Coventry

[BaldBrown]

Hello

I've been looking into various areas and wondered if anyone had any first hand experiences with Coventry? I'd it diverse, friendly, clean, etc?

Kind thanks

I lived there for 20 years and luked living there! There a good areas and bad ones like any city, which have you been looking at? Again lile with any city, people who live there like to complain about it but I found generally diverse and friendly, well located on the trainline, plenty of green space, pedestrianised city centre that is having millions spent on it to modernise it! I only moved to live in the countryside, I am still nearby and go back regularly...

Depends what your budget is, if you can afford not to live in Coventry then avoid it. Lots of much nicer but more expensive places near by - Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth etc

Hello, I'm Coventry born and bred. It has its nice areas as well as the not so nice, just like any city. Some lovely parks and places to go around here and just outside of the city. Nicer areas to live:
Finham
Styvechale
Coundon
Earlsdon

Avoid:
Wood End (avoid at all costs)
Bell Green
Hillfields
Willenhall

City centre has undergone and is currently undergoing a huge revamp. Looks lovely. Great restaurants and things to see. I'd say it's friendly on the whole. Never had any problems living here, nor have my parents, in all these years . Feel free to PM me for any additional info.

It's the same as any similar sized city really. Good and bad points.

@FurierTransform agree fully.

It depends on the area like any city. Some areas are really awful, some are full of students, some have lots of families, some are really cool. It's got an amazing large park that has concerts, lots of delis and cafes, a good theatre.

Maybe you'd like to be further out like Leamington? I love Leamington.

You asked about diversity. My mum was born and bred in Coventry, moving to London and the South East for good in 1953. I had been hoping I could take her to the city for the 2021 City of Culture celebrations. But we didnt manage it, but I had found for her these articles about Women of Coventry.

Looks beautifully diverse to me. But I have never lived there.

coventry2021.co.uk/explore/modern-day-lady-godivas/

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-57555779

I want to find out if my grandmother signed up to the Peace and Plenty petition. She was a pretty formidable lady. Met all of the senior Labour politicians through union work. Stopped being involved when she found out they knew the results of party elections before they had even been held.

City of Culture events continue until May.

Endorsing what others have said. A diverse city, but you're probably better off on the South Side; Styvechale, Cheylesmore, Finham, Earlsdon, but you'll get more bang for your buck further out in Eastern Green or Mount Nod.

Agree re. Mount Nod and Eastern Green. Also Allesley is a bit more rural and is quite a nice area.

I'm in Coundon (towards the north end) been in this area for 20 years. Was born in Radford, about a mile from where I am now. Good schools nearby, nice parks. Coundon Wedge is lovely for a walk.

I think to be totally honest it's no better or worse than any other city. The Cathedral is definitely worth a visit.
The Cathedral Lanes in the city centre has been re done and looks amazing.

Leamington Spa and Warwick are lovely, and not far away.

@Pixilicious Coventry isn't that bad! I wouldn't dissuade anyone from living here. Quite the opposite. As a city it has a lot to offer.
True, there are rough areas. You'll find Leamington has it's rough areas too.

@spongedog that's amazing!

It’s diverse I’ve lived here all my life. There’s a lot of Irish heritage here dotted about and my grandparents settled here having originally came from Galway.

I’ve lived all over. Radford, Coundon, Wyken, Eastern Green & Canley.

I don’t know any different I guess but I love my home town and I’ll never leave.

I’ll never leave.

Just realised I said that twice. I must really mean it .

I lived near Coventry aged 11-21, in Balsall Common, which is lovely, but crazily expensive these days. I had many friends in Eastern Green and loved it there. Mind you the catchment secondary school for Eastern Green used to be Heart of England, but I'm not sure if it is any more, and if so what the current catchment secondary is like.

I liked Coventry and loved being close to Birmingham, which was definitely more fun for a teenager!

I used to regularly visit friends in Earlsdon. Nice area, but cov city centre is horrendous.

@spongedog

Bill Wilson was a labour MP for one part of Coventry, reformed the divorce laws in the late 1960s, was that someone your mother knew?

@ivykaty44, I knew Bill Wilson very well back in the 80s. He was an exceptional man.

I'd add Canley, Tile hill and Allesley to the list of ok areas to live around Coventry

and Binley on the other side of Coventry

You get a lot more for your money around Coventry than leamington or Kenilworth, usually its the nearer the city is more expensive but in this case its further away

DeedIDo

I knew Bill Wilson in the 2000s through my work and yes, he was an exceptional man. Always had a tale to tell. He worked as a solicitor well past retirement age.

I am currently in the process of moving my family to Earlsdon from Birmingham. We were also looking in Warwick and Leamington, but as luck would have it we found a house that is near enough the right fit and it was in Earlsdon.

Earlsdon itself doesn't strike me as overwhelmingly diverse but with coventry on your doorstep that should be enough. We were swayed by the little high street offering restaurants/bars/greengrocers and its own little theatre. Interestingly enough I was looking at what the Criterion theatre had to offer and the lineup seemed astonishingly progressive...!

My only concern is schooling really. I'm not sure how it works and whether the grammar schools would be a reach from Earlsdon (if you're that way inclined). From my research there seems to be a bus going from the Kenilworth road to Stratford Grammar but I can imagine it's only a handful of children that make it as it really is the outer edge of the priority circle.

If anyone has any information about Earlsdon and primary/Secondary schools, please give me a shout as we know noone in the area and Google isn't the most reliable resource when it comes to these things!

Earlsdon “next door” app might be the place to ask about schools

@Doctoronpause

There are no grammars in Coventry. You will not be in catchment for any either in Earlsdon.

Thanks Haribo- I am aware that coventry itself has no Grammar schools but I looked via the council website and it said its in the southern priority circle? There's also a private bus service that seems to go to the stratford grammar from the Kenilworth road.

Is this outdated information? Really grateful for this info if so!! And thankyou ivykaty I'll look into this :)

@Doctoronpause

Perhaps ring the grammars and check. I have family in Earlsdon and I’ve never known anyone to travel to a grammar from anywhere in Coventry to be honest (I don’t live too far from Earlsdon).

Stratford girls takes from a radius circle of 16 miles and Earlsdon to Stratford is around 30 miles.

It’s either private schools Bablake/Henry or the local comps.

Hope you find the clear cut answers.

Really appreciate this- I shall do just that!