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

How about Erdington or Great Barr? Erdington is a very quick commute in to Birmingham - some areas not so great but others totally fine. It has a library, new leisure centre about to open and a high street. Great Barr a slightly longer journey, but some nice housing/residential areas. If you really need the 2 beds it's probably best to be realistic about the area.

You wont get much if anything for 100k in Lichfield, Sutton or Solihull.

Rugeley, west of Lichfield is very cheap and tipped as an up and coming area with the power station due to be demolished later this year and has trains into Birmingham frequently. Education is good at primary level but poor at high school but lots of children commute into the schools at Lichfield and Stafford to get round that.

You can get a 3 bed house for 100k there. Theres loads of outdoor activities like Go Ape and mountain biking in the immediate area of Cannock Chase.

Some good high schools in Burntwood: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67163297.html

A shared ownership for £84,000 in Rugeley: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67586711.html

Another shared ownership, 3 bed house in Rugeley for £77,500: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48699435.html

This is a nice development of apartments in Brereton, Rugeley: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-48964980.html

2 bed apartment in Rugeley: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43777053.html

To be honest if you are looking at dodgy areas of Birmingham, Tamworth is not that bad in comparison. It's not artisan deli central like Lichfield but there are good facilities and a good train service into Birmingham. I don't think the crime rate is anything exceptional and it's a lot lower than Birmingham according to police statistics.

I don't think you'd even have much choice on 2 beds in Tamworth at that price.

You are realistically looking at areas like Chelmsley Wood, Castle Vale etc if 2 beds are a must and £100k is the absolute max.

I think Tamworth is perfectly fine and a good compromise, certainly better than the cheaper areas in Birmingham. Lichfield is quite expensive as is Sutton. Wouldn't live on the West side of the West Midlands as it's an horrific commute to Birmingham in a car! Tamworth is much more do able.

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the feedback. That's really helpful. May need to look at Wolves as a possible option.

ReinettePompadour Big thanks for finding possible options!

What about any of these? About 40 mins via train and all very close to the station
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67905332.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66444323.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60612130.html

Wolves can be good, I'm in Bilston and while not salubrious there are some great facilities locally and it's so easy to jump on the motorway. Transport links with the metro into Birmingham are good as well.

It is a really tight budget and I think you're as likely to find something in Birmingham as out of it. How about Longbridge or Northfield? It will be a flat or maisonette not a house though. Northfield has some nice bits.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E15937&maxBedrooms=2&minBedrooms=2

I'd go for Northfield. Plenty of green spaces. Lots of buses up the Bristol Road. A station. Closer to the city centre than Longbridge. Shops.

Thanks so much W12345 and scissormister and everyone else. Appreciate the comments, really useful to have these tips and hints when you've not lived in an area before. Thanks!