re: Birmingham Residents

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I'm commuting to Vance most days

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Honestly, the north side of downtown Birmingham would work pretty well for you. It takes 2 turns to get from my place to 20/59 (left on Richard Arrington, left onto 20/59).

Hoover would be good too because you can just hop on 459.

The problem with the north side may be your rent. The good places are:
the lofts in the loft district-there are many options just look on Zillow (typically rent ~$1,200)
Blach's lofts (rent for >$1,000)
City Federal (maybe can get a one bedroom ~$1,000)
Watts Towers (can get 1 bedroom for ~$1,000)
Burger Phillips - just turned into condos. May still be able to rent one for ~$1,000
Phoenix Lofts- can probably rent for ~$1,000

If you want to be in a safe area downtown, the generally delineation is east of 65, south of 20/59, west of 31/280, and north of University (this restriction is looser).

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I am 27 And a single young professional

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Don't live in Hoover. It's a strip mall suburb filled with families.

Highland Park, Forest Park, Avondale, and Crestwood is where you need to look. Avondale can get pretty sketchy in some areas, but it is the hip place in town right now. One of the downtown lofts is decent as well. Easy from any of those areas to hop on I-20 and be in Vance in 30-45 minutes, and they're all a reverse commute to Hoover.

Seriously, don't live in Hoover. You'll be miserable.

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Don't live in Hoover. It's a strip mall suburb filled with families.

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I lived in Hoover as a single and I had a blast. It wasn't nearly as bad as you're making it out to be and the area is nice. Also, if you live in the Hoover city limits you can use the Hoover Rec Center which is an amazing gym facility for super cheap ($22/month for singles). LINK

That was before Birmingham started trying to make a decent downtown area so I would definitely not make that decision today, but still it's a nice area.

With a family I'm living in Bluff Park now and it's awesome. Definitely the best place for families.

English Village

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I lived in Hoover as a single and I had a blast

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I mean, you could have a blast anywhere in town if you play your cards right. Hoover though is geared, and governed, towards families.

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it's a nice area.

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The problem with Hoover is it is so spread out, so saying it is a nice area doesn't mean much. There are nice areas of it, and probably more nice areas than not so nice areas. But I would never recommend a single 27 year old male move there.

I moved to Birmingham when I was 26 and single and lived in Highland Park and worked in Hoover. It was depressing how boring Hoover seemed when I went to work everyday.

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English Village

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Lived there for a few years. Highly recommend.

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Rent: $1000 or less (I'm cheap and like to save)
I prefer an apartment (no need for a house right now)
Single guy with no family (being decently close to a night scene would be great)
My job requires quite a bit of travel so being close to the airport would be a plus.
I visit the Mercedes plant (Vance) quite a bit.
Main office is in Hoover (we only show up on Fridays).

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River Place on the Cahaba Apts.

They are in a GREAT spot, nestled in a forest right by the river. It is a 5-10 minute commute to Hoover. It is 2 minutes from the Summit, 10 from downtown(On a good traffic day) and they are well in your budget. We lived there for 2 years and loved it. It is literally the perfect distance from everything, yet you almost feel like you are living in the mountains.

There are better apts sure, but for quality, price, and travel distance for where you work and everything you want on a daily basis. Nothing beats them, imo. For your price range that is. There are definitely places I would rather live, but save yourself some cash.

edit: For a 3 bedroom, 1500 Sqft, we paid $699/month. They've gone up a bit, but 1 bedrooms would still be under $600. That doesn't include power, or cable...etc. Just the apt and water, unless they changed things.

edit #2: It is now apparently called "The Kenzie"(wtf?) Its on Caldwell Mill road right on the Cahaba River.

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I'll be honest, some of the responses in here are quite perplexing.

OP is 27 and single. He's looking for nightlife and skanks/ Quit telling him to live on 280 and in Hoover. Those are for when you're married and 40.

OP - Crestline, Crestwood, Forest Park, Highland Park, Avondale or downtown.

Highland Park has the trashy whores.
Crestline/Crestwood has the Mt. Brook skanks
Downtown is a mixed bag


Enjoy

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100% this. OP certainly could go live in Hoover and enjoy his time there...But for specifically a 27 year old male quite frankly there are just better options.

I think "I love Bama" is spot on with the recommendations.

My sister just moved into a house in crestwood and their rent is 1400 a month for a 3bed 2 bath. Great location (5 minutes from downtown) and it had a huge backyard. So if you could get some roommates that would be a great option. Or of course just a 1 person apartment if you can't find roommates.

Can't go wrong with any of those places listed though in my opinion. I am moving back to Birmingham soon and those are basically all the areas I will be looking at.

Where are some good places to go out in Homewood? I go there for lunch quite often but I've never gone out over there.

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Where are some good places to go out in Homewood?

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Man it has been awhile since I went out in Homewood (the Samford years). We always went to the Horse's Tail aka Oak Hill Bar. I do not even know what the average patron there is like anymore.