**The Best Thing About Birmingham?** 

Cheap housing and short commutes to a buzzy little city. There are baseball games, breweries, art, old theaters and a foodie scene worthy of national attention. 

Birmingham is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, which lends itself to some pretty incredible scenery and there’s lots of good, live music being played in the plentiful venues, juke joints and festivals. 


**The Worst Thing About Birmingham?** 

Local, county and state government is a mess. While Birmingham is a liberal bastion and has reinvented itself after a painful and ugly past, politics and corruption can still be problematic and transplants are not as common as some other southern cities so the welcome may not be quite as warm. But the summers certainly are hot and humid. If you get even just a little bit outside the city, life is going to slow to a Pabst-swilling crawl.


**How You Living?** 

B’ham is a city of distinctive neighborhoods—the bustling Southside with its towering buildings and the UAB campus; industrial downtown, now being renovated into lofts and cool restaurants; hipster-centric Avondale with its artisanal breweries and coffee shops all accessible by foot. 

With about a million people in the metro area and just over 200,000 in the city itself, Birmingham’s big enough to have an international airport, The Birmingham Museum of art and its own version of the High Line (Railroad Park) and a bustling food hall (Pitzitz.)  It’s small enough to be much more affordable than Atlanta or New Orleans. A five to fifteen minute commute is about all you need to live, work and play in Birmingham. 

Homewood is the best of liberal Birmingham but more expensive and the housing market there is very competitive for renters and/or buyers. A similar vibe can be had in Crestwood, Forest Park and/or parts of Avondale.

The Atomic Lounge is James Beard noteworthy for its crafty/wacky cocktails, like the Sex Panther, an old-fashioned riff made with bourbon, rum and Cynar and garnished with a temporary panther tattoo, all while wearing one of the full-body animal costumes the bar keeps available upon request.


**Why You Should Move Here Now?** 

Birmingham threads a tight needle: It’s small, but diverse. Charming, but sophisticated. The city hasn’t grown so fast that there’s outward sprawl. Entrepreneurs and residents can still grab historic downtown factory space and other creative space affordably.


Birmingham

Magic City

**The Best Thing About Montgomery?** - Warm Weather

I feel like this might be cheating, and something people might pick for other southern cities, but the things Montgomery has to offer makes the weather seem even better. With summer highs usually hovering around the high 80s and winter highs in the 50s, you’re bound to find at least a few good days to get outside every week of the year. From outdoor concerts, to family trips to the zoo, to hiking and biking down the miles and miles of park trails, you’ll never run out of ways to enjoy the warm weather in Montgomery!

**The Worst Thing About Montgomery** - Schools

 If you can afford to send your kids to private schools, you’ll probably be fine, but for the rest of the city, maybe not so much. The public schools are known for being subpar. 

**How You Living?** - Somewhat Suburban

The greatest growths in population here in recent years have been in areas away from downtown and just outside the city. If you’re looking to move to the Montgomery area, most recommend looking in areas like Millbrook, Prattville and Pike Road just outside the city., where public schools are rated better, crime rates are lower and you’re close enough to check out the great outdoors and downtown nightlife. Housing prices in most of these suburban hotspots are still below the national average, and you’re probably gonna want a car no matter where you live due to the sprawl, so commuting in doesn’t make that big of a difference.

**Why You Should Move Here Now?** - Improving Economy

That growth in the area is no accident. Some smaller universities in the area provide a solid job base and larger employers like Hyundai, Maxwell Air Force Base and Koch Foods have helped drive growth as well. With low cost of living, job opportunities, great weather, and a ton of things to do, now is a great time to take a look at Montgomery.


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