Moving to B'ham - Need Help Understanding Commutes (Birmingham, Hoover: condo, new home)

[KarenLou]

It looks like my family may be relocating to Birmingham due to a job change for my husband, and we are having a time trying to figure out where to live. My husband's job will be in Mountain Brook on Office Park Drive. I have read other posts and know Mountain Brook comes highly recommended; however, it is important for us to have our children (currently elementary and middle school age) to have a Catholic education. Our second priority with regard to where to live would be my husband's commute to work. We would like for it to be 30 minutes or less. (We are currently in a DC suburb in Virginia and are soooo done with traffic!!!)

After researching the Catholic grade schools in the area, and speaking with staff at some of the area Catholic schools, our first choice of schools would be Our Lady of the Valley in Birmingham (looks to be in the Meadowbrook/Indian Springs Village area???), followed by Prince of Peace Catholic School in Hoover as an acceptable second choice. My hope was to live somewhere near enough to whichever school we choose so that my commute to the school (driving children and volunteering) would be less than 15 minutes, and preferably less than 10.

Herein lies the problem with Our Lady of The Valley. I had started to zero in on some neighborhoods based on their proximity to Our Lady of the Valley, namely the Indian Springs Villiage neighborhood and the Eagle Point neighborhood, and while these seem like they'll provide me with an easy commute to and from the school, from what I've picked up on through reading other posts here, it seems this would give my husband a pretty miserable commute to Mountain Brook (He would have to go up 280, which I think I've read is messy south of 459, right?) Here are the specific questions I'm looking to have answered:

(1) How long would a commute to and from Indian Springs Village to Mountain Brook be during normal the morning and evening rush hour times?

(2) How long would a commute to and from the Eagle Point neighborhood be during normal rush hours?

(3) If the answer to 1 & 2 make for commutes longer than 30 minutes, are there any nice neighborhoods that would give me a shortish commute (15 minutes or less, preferably 10) to Our Lady of the Valley School, while at the same time give my husband a commute of 30 minutes or less to and from his office in Mountain Brook?

** FYI...our housing price range would be around $375,000 - $475,000, and we would prefer a home no older than about 20 - 25 years old, with a nice size yard (0.5 acres - 1.0 acres) **

If the answer to 3 above is not possible, an alternative I am considering is sending my children to Prince of Peace Catholic school in Hoover, but I am not sure if we will face the same dilemma there with my husband's commute. Again, I would want to be able to get to the school less than 15 minutes from wherever we live. In Hoover, there are two neighborhoods very close to Prince of Peace that piqued my interest: Trace Crossing and Lake Crest.

(1) How long of a commute would it be for my husband from these neighborhoods to his job in Mountain Brook (looks like he would go 459 till it hits 280, and then 280 to Mountain Brook?)

(2) Again, if the answer to the above question makes for commutes longer than 30 minutes for my husband, are there any nice neighborhoods that would give me a shortish commute to Prince of Peace School, while at the same time give my husband a commute of 30 minutes or less to and from his office in Mountain Brook?

Didn't mean for this post to go on for so long, so thanks if you stuck with it! Any insight anyone can give me on this would be much appreciated. We are very much looking forward to our move to Birmingham! I went to high school near Anniston, AL and got my degree from Jacksonville State University. I have been away from the South for almost 15 years and am exciting about returning to AL!

[Tourian]

Indian springs or Eagld Ridge is going to take at least 30 mins in rush hour. The only nice neighborhood that has readily accessible to mountain brook is Vestavia with either Cahaba heights or maybe Liberty Park.

All those other places you mention involve too many potential bottle necks to not allow for 30 min to 45+ min commute every morning and evening.

[bluebeard]

I suppose you could live on the 65 side of Indian Springs and he could commute up 65 and cut over on 149 or something. I'm not sure he'd save a ton of time, others can comment.
I think you just have to make a choice over having a longer commute with that particular school vs. choosing a different school that's not down 280 or 65. Even if the commute were to currently be <30 minutes, in that area things are likely to get better before they get worse in the future. I know there's Our Lady of Sorrows and John Carroll closer in.

[cpg35223]

I think OLS in Homewood or Prince of Peace would be an excellent option for parochial schools. Then you could live in Ross Bridge and still make that 30 minute commute. But Indian Springs would lie far, far outside the 30-minute commute in rush hour.

