Moving from rough part of London to Birmingham

[ploads]

Hi all

I'm new to this site so I hope that I've posted this in the right area!

I'm a recent graduate, with an 11-month-old and another child on the way!! London is too expensive for us to live comfortably (Garden, drive etc), so I have been considering moving to the West Midlands for the last two years.

I went to uni in the East Midlands and enjoyed the quiet roads, neighbours being friendly etc... but do also like the option to have a good time and not be tooo far from the city!

I work in the city for a big four finance firm and I have managed to save up enough money to afford a tiny flat on my rough estate or a big (I think) house in Brum! I would be able to transfer to the Birmingham office of my company, partner would have to find a new job but shouldn't be too hard as every company has HR roles!

Our budget is around £300k, maximum £350k (mortgage). We would like 3 bedrooms minimum, 4 would be nice.

I would like to be close enough to commute to Broad Street/Snow Hill area in under 45 minutes, 30 minutes or less would be ideal.

Good schools, primary and secondary are also very important. Our first born is a boy and second is a girl, so would need mixed gender schools.

We are of Caribbean descent so it would be nice to live in a multi-cultural/diverse area, but at the same time there have been so much shootings and stabbings in my area in London so would like to be in a decent area too!

This is one of the main reasons for wanting to move to (a nice part of) Birmingham so that our children don't have to grow up through what we (I) did.

I've heard about Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, Moseley, Solihull... where else is nice!?

Main concerns are the commute to the city (for me) and good schools for the kids.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks all

Ah thanks ploads . Good luck, I've lived in Birmingham twice, once at uni and then later for a few years when working. Hope it all works out.

@Roomarmoset

Thanks - will have a look at Redditch!

@StylishMummy

Thanks! Will have a look at Coleshill too :)

@CantankerousCamel

Thank you :) If I don't who will?! I want the best for my kids!!

Hall green, the Solihull end. Multicultural, leafy, good roads, buses and trains. You can get a lovely big house for that money too. You're half way between Birmingham and Solihull.

Harborne is not as nice as it should be for the money. Moseley is interesting, very London like, but heavy traffic and no train.

@Curlywurlywurly

Thank you but Coventry is not an option :)

You n ed to be v close to any school you have your heart set on. The school I last worked at had a catchment of 1/2 a mile in a good year. Normal comp. Good rep.

I would say most places in bham and solihull will be fine for being multicultural. It's one aspect actually miss since I've moved out of the area

I like Solihull. But I prefer prefer being a bit further out iyswim. Good luck! Prices are rising fast in the city. I recently sold and am v v happy

Actually. I like hall green. The schools are v good. And my dd went to nursery there etc. Get a lot for your money and on border with drum and Solihull. So excellent schools

Definitely Harborne would be on my list. Most of the places listed are lovely like Bournville and Moseley however like Harborne they have lovely primary schools but secondary schools are not so good at all. A lot of people I know want to move out towards Halesowen and Hagley for the secondary school when their kids are older.

@ImNotShpanishImEgyptshun

Thank you, I have a friend from uni who lives in Hall Green.

I need to go and have a drive around these areas to feel it for myself!

Moseley is lovely, definitely look there :)

I live in Shirley, which isn’t far from Solihull. Still a good area (good schools etc) but a little bit cheaper than Solihull town centre.

Takes me 30-45 minutes to drive into Birmingham city centre (straight down the Stratford Road) or 20 minutes on the train :)

Hope this helps :)

@user1471530109

Thanks. We wouldn't be moving for now but just wanted to start researching from now, so prices will probably be a bit higher but oh well :)

@newmobile

So much planning is required with the schools!!

I'm happy I've started researching from now. Thanks for the tips

Curly,

I've just moved from Brum..Iove it! And go back weekly. I moved due to schools. Choose your area based on that. And catchements are small.

I lived in the border of Solihull and Brum and it was great. But it changed a lot in 10 yeats-not all for the better. Be picky. Things change quickly In a city in terms of good and bad areas

@Stephisaur

Thanks. 20 minutes on the train isn't too bad at all!

Seems like I need to base my searches on houses in areas that are close to good schools (primary and secondary) firstly and then close to a train station secondly?

All the train journeys seem to be quite quick, I guess if the journey to the station is a mile or less the total commute shouldn't be too bad.

@user1471530109

Thanks this has been reallly helpful.

Once I have the conversation with work, probably next year, I can really start thinking about it seriously! Just need to keep saving.

@ploads no problem :) feel free to PM me if you think it would help :)

Not just bus or train, we have trams in the Black Country.

Why don't you train it in?

Coventry 20 mins / Leamington & Warwick 30 mins/ Dorridge & Solihull 20 mins.

Great schools and decent homes for your budget. Especially Coventry which is on the up...

I live between Solihull and Shirley, I love it and would definitely recommend the area. I commute into Birmingham from widney manor station to snow hill, takes about 20 mins on train so not bad at all. Not sure about buses but it’s also easy enough to drive into town (though maybe not in rush hour)
Local schools are good, also lots to do in Solihull and Shirley.
My house falls at the lower end of your budget, if I could spend the higher end I’d like to live in Dorridge or Knowle (or surrounding little villages).

Maybe reach out to some of your potential new Brum based colleagues for advice too :) Could you rent for a couple of months in one of target area whilst you get settled and have a good scout around for perfect house?

You have some breathing space before you need perfect school catchment so maybe look at decent nursery for now and then invest mat leave time building your new mums network and finding out the about the options

I’m from London but am now settled in Birmingham. It’s a great city don’t move anywhere else. At first I found it a bit ‘poor little me’ but it’s changed over the years and I couldn’t imagine living in. London now.

The most striking thing I found was the way everyone from everywhere lived in the same streets in London. In Birmingham it’s not like that and it is quite difficult to find truely multicultural areas up here. Sutton Coldfield is great. Not too big, not too small. All the local schools are good, especially given the top ability are creamed off by grammars.
Great Catholic schools if you are religious. It’s not multicultural though neither is Solihull, but that is changing.