Nice places to live in Birmingham?

[Red Cat]

That's quite typical of the late victorian/early edwardian houses you'll get for your budget. 2 small rooms downstairs, some with front door straight into living room, some slightly bigger with a hall. Galley kitchen with bathroom at the end, 2 or 3 beds upstairs depending on if bathroom moved, long narrow gardens. There's loads of them in Kings Heath, Cotteridge, Selly Park, Stirchley.

This is the other type of house on the estate I mentioned:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39315131.html?premiumA=true

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26175511.html

Both 2 beds as they've moved the bathroom upstairs and extended the kitchen. Look at the size of the second garden though.

I know a lot about houses in the South of the city as I spent a lot of time researching only 2 years ago. And I know about schools. If you want more info you can let me know.

Or not.

 

[Blagsta]

I'd go with Stirchley esp if you don't have a car. If you're looking to buy avoid Moseley. Selly Park is nice, the other side of Cannon Hill Park from Moseley but without inflated house prices but there's no local shops. Kings Heath is nice but I'm struggling to think how you'd get to uni on public transport.

Number 76 bus.

 

[Kidda]

Another vote for South Brum.

Have a look at Balsall Heath (Pershore road side not Moseley Road/Ladypool road side) if your looking at buying to.

Avoid Highgate and Small Heath.

 

[BigTom]

What's Erdington like?

aqua and beesonthewhatnow live in Erdington iirc

Stirchley or Balsall Heath would be my first thoughts as others have also said but I've no idea what prices are like.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

What's Erdington like?

Great

It not fashionable like Kings Heath, Moseley etc so it's a lot cheaper. It's perfect if you don't have a car as it's on both the cross city train line (does what it says on the tin, has a dedicated station at the university) as well as on the number 11 outer circle bus route. Between these two you can get pretty much anywhere without having to make a change.

It's a bit rough and ready at times but safe. I've lived here for god knows how many years and never had any bother.

You're also within walking distance of Sutton Park, which is the single best thing in Birmingham if you have kids.

South Birmingham is full of hipsters. North of the M6 is where the normal people live

 

[purenarcotic]

I am NOT a hipster.

 

[Red Cat]

Another vote for South Brum.

Have a look at Balsall Heath (Pershore road side not Moseley Road/Ladypool road side) if your looking at buying to.

I like Balsall Heath and would live there if I had no kids. It's not great for schools though.

 

[stuff_it]

Good luck getting people up for a Brummy urbs drink.

 

[Hellsbells]

gosh i should move back to Birmingham.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Good luck getting people up for a Brummy urbs drink.

We just do kids parties nowadays...

 

[Kidda]

gosh i should move back to Birmingham.

Best thing i did after 5 years in the wilderness (well Manchester, but same thing)

 

[Hellsbells]

it's just incredible looking at what kind of houses you get for your money in comparison to London.

 

[Red Cat]

Good luck getting people up for a Brummy urbs drink.

Name a date and lets see who can make it. Afternoons are better for some of us so we can bring the kids.

 

[Red Cat]

it's just incredible looking at what kind of houses you get for your money in comparison to London.

I think it's a very underrated city. It's very down to earth, unpretentious. I'm very fond of it.

The other day I was out with my youngest with bike and trailer and outside a supermarket when I realised I'd forgotten my purse. A stranger, overhearing me saying that we'd have to go back home, got £20 out of her purse to lend me so that I could do my shopping and go for a coffee!

 

[stuff_it]

Name a date and lets see who can make it. Afternoons are better for some of us so we can bring the kids.

Shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[kazza007]

Having been born & bred here...

Best places

Solihull, shirley & surrounding villages
Hall green
Moseley
Bournville
Sutton coldfield
Kings heath (parts)
Harborne
Selly oak (few parts)
Edgbaston

Avoid

Small Heath
Hands worth
Lozells
Nechells
Balsall Heath
Bromford
Druids heath
Billesley
Alum rock
Lady wood
Great Barr
Perry Barr
Spark brook
Frankly
Shard end
Stechford
Soho
Washwood Heath
Tyseley
Warstock
Yardley wood
Tile cross
Stockland green
Maypole
Sheldon
Kitts green
Kingstanding

So many many bad areas. Look them up, they don't have reputation for nothing!

Areas I've not listed, are ones I've either forgotten or fall in the middle (with a healthy dose of drugs, crime etc probably)

South is genetally nicer & where to look.

 

[baldrick]

You know what, fuck you. Have you lived in any of these bad areas? I doubt it.

You're going on reputation and not any sort of experience. Most of us who've contributed to this thread have done so from personal knowledge And not from some spurious assumptions

 

[ymu]

It's a very spendy list. If you like leafy suburbia, no local shops and middle-class wankers who drive everywhere, it's about right.

