Comments on: The Wealthy Neighborhoods of Birmingham, Alabama

By: keke

keke — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:04:52 +0000

I am a resident of Mountain Brook and I must say that it is a calm a tranquil place to reside…My children however do not attend the Mountain Brook school system as I am more please with the support and attentiveness provided to my children at the County school in which they attend. I am often asked why I choose to reside in Mountain Brook…when I was coming up as a child my mother provided what to me was a nice living accomodation, we lived in a nice subdivision, had our home built from the ground up, my mother has worked the same job for well over 30years making a good living, we never went hungry, or without. We were always clean and stayed dressed in the nicer clothes, and yet we were considered as poor…I was insulted to find out the I was considered to be poor. My mother raised 3 children, put us all thru college and managed to finish college herself and work full time and even picked up a second job as needed to provide for us and place us in the better magnet and more diversed schools. I decided I would relocate and move to the areas that I wanted my kids to attend school in, I dont want my kids to GO to school with the kids that have a better upbringing and COME back home to the “GHETTO” therefore I moved into a better neighborhood, affording my kids the ability to live amongst their peers and learn to reach the skies. I am giving my children every opportunity available for a successful future. I currently reside in a town home and after researching the properties I can say that this article is true and the properties are very affordable

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:04:30 +0000

Thank you for your data supported review of Birmingham communities. My husband and I purchased a Spanish Colonial Revival home in the Hollywood section of Homewood. Had it not been for the information you provided in this article, we would not have known about this incredible area. We feel very lucky to have found such a charming home in such a hip and diverse neighborhood.

By: George

George — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:14:51 +0000

“Traditionally the “upper-class” of any American city is made up of the upper .5%. Most of those people are found in Mountain Brook. Numerically they’d make up a relatively small percentage of the households in Mountain Brook. It is predominately upper-middle class.”…..

100% white and pretty racist for a well-educated white community. Probably many of them old money descendants of planters from the ante-bellum days..amd their ill-gotten wealth!

“This is a long way around saying that Trussville is made up of the upwardly mobile folks that left Huffman and Roebuck. Trussville represents the American dream in the sense that the families of this community have worked very hard to create a better life for themselves and their children. But make no mistake, they aren’t really hoping that their children will go to Harvard or Yale (or Duke or the University of the South). They’ll be happy with Alabama or Auburn. Another example of Trussville’s aspirations is the creation of their own school system. The people of Trussville understand that what is left of upward mobility in the United States (currently among the lowest in developed world) is dependent on a good education in preparation for college.”

…Dont see too many from Mountain Brook in Harvard or Yale either..plenty in Duke and Tulane. Too much competition from Asians and mixed Asian-white kids passing as white. 20% of the “white” kids in Harvard entering freshman class is mixed Asian-white kids…the kind that will be looked down on in contempt by the folks in Mountain Brook.

This is also a generatlization, but I think it is a very fair comment about Mountain Brook. Of course, Jefferson County is bankrupt these days and dont know how it will affect Mountain Brook.

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By: MS

MS — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:35:50 +0000

I currently reside in Homewood but have a contract on a home in Forest Park. Both are wonderful areas, very cozy, safe and diverse. My son attends the Altamont School and before that, Hilltop Montessori School in Mt Laurel. Both are excellent! I’m a Miami native and I’ve lived in Birmingham since 1992. It’s a great place to raise a child and I can’t say enough about the independent schools, family atmosphere & hospitality.

By: Stephen Higley

Stephen Higley — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:57:44 +0000

At the risk of insulting the good folk of Trussville, it is a community made up of what we call in academia “lower-middle class”. This is very offensive to many people that are not familiar with the way in which sociologists denote the class system in America. When I described the socio-economically similar Indianapolis suburb of Fishers as “lower-middle class”, it fomented a large out-pouring of indignation. The fact of the matter is that although Trussville has many very pleasant sub-divisions, no one in Birmingham that had any social class aspirations would choose Trussville.

Traditionally the “upper-class” of any American city is made up of the upper .5%. Most of those people are found in Mountain Brook. Numerically they’d make up a relatively small percentage of the households in Mountain Brook. It is predominately upper-middle class. Even Vestavia Hills is a combination of upper-middle and lower-middle. Hoover has everything from upper-middle (Greystone & parts of Southlake) to working class. (e.g. apartment complexes along Lorna Road.) Hoover is too large too easily characterize.

This is a long way around saying that Trussville is made up of the upwardly mobile folks that left Huffman and Roebuck. Trussville represents the American dream in the sense that the families of this community have worked very hard to create a better life for themselves and their children. But make no mistake, they aren’t really hoping that their children will go to Harvard or Yale (or Duke or the University of the South). They’ll be happy with Alabama or Auburn. Another example of Trussville’s aspirations is the creation of their own school system. The people of Trussville understand that what is left of upward mobility in the United States (currently among the lowest in developed world) is dependent on a good education in preparation for college.

Of course this is a generalization, but, I think a fair one

By: Candace

Candace — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:30:34 +0000

Any thoughts on Trussville?

By: George

George — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:03:32 +0000

“You can’t buy your way into the Mountain Brook Club.”

Agreed. You have to be white to enter Mountain Brook Club and preferably southern white!

By: Stephen Higley

Stephen Higley — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:51:15 +0000

“Snobby” is in the eye of the beholder. Anyone with enough money can buy into the Hollywood neighborhood of Homewood. You can’t buy your way into the Mountain Brook Club.

By: Edward

Edward — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:31:55 +0000

while lots of this is true, I must disagree with your summary of Homewood. i used to live there and while the range of wealth is greater than Mountain Brook, there are several very wealthy snobby residents, predominately in Hollywood.