Where to live around Birmingham?

[Baroozer]

DH has got a job in the centre of Birmingham so we are going to be moving to that area. Neither of us wants to live in Birmingham, but DH doesn't want a massive commute (40 minutes max, and he'll be travelling in at 7am and out at 7pm so he should hopefully avoid rush hour).

We have DC (oldest is 9) so we're looking for a decent primary school, a decent secondary (it doesn't have to be a grammar) and a friendly neighbourhood. If there was a reasonable gymnastics club nearby that would be a bonus.

DH used to live in Stafford as a child and does not want to go back there for some unfathomable reason. He prefers Worcestershire and Warwickshire, but we can be flexible (apart from the Stafford thing).

Thanks in advance.

Hi there, we live in Sutton Coldfield why h is around 7 miles out of the city. There are a lot of outstanding rated schools in the area as well as grammar schools. My dc are 9 & 8 so still in primary - there is a well used leisure centre in the area as well as a 2500 acre park which we use a lot. We also have friends in Solihull which is also lovely but further out from the city, I would have a drive round and get a feel for areas. Good luck I'm sure you will like it

Shenstone is on the train line to Birmingham new street but is a lovely medium-sized village. Quite a few expensive houses but some more affordable ones?

We're in Solihull - v easy train links (10 mins) to Birmingham & excellent schools. Good luck with the move.

Bromsgrove?

Kenilworth is a lovely small town (Kenilworth school), Warwick is larger (Myton school), Ardon School knowle/Solihull way is good but Solihull still feels on the edge of the city, Stratford upon avon and Leamington spa are both attractive towns.

I second formicaqueen's suggestions. Knowle is lovely, Dorridge is pretty nice too. Those Warwickshire towns are very nice. Solihull at one time - don't know if it's still true - had more millionaires per head of population than anywhere else!

Bromsgrove seems to be all charity shops nowadays, I think I'd look a bit further south down the M5.

What is your budget?

Thanks for the suggestions! I hadn't even thought of places like Knowle or Dorridge, but now Knowle has zoomed to the top of the list. It looks exactly what we were looking for!

Warwick was one of the places on our list, but DH heard that the traffic was awful even at the hours when he will be travelling.

I like the idea of Kenilworth. It's got a castle! It does look quite close to Coventry and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing because we had heard that Coventry was quite rough.

I think Stratford upon Avon is out of our price range because we need at least four bedrooms and we would like a decent garden.

We were originally thinking of Alcester, but were worrying that the non-grammar secondary school might not be any good.

List so far:
Knowle
Kenilworth
Warwick (if traffic is ok)
Alcester?

Hagley? .

I am not so posh! The Kings Heath/Moseley area is more mixed. The High Street in Kings Heath has gone a bit scruffy - most High Streets have - but there is a choice of schools both primary and secondary. No station but good bus routes. Parks, lots of sports facilities etc. Some very nice Edwardian/Victorian larger houses if that's your thing. If you want new build then probably the areas already mentioned would be better.

Droitwich Spa
Wychbold
Feckenham
Inkberrow
Worcester

How about something like this?

Is Worcester close enough? I thought it took more than 40 minutes to get into the centre of Birmingham from Worcester?

Our budget is currently £600k, but, as they always say on the property programmes, we might be able to stretch to £650k for the right house. Also my dad is offering to chip in some money if we need, though I'd rather not be even more beholden to him.

I could quite easily move here...

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/28124245?search_identifier=5339cdb97c25a6126800d2133adaecb7

Out of your list, I would choose to live in Knowle were we ever to move back to the Midlands. (Grew up in Solihull & family in Kenilworth). Prefer Leamington Spa over Warwick not that there's more than a small bridge between the two.

With that budget Solihull would be affordable. Lapworth & Henley in Arden are well worth a look too.

DB and family live in Dorridge. The train station makes commuting v easy. Good primaries and secondary schools. Odd fact; at one time they had 3 police chief constables living on their street (separately!).

As long as you were the right side of Worcester to get on the motorway easily (ie, via the not-actually-a-ring road) then you'll easily be in central Brum in 40 mins at that time of day. We live off j7 of the M5, and dh works on the Hagley Road, nearly in the centre, and can still drop ds at school at 8.15 and get into the office before 9.

And your budget gets you serious house out here!

I like Leamington. I think for teenagers being in/near Birmingham has a lot to offer though the surrounding towns may offer a pleasant environment for younger children and their parents. My stepchildren and daughter have attended Birmingham schools and all have done/are doing well.

Have to add that I would't worry about the kenilworth/coventry thing. They always seem very very separate to me. In your shoes I'd look at Knowle, Kenilworth and Henley

Leamington Spa is a bit like Cheltenham but smaller. Both Regency in style. Agree that it will take longer to drive in from Warwick/Leamington but the trains are excellent.

If you're thinking Leamington or Warwick (both v nice) then your best bet is train into Birmingham as it does take a while to drive into the city centre (at least 40 mins with not a lot of traffic, but likely an hour or more depending on traffic & time of day).

Knowle & Dorridge are both very nice & easily into Birmingham driving in 30-40 mins or 15-20 mins by train.

I live in Solihull, so it would still be my favourite & only 10-15 mins by train.

With your budget, you should easily get a 4-bedroom, so good luck with your search.

Tamworth ..

What about Tamworth? Is it particularly lovely or somewhere we should avoid?

tamworth is manky.