Bluff Park has a good quality of life, and Homewood's is excellent. Lots of charm and pedestrian-friendly streets there. However, the homes are going to be older. So you'll have to have a trade-off: Older charming homes within five minutes of husband's office or newer homes a good hour or more away during rush hour. If neither of those appeal to you, then Ross Bridge then would be the best option. It's a very good new home community with good amenities -- plus it's a hop, skip, and jump from Prince of Peace and John Carroll. Your husband could drive down Lakeshore Drive and be at work in 20 minutes, tops.

Here's the skinny on them and, no, I'm not a realtor: http://www.rossbridge.com

[jakabedy]

I pretty much agree with what cpg3523 says. And I'm looking forward a bit, to when your kids will be in high school (if you're in Birmingham that long). Living in Ross Bridge would be super convenient to both Prince of Peace and John Carroll, without you having to get in a bunch of traffic (you won't even have to cross 65). And your DH's commute will avoid 280 almost entirely. Ross Bridge can seem a bit "remote" if you're used to a more congested area, but people who live there seem to love it. Once you wind your way out of the neighborhood, you're minutes from the Galleria area in Hoover, or the Wildwood/Brookwood Mall areas in Homewood.

I think the oldest homes in Ross Bridge are probably 12-15 years old, and they are still building. Much of Ross Bridge is in the New Urbanist vein, which focuses on walkability, which means small lots. There are sections there with larger lots, but I don't know that you'll get anything close to an acre. However, there isn't much at all in Homewood, Vestavia or Mt. Brook built in the last 20-25 years. Anything that new in those areas is typically an oversized McSomething that went in where something much smaller was torn down, or a condo/cluster home-type development with a very tiny yard and a very high price tag.

You mentioned Trace Crossings and Lake Crest. Both can be nice, but will put you a bit further away from the schools and your husband definitely farther away from work. specially Trace Crossings; depending on how "deep" you live in the development, it can take a while just to get out of there.

[KarenLou]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses! I will look into Our Lady of Sorrows School as an option, and the neighborhoods mentioned around there and my husband's work. For some reason I don't remember coming across that school in my search. I will also explore Ross Bridge and Bluff Park as options if we still feel compelled toward Prince of Peace.

I guess no matter where you live it's about setting priorities, and making concessions when necessary. When we moved to DC we opted for a smaller, older house on a smaller lot in order to be able to afford to live inside the beltway and ensure a manageable commute (45 minutes vs. over an hour) so we are used to compromising. I just hope the traffic around town in the area of Birmingham we end up settling doesn't have the same annoying, ongoing Northern Virginia traffic headaches! We were really hoping that with our move to Birmingham we would not have to deal with the random traffic issues we were constantly dealing with in and around DC.

[Tourian]

280 is really the only "big city" trouble area we have. Most other areas are accessible with 15-25 min commutes to practically anywhere in the city.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by Tourian

280 is really the only "big city" trouble area we have. Most other areas are accessible with 15-25 min commutes to practically anywhere in the city.

He's right. With the exception of 280, driving around in Birmingham is a breeze compared to DC.

[cpg35223]

Originally Posted by KarenLou

Thanks everyone for the very helpful responses! I will look into Our Lady of Sorrows School as an option, and the neighborhoods mentioned around there and my husband's work. For some reason I don't remember coming across that school in my search. I will also explore Ross Bridge and Bluff Park as options if we still feel compelled toward Prince of Peace.

I guess no matter where you live it's about setting priorities, and making concessions when necessary. When we moved to DC we opted for a smaller, older house on a smaller lot in order to be able to afford to live inside the beltway and ensure a manageable commute (45 minutes vs. over an hour) so we are used to compromising. I just hope the traffic around town in the area of Birmingham we end up settling doesn't have the same annoying, ongoing Northern Virginia traffic headaches! We were really hoping that with our move to Birmingham we would not have to deal with the random traffic issues we were constantly dealing with in and around DC.

Well, I live in Mountain Brook which is a very nice place, but Homewood wins hands down for sheer livability, particularly in the mile radius around OLS. Some neighborhoods to check out include Hollywood and Edgewood. Plus it would be about five minutes from Hubby's office.

Here's the website for OLS. My BIL and SIL sent their kiddos there and really liked it:

http://www.olsschool.com

Also, if you're really hard-core with habited nuns complete with some rather Spartan ideas on education, there's always St. Rose Academy which is run by the Dominican sisters. Not just Dominican sisters, but the kind who wear barbed wire next to the skin and kill rats with their teeth. Our kids spent six-seven years there until one particularly severe headmaster just drove us over the edge.

Here's the St. Rose website, if you dare: http://www.saintroseacademy.com

[KarenLou]

Thanks for the additional responses, and especially for including links for me.