[del4hope]

Here is how I would describe the 4 main metro areas:

Birmingham: Once it was the steel industry. Nowadays, Medical, Academia, and lots of lawyers

Montgomery: Government, Military, and lots of lawyers

Mobile: Manufacturing (hurt severely by BO) and shipping

Huntsville: Tech and Space

So I am not sure about elite elites in Huntsville. IIRC, I think RIMTB is closer to Huntsville than I am, and may be the better one to answer that question

[Bodleian_Girl]

Birmingham: Once it was the steel industry. Nowadays, Medical, Academia, and lots of lawyers.

I would add start-ups (Innovation Depot), restaurants and "craft beer y'all."

The "craft beer y'all" is a thing that was started to make fun of all the faux journalists at al.com who decided that "CRAFT BEER" would save Birmingham.