Is West Bromwich a nice place to live?

[southeasttowestmidlands]

We're thinking of moving to West Bromwich from Hertfordshire because we have family around there and have found a very nice house.
I just wanted to inquire about the area as having looked online I am getting quite a negative feeling.
Thanks.

West Bromwich or it's borough Sandwell, may not be everyone's cup of tea for a place to live, but if you've seen a house you like, that can count for a lot. And Birmingham is not too far.

I've driven through it many times, on my way to other places.

My impression is that it's not somewhere I would choose to live, but that's not based on any in-depth knowledge.

I'm sure there must be nice parts of it, or nice places nearby.

What are the schools like? Is that important to you?

Hmmm. It's not somewhere I would choose to live, but there are plenty of places in the midlands you could live which would be a reasonably short drive away?

What is your budget and what sort of house/facilities do you need?

Being honest..absolutely not 🤣. I live in a near by town and although there are nice parts, like everywhere, the place as a whole is not somewhere I would ever recommend anyone moving too. That stands for the majority of the West Midlands - I wish I had moved out of the area before we had kids but they are happy and settled here now so we will be here for the next 10-15 years at least.

That being said, Birmingham is very close by and is a fantastic city (despite the knife crime, gangs and general poverty that you see in all UK cities these days).

The west mids, despite its bad rep, does have some of the most amazing friendly people and in most area's there is still an old school sense of community, which is nice. West brom and the WM in general is extremely multi cultural which is another positive as we have some amazing food places from all cuisines and cultures and people from all cultures and backgrounds will be able to find somewhere to live where they don't feel alienated or judged by nasty racist old people like you get in some more rural area's of the country.

I've tried being balanced, but the truth is I wouldn't recommend it. It's a personal thing though and only you will be able to know if it's right for you. Maybe spend a few weekends there and see how you feel.

No.
I live about ten miles away and West Brom and Sandwell in general is quite deprived. And although it has a country park, I think, it's quite a distance from any real countryside.
To be honest, I think most of the West Midlands is a shithole, and I've lived here all my life (planning my escape though!)
There are some nice areas of Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton, but West Brom is bordered by the Black Country and suburbs of Birmingham, and not the more prosperous suburbs of Brum.
On the plus side, property is probably relatively reasonable and Black Country folk are the salt of the earth, very down to earth and friendly.

No

I live near there and probably not. I'm from the Black Country but a lot of it is pretty deprived.

We now live in Stourbridge which isn't far, maybe half an hour away depending on where your family live, and it's much nicer.

Depending on how much money you have there are some very nice areas a bit further on from us. There's Hagley and Blakedown on the same train line, or Belbroughton and other nice villages.