By David Sher
Before people ever set foot in Birmingham, they are making decisions about us.
Should I move my family to Birmingham?
Should I relocate or start a business there?
Should I visit?
For years, many of those people turned to Google.
That has not always been good for Birmingham.
Google often focuses only on the City of Birmingham, rather than the much larger metropolitan area. The result can leave outsiders with the impression that Birmingham is more crime-ridden, poorly educated and unhealthy than the region really is.
But something important is changing.
Increasingly, people aren’t asking Google.
They’re asking AI.
That could have enormous consequences for Birmingham.
So I decided to conduct a simple experiment.
I asked ChatGPT to write a guest column for ComebackTown from the perspective of an out-of-state family considering a move to Birmingham after receiving a job offer.
Here is what ChatGPT told them.
I Got a Job Offer in Birmingham. Should We Move Our Family?
By ChatGPT
Until last month, Birmingham meant civil rights history, college football and a place somewhere in Alabama.
Then one of us received a job offer there.
Suddenly, Birmingham was a decision that could change our children’s schools, careers, finances and daily lives.
Birmingham Is Not One Place
We found a metropolitan area of nearly 1.2 million people spread across Birmingham and surrounding municipalities.
Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Trussville, Vestavia Hills and the City of Birmingham share an economy, but offer different schools, taxes, housing and lifestyles.
Would we prefer an older walkable neighborhood, a suburb known for its schools, a larger house farther from work or a shorter commute with more urban amenities?
We would choose the community before choosing the house.
Would Our Money Go Further?
Housing is more affordable than in many growing metropolitan areas. Alabama property taxes are among the nation’s lowest, although sales taxes are relatively high.
That could mean a larger home or more money for college and retirement.
But inexpensive housing is not enough.
We would compare the salary with what the position might pay elsewhere and ask whether the other adult in our household could build a career here.
Birmingham has employers in healthcare, banking, insurance, technology and manufacturing, but its job market is not as deep as Atlanta, Dallas or Nashville.
A strong offer could provide an excellent life, but losing that job could expose the market’s limitations.
What about Our Children?
The region has many public school systems, and their performance varies. The school assigned to an address could matter more than the house itself.
We would study individual schools rather than accept a real estate agent’s description of a “good district.”
Private and religious schools add choices, but tuition would affect our calculations.
Healthcare Would Be a Major Advantage
The University of Alabama at Birmingham anchors a major academic medical center.
Children’s of Alabama offers leading pediatric care.
For a family with children, aging parents or complicated medical needs, strong healthcare could be one of Birmingham’s greatest advantages.
What Would Everyday Life Be Like?
Birmingham offers green hills, established neighborhoods, restaurants, museums, music, parks and outdoor recreation.
Traffic and commuting appear more manageable than in many larger Southern cities.
But the region is built around the automobile. Public transportation is limited, and most families would probably need two cars.
The airport is convenient, but frequent travelers may have to connect through a larger hub.
Summers are hot and humid. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are part of life in Alabama.
Politically, Alabama is deeply Republican, while Jefferson County votes Democratic. The metropolitan area includes both liberal and conservative communities.
State laws would affect us, but daily life would probably depend more on the community and people around us.
Could We Become Part of the Community?
This might be Birmingham’s biggest opportunity.
Birmingham seems small enough for newcomers to make connections, but large enough to offer cultural and professional opportunities.
We would want to know whether newcomers are welcomed or relationships still depend on longstanding connections.
We would talk with recent arrivals—not only lifelong residents.
So, Would We Move?
Birmingham would make our short list.
It could be an excellent choice for a family that values affordable housing, strong healthcare, manageable commutes, attractive neighborhoods and the chance to become part of a community.
It may be less attractive for a family that needs extensive public transportation, abundant nonstop flights, a deeper job market or a different state political environment.
We would spend several days there—testing the commute, visiting schools, touring neighborhoods, comparing housing and taxes, and talking privately with newcomers.
Birmingham is neither a bargain paradise nor the stereotype outsiders may imagine.
It is a complicated American region with meaningful advantages, real limitations and one essential question:
Does the life Birmingham offers fit the life our family wants?
What Did We Learn?
I found the result encouraging.
Unlike many Google searches, ChatGPT did not confuse the City of Birmingham with the Birmingham metropolitan area. It recognized that someone moving here might live in Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Trussville, Vestavia Hills or Birmingham while participating in the same regional economy.
It also didn’t sugarcoat us. It identified genuine weaknesses—our limited public transportation, smaller job market and lack of nonstop flights—while recognizing major strengths such as affordable housing, healthcare, manageable commutes and quality of life.
That’s probably the most important lesson from this experiment.
AI gave outsiders a more complete and balanced picture of Birmingham than Google often does.
As more people use AI to decide where to live, work, invest and visit, what AI says about Birmingham may become increasingly important to our future.
For once, that change may work in Birmingham’s favor.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
If you care about Birmingham’s future, subscribe to ComebackTown newsletter
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
Is AI’s description of Birmingham “complete and fair?” It depends. What *specifically* did your prompt say? Did ChatGPT mostly mine Comeback Town for its answers, or did it search a wider variety of sources? If it relied overwhelmingly on CT itself, that’s too limiting. Notice that the responses seem to focus not on a broad description of metro Birmingham but on the issues most often discussed here. For example, with the exception of Trussville and the City of Birmingham, the only communities it mentioned were the OTM ones often cited by CT columns and comments. Where’s Bessemer, Hueytown, Fairfield, Forestdale, Tarrant, etc.? The focus on limited opportunities and possible lack of advancement in corporate employment is another axe that CT regularly grinds. Are professional opportunities in healthcare—the city’s most robust driver of employment—as vulnerable as trying to climb the corporate ladder? Look at what’s missing, too. Different sources for AI might have emphasized sports—especially Alabama and Auburn football—as unique features of local character. Other sources, such as local news media, might mention crime. Sources focused on community values, might mention churches I’m not saying this was an example of GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out). It’s an interesting exercise and appropriate for this blog. (I especially liked how ChatGPT suggested that your hypothetical job seeker should talk to recent arrivals, not just longtime residents with ingrained, insular attitudes and perspectives. I’ve always thought that is a Birmingham handicap.) Can you share the actual language in your prompt? You might then invite readers to suggest different hypothetical audiences, such as tourists, Montgomery politicians, or national journalists—instead of a hypothetical job seeker—to ask AI for its impressions of Birmingham using sources other than Comeback Town itself. The answers might surprise you.