How many of you baws been to Birmingham?

There's been a lot of threads here lately bashing Louisiana, and while I like a few aspects of living here, I also have been known to publicly hate on Baton Rouge. Aside from LSU, I do. It's an ugly place with horrendous traffic. The only city in LA that really has my heart is New Orleans. It's a shithole, but it also has a lot of charm, culture, and many unique things about it. I could be happy there or on the North Shore. I have spent 10+ years here, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life here. I just feel other places have more to offer and are more beautiful and just better. That's my opinion, and others disagree.

I grew up in Birmingham. Most people I know shite on Alabama, but most of my friends in LA have never spent much time in Birmingham, either. If all I saw was Montgomery and Mobile, I wouldn't think highly of Alabama. However, Birmingham (the nicer suburbs south, in particular), is not hick and country like the stereotype portrays. It is also underrated n terms of beauty IMO. It is where the first ridges of the Appalachians originate. The expansive area of upper middle class housing goes on and on for many miles and neighborhoods. I also don't think there is a better place to start a road trip (5 hrs from NOLA, 4 from Destin, 2 from Atlanta, 2.5 from Nashville, and 3.5 from the Smoky Mountains). Weather is a bit cooler and less humid, but there usually is just enough snow to have some fun every year and there are some good fall colors. The pictures I have are either from my old house and old neighborhood. I'm glad it's where I grew up. I got to hike and explore countless woods instead of just Jones creek and the trash-filled coulees. Anyway, I hope all of you get the chance to spend some time in the nicer burbs like Mountain Brook and Hoover. I am looking to move back there and leave Baton Rouge and its shitty traffic forever.