10 Things I will miss about Birmingham...

10. Crestwood.  Our funky little neighborhood is a fantastic mix of urban and suburban.  Close enough to downtown to make for an easy commute (even in the Great Ice Storm of 2014, I got home in less than 2.5 hours!!), with fun shops and restaurants, really neat and non-cookie-cutter homes, and a community which works hard to make it a better place.  Now, who wants to buy a 3/1 in Crestwood South?  :D

9. The Jewish community.  It’s what originally brought us to Birmingham in 1998, when Raya became the LJCC’s first Jewish Educator.  We’ve both enjoyed our involvement with the community here -- Raya on professional and volunteer levels, me as a volunteer and as a freelancer.  The community is warm and welcoming, and I hope it continues to thrive.

Sophie has loved her time at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, and I wish all the best for the NEMJDS in the future.

Raya and I hosted a podcast for a few years called “There Are Jews in Alabama?” as that’s what people in Philadelphia asked us when we were moving here.  I can say for certain that the answer to that is a resounding “yes” -- there are Jews in Alabama, and they’re a welcoming bunch.

8. The outdoor spaces.  Birmingham has incredible parks and outdoor spaces, as does the state of Alabama.  We’ve been to the top of Mt. Cheaha, we’ve camped at Oak Mountain, I’ve watched deer prance through the snow in Guntersville, and we’ve floated in the crystal clear Gulf waters at Orange Beach.  Sophie’s had a blast at the local parks in town -- Crestwood, Avondale, Triangle, Overton, Homewood.

7. The love for college football.  Although I'm never, ever, ever going to be an Alabama or Auburn fan, I will never live anywhere that comes close to rivaling this state’s passion for its football teams.  College football isn’t just a religion here -- it’s so much more.  We’re moving to an ACC town, and (for football at least) it won’t even be close to what we’re used to.

6. Birmingham’s central location - over the years, Raya and I, and eventually Sophie too, have taken many day or weekend trips to the amazing places within an easy drive from here -- Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans, the Gulf beaches, Huntsville, Memphis.

5. The “midtown” district.  Railroad Park and Regions Field have been amazing additions to the Birmingham cultural landscape.  I’m sad that I won’t get to see another game at Regions, and I’m not even a huge baseball fan!  But that ballpark is amazing, as is Railroad Park.

4. The restaurants.  Such interesting and cool places to eat in this town, everything from barbeque to pizza to burgers to international cuisine.  I’ll miss our favorite places: La Paz, Surin, Fish Market, Purple Onion, El Barrio, Silvertron, Mafiaoza’s, 26, and even little ol’ Irondale Cafe!!

3. The bars.  Birmingham has such a great collection of places to drink.  All of them have their own unique identity, and I love that.  I’ll miss places like Dave’s, the J. Clyde, the Blue Monkey, Avo/Dram, Rojo, and of course our beloved Crestwood Tavern.  (Raya and I hope to have a “goodbye Birmingham” celebration at CWT sometime in May.)

2.  I will miss UAB.  Not only is it my alma mater, it’s been my employer for nearly 16 years.  UAB is basically where I began my career, and it has been very good to me.  And of course, UAB Hospital was there for us when we needed it most, during Sophie’s premature and dramatic birth.  The doctors, nurses, and other staff in L&D and the NICU were absolutely amazing.

There are amazing people doing amazing things at this University, and I’ll always be interested to see what UAB does next.

1.  The number one thing I will miss about Birmingham is, for four months, my wife and daughter of course!!  And we’ll miss Raya’s folks, who will be here a bit longer.  But beyond that, Raya, Sophie and I will dearly miss our close friends we’ve made in the past 15.5 years that we’ve been in the Magic City (ok, just under 8 years for Soph!).

Please, please, please come visit us in Charlottesville!