To dislike Birmingham?

[redeoof]

I’ve worked in the city maybe 4 years now .. there really isn’t much appealing about it. I once overheard a woman on the train say she does guided tours for Manc, London and Birmingham - and Bham is a hard sell.

I’ve been coming into New Street station for years and there’s always been construction and it’s never seemed to progressed to anything.

I walk down New Street and actually feel unsafe. It’s depressing and dreary .. and it should be so much more

My son was at uni there and witnessed no stabbings in 5 years!

Anyway, as much as I am enjoying this thread now, as it's got more lighthearted - I am as tired as feck, so I'm off to bed. (Looks like the OP has gone to bed now anyway!)

Night all. 😘

You will never SET foot there. You're welcome.

The city art gallery and museum is top notch. And there's another excellent art gallery at the University.

Was that an attempt to make Chmarket happen ?

How would you even pronounce it?

Neither do I.
But that you don't live there is utterly hilarious?

Took the kids there for a few days last year and we all loved it. Stayed in a nice city apartment and went to sea life, lego discovery, cadburys world, botanical gardens, back to backs, the library (amazing place) and Think Tank as well as plenty of shopping and eating in great restaurants. Didn't experience any trouble and walked round lots. Pop in for shopping trips on the train once or twice a year also. Of course there are bad areas as there are everywhere but I like it.

I grew up in Brum in the 1970s and had a real laugh. It was a dump then but the people were funny as fuck. I do remember though queuing to get into a nightclub with a few mates from uni, telling them how nice it was there, and one of them got stabbed! so that was a bit of an oops moment. Haven't been back in decades

Choosing to go to Uni in bham was my biggest regret. It never felt like home, people weren't particularly friendly, as you say it was always under construction even 10+ years ago! I did not feel safe. Many students were pick-pocketed. Taxis wouldn't take me home because of the area my student accommodation was in.

It's got so much potential but Manchester has far more heart imo

I worked in theatre for decades and toured all round the UK and abroad. I've been to pretty much all of the major cities and towns in the UK that have a theatre or two and stayed there for weeks at a time in multiple different years. Birmingham is a really long way from the worst place you could find yourself. It actually has lots going for it and has massively improved in a number of ways since the 90s.

If you want to go somewhere really miserable try Malvern, Stroud or Stoke on Trent (all depressing in different ways).

I quite like Birmingham compared to some other places but I think it takes a bit more getting to know to find the good parts compared to eg Manchester or Liverpool.

@MonGrainDeSel Whatever you've got against Stroud and Malvern, they're very small, with nice countryside just outside them.

It has always had one of the highest rates of retention of students who stay to live and work in the City after graduation, which sounds to me like a pretty good recommendation by young people who have 'test driven' it for 3 or 4 years.

It's bloody awful.

And such a shame because it could be brilliant.

Malvern is dark and grim with a lot of hills around it which makes it unpleasant to spend time in. Stroud is just awful. Full of people who want to tell you about chakras. They are both small which is also a black mark in my book. I like cities.

I do admit that I don't really care about countryside and all the times I've stayed in those places I was working so didn't have time to explore outside the town. But Birmingham was way way more fun than either of those places.

We call it the German market in Birmingham anyway

I'm scared to go there.

I remember there are stabbings there as well

Wasn't a young man also sadly stabbed to death by a thug in a nightclub because in a previous night out he'd bumped into him by accident

This is bonkers. Birmingham isn't dangerous. I guess you are talking with no actual personal experience.

I've been. It is dangerous. It doesn't feel welcoming and safe at all.

I've been too, many times. It feels fine.

Very true, the city I live in is a depressing dump in the main part, lots of boarded up shops, the typical selection of shops are nail bars, chicken shops, vape shops and coffee chains. One street that used to be home to two large now vanished chain stores is now a small tent city. There are beggars by the cash points and people crashed out in doorways. I live in a rough area but honestly it does not feel as unsafe as town these days.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-68744873

You’re not wrong. I’ve lived here 10 years and it’s ok and sort of home now. My DD has grown up here but I’m seeing it get more and more like a shithole.

It’s no more dangerous than any other city to be fair. It has quite a nice feel in the city centre.