Do you prefer Birmingham or Manchester

[Clarro]

DH and I are moving out of London.

We are considering both cities. Which city itself do you prefer?

Why would you be spending time in Birmingham city centre if you lived in either of those three places?

Is it for work?

So you’re thinking Cheshire? Not really Manchester.

Yes, and the residents of any of those places would take great umbrage at being told that actually they live in Birmingham!

My question is more which city is nicer to spend a day in? :)

If you are genuinely planning to spend weekends in the city itself (rather than using local shopping, eating, museums, theatre - all of which Stratford or Warwick would have locally, though iirc Warwick theatre is actually at the University, near Coventry) it might be best to choose one of the ‘best’ suburbs of Birmingham itself.

I live near Birmingham and loathe the city centre, Manchester is a million times better.

I have lived in both and in multiple locations. You couldn't pay me to live in either city.

A PP has said that the best city for a weekend depends on your interests ...

As a pure visitor to both city centres, I prefer Manchester (city centre, though gloomy in typical weather, feels solid, established, planned) over Birmingham (always feels slightly half-built and in flux). However, a younger relative loves Birmingham’s younger and more ‘edgy’ feel.

Birmingham.

Manchester is up itself and the centre has become rather soulless.

Birmingham isn't pretty but it's more down to earth and authentic.

But possibly not in the areas she's got her eye on!

I used to live in Kenilworth and went to Uni in Birmingham - Warwickshire is beautiful and I miss it often! Solihull is also nice south of Birmingham.

I personally don't like Manchester, never have. Find it depressing and bleak! Warwickshire towns are much nicer than the likes of knutsford and Alderly Edge IMO - there's a pretentiousness there that you don't get in Warwickshire!

Threads like this would be a lot easier if you just posted everything in the first one rather than being cryptic.

It's gone from where's best to live with people replying to you then you giving your short list of areas which aren't actually in either of the two cities you initially asked about and therefore make the replies irrelevant

Turns out you actually want to know which city is best for a day out, so why not just ask that?!

Though if I lived in Leamington, Stratford or Warwick I wouldn't bother with Birmingham every weekend. Maybe twice a year at most and I say that as someone who was born and bred and lived there for 40 years. Moved 3 years ago and not been back since.

Currently we live in Zone 4 but literally every weekend we go into Central London for our interests. We’re literally out for the entire day.

DS likes trying new food so we will often visit food paces he sees on TikTok. DS also enjoys being in museums - literally any museum he just likes the atmosphere.

Catch the train on a Saturday morning (ds’ favourite thing) and then we have our breakfast, which he likes to rate on his excel 😂, followed by an activity.

YABVU to leave London with that budget 😂

Oh I’m not meaning to be cryptic my only question is which city do you prefer to spend time in. No more, no less

never asked which do you prefer to live in.

Manchester is great but its not London and you are pretty likely to exhaust the possibilities after a few months, plus it rains a lot.
If you want the London lifestyle you describe I suggest you stay there

Manchester by a mile.

If your after a central London experience outside of central London, you're going to be disappointed.

Birmingham hadn't got that much stuff to keep you occupied for that long. You definitely couldn't spend endless weekends in the city centre. It's tired, run down and nowhere near the city it used to be. The whole centre used to be full of shops and independents and markets and now it's just grim. Endless pound shops, phone shops, a big hotel in the centre houses immigrants waiting to be processed, streets stink of piss, homeless and beggars everywhere.

Bullring takes about an hour to walk round and nothing exceptional in there

Custard Factory worth a look at, maybe takes half a day? Museum and Art Gallery is currently closed down. HS2 works are currently dominating and making it look even worse

There are a few little Museums but the problem is they never change inside.

When the bmag closed down, the displays in there had been the same since the 90s and were broken and tired.

You would be hard pushed to find something every weekend for longer than 3 months and that's being generous.

I think we need to know why you are moving. Why do you want a London-lifestyle in somewhere-not-London?

I lived in Birmingham for a few years and I wouldn't go back if you paid me.

My family are from Manchester so I'm biased.

Choose Birmingham.

So you want London and the life you have now but not in London?

Erm, does DH have a New York office?

Manchester. I hate Birmingham.

This thread is like pulling teeth 😂

OP no one can possibly know what you and your family like to spend your weekends in a big city centre doing, so how would we know what you prefer.

If the two things we know about you are that your son likes eating at places he has seen on Tiktok and going to museums then either city I guess?

who knows.