Living in Birmingham - is it very unsafe?

[4Laurie]

Hi, my son has a place at the acting programme of the RBC (Birmingham conservatoire), this would mean living near the BCU in the centre, he really dislikes the area and thinks it's pretty unsafe so is hesitant about taking up his place. Does anyone have experience of this or could offer comments?

I previously lived in Birmingham for many years and had no problems. Of course there are, like any big city problems with gangs and crime but it is mainly localised. It sounds like it may give him the chance to get street smart. I have also lived in a small town in Devon and it was lovely but when I was younger I loved the opportunities, diversity and culture of Birmingham. As long as he is aware of his surroundings and on his guard he will be absolutely fine.

I felt that I was reading my own story here. I grew up in rural Devon, applied to UoB as one of my 5, came to interview and loathed it. So I went elsewhere. First job in regional public sector, and guess where I was posted.... Birmingham and right by the prison at Winston Green.

Guess what? I loved it. Birmingham has plenty of big city problems, but it is friendly, vibrant, dynamic and full of opportunities. There are places I would avoid, but many places that are surprising safe, such as walking to the car park by the canal after gigs at Symphony Hall, or waiting for an Uber in Digbeth. Ask away if there is anything I can answer for you.

Brummie here. I too thought this post was the poster having a joke with us. Sparkhill and Alum Rock aren't "up and coming" - in fact they're rather slummy, but having said that, I've never felt unsafe there, and there are lots of popular places to eat along the main roads if you like Asian food. The parts of Birmingham I'd avoid are Lee Bank, Nechells (I was in a shop there once when there was a drive by shooting outside), Handsworth, parts of Aston (the parts round the Uni are ok), Washford Heath, Sparkbrook, Highgate, Ladywood. But I don't think your son would really have any reason to go there anyway.

I go to the Conservatoire quite often for concerts - the walk there from New Street Station where train to Bournville stops, is quite long (for me at any rate) but the route is busy with lots of people in the city centre and lots of students around BCU & Millenium Point during the day. It's quiet around the area out of term time. The new HS2 station is being built right next door but I doubt that will be finished anytime soon.

Bournville is quiet, very green and a desirable place to live, Stirchley which runs into Bournville is up and coming (maybe the other poster confused Sparkbrook with Stirchley) with trendy cafes and bars, Selly Oak is "studentville" and is always busy, day & night with students. Birmingham is like any other city, there's good and bad parts. Before I moved back here I lived in a village in West Yorkshire, a place most people would think of as idyllic except the man in the house opposite mine stabbed his children and a man a few doors along from me was convicted of killing someone in a drug deal gone wrong.

Think of it like two circles around the city centre, the first circle around the city centre is a ring of shit, so avoid that. Areas like Aston, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Alum Rock, Nechells, Lozell’s, Handsworth. Further outside you have the outer ring of decent areas particularly on the South such as Moseley, Selly Oak, Bournville, Kings Heath

My DS's friend at Durham had his house broken into and his car stolen and used for further thefts before being wrecked.

Birmingham is a fab city, has a great vibe to it. I feel safer there than I have done in other cities. My child went to uni there (UoB) and loves it. My other teen regularly goes with their friends.

There are some rough areas but that's city life

I know Birmingham well. He’ll be fine with his city centre accommodation, no worse than being in any other city. Then it’s the cross-city train from New Street through to Bournville. That’s 4 stops through Edgbaston and Selly Oak (Five Ways, University, Selly Oak and Bournville stations). University of Birmingham is in Edgbaston, so the trains will be full of students travelling to and from there. Bournville is lovely. A huge chunk of it is in a conservation zone as it’s the original Cadbury workers’ village. It’s all very middle class professionals. Basically he’ll have access to all the benefits of the city centre and then be ‘commuting’ to the naice side of town!

Are you taking the piss here ? They’re absolute shitholes 😆

Well statistically Oxford and Cambridge are much safer than London, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle or any other major city also - for anybody, not just students, but millions of people manage to live there. My son and all of his friends who grew up in Oxford have all survived going to university in these cities, including Birmingham.

@cocolemonn
Thank god someone has said this

Do not go near those places OP.
Nor Lozells just in case some joker says it

There are private halls over the Selly Oak/ Bournville direction, which can be booked by students direct, rather than the room having to be allocated via their own university, but they tend to be rather pricy and, at this point in the admissions cycle, possibly fully booked.

