Moving to the Midlands - help!

[Senga2017]

Hello,

New to MN chat thought this would be good for advice.

Moving to the midlands soon but we're not sure where to live. Our jobs will be in Birmingham but it will be too expensive for us to live in so we are thinking of Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield or Tamworth. Looking for nice family areas with good links to Birmingham. We don't mind a small project flat or house but it must be in a nice area. I've been told Tamworth has a high crime rate and not ideal for brining up kids - is this true?

Thanks

Solihull in my experience is very very nice. Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield also very nice. I would stay away from Tamworth - I live in quite a rundown area about 30 mins away and even everybody here thinks Tamworth is rough.
Coleshill has nice parts as does Water Orton :)

What commute time wise are you prepared to do? What's your house purchase budget?

Stourbridge is nice.

Yes OP it would be helpful to know a rough idea of budget. Several areas of Birmingham are very family friendly and generally affordable. We relocated here last year.

Lichfield - I love Lichfield. Loads of things going on there, really has its own character. Go and have a look. Sutton and Solihull nice too, good schools, houses, shorter commute into the city, but not the same charm imo. I wouldn't consider Tamworth personally because of the schools, and the tired 60s vibe of the centre.

Redditch is about 35 mins on the train and house prices are fairly reasonable. It's classed as Worcestershire but your very close to Warwickshire which has good schools.

Are you looking for rural, village, small town or big town? Which part of Birmingham will you be commuting to and do you need public transport?

Lichfield is lovely, and was my preferred choice to live, but couldn't find a single property to rent there that was bigger than 3 bedrooms (and we needed them).

Are you buying though as that might make a difference, especially if you want smaller?

Midlands Trains sucks though. They really do sadly 😔 Thats the bad thing about the midlands!!

I would agree, Tamworth is well connected but quite run down especially the town centre. I hope it gets some investment because it deserves better really. It's useful to be near though because the out of town shops are excellent and the station has good services on two lines.

I would try to avoid relying on driving into Birmingham for your commute. Can be +/- 45 minutes, the roads are good but there are some serious bottlenecks at rush hours (see also HS2 below).

I would check out schools and trains and work around that. Solihull and Sutton Coldfield are very desirable and prices reflect that. I work in Birmingham, the job came after we bought our house so I have a stinky drive in from Leicestershire, but a lot of colleagues live in nicer Birmingham suburbs and get public transport.

Also check out the HS2 route which will is to start construction soon around the NEC/Coleshill/M42. Whilst in the long term there are worse neighbours than a railway, it will be the UK's biggest construction site for 10 years.

Apart from that are you looking for suburb, small town or village and what facilities?

You could look at Minworth, Kingsbury, Halesowen, client/kinver, stourbridge.

Sorry but Redditch is a dump and the only thing going for Stourbridge is a Waitrose and maybe the park.

Worcestershire often better value in nice bits than north or east of brum but commute can be longer. You really need to give us an idea of what you need and budget as a house in Solihull could cost twice as much as similar in Tamworth!

Depends on budget?

I am in Sutton Coldfield and am very happy here. I think we have a good quality of life, outstanding primary and secondary schools, some of the best grammar schools in the country nearby, nice restaurants and bars, near the city. We use the park a lot for running/walking/cycling.

That said its a bit 2.4 children and depends what sort of vibe you want from a town? Bournville is lovely, as is Harborne (but very congested), also Moseley and Kings Heath are very bohemian.

Bournville is lovely area for families and Bournville Trust area of Selly Oak has some beautiful houses. The prices in Harborne have risen a lot due to the Hospital staff needing homes.

Thanks all,

Really appreciate the help. Looking to be somewhere fairly central (don't fancy village life just yet) close to city/town amenities, transport links with a budget of around £100k. I'd love Birmingham but not sure my budget will get a two bed for that.

There are only 13 properties in Lichfield at 100k and below. 7 are retirement flats, 1 shared ownership, 1 high rise. Your money won't go far. In Sutton theres more but mainly 1 bed and same for Solihull

Thank so Aurorie11. I'll look into Suttton and Solihull.

Wolverhampton? 20 mins by train to Birmingham. Reasonably priced housing near to the country in the SW of the city.

Wolverhampton is doable and if you don't mind travelling, Telford has good road links and very cheap housing. I personally hate Telford but for families, it has everything and for a nicer shopping experience, Shrewsbury is 10 mins in the other direction. Everything is being pushed out away from Birmingham due to prices. I'd also avoid Redditch. Solihull, Dorridge and Knowle areas will be too expensive if B'ham is too expensive but again, it has a good centre. If you really only have a budget of £100k you're going to struggle to get close to B'ham, but Telford will get you something for that.

Arguably if you actually live in Birmingham, then you will save on the cost of commuting - as well as commuting time. The cheaper properties aren't in the more chic parts of town. You could come to B'ham and have a look round....

I'm sorry to say but your budget is going to be really tight for any decent area in or around Birmingham. Either ex-local authority or flat will definitely be the way to go. Could you rent for a time?

I live in Moseley in South Bham (well, the arse-end of it but still classed as Moseley . I'm afraid Bored is correct - you're not going to find anything in or around Brum with £100k. My house is ex-local authority and recently valued around £170K. There's nothing except retirement flats for under £120K. Solihull is even more pricey, as is Sutton.

With your budget, I would definitely look at Wolverhampton/Telford. Transport links are good and I'd consider public transport into Bham. You really don't want to have to tackle the M6 every day in a car!!

I agree with bored. January statistics here. Average house price in West Mids was £179,633.
From recent conversation I have had, houses in nice areas to the south of Bham are selling pdq - no time to hang around or haggle.

Unfortunately your budget isn't gong to get you a 2 bedroom property in any of the desirable areas mentioned like Lichfield, Sutton or Solihull.

You won't even find a decent 1 bed for that kind of money.

You are going to need to look at the 'dodgier' areas if there's no flexibility in your budget.