Birmingham Transplant Revolution (Huntsville, Anniston, Athens: live, rated, golf)

[205Bhamurbanite]

Are you serious ? Why can't a normal citizen write on here the logical or etc ? I must be paid by the city council lol really? Where is my check then since you are making assumptions? BHAM IS HAPPENING face it .

[Southlander]

I hope that an employee of the chamber of commerce would correct spelling and grammar!

[TN2HSV]

Originally Posted by Southlander

I hope that an employee of the chamber of commerce would correct spelling and grammar!

I don't think he or she's an employee....sounds more like someone trying to be sarcastic.
"B'HAM is happening!"

[205Bhamurbanite]

Chicago dude ion really don't know what to say smh . I may stay off this B.S for a min cause of the misconceptions on here.

[TN2HSV]

First disclaimer....I live in Huntsville/Madison area and have never lived in B'ham, although my husband grew up there.

Maybe B'ham needs to be comfortable in its own skin. Comfortable doesn't mean complacent; but rather "this is who/what we are and we are OK with it". Don't try to compete with bigger cities/markets, just be Birmingham and proud of it.

It reminds me of Chattanooga in the 1990's. I lived there from 1992-1998, and I swear....that town wanted to be part of Atlanta SO bad, it was pathetic. It was a town with a self-esteem problem, looking for their place to fit in. Nashville is the capital and has the music scene; Knoxville is the home of UT & all things Big Orange; Memphis has its own vibe with the river, Beale St, Elvis, etc. And then there was Chattanooga......what could you say about Chattanooga? It was just kind of there...right on the GA border, just barely inside the Eastern time zone. The local news talked more about things going on in North GA and Atlanta than anything in TN unless it was local. But I think with all the revitalization of downtown, and now North of the river, the city is feeling more comfortable. It's kind of become a weekend getaway destination city, with all the things to do in close proximity to one another.

I think B'ham is similar to Chattanooga. Huntsville is the "Rocket City" and has all the military/NASA stuff going on; Montgomery is the state capital (and that's about all), and Mobile is a different animal b/c it's on the Gulf. Then you have Birmingham. Who does B'ham want to be?

I think B'ham is a very pretty city when it comes to topography....much prettier IMO than HSV. B'ham has hills and ridges and lots of treed neighborhoods. But unlike most cities of a certain size, there is no river front in B'ham to concentrate things around. Think about it, most major cities are on (or very close to) a river.

Without attractions to draw visitors/tourists (like Chattanooga has developed), or major employers expanding or moving to B'ham, what exactly would draw someone to visit? I've never heard anyone say "we're taking a weekend getaway trip to B'ham".

[bigstick]

Originally Posted by Chicagoon

If he thinks "BHAM is happening", he could not have lived anywhere else in this nation to see and participate in a truly "happening" environment. Maybe he's excited about Birmingham and trying to convince other readers about his own narrow perspective/prism. He's fine to do that, it just looks highly bogus and contrived to any reasonable reader. It sounds a bit clownish to me.

Delusional is more like it..

[Tourian]

Sometimes I wonder when people post things like this, are they really being sincere, or do they just think its the cool thing to do - and that is, be negative and aloof about something when all they'd have to do is the tiniest bit of investigating. That is IF they really want to know the answer and not just try to pile on to a topic that has been beaten to death.

I'll play along for now, but I know what happens next. I'll be told about all the great draws and goings on in every other place in the galaxy that is bigger and better. However, the following question leads me to believe that the poster is asking if there are ANY DRAWS. So here goes...

Originally Posted by TN2HSV

Without attractions to draw visitors/tourists (like Chattanooga has developed), or major employers expanding or moving to B'ham, what exactly would draw someone to visit? I've never heard anyone say "we're taking a weekend getaway trip to B'ham".

Here is a link to the biggest sporting events here and how they rank and the economic impact:

Where Birmingham stands with five of its big sporting events - Birmingham Business Journal

People from all around the country (and world) come to the Indy and Talladega races, so if you hung out with some of them, you'd hear of "a weekend trip to B'ham." The Porsche school draws people from all over the globe.

Birmingham Zoo breaks attendance record for third-straight year | AL.com

The zoo, the botanical gardens and the McWane center are big draws for the kids and parents alike.

Maybe you've heard of the Galleria and the Summit, which are the biggest shopping draws in the state.

UAB, Regions, the Mercedes and Honda plants are all growing and adding employees, they have support and competing industries that are clustered around them.

And the Civil Rights museum, the art museum, Splash Adventure and the city's history are also a draw for visitors.

Golf is a big deal. You've got the Regions classic and the Roger Trent Jones trail. The Classic attracts pros and celebs alike.

The music scene is growing. Plenty of venues, including one off the wall place Gip's Place that attracts people from around the country.

I'm sure leaving out a bunch, but...I know how this is going to go...

[TN2HSV]

I meant things that make B'ham unique.....Civil Rights museum would be one, The Vulcan (I've been there a couple of times). You didn't mention the Barber Motorcycle museum, that's unique. And I've even been there!

Talladega is definitely unique and a destination, but it isn't in B'ham. Although I realize the area gets a huge economic impact from it. (I've even been to the spring Talladega race. Definitely an experience....once was enough.)

The other things you mentioned are things that every other city the size of B'ham has (zoo, botanical garden, malls, museums) so they aren't unique to B'ham.

And yes, I've been to the Galleria and the Summit, more than once. They are shopping centers. Nothing special about that.

What is the unique identifier, the "essence" of Birmingham? The thing that you HAVE TO take your out-of-town guests to see when they come visit.

Like......
Graceland or Beale St in Memphis
Lookout Mtn or TN Aquarium in Chattanooga
Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

I asked my husband and he said "I don't know....the Vulcan, I guess"

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by TN2HSV

I meant things that make B'ham unique.....Civil Rights museum would be one, The Vulcan (I've been there a couple of times).

Talladega is definitely unique and a destination, but it isn't in B'ham. Although I realize the area gets a huge economic impact from it. (I've even been to the spring Talladega race. Definitely an experience....once was enough.)

My list included several unique attractions. Talladega is in our metro area.

http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/econ...M200US142M.pdf

The other things you mentioned are things that every other city the size of B'ham has (zoo, botanical garden, malls, museums) so they aren't unique to B'ham.

And yes, I've been to the Galleria and the Summit, more than once. They are shopping centers. Nothing special about that.

What is the unique identifier, the "icon" of Birmingham? The thing that you HAVE TO take your out-of-town guests to see when they come visit.

Yeah, well the word unique didn't appear in your post, and particularly not in the part I cut out. But for a long time the city's prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement has been the identifier, along with its nickname "The Magic City" and its quick growth due to the steel industry.

There's not just one touristy-trap, gimmick location. And there are things to explore for lots of different backgrounds and tastes and interests. You husband sounds like he's on the ball for sure.

[Tourian]

World Games competition Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUH0gf-P7b4

World Games "One" Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlsUPcFA1no

Maybe Parkside or Uptown will be that "trendy unique place" that defines the city soon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyXtqD0eYjo

The Powell Steam Plant could be the anchor of that... There's a nice video of that vision embedded in this link:
http://powellsteamplant.com/#vision