Nice family friendly places to live? Birmingham.

[lisa2104]

Hi there my dp has a new job in Birmingham near broad street so we'll be relocating with our 3 yo dd. Please could anyone recommend a nice place for us to live. Ideally we'd like a 3 bed semi or large terraced for around £700-£750 a month to rent with a good primary school nearby. Happy to live on outskirts as long as there are good transport links in. We are from Derby but have lived in south London for the last four years and love that there is lots to do.

In terms of transport in to work, then look at the cross city train line. Sorry I don't know all the stations (or areas) to the North - which might be preferable to you if you have family and friends in Derby still ???

In the South, depending where on Broad St, he would either get off at Five Ways or New Street.

Next out is University (literally - nowhere to live there if you don't have a million to spare)

Then Selly Oak - around the station there are nearly all student lets, you don't want to live there

Then Bournville. Now that's worth a look. Bournville Village Trust is lovely (and probably out of your price range) but bordering there is Stirchley which has quite a community feel to it now. Lots of roads of terraced housing, good transport, schools, lot of young families, parks etc.
Then Kings Norton Station which is on the border of Kings Norton and Cotteridge. Cotteridge very similar (and next) to Stirchley - lots of terraced housing, schools, shops, take aways, a lovely park. Would be worth a look. Kings Norton is really, really mixed - some beautiful houses way out of your price range (and mine ) and some really, really deprived areas all come under the name 'Kings Norton'. Have a mooch around and come back and ask with roads.

Next station is Northfield. Again, covers a multitude of different areas, although not as extreme as Kings Norton. Lots of schools, a High Street, swimming baths, library, park, etc. etc.

then Longbridge. This is where the big car plant closed down several years ago, so there's been a lot of recent regeneration. Housing is mainly what was built for the car plant workers. It's not the most attractive of areas but they are working hard to improve it and the new housing is nice, overlooking Cofton Park.

Hopefully someone will be along soon to tell you about the North side

Ask away if you find an area and want to know about it - there's a lot of Brummies on MN.

On the north side of the Cross City Train Line, look at Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield and Four Oaks (30 mins train ride to B'ham). Nice area, Gracechurch Shopping Centre and Sutton Park close by. There are a shortage of school places, although all the schools are good so quite sought after. Not sure how much rent would be in these areas. Four Oaks would probably be the most expensive. Good luck!

If he needed to drive into the City, then traffic from the North is a bit of a nightmare. I travel the other way and each time I thank my lucky stars I'm not in that crawl along the Aston Expressway. If happy with the train, then the North would probably be better for you to get back to Derby for visits.

I think you would need £850 a month or above to get a three bed house in wylde green/sutton/four oaks. Is there any reason you couldnt have a 2 bed as that is a nice area? What about Stourbridge? Nice residential area with decent schools, and trains from Stourbridge Junction in to Snow Hill, or Great Barr in the north if you want the three beds - some reasonable schools and decent transport, although not trains.

The cross city line is a good marker to work to.

I'm in South Birmingham I had no idea of rental prices. Looks like you'd be looking at £650ish for a two bed in Cotteridge, £750ish if it's nearer to BV. I could find very few 3 bed properties but that's more to do with housing stock around here than anything.

Thanks so much everyone. We could get 2 bed but we like an extra bedroom for guests/office/if we have more kids. We'd like to be able to save for a deposit to eventually buy.

I think you will struggle on that budget in South Birmingham. You will either have to compromise on space (i.e. 2 beds, or a flat) or school for that price, probably will have to compromise on both.
There is this which is close to Bournville station, but there's absolutely no parking round there (if you have a car too), it's not a large terrace, and you'll have no choice of school, only Stirchley or Moor Green Primaries.

I am in Sutton Coldfield too, lots of fantastic state schools round here, sutton park on the doorstep and great community (took part in the yearly fun run this weekend and the atmosphere was fantastic). Short commute into Brum and all that has to offer. We are in Boldmere and there is a village vibe here and lots of young families in the area. Just a word of warning though, a lot of the good school catchments across the city are tight so be very aware of this before renting. Good luck!

NC for this but have you looked East of Birmingham.

Coleshill, Water Orton are nice with a small town feel but good links (particularly by bus and train) to the city centre. Also plenty of houses within you budget available to rent.