Do you prefer Birmingham or Manchester

Birmingham is great, loads of amazing places to eat and things to do. If you want to be close to the city and like those areas, check out Bournville / Harborne and Edgbaston which are closer to the city x

Solihull was a good shopping centre when I left 40 years ago but I believe it has got better.

I've not been back for a very long time.

@Purplebunnie Leamington is definitely not what it is, but Solihull is absolutely thriving.

That's a shame I used to love going there. It's been a very long time

@Purplebunnie unfortunately, last time I was in the shopping centre in Leamington, loads of shops had closed.

I think this is the answer; find somewhere which only takes and hour to get back into London. Nowhere has the museums and theatres that London has

I was born near Birmingham so I maybe biased but it has probably changed.

Solihull has a good shopping centre but I seem to remember getting out the carparks could be problematic/queues, this may have been addressed

Towns/villages that I remember as being lovely

Dorridge, Knowle, Lapworth, Balsall Common, Rowington, Hampton in Arden, Henley in Arden. Railway stations at Dorridge and Hampton in Arden.

Used to drink in Warwick and Stratford - lovely and obvious the RSC is at Stratford. Leamington had a good shopping centre.

Not sure if this helps at all or is just more confusing

That's complete and utter rubbish. Apart from the council being bankrupt.

it’s Birmingham week here at the Observer, but the Midlander’s innate modesty means it’s rarely even Birmingham week in Birmingham itself.…

But for many Brummies, Birmingham’s fear of getting above itself is one of the region’s most endearing traits. The alternative, of course, is being Manchester, the city equivalent of an endlessly farting dog that expects nauseated passersby to applaud.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/14/i-value-brummie-art-but-who-else-does-king-kong-stewart-lee-joe-lycett-birmingham

Same 👆👆

No you’re right – I grew up there and it is characterless and lacking a strong sense of identity. Same for much of the midlands, it’s a real vacuum.

Saying that, Stewart Lee wrote a funny piece recently comparing humble, unassuming, self-deprecating Brum with pleased-with-itself-for-no-reason Manchester

Manchester was fantastic 10/15 years ago when I lived there.
So modest.

Manchester was fantastic 10/15 years ago when I lived there.
Too up it's own arse now. Always rainy, always roadworks, too busy.
I also lived in Altrincham 8 years ago and loved it but as we left it just felt like it was getting more and more pretentious.
My partner worked in Brum once and I just thought it was grey, dull and a bit unsafe.
So Manchester gets my vote, but only just.

Having seen that you would be looking at Stratford/Leom/Warwick in the midlands, go for Cheshire. The former have beautiful countryside nearby, but are ultimately a bit lacking in buzz and character – my opinion. Stratford is nice to visit but wouldn’t want to live there personally.

You’re not actually looking at either Manchester or Birmingham 🥴

But all still relatively close - wilmslow is 17-25 mins by local train and about £8 return.

They’re both shitholes 😂

(Not a biased outsider, have lived in both!)

If you read OPs update she’s acknowledged and explained that. They are completely aware it’s not actually in Manchester but are thinking of it terms of their nearest city. I did a similar thing when I was deciding what town to move to from when I left London.

Apart from Altrincham which is pushing it , the rest are in Cheshire. Not Manchester. 🤨 Totally different vibe to MCR.

Honestly Stratford is no where near Birmingham and you would be hard pushed to find anyone who lives there but goes every weekend to Birmingham which is depressing and a real mess. It has no identity anymore.

I spend a lot of time in Birmingham and it’s not a good looking city. The council is bankrupt.

If you have lived in London which I have you will be very disappointed in Birmingham.

Pa there is also a lot to keep you busy in Leamington / Stratford before you even need to venture to Bham!

I live near Birmingham and work 50% in Bham and 50% in Manchester.

If you are looking Leamington/Stratford side and want to retain easy access to London then definitely Birmingham.

I would say Birmingham has gone downhill since Covid but theatre and live events still better than Manchester. However Manchester will undoubtedly be getting more live music with the Co-Op Arena.

Restaurant quality about the same in both though Bham has more Michelin stars.

Tram network better in Manchester. Midlands public transport is dire.

The walk from Piccadilly down to Arndale in Manchester is like something from the apocalypse it's awful and I wouldn't take my kids down there. You can bypass it with a free bus though. Birmingham has bad areas of New street but it's like Buckingham Palace compared to Piccadilly!

The area around Exchange square in Manchester with Arndale, Corn Exchange, Printworks, Selfridges is great. Equally the Paradise and Brindleyplace areas of Birmingham are great.

Tough choice!

When I saw Blur at the MEN in 2009 it was boiling. So yes, occasionally 😁

Its boiling today, so not true.

ere we go again. Yawn.