Where to live in Birmingham?

[Taskmasterlover]

Only post on here to get some responses. Looking to possibly move to Birmingham sometime next year - want to be within a 30-40 minute public transport commute ideally. Budget is £450k for a 4 bedroom house, want a nice family friendly area, happy with new builds.

Any suggestions of areas? Thanks

Actually that would be a good test- my next move will be £250,000, needs 3 beds, parking and a bit of garden, sensibly commutable but not necessarily on a train line. I'd be interested for suggestions on that as a lot of the areas mentioned for the OP would be way over my budget. I like 1930s semi-detached type houses the best....I'm going to see what Rightmove has to offer seeing as it's a sofa Sunday!

Agree bdpwoah

People need to read the information an OP give you in threads like these.

Every single time someone asks about areas to live in Birmingham, people start saying "Knowle is nice" or "I''d have a look at Balsall Common" Where are you going to get 4 beds in either of those to awfully nice areas for £450K ?
Equally, if you have £450K, then you wouldn't start looking in Bartley Green, or Woodgate Valley, or Frankley, as, if you have that kind of budget, then you'd not be choosing an area where houses cost a fraction of that.
Doesn't mean we can't find you a decent house within one of the less popular areas if OP had come on sand said "Our budget is £210K. It is just responding to what the OP has asked for help with.

Area of Lickey, Barnt Green (expensive but 30 mins by train and semi rural), Blackwell, Bromsgrove, Alvechurch all great for families

I've done my experiment and it looks like my hypothetical move is unexpectedly taking me to Great Barr or Quinton. I could go along with that!

@AlandAnna you don't get a lot for your money in those areas unfortunately.

I always think Hall Green looks nice too but that's only dim memories of going to the dog track for work socials as a youngster

The dog track is now an estate of new builds

www.lindenhomes.co.uk/developments/west-midlands/olympia-birmingham

though it looks like the 4 beds have sold. Otherwise OP could be sorted!

Hall Green often stays below the radar on these threads but I don't know why. You'll get much more house for your money than just over the border in Solihull and there is a wide range of properties and plenty of amenities and green space.

[quote 8dpwoah]@AlandAnna you don't get a lot for your money in those areas unfortunately.[/quote]
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90685990#/

Doable (but not in Barnt Green, go a couple of miles out!)

VERY different to Barnt Green though even only going that short distance. Ive friends in Catshill which is the other side of the A38 from Marlbrook and sometimes cut that way to get on the M42 at junction 2 if junction 1 is as clogged up as normal, it's like being on another planet!

Although Catshill and Marlbrook are both perfectly nice as far as I can tell, just the roads seem to struggle with having the M42 one way and the M5 the other end.

Definitely Sutton Coldfield - it's lovely!

When you go to Birmingham for a visit, drive out of the city, through Erdington to Sutton Coldfield.
Boldmere is lovely and right next to Wylde Green train station with excellent rail links to Birmingham and Lichfield.
It's also really close to Sutton park, which is huge and lovely.
There are excellent primary and secondary schools, including two grammar schools, sports clubs and facilities, a small town centre with nice restaurants.

Having lived in Birmingham,Solihull and Bromsgrove,I would recommend Bromsgrove.
Great commuter links by rail,close to M5,M42.Great schools,low crime rate,have 3 children that feel safe walking the streets,lots of lovely outdoor spaces Lickey Hills,Malvern Hills.Close to Worcester and Birmingham for nightlife and shopping.Some have mentioned various areas in B'ham but do your research.

I would say south Birmingham is best. Moseley, kings heath, Stirchley, cotteridge and bournville are all close to the city with plenty of parks and young families. Still south, but over to the west, Bearwood is really nice along with Harbourne although that is a lot pricier. Sutton Coldfield, Solihull and the towns nearby (Knowle, Dorridge) are nice but I would say a bit 'flashier' and not for me. Also not sure your budget would stretch to them. To be honest, 30 mins from the city gives you quite a broad area. Places like Earlswood and Alvechurch are nice and you you basically feel like you are in the countryside. So it all depends what you are after. Good luck. Xx

Sorry for resurrecting an old post OP but if you've haven't found a place and yet then definitely consider the Solihull area (ok it's not Birmingham but it's very nice). Ignore comments about Birmingham being a shithole. It's the best city IMO outside of London in the UK. I absolutely love it.

I live in Dorridge (part of Solihull) and it's a lovely village. Close to the motorway, good links to the rest of the country by train (I am within 10 minutes of a drive to Birmingham international station which has trains all over the UK and a 15 minute walk to my local station, Dorridge, which has direct fast links to London and Birmingham), the village has lots of shops and a short drive to the neighbouring village of Knowle has excellent restaurants and independent shops which is rare to find IMO. I don't have children however Arden (my local school) is excellent for doing GCSEs (A Level results aren't as good as GCSE results unfortunately but 70% of pupils achieved a Grade 5 at least at GCSE level). Ignore the previous post about being too "flash" - I never felt that way living here.

Birmingham itself, I would recommend Harborne or Edgbaston. Good luck!

I would recommend as an ex-Silhillian Solihull, Shirley but no-one seems to have mentioned Redditch. My relatives all live there and it seems to have everything

I used to live in Bournville and then Stirchley many years ago, both were good areas, Stirchley apparently is now really popular to go out in. Both smell of chocolate! Used to love hearing the bells of the carillon, Bournville was a garden village built by the Cadbury family so the houses are more rural looking with huge gardens. The idea was that the workers had enough room to grow food and enjoy outdoor recreation in. It’s about as nice a place in a city as it can be, I moved there from rural Kent and it’s green leaves stopped my horrible homesickness a bit!

I would recommend Bournville or Cotteridge . All the primary schools are good . Very green . Lots going on in the local parks especially Cotteridge park which runs free sessions of Zumba , Tai Chi, Dance . There is a yoga studio in nearby Stirchley and a brilliant independent / co operative bakery
Also Barnt Green which is just outside Birmingham .

I have lived in Redditch in the past (I actually grew up there). It does have some nice aspects going for it like lots of greenery, cheap homes, close to the motorway, lots of supermarkets & generally a safe area but it is so boring. The town centre is in a dire state and a bit depressing now, lots of roundabouts, the schools aren’t really great (most secondary schools are below the national average for performance results at GCSE level) and the local A&E has had its services stripped and moved to Worcester hospital (I’ve never personally had a problem with the hospital).

Hairbrush123 ahh I only visit the family have gone by what they say