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Nice places to live in Birmingham?

I didn't say Erdington was rough, I said it was a bit grim. The housing stock isn't as good as elsewhere in Brum and it is adversely affected by being so close to the M6. There's stuff going on, for sure, but around there and Nechells feels to me like a bit of an industrial wasteland with some housing, and I couldn't really find a high street sort of place. I may well have missed the heart of it, but my partner knows it better and he agrees. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the community, it's just not the most uplifting of places.

Proper Brummies feel free to pull me apart. :hmm:
 
ymu said:
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.
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Who says you have to fit? And high streets are dead if you haven't noticed. Plus, high streets like kings Heath aren't appealing unless you've got a stab proof vest. Solihull is a large town with numerous mini high streets. Sutton has a decent town centre & the sub areas of bold mere, wylde green etc which are decent. Moseley has some good indie shops. Hall green & harbourne too have good local amenities & green space. They're not entirely middle class from what I've said. They are maybe more family orientated if that's how you want to differentiate. They have better schools & less crime too.
Good range of housing, modern estates, 30's semis (in abundance in hall green), traditional vic & ed terraces, etc across all. Less littered streets & more parks.
 
I like to be able to buy fruit and veg within walking distance.
 
kazza007 said:
Who says you have to fit? And high streets are dead if you haven't noticed. Plus, high streets like kings Heath aren't appealing unless you've got a stab proof vest. Solihull is a large town with numerous mini high streets. Sutton has a decent town centre & the sub areas of bold mere, wylde green etc which are decent. Moseley has some good indie shops. Hall green & harbourne too have good local amenities & green space. They're not entirely middle class from what I've said. They are maybe more family orientated if that's how you want to differentiate. They have better schools & less crime too.
Good range of housing, modern estates, 30's semis (in abundance in hall green), traditional vic & ed terraces, etc across all. Less littered streets & more parks.
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Oh grow up. I must have walked Kings Heath high st a hundred times, and I've neither seen or had anything awful happen to me.
 
Kings Heath is getting quite gentrified now. Well, Poplar Rd and York Rd anyway. Really, Kings Heath ain't rough.
 
I didn't class the area as totally one to avoid. The high street isn't great. And there's not great bits, but nicer bits around the park, wheelers lane etc.
 
purenarcotic said:
Oh grow up. I must have walked Kings Heath high st a hundred times, and I've neither seen or had anything awful happen to me.
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Ymu likes this, but hasn't replied to the articles I quoted regarding Balsall Heath or my other points ten minutes ago. Strange.
 
kazza007 said:
Balsall Heath is good to eat in. Been there many times. Friend used to live there. It's too close to the city, too hemmed in with all the terraces, not enough green space, and gangs are still rife

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/balsall-heath-shooting-victims-guarded-103011

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/gang-fears-after-balsall-heath-130569

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/balsall-heath-shooting-leaves-man-164729
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3 shootings all linked to the same gang that were jailed and are no longer causing an issue. A gang that actually came from Highgate.

Calthorpe Park, Balsall Heath Park, St Pauls Park, Cannon Hill Park and a host of many more provide lots of green spaces for the community.

The Alexandrea estate didn't feel ''hemmed in'' when i use to live there (only moved from there in July 12).
Unless you have a hysterical daily mail definition of gangs i don't think you can say that Balsall Heath is rife with it. One of the strongest communities in Brum is in Balsall Heath.

I walked down Kings Heath high street today and can't say i felt threatened in any way shape or form and never have done. I've lived in Manchester and have felt how ontop it can feel just by living in certain areas (Longsight, certain parts of Fallowfield) and i have never had that feeling in Birmingham.
 
purenarcotic said:
I also lived in Basall Heath and only moved out mid way through last year. I had no problems whatsoever.
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It would be strange if everyone living somewhere experienced a problem with it.
It's something that isn't desirable to me & many I know. Hall green for example is more diversified too. Many from
Sparkhill have moved in recent years.
As I've said many times, the areas I see as 'good' have more green space, less run down, less crime, better schools than the others, generally, and they're areas even others here have agreed in their desirability.
 
