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.

[HormonalHousewife]

Arden gets extremely good results but you have to have a b93 postcode to get into it, which unfortunately pushes up house prices in the area.

It has it's downsides too though, drugs, bullying ... Just like lots of other schools really...
If you need anymore advice in the future just pm me. Happy to help.

[AvrilPoisson]

Baroozer- rush hour starts earlier than you think here! It has been gridlock by 7:30 recently!
Stratford Road (main road between Solihull and Bham) is a nightmare at any time of day.

[sleepdodger]

Out of Birmingham-
Suttoncoldfield
Kennilworth
Leamington spa
Bromsgrove/ villages around

Closer- More suburbs
Harbourne
Bournville
Moseley

[AvrilPoisson]

I hope this doesn't sound too churlish.... but why do people always mis-spell Harborne?

People always want to spell it like Bournville!

[FrauMoose]

Not a fan of Stourbridge - it's a place I was glad to leave. Town dying because of recession hitting local industry and because the nearby Merry Hill Centre sucked the life blood out of lacal shops. Vile ring road strangling the town centre. Some pleasant countryside nearby though. I imagine the schools are alright. Good trains into Birmingham but can't imagine commuting along the Hagley Rd is fun.

[pearlgirl]

Was going to suggest Hagley and Solihull, -as well as Harborne although it is a while since we looked at houses there. I always liked the feel of Malvern and Lichfield but don't know about schools and the commute into central Brum.
Interested to see people saying they were at Alcester Grammar as that is where dh went to school.

[onedev]

From Knowle/Dorridge, you'd be best to use the Coventry Rd into Bham & that's generally fine, especially for an 8am start or if going earlier then the motorway would be fine too.

[LadyKooKoo]

I drive from Sutton. Leave at 720 and takes me half an hour. If I leave after 730 then it can take me over an hour.

[UptheChimney]

UptheChimney, I'm not sure how wanting to be able to walk a short distance into proper countryside equates to being short-sighted snobbish about central Birmingham

No, of course that's not snobbish! but your comment that:

We would like to live in a fairly affluent/middle class area. We live in a commuter village now so there are lots of professional couples around with similar aspirations for their children. I hate how snobby that sounds, but equally my DS loves the local chess club and I would like him to know children whose parents won't take the piss out of him for being a bit geeky

is very short-sighted & snobbish, as you yourself say

It's snobbish because it's based on assumptions you've made about the "type" of person in a city compared with those in a commuter village. And also because you seem to have fallen lazily into Birmingham stereotypes.

I suspect that many residents of Moseley, Harbourne etc are exactly the "type" of people you'd like your DCs to mix with. Far more professional families in south Birmingham than in a commuter village, and probably cleverer and geekier children than you might know. Lots of professors and consultants in those areas of south Birmingham

But it's your choice. Have a look at Barnt Green -- it's the housing that the Cadbury family built for their managers. And you can walk out into fields around there, and it's on the cross-city train line, so your DCs will have greater freedom to get themselves around when they're older and want more independence.

[AvrilPoisson]

the other consideration is parking... as in I hope he has dedicated, paid-for parking in Bham, as city centre parking is very expensive, and difficult to find (particularly if he's out and about during day and going back to office).

[Baroozer]

It's snobbish because it's based on assumptions you've made about the "type" of person in a city compared with those in a commuter village. And also because you seem to have fallen lazily into Birmingham stereotypes.

I think you may be misreading my post. I haven't made those assumptions at all. My reason for not wanting to live in the city has nothing to do with the other people living in the city, it has to do with our desire to live in the countryside.

I don't think our DC will be suffering from a lack of professors and consultants.

Avril, he should be able to park quite easily where he will be working so that's not an issue.

[AvrilPoisson]

Oh- and Tanworth-in-Arden is lovely btw, real proper village, very pretty.

[CaipirinhasAllRound]

I grew up in Alcester and went to the grammar. The high school seemed good and loads of them came to the grammar for the 6th form and on to uni.
There's no swimming pool or cinema and public transport is rubbish. You'd need to go to Stratford or Redditch for train. You could look a villages like Wilmcote near Stratford. On the train line and choice of Alcester or Stratford for secondary schools. (used to be anyway)

[dizzyhoneybee]

Droitwich and Worcester both have gymnastics clubs and leisure centres with a pool, though the Worcester one is going to be demolished.

[Baroozer]

That's a shame about Worcester swimming pool. Are there plans to rebuild?

[babyiwantabump]

Rugby?

[CMOTDibbler]

Theres several swimming pools in Worcester, and they plan to build a new one as part of the building at j7.

[Baroozer]

We did think about Rugby, particularly drawn by Ashlawn school, but it seemed a bit far out.

[Kowalski]

I used to live in Birmingham but moved to Ashby de la Zouch, I think it fits your criteria? Very good transport links, Birmingham can easily be commuted to in 40 mins (I used to do it). Good schools, leisure centre, reasonable house prices (cheaper than Worcester and surrounding). Easy journey to Burton, Tamworth etc for larger shops...

[Kowalski]

And my ds's school has a chess club!

[babyiwantabump]

It has easy access to the m6 though - straight to Birmingham and a train station , lots of lovely rural areas . They have lots of new builds at the moment as well .

[dizzyhoneybee]

CMOT I hope I'm wrong but I thought the plans for the new building were likely to be shelved due to cutbacks?

[formicaqueen]

Last time I looked the schools in rugby were quite mixed.

[Baroozer]

Kowalski, I like the look of Ashby de la Zouch. It wasn't even on my radar as a Possible, so thank you for the suggestion.

[Heavywheezing]

I lived in Hampton in Arden , which is a small village in Solihull, near the airport.

It has a railway station with links to Birmingham. Very quiet and down the road from knowle.

Solihull is lovely, very affluent and good shops and great schools.