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mountain brook?

by:    

OK, I live on the west coast and am a sorority alum of a west coast university. I've seen a few people post the Chi O story on Facebook today, so I came to this site to get more of the gossip. Which I know is lame, but oh well.

Anyway, after reading all of these comments and threads about someplace called "Mountain Brook," I had to Google it. Are you kidding me that this place - a place with a median income of $100k, which is less than what I make just 10 years out of college - is the richest place in Alabama? This is what all the sororities and fraternities get themselves worked up over?

I looked up some real estate listings in Mountain Brook, and you have no idea what a STEAL it looks like to people from the west coast. $500k for a 4 bedroom house? We pay close to or more than $1MM for that in any trendy neighborhood or good suburb within an hour commute of the major city closest to where I live.

So I think it's kindof hysterical that the "top" sororities at Bama are the ones who focus so much on in-state "rich" girls from Mountain Brook, when in fact the out-of-state girls going to the "lower" houses might actually come from more money!

Posted By: WestCoast
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#1by:    
#1    

that's alabama for you

By: well
by: Well   

I think it's worth mentioning that the richest county in Alabama is Shelby County, which is NOT where Mountain Brook is located. Mountain Brook just has a lot of prestige bc all of the big families know each other and have a lot of influence over Birmingham. They don't have to be insanely rich to be influential. Also, no sorority takes a girl with a house worth 100K. That's just stupid bc she won't be able to afford our 6,000-7,000+ dues every year.

By: Well
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#2by:    
#2    

MB is old money. California is new money.
Old money doesn't live over the top, lavish lives they can't afford. Same as highland park in texas. or memorial.

By: fail
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by: youfail   

you really think MB is old money? you really should get out of alabama sometime.

By: youfail
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by: WestCoast   

I also have no idea where Highland Park or Memorial are, or what they're about.

What I was saying is that a lot of folks on the West Coast can afford our lifestyle, and we could live the high life in Alabama, apparently. If we wanted to.

By: WestCoast
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by: k   

Highland park and Mountain Brook aren't remotely comparable. Highland park has 20 million dollar homes, homes literally the size of some of the sorority houses. George Bush lives in Highland Park, whereas upper middle class people inhabit MB. Mountain Brook is an upscale trailer park in comparison.

By: k
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by: Haha   

This has to be the most ignorant statement I have ever heard. Clearly the high school education in Meadow Brook is letting you gals down. Alabama - old money?? Sweetheart, I'm from Boston - we summer on the Vineyard. The Kennedys are basically in our backyard. Our nation was born on our doorsteps. And our money is far older than yours. My SECOND home is worth more than 5 of your Meadowbrook Homes. Pah-leeze.

By: Haha
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by: Ummm no   

No mountain brook is not at all like highland park or memorial. Highland park is insane. Very wealthy old money. If you’ve ever visited there you would know

By: Ummm no
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by: Girl what   

Literally highland park is known everywhere for being insanely wealthy. Literally the Beverly Hills of Texas. Look up SMU tik tok you’ll see the lavish lifestyle that is there. Very different than mountain brook

By: Girl what
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#3by:    
#3    

Are you just now realizing this...? Mountain Brook isn't that great of a place and most of their high school kids just go to UA anyways. Sorority girls at Alabama aren't actually rich you know...and the ones that are would be considered pretty poor outside the South. Most "rich girls" at Alabama are actually just slightly upper middle class. It should speak volumes that girls from this area all go to UA because they can't afford out of state tuition and are stuck believing the South is superior to anyone else in the US. This is however, the highlight of their lives (these four years at UA), so it's more sad than funny really.

By: ua
by: truedat   

word ^

By: truedat
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by: Yes!   

Preach

By: Yes!
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by: ^^   

"Meadow Brook" 😂😂. As far as 'Bama and Auburn goes.... Mountain Brook is the hillbilly version of the
mafia. All the Mountain Brook biddys control
who gets into the top sororities and even who makes the cheer squads. Not changing any time soon. Theyre 15 minutes of fame are up on graduation day. Corporate America cares stupid Alabama sorority tier levels.

By: ^^
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#4by:    
#4    

Why are you hanging out on GR if you're an alum? kinda weird

By: LOL
by: Alum   

If you don't at least slightlyyyy care about your sorority every year around bid day, you're doing it wrong

By: Alum
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#5by:    
#5    

West Coast, btw, is not just California. And we have plenty of old money here, too, it's just that our fortunes weren't built in the cotton and tobacco fields on the backs of slaves.

By: WestCoast
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by: applause   

Another point for WestCoast!

By: applause
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by: Welp   

Not black slaves, Chinese slaves.

By: Welp
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#6by:    
#6    

Actually the "new row" houses, as they are called here, have much wealthier girls than the old row. I take old Atlanta money over old Alabama money any day. They call it "social hierarchy" here when they favor old row over new. Very backwards to anyone outside of Alabama. That being said, I'm an out of state, "new row" girl and I absolutely love my school and the Greek system here. A few bad apples are making us look ridiculous when the reality is that we have the largest, most well organized, most active greek life in the country. Believe it or not, it's actually getting better because attitudes are changing and the antiquated ways of the way things are "supposed" to be are falling by the wayside. Our page is constantly trolled by these Mtn Brook mothers and they cause 95% of the drama you see on here.

By: You got it
by: Agreed   

I believe this to be true. Feeling threatened as well.

By: Agreed
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by: Ridiculous!   

