BIRMINGHAM - Anyone know nice places to live in Birmingham please

[mummyluvsyoo]

We are considering a move to Birmingham.

Looking for a 3/4 bedroom semi-detached or detached house, large garden and garage in a nice area. Good schools and travel links to the city. Any ideas anyone?

[ejt1764]

Sutton Coldfield is nice - that's where I lived as a child - good schools and transport links into Birmingham city centre.

[NuttyMuffins]

Yep Sutton Coldfield, Four Oaks, Mere Green etc

Other side of the city, the nice bits are parts of Harbourne, Edgebaston and Mosley.

Avoid, Kingstanding, Erdington, Aston, Newtown, and any other inner city part.

[jampot]

depenmds how much you have to spend and what sort of people you are IYKWIM.

Do you like bustling areas or close to countryside? What do you like ot do?

[mummyluvsyoo]

Hi thanks for the comments. Yes a lot of people have told us Sutton Coldfield.

We want to live in a sub-urban area. Our DS is 3.5 - want stuff around for him to do. Needs to have a nice local park nearby (ducks, cafe, good children's play area). We take him to mini-drama and music groups, that sort of thing. We like eating out, theatre, jazz venues, or rather we did before DS was born. We also like to take DS to farms, country parks, etc.

Area has to be multicultural, safe, clean, and not a run down inner city/ghetto. We left London to get away from all that, but are now hankering after city life again.

Not looking to spend more than £250K - I have been looking on rightmove.co.uk and seen some houses in our price range, but just don't know what the areas are like.

[jampot]

has to be sutton or solihull i think (opposite sides of brum though)

if you want to post possible houses you like Im sure one of us can give the low down on the area and what schools serve it

[Tabkat]

Solihull is lovely, if a bit pricey. You should be able to get somewhere nice for 250k though.

[jampot]

you could have had mine for 230k

[mummyluvsyoo]

Oh thanks - one of my friends told me I would like Solihull as well , so it looks like we're on the right track.

What's Yardley like? And Acock's Green?

[sallysparkle]

mummyluvsyoo come and buy my house! 3 bed detached in Boldmere in Sutton. Great place to live!

[jampot]

its ok but not as nice as solihull or sutton

[mummyluvsyoo]

So apart from driving - what's transport like. Does B'ham have a Tube/underground? Is it as crappy and soul-destroying an experience as London's tube commute? I am worried that I am just heading for another London-like experience - lived there all my life up until five years ago.

[NuttyMuffins]

Transport in Sutton is ok, you can catch a number of buses from Sutton town centre to Birmingham City Centre, also buses to Solihull, Walsall, Erdington and Burton on Trent.

There is also a train station and you can get a train to Brum city centre and to Lichfield.

[NuttyMuffins]

There is no tube/underground in Brum no.

[Tabkat]

I actually worked in Solihull so didn't have to get around B'ham during the day. It is an easy trip on the train into the city centre though.

[mummyluvsyoo]

Wow! I have just looked at a map and seen Sutton Park - and Rectory Park. So many golf courses too - DH will be in 7th heaven.

[LittleMouseWithCLogsOn]

yes look at four oaks na dfour aosk school ( primary state)
very nice
we used to liev there
goo rail link too

[mummyluvsyoo]

Am liking Solihull too .......!

[jampot]

birmingham doesnt have a tube/underground. It is served by New Street Station which is by the Bull Ring (shopping mall), Snow Hill Station and Moor Street Station. Loads of buses too. Birmingham city centre is largely pedestrianised (i think). Sutton town centre is about 5 miles from Birmingham city centre and is a reasonable shopping area, nutty and sallysparkle can give you the low down on the area. Solihull is about 7 miles from brum and has Touchwood shopping centre Shopping which has things like Bear Factory, Next, River Island, John Lewis, loads of eateries and a cinema. Further in the town there is a M&S, BHS, HMV, Dorothy Perkins Boots, WHS, etc etc . Nearby is Brueton and Malvern Parks Parks

Best thing to do is come to brum for the weekend and get a feel for the place

[mummyluvsyoo]

Thanks jampot - we'll do that. We have to come to Birmingham anyway to go to Cadburyworld, so may as well make a weekend of it. I have just been on rightmove and even though I put in sutton coldfield - lots of erdington houses came up, but they look OK to me - 1930's semi just like ours - but nuttymuffins said avoid erdington, I guess I'll have to see it for myself really. I know sometimes you get areas where some streets are really nice then you turn round the corner and ... oh oh . It is a bit like that here actually.

Before we moved here (Northampton) we went to look in Wolverhampton and followed up some people's suggestions with disastrous results - the difference was that they didn't live there - only knew second hand.

[jampot]

i think you may be better off searching actual postcodes rather than towns . B91 for solihull for instance is the area around the town centre.

[Wordsmith]

If you want multicultural, close to city, nice park, try Moseley or Kings Heath. Both are quite studenty and trendy but also good for families, and are close to Cannon Hill Park with the MAC (Midland Arts Centre)which has a great theatre, cinema, cafe and kids stuff, playground, boating lake and loads of parkland. It's also near Edgbaston Cricket ground and is less than 5 miles from the city centre, and not far to drive to the M42 for getting around the country. Where exactly are you going to commute to? Solihull and Sutton Coldfield could both still involve a reasonable commute, although both have train links to the city. Harborne is lovely and had a vast number of pubs per head of the population, but property is v expensive there, ditto Edgbaston.

[Wordsmith]

Sorry I meant about 5-10 mins from the city, not 5 miles

[mummyluvsyoo]

Thanks wordsmith. DH been offered a job in the city centre - not sure whether he is going to accept it yet - and we are just at the stage of weighing up pros and cons of moving and leaving our lovely garden .

[jampot]

certain parts of moseley and edgbaston are red light though which although are very lovely looking areas i thought maybe one wouldnt want to necessarily live in them