Birmingham Uni nightlife

[Tranopiticon]

If you have or have had a child at UOB did they go into town much for socialising? Appreciate this will vary from child to child. Is there plenty going on on campus? With Selly Oak being 2/3 yr student central I wondered if that kept the axis of entertainment away from town?

I read on a Facebook site that lots of them socialise on campus in first year - sports nights and so on, but my DS,and lots of students headed to Broad Street which is where the clubs are. He's in third year now and has no desire to do further clubbing!

I didn’t go to Birmingham uni but some of my friends did and whenever I went to visit there was always plenty going on on campus! I went quite a few times for trips to visit them and the nightlife was fab, transport good for getting into city centre. Selly Oak can be quite noisy though I’d say if you’re not really into the party scene, one of my friends lived there after first year and paid a fortune for what was really a shit hole shared with other students but she loved it as she loved the lifestyle it gave her. (This was 2 years ago ish but can’t imagine it’s changed massively in that time)

Many years ago it was mostly socialising in the Vale for first years (parties in flats / rooms or meeting up at hall bars) or at the Guild and OVT, with occasional trips into town for clubs (get in for free before 10.30pm) or to see bands, or out to the cheap curry houses. In 2nd/3rd year Selly Oak was expensive for grotty accommodation and was full of the rugby types that partied hard and wanted to be able sleep as late as possible and still
get in for lectures on time.

My youngest has just started and is not much of a clubber (but has joined in) but so far there’s a fair bit of socialising in halls - movie nights etc. He says Ubers are cheap, which makes town accessible for those that like clubbing.

A far cry from relying on the night buses of old!

I've heard that selly oak is a rough area though? And students do get mugged walking back home from uni or from a night out? Am I wrong?

Selly Oak is 90% students so , if students are being mugged, it's by fellow students... I'm not sure a majority student area is 'rough'. Perhaps different form the home lives of lots of students and different from the campus bubble of first year.

Honestly, of course it sometimes happens. A surprising number of BU students have cars and damage to cars is the most common crime. I read about that all the time on a Facebook page called Fab n Fresh.

There are various campus based initiatives to keep students safe walking at night. That said, DS has never felt in danger and does not know anyone who has been a victim of any crime at all.

I once found a league table of student area crime rates. Birmingham wasn't in the top ten.

The Complete Uni Guide does a table of university town / city crime rates. Aston and Birmingham City have higher rates than Birmingham, as do popular unis like Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, KCL, UCL, LSE etc.

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/student-advice/where-to-study/crime-rates-in-university-cities-and-towns

That makes sense, BCU and Aston's figures are awful, but their main campuses are right in the city centre. Selly Oak isn't a particularly rough area at all, just a studenty one as @Piggywaspushed said.

Yes, you are wrong.

@Tranopiticon it really depends what sort of nightlife they like.
I suspect most students go in to the City Centre at some point to check out the clubs, but unless you are a dedicated clubber, then its not a frequent thing.

Young people who aren't students at UoB go to Selly Oak for the pubs, so there is certainly plenty of life in the area.