All this Mountain Brook talk is so ridiculous! You are right about the Mountain Brook housewives! They are bored, have no life and are desperately seeking validation! Their husbands are probably running around on them, most of them are alcoholics and they need to put everyone else down! Everyone needs to pledge whatever sorority they want and be happy there! Who cares what some pathetic people think about your "rank"! Who cares who makes more money! That sounds so sad just making comparisons based on that! Please grow up and focus or reality and important issues for heaven's sake! Can't we all just be happy without so much cutting and insulting???? Do not let the direction of your life be so affected by pitiful, sad people!

By: Ridiculous!
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#7by:    
#7    

Bump

By: Bump
#8by:    
#8    

It's less about money and more about what the reputation of each sorority is where you plan live.

So say you'll be going back home to mountain brook and in that town the top 3 are abc, Def, ghi. It's not uncommon for a girl to drop out if none of those 3 are left because in some places in the south it's better to be a GDI than to be from an undesirable sorority.

It's ridiculous.

By: Insane
#9by:    
#9    

We are glad you love CA so much! Perhaps that means you will hopefully stay away from the south and possibly take the rest of the California people, coming to Alabama in the masses, back to cali with you. Alabama is more than half out of state students now. In state students would prefer for you to remain back home. If California is so cool, with so much to do, then you would not be on this site corresponding with anonymous college kids, regarding questions you seems to already have your own answer to. Since Alabama is so horrible and poor, then please practice what you preach and stay out of our state, along with over half the student population. Quit trying to act like us instead of just being yourselves.

By: Rtr
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by: this!   

This is the mentality of someone that does not want to change nor can see the bigger picture. Do you folks not realize exactly how much money OOS students bring to this state and help it and the university to thrive? It's the same for Tuscaloosa residents who complain on football weekends....if all the thousands of people didn't come to the games and spend money (eating out and staying in hotels, etc.), the city would have nothing to thrive on. Tuscaloosa and the State of Alabama ARE financially THRIVING because of the University and the OOS students. Be glad! This is not the 60s or 70s! Get up to speed please.

By: this!
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by: this!   

Also, you need to accept the fact that there are girls from CA in every single sorority on campus.

By: this!
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by: @this!   

There are girls from California in Alabama sororities because they are too dumb to get into a school in California.

By: @this!
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by: I'm sure...   

....that is the only reason. Very welcoming you are to our OOS friends. Maybe your own daughter is too stupid to get in a school out of the state of Alabama.

By: I'm sure...
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by: Haha   

Bitter much ? This thread is so true. Don't be jealous because California girls are more attractive, wealthier, educated and overall more well-rounded.

By: Haha
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by: @HaHa   

That's not bitter. That's just a statement of fact. CA students go to CA schools or ASU or University of Arizona or better, unless they are that dumb. Only the worst CA students end up in CA.

University of Alabama is a joke to the rest of the country. You need to get it together.

By: @HaHa
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by: So...   

Only the least intelligent Californians go to school in California? Let me inform my friends at UCLA, USC, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Cal State, etc. Here they thought they were getting a nationally recognized, quality education. I will have to let them know an Alabama sorority girl or, most likely, her MAMA, said so. Yes, one must travel all the way to the deep South for a quality education. Even the folks at Harvard and MIT know that!

By: So...
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by: Wow @Rtr   

Extremely bad manners are not characteristic of the South.

By: Wow @Rtr
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by: West coast collegiate   

They're "too stupid for California schools", yet Alabama lets them right in... perhaps that says something about the poor quality of Alabama's educational standards... I wouldn't be surprised that level of quality translates accross their high school districts as well.

By: West coast collegiate
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#10by:    
#10    

...money vs. substance is the theme of most literature...there's ALWAYS someone richer or prettier or smarter...MB and other places (Mobile,Montgomery, etc) represent a known "standard" in the South... as there's maybe 3 degrees of separation between everyone here...after the civil war most southerners were poor...money was secondary to pedigree...the new sororities have lots more money and maybe prettier girls...old row tends to care more about your great-grandmother...there's room for everyone...so enjoy your money and leave MB alone.

By: ummmm
by: uh   

There are plenty of million dollar homes in MB. Also in Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Hoover, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Mobile. If that is your standard for judging people. Mtn. Brook is part of a zip code that appears every year on the "wealthiest" list. Several billionaires in Alabama. Most "families of substance" in Alabama own more than just their primary residence. Farm/hunting land, condo/houses at the beach, mountain houses, etc. And most of those people are educated and EARNED that money, or their parents or grandparents did. Alabama was not heavily populated in the 1850s/1860s so the current "wealthy" did not get their money off "the backs of slaves". Narrow-mindedness can go both ways. The residents of Alabama are tired of subsidizing the educations of narrow-minded hosers/tools from other states who come to school here and try to feel better about themselves by insulting the local population.

Please go back to where you came from, we are SO TIRED of having to tolerate you and your backwards attitudes towards us.

By: uh
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by: True    

Dude, Alabama property is dirt cheap. That is the point the OP is making. You might own three houses in Alabama, all in different areas. The West Coast costs so much to live there that one property would have equivalent property value to all three of those. The South is dirt poor. PERIOD. And those that think they are rich there, most likely aren't compared to the rest of the country. That is the point the OP is making.

By: True
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by: juju   

Got news for you - OOS are subsidizing the education of Alabama kids, not the other way around, because OOS pay higher tuition. That's how you can afford nice things - so maybe don't be mean to OOS kids either. Goes both ways.

If you are being defensive about being attacked....keep that in mind when you hear someone attacking someone not from your state. They are paying you a compliment by coming to your home state, why not be nice to them?

By: juju
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