't stand that it's progressing and will refuse to give it credit for doing so.

[Litefoot]

Wonder why Detroit is not on the list? Houses for a mere $500.00....... LOL

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by Litefoot

Wonder why Detroit is not on the list? Houses for a mere $500.00....... LOL

After reading the article it seems to me they don't just count the city limits, but the surrounding burbs as well. So, you can't get a $500 house in Detroit's high end suburbs. Neither can you here.

[JS20000]

I myself have lived in eight states across the country and I will honestly say that Birmingham is indeed very affordable (in the context of property values, of course). A $400k home in Vestavia Hills will easily surpass $1.3M on Long Island or in Southern California (which is why the few outsiders that choose Alabama for their retirement pay cash). You will pay $700k for a home on Long Island that will sell for $120-$130k in Birmingham. That is the extreme of course, but even in a place such as Milwaukee (a city in similar social/economic trouble) the property values are still slightly higher. Where Milwaukee wins out is in their sales tax (when I lived there it was 5.6%). No grocery tax. The state income tax is slightly greater than Alabama's but the income threshold (the level at which the income tax is withheld) is higher. There are places in Florida where a house with no needed renovations can be had for $60k-$80k (but it could be situated next to a very large trailer park (trailer parks abound in Florida)); the housing crisis hit Florida very hard. Knoxville, TN (yet another place I've lived) is very comparable to Birmingham in terms of property values but job opportunities are even more scarce in that region (very scenic though). Almost the entire state of Ohio can be compared in this way to Birmingham.

It is true that many factors are at play in assessing the "affordability" of an area; I have never read such articles that would build up a city by mentioning its low property values and favorable climate and then in the next sentence, mention all the crime and political corruption-that never happens. Social/economic turmoil is a systemic issue that affects all regions of the country; some are affected in greater gradations than others (depending on the dominant industry that exists/did exist there). Every city-data forum for every city in the US will have regular posters that will spill a litany of things that are wrong with their city, raising the "fear factor" of these regions to hyperbole; you actually visit these places and they are no better or worse than anywhere else you've been (there are exceptions for the cities on the "Most Dangerous" list).

In short, Birmingham, in addition to its relative affordability (not including utilities or sales tax) does win out with regards to its climate (which most regions in the North can not offer), it's topography (which Florida/East Texas can not offer), and job opportunities, primarily in health care/medical or banking (which most areas in upper Appalachia can not offer). The high crime areas are not areas to be settled by those that have migrated to Birmingham for a "career" anyway (most never even see these areas except at 60mph from the interstate). The high crime in Birmingham historically speaking is mostly contained within Jones Valley (the spillover into Roebuck/Huffman/CenterPoint stems primarily from the dispersal of the former residents of housing projects in Ensley and Central City).

[205Bhamurbanite]

They trying to pass the charter school bill add in Bham being the most affordable place you now transplants will flock here. All I see is out of state licence plates on the road around BHAM nowto

[205Bhamurbanite]

Tourian , you think something big is coming since this here City, merchants association to build 160-space parking lot in Avondale | AL.com is planned?

[steveklein]

Would you please stop? It is a parking lot for an area that could use additional parking.