# Dayton, Ohio or Birmingham, Alabama? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 20, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560 "2005-09-20T17:30:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/21 "2005-09-20T20:28:57Z")
I lived in Dayton for three years (Wright-Patterson AFB). During that time, I was required to go to Montgomery AL and Huntsville AL for temporary duty, and those are the _only_ times I’ve been to Alabama, so you might say that my only connection to Birmingham is through Dayton. …and even then, I never went to Birmingham. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/22 "2005-09-20T20:29:39Z")
I was born in Birmingham. As were my parents and my grandparents. My great-grand-daddy worked for American Cast Iron Pipe in Birmingham. Many of my aunts live in Birmingham. My brother, the deacon, purposely moved from St Louis to Birmingham… Twice! (Warning: he’s back in town so that’s a bad thing.) My sister works for a major utility in Birmingham. My other brother, the one worth knowing, worked years for a large Rock radio station in Birmingham and got us box seats to Barons games. I had a flat tire once in Dayton. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/23 "2005-09-20T20:42:01Z")
I’ve never been anywhere in Alabama, but I’ve visited Dayton several times, including last Sunday. However, the only place in Dayton that I’ve been to is the USAF Museum – yes, another W.P.A.F.B. connection! I’ve also been in a couple of houses that used to be in Dayton, but are now in Dearborn, Michigan: the Wright Brothers’ home and bicycle shop. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/24 "2005-09-20T20:43:35Z")
I don’t have any actual connection with either city, but I have driven through Dayton. I’ve never been to Alabama at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/25 "2005-09-20T20:55:56Z")
I live an hour from Birmingham and go there when I need to see the (way too young) guy I sometimes sorta kinda date or when I want to go to a really big bookstore. It’s originally a steel mill town, of course (one of the few major post-Civil War southern metropoli if you don’t count Florida and Texas as southern) but today it’s more of a “big city because there needs to be a big city there” place, kind of a kid-sister to Atlanta (which is not post bellum but might as well be as there are about two buildings and an outhouse left from before 1865 [that’s due to building, not Sherman, whose devastation of the city was actually a bit overstated in historical fiction]). I like Birmingham okay. They get decent concerts and Broadway road shows (I’m going to see _Lion King_ with said age inappropriate datemate this weekend) and [Vulcan](http://www.thewisegardener.com/images/Trip_Pix/vul4.gif) is one of the south’s cooler monuments. I have absolutely not the slightest connection to Dayton, though it was a plot element in my favorite episode of the Ellen Degeneres show (the one with special guest star Emma Thompson). ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/26 "2005-09-20T21:23:42Z")
I was born and, after a seven year absence, raised in Dayton (well, suburban Dayton). Like others, it’s a WPAFB connection; my dad was there in the late 70s and early 80s and again in the first half of the 90s. Birmingham… I think I passed through once. To echo others here, Dayton’s advantages in this poll are probably WPAFB and the presence of more population in places nearby. (P.S.- Always glad to see the hometown get some press here! 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/27 "2005-09-20T21:26:04Z")
And by the way… > [@tremorviolet](#): > > …(Cincinatti)… You lose one million points for misspelling Cincinnati! ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/28 "2005-09-20T21:33:49Z")
I know ONE person in Dayton. Well, two. I have several family members in Birmingham. FWIW, I’ve never been to Birmingham, although I have been to Dayton numerous times. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/29 "2005-09-20T22:16:26Z")
One of my close friends grew up in Dayton. He moved back there a couple years ago. I’ve been to Dayton, and there used to be a huge bookstore there that I loved. I can’t say I feel all that deeply connected to the place, but I have no connection whatsoever to Birmingham. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/30 "2005-09-20T23:04:07Z")
I’ve been to Dayton on business a few times. I have friends and family in Birmingham, so I have closer ties to Birmingham. Birmingham can be fun. Big city feel but not like the rush, rush of Atlanta. Plus, Vulcan looks like he’s not wearing pants. You gotta love a city that has a big statue that appears to be mooning it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/31 "2005-09-20T23:22:19Z")
I spent a month in Dayton one weekend, so I guess Dayton wins. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/32 "2005-09-21T00:57:48Z")
I live here 🙂 It’s quite nice. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/33 "2005-09-21T00:58:39Z")
I live here in Dayton 🙂 It’s quite nice. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/34 "2005-09-21T01:08:01Z")
They’ll be complaining about the fifth straight day of sub-zero temperatures in hell before I set foot in Alabama, so Dayton, Ohio it is. I sure hope they have some upscale shopping there… ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/35 "2005-09-21T01:11:20Z")
My aunt lives in Dayton. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/36 "2005-09-21T01:16:09Z")
I have been to Birmingham, UK. I have never been to anywhere named Dayton. So I guess Alabama wins. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/37 "2005-09-21T01:16:24Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > They’ll be complaining about the fifth straight day of sub-zero temperatures in hell before I set foot in Alabama, so Dayton, Ohio it is. I sure hope they have some upscale shopping there… I assume you are referring to a restraining order or something that prevents you from visiting lovely Alabama. Nobody is bigotted and small-minded enough to just write off a whole state just because they assume they know everything about it and it is bad. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/38 "2005-09-21T01:23:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Nobody is bigotted and small-minded enough to just write off a whole state just because they assume they know everything about it and it is bad. Hi, I’m UrbanChic. Nice to meet you. I never said I know everything about it and it is bad. What I do know is there is absolutely no reason for me to go there. ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/39 "2005-09-21T01:24:14Z")
Dayton’s also not far from Columbus - there are people who commute between the two cities - so that’s another advantage. I’ve stayed in the general Dayton area several times. At the Hope Hotel at WrightPat, even, sometime after the Bosnian Peace Accord was finalized. Oh, and I think I stayed at a nearby hotel another time. Plus we had a conference downtown in the early nineties and I spent the night at a hotel there. I’ve driven past it about a million times on the way to Chicago. Several friends are graduates of the Catholic university where Crafter\_Man works (I’m guessing, since I’m pretty sure there’s only one). I visited Centerville once. My entire connection to Birmingham is Dope-related as **Sauron** and **Aries28** live there and I’ve exchanged a couple of e-mails with **Aries**. Oh…one of my old roommates and I used to joke that pretty much everyone in the US had lived in Ohio at one time or another. Have you ever noticed how many people were born here, went to school here, or are otherwise mentioned with connection to this place? And that was well before the last election. (Neither of us is from here originally.) GT ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560/40 "2005-09-21T01:27:47Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > Hi, I’m UrbanChic. Nice to meet you. > > I never said I know everything about it and it is bad. What I do know is there is absolutely no reason for me to go there. I’m sorry for the mixup. > [@UrbanChic](#): > > They’ll be complaining about the fifth straight day of sub-zero temperatures in hell before I set foot in Alabama, That just gave me the impression that you knew something about it and had an active desire not to grace the state with your presence. I now understand that, if the opportunity arose, you would love to partake of Alabama’s fine culture, history, and people. It simply hasn’t yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dayton-ohio-or-birmingham-alabama/322560.md?page=3)