Blagsta said:
What have you got against Kings Heath?
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The high street is tired & run down, there are nice parts (that I've already mentioned), but there are not great bits tarred with crime, gangs & drugs, which drag it down a little. I went to school there & lived not far away for nearly 30 years, so have some backup on it. Used to visit the Clarks with my mum for school shoes :D Ate on the high street many times with friends. Went to the local leisure centre weekly when younger. It's not bad, but not the best.
 
kazza007 said:
The high street is tired & run down, there are nice parts (that I've already mentioned), but there are not great bits tarred with crime, gangs & drugs, which drag it down a little. I went to school there & lived not far away for nearly 30 years, so have some backup on it. Used to visit the Clarks with my mum for school shoes :D Ate on the high street many times with friends. Went to the local leisure centre weekly when younger. It's not bad, but not the best.
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Yeah, the High St is run down, but y'know, there is a recession on! Crime and drugs are everywhere, yes, even Moseley, in fact they're rife in Moseley.
 
I don't disagree with that, blagsta. It's just relative, and Moseley had & still had more going for it with the still thriving 'village' centre and indies doing well.
 
kazza007 said:
Thanks but grandparents were from India, parents from Africa. So I probably know about the culture more than you.
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What has your link got to do with what I said?

Your link talks about the culture & background of the area. I know the area already.
 
Blagsta said:
Moseley is horrible these days.
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Haven't been drinking in Moseley for a number of months but still know people there who like it. I don't know what it's like recently, you'll have more authority than me on that if you've been there recently.
 
kazza007 said:
Haven't been drinking in Moseley for a number of months but still know people there who like it. I don't know what it's like recently, you'll have more authority than me on that if you've been there recently.
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Its been horrible for years. Too many pubs, its been turned into Broad Street.
 
I don't think it's in Broad st league yet :D as I say the last time I visited was a mate at home. Residentially it's still unchanged
 
kazza007 said:
I don't think it's in Broad st league yet :D as I say the last time I visited was a mate at home. Residentially it's still unchanged
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Residentially, its changed massively. It used to be a mixture of students, unemployed people, working class and middle class. Now its solely middle class, with just a few social housing tenants and homeless hostels/supported housing.
 
kazza007 said:
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.
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I don't pretend to know about things I don't. Not all people are like you and value things that you do.

I have family in these "bad" areas. They don't live there because they can't afford anywhere else, They live there to be part of a community, to have amenities that are important to them - like green spaces and good schools and local shops and cultural events. One of the best, if not the best, primary schools in Birmingham is in this area. But you've dismissed it as a bad area because it has a reputation. Well, if it keeps people like you out then i think that's a good thing.

Not everyone wants to live in a white middle class area. Most people in Birmingham aren't white or middle class. Think about what you're saying.
 
Again, you count these areas as 'white middle class' (of which I'm neither), but most Britons class themselves as middle class & Birmingham is still predominantly white, though still ethnically diverse.
I differentiated many areas into simplistic good & bad, but referenced the smaller differences between these (with my 30years living in the city, growing up, different schools, university & work), in my opinion.
If your family want to live in whatever area, whether you or I see it as better than another, good.
I'm not saying or implying community spirit. Good and bad have or lack community spirit. If that's their priority, and they're happy there, then good. If you or they don't what to live somewhere that you perceive as 'white middle class', then don't.
I didn't say or imply that anyone in a worse area could or couldn't live elsewhere.
Many of the Asian business owners in Balsall Heath, Sparkhill etc, for example, could clearly live in Moseley, Solihull etc & some indeed do.
 
kazza007 said:
I differentiated many areas into simplistic good & bad, but referenced the smaller differences between these (with my 30years living in the city, growing up, different schools, university & work), in my opinion.
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Which in my opinion wasn't in the least bit helpful. You've made people on this thread, including myself, feel very defensive about areas in Birmingham they like and have a connection to. I bet you've not spent any real time in 90% of the places on your stupid list, which is what has made me so angry.
 
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