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?

If you want Birmingham for all the reasons you've mentioned, then move to Birmingham!
Don't move to Warwick so you can enjoy trendy new cafes etc in a city (many of which are in suburbs, so if you wanted to do that you'd have to walk to the station (let's say 20-30 mins), train to the centre (40 mins), then bus to (eg) King's Heath, Moseley etc (20-30 mins). And the same in reverse. And the train ticket is probably £10.

Whatever you do, don't move to Stratford if ease of visiting Bham is a priority!

Warwick and Leamington are lovely places to live, and access to Bham is easy, but every weekend would soon grate.

Have you considered Solihull? More trains, only 10 mins, and probably buses too.

Wherever you end up, you're unlikely to be within a short walk of a station (area around Leam station is largely student, and the stock of nice houses is limited, Warwick isn't very big so you're unlikely to find something very close)

The advantage of Warwick/Leamington (and Bham) over Mcr is that it's closer to London (with the choice of 3 different train operators).

I think they’re very different, and both great places in different ways. I would probably live in Manchester over Birmingham simply because it’s easier to get to the cost and Birmingham seems so land locked.

Manchester would be further from my family though.

Second that re Stratford - not easy at all to get to Brum! I tried it onde for a day of work ahead of a weekend in Stratford (my work has multiple offices) and it was not quick at all! Albeit relatively straight forward as a single train, it takes ages - about an hour i think.

I would just bear in mind that whilst doing all of this stuff is lovely now, in 2-3 years, your DS will have his own social life and will probably want to spend more time with his friends from school at weekends rather than walking round museums with his parents (no offence) so I personally wouldn't choose to relocate to a completely new area purely based on what you do now.

We used to do loads of stuff with DSD at weekends but the second she started high school she just wasn't interested and just wants to be at the park / going into town / having sleepovers etc with her friends. Occasionally we can get her out with a bribe of a brunch somewhere 😂but it's really completely different to when they're at primary.

LOL Stratford/Warwick/Leamington Spa is not Birmingham.

OP has said that their DC is home educated and ND, so it is likely that they will follow a slightly different timeline in meeting friends etc independently from the NT, primary/secondary school educated norm.

What is the HE community like in each area? While it is some years ahead yet, if eg standard qualifications such as GCSEs etc are in any way on the agenda at any point, some areas have more well-set-up HE groups / support than others.

On that basis, Birmingham.

I am not from the area originally but live not far from it, or where you're looking at living. I have a friend on the outskirts of Manchester so visit there regularly too.

As city centres they aren't too different. But Birmingham feels like a happier place.

Might also be worth noting I am originally Northern. And would usually choose North over anywhere else. But not in this choice.

Liverpool 🤣🤣🤣

What's your budget?
Move to Solihull or Sutton Coldfield.
Birmingham within reach without actually having to live there.

Seen your update - Stratford upon Avon - beautiful.

Manchester.
But Leeds is better,

I'd swerve Sutton Coldfield. Town centre is decimated, Andrew Mitchell is a knob and the Council is bankrupt.

Crime is increasing as there's no consequence. Police only giving warnings out and crime numbers to victims

I go to both. I live on Merseyside. If you go Manchester way, you've also got the Wirral/Liverpool for a day out.
I like Birmingham Christmas Markets, but Manchester has better theatre/events etc on offer. I've never been to Birmingham and there hasn't been gang fights in/around Macdonalds. It just seems more aggressive. I do like that Stratford-upon-avon etc is easily accessible from Birmingham. I'd go out walking around the city at night.

I’m not surprised in the slightest to see that most people on this thread prefer Manchester. Birmingham is a bit soulless compared to Manchester and much rougher. Manchester is more ‘London-y’ than Birmingham, and has much more nice things to do. Also, I wouldn’t want to live in a city that has such an incompetent local authority. Consider Altrincham if you want somewhere really nice but still be close to the city.

You may want to look at Hampton in Arden, Balsall common, knowle and meridian if Birmingham is favoured

Seconded. Although Leamington as OP mentioned later on in an update is also lovely.

Yep, definitely Leeds.😁

But of your two choices - Birmingham. As someone who doesn’t come from there, find it just generally a nicer and friendlier place to be. And prefer your list of places to live for Birmingham than those for Manchester too.

The OP wants "shopping, eating and going to museums and plays" so actually Liverpool would tick all boxes. We have a lot of theatre going on. But I live slightly outside now. I voted Manchester because then you've got day trips to Liverpool. We have a lot of events acrossMerseyside (as does Manchester).

Your update did change things, OP.

There are many nice places to live in both Warwickshire and Cheshire on your budget. For your priorities, I would choose Manchester.

PS Like @senua I think London suits you better.

I have relatives in one and friends in the other. If you gave me 900K and 3 seconds to make a decision I’d go for Manchester. For all its faults I feel both at home and energised when I spend time there.

I was in Manchester recently and though the same.

Born and bred Brummie but moved 3 years ago. I wouldn't go back if you paid me. I travelled the length and breadth of the city for work so know it very very well. It is congested, dirty, beggars / druggies at traffic lights knocking for money. The centre is rough and shabby. No thanks never again.

Grew up and lived in London (centrally and outskirts) and now live just outside of Birmingham. Nowhere is like London, Birmingham feels tiny in comparison. I don't go into the city anymore it's a dive. It's not like London where you can live quite far out and still be a part of London and feel like a Londoner. Warwick, Stratford etc are lovely towns in their own right but absoloultey nothing to do with Birmingham and not as easy to get into central brum as you'd think. If you want city life then look at places like Mosely, Edgebaston etc that actually are part of Birmingham but are quite pleasant.

Having read all your updates @Clarro I'd still go for Birmingham but not solely for Birmingham.

You could live in any of the Warwickshire places you've mentioned and still get a lot of what you talked about without having to go to a city, so it would reduce the travel into Birmingham from every weekend to every month ish. Plus easy access to other cities, such as Nottingham, Leicester etc. Peaks not far away, Cotswolds close by too.

You'd have many more options for what you enjoy. Especially food, there's food festivals all over the place.

It's not quite that easy to get into Bham city centre from Warwickshire - I think you may need to do some more research 🙈