Birmingham's high quality of life has been recognized
nationally for many years, most recently by the U.S. Conference of Mayors which awarded
Birmingham its Most Livable City designation.
Birmingham is located in north central Alabama, near the southern terminus of the Appalachian Mountains. The region contains numerous woodlands, lakes, and rivers with abundant and diverse wildlife. Hiking, biking, backpacking, climbing, fishing, and boating are common pastimes and can be enjoyed at many area locations including Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama's largest state park located 25 minutes south of UAB. Secluded natural areas can even be found within the Birmingham city limits at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center.
Birmingham's high quality of life has been recognized
nationally for many years, most recently by the U.S. Conference of Mayors which awarded
Birmingham its Most Livable City designation.
Because of its rapid growth in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, Birmingham has an international flavor and ethnic diversity that are unusual in the
South. This diversity has been enhanced in the last two decades by the phenomenal growth
of UAB.
The cost of living in Birmingham compares very favorably
to cities in other regions of the country. According to a recent American Chamber of
Commerce report on 246 U.S. cities, Birmingham is below the national average in cost of
grocery items, housing, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services;
this places Birmingham below the cost of living in most other major U.S. cities.
U.S. News and World Report
recently ranked Birmingham in the top five in the U.S. among cities where business is
best.
Health care and education have replaced other types of
industry as Birmingham's economic base, and UAB is now the city's leading employer.
Birmingham's economy is fully diversified, with rapid growth in service; financial, insurance
and real estate; wholesale trade; construction; and research fields.
Construction is thriving in Birmingham, with rapid
suburban growth and massive revitalization and renovation of historic structures downtown.
Construction completed in 1991 totaled $608.2 million.
Birmingham is the leading city in a state that's estimated to
have 10 percent of the nation's natural resources and 10 percent of the nation's navigable
waterways.
Birmingham is in the geographic heart of the
Southeast--two-and-a-half hours by interstate from Atlanta, four hours from Nashville, six
hours from New Orleans, five hours from the Smoky Mountains, and five hours from the
beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Birmingham lies within 500 miles of 60 percent of the
nation's population.
UAB
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