Travelling alone, I used the Aston Conference hotel as a base last year when I was visiting DS1, who lives in Birmingham, and travelling to an event in Staffordshire, and quite happily walked to and from New Street, visited a local pub etc. When I'd been around that area previously, it had been for an evening out with DS1 and his partner, and with DD, who was at UoB and lived in Selly Oak at the time. That time, I stayed in Edgbaston and had no qualms about travelling there and back by bus (we'd decided on the Gosta Green pub because one of DD's housemates worked there, but tbh although the food was quite nice that time, by the time I went again, I felt it had gone downhill rather. Btw, theres a really nice little Greek place in Bournville, opposite - I think - a facility for international students at BCU.).

@4Laurie thousands of students (not to mention well over a million permanent residents) live in or commute into the city quite happily, but if your DS's concern for his personal safety is so severe that it is likely to impinge on his ability to live a normal life, then are there any alternatives available to him through Clearing, in a location where he would feel safer?

Isn't Birmingham the second most dangerous city in Europe. Second only to Marseille?

A lot of the anti-Birmingham sentiment is racism, because there's a lot of black and brown people. The city centre is no more dangerous than other major UK cities.

Don’t be ridiculous! It was an alarmist comment like this on a previous post that got the OP worrying in the first place. I’ll say it again - there are thousands of students in Birmingham, he will be absolutely fine. It’s a great city - I’m only sorry we won’t be going back any time soon now DS has left.

I live in Birmingham and I’d never, ever chose to move here. In fact, as soon as my son is finished primary school we are 100% moving out of here ready for secondary school/teenage years. I’m baffled that anyone considers the city centre safe? 🫣 but yes it’s probably just as bad as some other big cities. But not a chance I’d go from Devon to Birmingham

Are students just supposed to stay home then??

I mean no disrespect, @4Laurie but I’m struggling to understand how an aspiring actor can be so reluctant to embrace everything life has to offer. He’s going to need to become very much braver, and more curious, very quickly if he wants to be able to compete against his peers.

(Trust me - people talented enough to be admitted to conservatoires are generally extremely sharp elbowed!)

I remember DS visiting friends in Sutton Coldfield. He told me that they showed him around the area and pointed out where a pregnant lady was stabbed by an angry ex. Woman and baby survived. Ex was arrested.

That's a horrific story and really not appropriate to this thread for a range of reasons - not least that Sutton Coldfield is a pretty affluent area,nowhere near the centre of Birmingham.

To counteract @cc99xo my kids grew up in Birmingham, but we moved away for dh's work a couple of years ago, when they were 16 and 18. Their teenage years were fab, it's a great place to be young, everything on your doorstep, good public transport. If you don't like cities, then I can understand you wanting to move away but cities are great for teenagers, and Birmingham is no worse than any other city in the UK. My kids were a bit miffed at moving to a boring small town with barely any public transport and nothing to do!

For a similar reason, most students enjoy being in a big city for uni and Birmingham is as good as any!

Spent time in Birmingham recently and as a city I'd describe it as a university in itself - each area has its own 'vibe' - there's something for everyone. Loads of choice of food, culture, arts and nice parks too. Never felt unsafe and I frequented the areas described as shitholes. The only downside was the traffic and rubbish in some areas.

And I'd second the sentiment that areas with higher % of Black and brown people put (uncalled) fear into people.

I'm passing on all this feedback, it helps! I don't think this is the only issue for him, it's probably taking the plunge into a new place and way of life and wondering if it's the right course of action!

I have heard and read a few times that the % of students who have moved to B'ham, who then choose to stay and live there after graduating is considered to be quite high - which seems to indicate people who move there, like it there

DS1 did undergrad at UoB, went to Bristol a couple of years later for MSc, then moved back to Birmingham. Partner is also a UoB graduate and is now a primary school teacher in the city.

DD (the one who introduced me to the Greek place in Bournville - she's a whizz at sussing out good places to get a parent to fund a meal out, wherever she goes) graduated from UoB in 2023, worked in Norwich first a year, spent last academic year at the University of Leeds, and currently lives not a million miles from Birmingham. Leeds is great, but she has said that for preference she would prefer to return to UoB for further study. Oh and just for @MyselfMyName, DD spent her year abroad at Sciences Po in Aix-en-Provence and she and her friends spent quite a bit of their free time in Marseille - on the beach, in cafés and shops and - you may wish to.find something solid to sit on for this - attending football matches.