University of Birmingham- safety issues?

[bamboowarrior]

Is the university campus safe? And the student area of selly oak? How safe are the students ?

Many thanks

What’s your concern?

Hearing stories of break ins / gangs // drugs // students feeling very unsafe ?? Real or rumor??

Every town and city in the country have those issues

Campus will have the usual security staff and Selly Oak is a busy student area.

It’s hardly Caracas.

I work there and the campus is fine, it's a lovely leafy area with two independent schools right next door too. Most of the first year accommodation is in the Vale, which borders Edgbaston and Harborne, which are two very wealthy suburbs of Birmingham (well, Edgbaston has some very deprived areas too, but they're the other side of the Hagley Road). Selly Oak is more down to earth and I think like all student areas, it's probably targeted a bit by thieves, but it's certainly not a particularly rough area of the city or gang-ridden; Selly Park which borders it is a desirable area for uni staff to live. I think in every city, students are probably targeted a bit?

Everything @crazycrofter said.

It is a lovely University campus, and very typical student housing area.

The campus is really lovely.

LOL.

I used to live in Caracas. It's a great city. But as you say, not very safe.

We didn’t get the Caracas gig but my friend did - she loved it there, but out in town one day she heard a car backfire very close by; when she got home she found a bullet hole in her own car.

I mean as long as you pay the usual 'security charge' to the peaky blinders, Birmingham is 100% safe.

Have you posted this before Or perhaps in WIWIKAU?

In the past two to three years I can recall three sad stories about students being seriously assaulted or murdered in university towns. None were in Birmingham. That doesn't mean those cities were more dangerous, necessarily, of course.

I had my concerns about my DS going to such a large city but he has never felt unsafe.

Also, in first year, they will barely have to venture into Selly Oak, should they choose not to. This gives them a year of campus living cushioned from the hurly burly.

One fairly unique thing about Birmingham is the fact that nearly all second and third years live off campus in the same area, and this area is spitting distance from the university. In virtually all other university towns, accommodation after first year is either spread around various areas , or concentrated in one area but at a distance from the campus. Accommodation is relatively easy to find in Birmingham, too, unlike Manchester, Glasgow or Durham, for example.although it's still bloody expensive

I saw on your other thread you mentioned Liverpool. I'd be more concerned about Liverpool - and almost certainly erroneously.

My DS is currently studying at the University of Birmingham. Yes, Birmingham is a big city and there are some parts that are less safe than others, but the campus and surrounding areas feel very safe.

My DS did have his phone and wallet stolen in the first year (from his bag in a room in the students union). Both the police and the University security were hugely helpful and this hasn't put him off Birmingham at all.

I haven't heard of any violent attacks on students while he's been there. There are lots of things in place, including a free night bus from the campus to your door, to make life safer as a student.

Also, in first year, they will barely have to venture into Selly Oak, should they choose not to. This gives them a year of campus living cushioned from the hurly burly.

Not sure where the self-catered shop for food, then - its a bit of a schlep to Waitrose in Harborne.

I definitely share the writer's love of Seoul Plaza, but the nervous undergraduate would actually have to risk crossing over Bristol Road to get there...

https://thetab.com/uk/birmingham/2022/11/01/here-is-a-definitive-ranking-of-all-the-selly-supermarkets-52709

Two Birmingham graduates in the family here, who have lived in a total of 6 B29 postcode roads between them (although one was in a road that estate agents try to pass off as Harborne, which must cause a bit of pearl-clutching next door in B17). I like Selly Oak, personally. And real families live there, too - otherwise, there would be no need for the primary schools.

I did say barely marching! (DS was catered so no need for any such schlepping) They certainly wouldn't have to go there at night, if they didn't want to....although my DS has and escaped mercifully unscathed!

Are you getting mixed up with Birmingham City University which is a completely different uni and another area? BCU does have drug and gang problems, both on campus and in the surrounding area. I would definitely not walk around there at night. Aston University also suffers similar problems as it is very close to BCU.

Ours quite often used the library at odd hours, as well as being out and about at the end of a night out (although DD did usually share an Uber with friends). DS2 has a habit of getting up at weird times in the night to go for walks along the seafront (this is at home, not in Birmingham, obviously). I've sort of got to the point where I appreciate that all I can do is drill into them to make sure that they remain aware of their surroundings...

The OP specifically mentioned Selly Oak, so presumably UoB, not BCU? Although there s a biggish chunk of BCU in Edgbaston- just a few minutes' walk from The Vale.

Re drugs, they are everywhere. When DS1 lived actually on Bristol Road (more or less bang opposite Aldi), he commented that being there during the summer was annoying as people would actually randomly offer to sell drugs - presumably during term time, they had a known customer base and didn't have to report to quite such blatant marketing techniques.

I would happily walk around Selly Oak - it's full of students. Every side road is terraced housing and they appear to be mostly full of students too.

As previous poster said - surrounding areas are very naice!

We all lived out in years 2 and 3 in Selly Oak, Bearwood, Kings Heath, Moseley, Bournbrook etc; can’t remember anyone having any issues over safety.

My ds and his friends have turned wandering/roaming around cities into a hobby, it's very odd, but last year after their GCSEs they spent most warm evenings wandering around the city centre/Broad St/Five Ways and the Selly Oak/uni area, looking for free food from places just about to close and talking to random people. They found out they could get into one section of the uni library too which they enjoyed. They were usually getting home around 11-12 and the only places they experienced trouble were on the buses and on one occasion the train. Buses can be quite intimidating at night - even in the day in some parts of Brum. Ds used to take the bus to school through some dodgy areas and he told me recently that that was why he started working out. But Selly Oak isn't one of those areas, it's not a scary place at all.

Selly Oak these days is practically a giant student village. I am often driving through there very late at night, around 2am, and there are still groups of students around. I sometimes go into the Tesco Express on the Bristol Road and there are people queuing even at that time of night. I wouldn't feel particularly unsafe there - in fact it's probably more unsafe in the "nice" suburb where I live where someone tried to mug me for my car and house keys when I got out of my car late one night.

Not the point of the thread but does anyone know if they are going to refurb Aldi in Selly Oak? My dd shops there every week.

All universities will attract some sort of crime and drugs are everywhere. My dd hasn't felt unsafe or told me any stories about crime which I know is anecdata and loves being at UoB. Most first years stay at the Vale rather than Selly Oak but when I've visited there was nothing scary about it at all.

DS has done two years, second year living in Selly. As others have said, Selly is basically one enormous student accommodation block now - his entire road was student rentals. He absolutely did not want to live in the Vale as it's too far out, and spent his first year in Bournbrook and will go back there in 4th year. Never had any worries about safety.

There is a dedicated Facebook group for University of Birmingham parents that's quite helpful