 

[baldrick]

I've lived in two of the so called bad areas and I'd rather live there than pretty much any of the ones he recommends

 

[ymu]

There's no denying that some areas are worse, but very few defined so broadly. There's a lot of nice housing and good areas around Brum. The main problem areas seem to be associated with very large roads cutting through communities and even that might be disappearing with the lead in our petrol (according to some very convincing looking new research).

 

[Firky]

 

[equationgirl]

Solihull and Sutton Coldfield are both quite pricey iirc.

Redditch is at the end of the railway line to uni, if you're looking to make your budget go further - some bits of the town are nice.

 

[Kidda]

Having been born & bred here...

Best places

Solihull, shirley & surrounding villages
Hall green
Moseley
Bournville
Sutton coldfield
Kings heath (parts)
Harborne
Selly oak (few parts)
Edgbaston

Avoid

Small Heath
Hands worth
Lozells
Nechells
Balsall Heath
Bromford
Druids heath
Billesley
Alum rock
Lady wood
Great Barr
Perry Barr
Spark brook
Frankly
Shard end
Stechford
Soho
Washwood Heath
Tyseley
Warstock
Yardley wood
Tile cross
Stockland green
Maypole
Sheldon
Kitts green
Kingstanding

So many many bad areas. Look them up, they don't have reputation for nothing!

Areas I've not listed, are ones I've either forgotten or fall in the middle (with a healthy dose of drugs, crime etc probably)

South is genetally nicer & where to look.

FRANKLY? as a Do Not Live area



Yeah 'cos living that close to the countryside is the new ghetto.

That list is a pile of wank.

 

[kazza007]

No but I lived in Bham for nearly 3 decades. Ok? Have you? I've worked all round the city and visited every area. Have you? And know people from most the areas.
Leafy suburbia is nice. Grow up & accept it. Clean streets, green spaces, lack of hoodies/drugs/crime/gangs are GOOD THINGS & the price inevitably reflects. Middle class? Fuck you. Most Britons class themselves as such.
Many of the 'good areas' are working class actually and there's wide ranging prices from 130k to few million on that list.
So 'fuck you' if you disagree. Do your research on aspects I've mentioned such as crime & schooling compare with both lists.
Yes there are small contrasts between both areas, but I gave you a stark, condensed down list of what is mostly common.

 

[Kidda]

No but I lived in Bham for nearly 3 decades. Ok? Have you? I've worked all round the city and visited every area. Have you? And know people from most the areas.
Leafy suburbia is nice. Grow up & accept it. Clean streets, green spaces, lack of hoodies/drugs/crime/gangs are GOOD THINGS & the price inevitably reflects. Middle class? Fuck you. Most Britons class themselves as such.
Many of the 'good areas' are working class actually and there's wide ranging prices from 130k to few million on that list.
So 'fuck you' if you disagree. Do your research on aspects I've mentioned such as crime & schooling compare with both lists.
Yes there are small contrasts between both areas, but I gave you a stark, condensed down list of what is mostly common.

Your talking shit

Pray tell, Balsall Heath appears in your avoid list can you tell me why?

 

[kazza007]

Frankley was my mistake. It's technically in Worcestershire & wrong side of barnt green.
Rest still stands, okay hoody

 

[Kidda]

Frankley was my mistake. It's technically in Worcestershire & wrong side of barnt green.
Rest still stands, okay hoody

hoody?

Why does Balsall Heath stand? Have you ever lived there? Do you know anything about the community?

 

[ymu]

It's the lack of decent local shops that bothers me about leafy suburbia. So many people have cars and shop elsewhere, you can't get hold of decent food in walking distance, unless you live close to the high street. The bus services are shit because everyone drives. And the atmosphere is less tolerant, unless you fit into that middle-class stereotype. We've spent years living in some of the poshest places in the Midlands, thanks to living on the canal, and it ain't all that it's cracked up to be if you don't fit in.

 

[kazza007]

I've seen a lot of people have got offended as they don't live in the nicer areas, but secretly aspire to do so (Moseley, harbourne, bournville, etc) & that's cool and everything. Even someone living in erdington here I think, basically said it was rough. That's honesty. Kings Heath high street isn't the best too. I went to school not far away. Amount of drugs, shoplifting and stabbings was something else. Read up on it's history.

 

[Kidda]

I've seen a lot of people have got offended as they don't live in the nicer areas, but secretly aspire to do so (Moseley, harbourne, bournville, etc) & that's cool and everything. Even someone living in erdington here I think, basically said it was rough. That's honesty. Kings Heath high street isn't the best too. I went to school not far away. Amount of drugs, shoplifting and stabbings was something else. Read up on it's history.

Your just making yourself look like an idiot, you are assuming things about people and most of those are wrong.

Just back up your opinion, you have advised someone not to live in certain areas you should have reasons why.

Your list has baffled me, as someone who lived, worked and was active in the local community in Balsall Heath i'm really keen to know why you think it should be avoided.