Is Solihull far away enough from Birmingham?

[Hatebirmingham]

I live in Edgbaston and HATE Birmingham. I’ve been here for 6 years and I think it’s bloody awful. It’s run down, unsafe to the point where I could list multiple areas where I barely feel safe driving through, never mind getting out of the car and there are so many areas that don’t even feel like you’re in the UK. I see teens around and would be throughly depressed for these to be the children that my own would attend school with - lots seem to be wannabe ‘gangsters’, rude, intimidating etc. I find the vast majority of Birmingham incredibly depressing.

We can’t leave the West Midlands unfortunately.

I was wondering if Solihull may be a better fit for us. My oldest DC is starting school next year so we still have time to move without interrupting education. My question is - is Solihull (particularly Dorridge/Knowle) far enough away from Birmingham to not be affected by Birmingham’s ‘issues’?

IABU: Solihull is still too close to Birmingham
IANBU: Solihull is much better than Birmingham

I’m chilled, it’s you I’m worried about. Your blood pressure must be through the roof 😞

You are definitely right about Birmingham. We moved out a couple of years ago having lived just near Harborne. The city centre is unsafe and there are definitely areas where I wouldn’t go. People have a different opinion and that’s fine, but I’ve worked in secondary schools in the area for years and I’ve never seen the city as bad as it is now. The bins don’t exactly add to the charm and that’s not even to mention the horrific stabbing like the poor woman at the bus stop. I hate my teens going into town and I can’t wait until my youngest finishes school there and I can get a job outside of the city.

Yes, like Leicester and numerous other big UK cities, Birmingham has gone massively downhill. Like London, look straight ahead and pretend not to notice anything.

Solihull is where all the drug dealers go once they have made enough money 😂

Which bit is worrying you? The bit where I find your attempts to appear chill quite funny?

I drove through Solihull the other day and it's very flaggy. Solihullans have a bad rep for being snobby and elitist that is borne out by the ones I've met. When I visit Solihull I wonder what the fuck they're on about because the city is just rather dull.

There are areas of Birmingham that are very monocultural - in good and bad ways for outsiders and insiders of those cultures. My (white) brother has lived in a monocultural area for a long time and he loves it there, but he's also in a secret relationship with a woman whose family can't know that she's been dating a white man.

But there are also lovely and genuinely mixed areas. Kings Heath, Moseley, Cotteridge etc are all very genuine and friendly.

Pardon?

Hi OP. I understand what you're saying as I have experienced similar in Sparkhill and Sparkbrook but I think it was your 'doesn't feel like you're in the UK' that has riled everyone up. There is no denying that there is a horrible vibe in those areas but the same can be said for Maypole, Northfield and some parts of Selly Oak which are majority white areas. I live in Longbridge and wouldn't walk around here after a certain time either.

I think most of the UK is sketchy after dark and we all worry for our children when the time comes for them to be out with their mates etc

As for schools they've all got good and bad in every area.

If you're looking for a completely different vibe, try Bromsgrove, Cofton, Barnt Green and Alvechurch.

@stargirl27

I don’t think the OP is saying she wants to move out because of one bad experience. It is a culmination of things and she described that experience as an example. Having been to Birmingham many times I completely understand where she is coming from.

I feel much much much safer in London. I would not live in Birmingham if you paid me

I used to drive a delivery round a few times a week, Slade Road in Birmingham was the only drop where my van would always have between 2 and 5 boys around it as soon as I opened the door, parked in the lay-by/unloading area about half a minute’s walk down the road from the shop. I’d lock the van, leave nothing at all in the cab, and go to the shop to ask for at least one of the male staff to come out and guard the van while I opened the doors to get their order. Horrible feeling, every single week.

Solihull felt safer, but I wasn’t there in the dark.

You and OP are not the only people with experiences of Birmingham, as I’ve said in a PP I am from Solihull and have family there and in Birmingham and I visit regularly.

OP you are spot on. I’m in South Birmingham which is a bit better. The issue is that to get to the city centre, the other side of Birmingham or the M6 you have to go through sparkbrook/sparkhill, there is no avoiding them.

I've never lived in Birmingham although lived in a shit-hole town in the West Midlands when I was young and it was safe then. Come to think of it, we had a big Pakistani community and that was absolutely not one of the unsafe areas...the white council estates were the rough areas. That said, multiculturalism works much better when there aren't big communities of people from the same culture.

But I digress....I don't have to have lived in Birmingham to know that I'd be pretty devastated if I had to live there. Apart from the violent crime, I wouldn't want to live anywhere ugly. Can you not go further out OP? Henley in Arden and places around there are lovely.

Solihull has its own issues. Further afield you could try Knowle then south to Kenilworth or Leamington. Stay away from Coventry - just awful

I live miles away from Birmingham. Trust me, I’m chill 😎

Yes OP!! Don’t you know its only ok to want to live in an area with people like yourself if you are an ethnic minority? Its perfectly fine then, however if you are white British then you are a filthy racist if you want to do the same!!! Seriously op ignore the idiot virtue signaling on here, i totally get what you are saying and i hope you manage to find somewhere suitable.

I lived in Birmingham and fucking hated it. Made my native north east pit town look like the Ritz in comparison.

I found many of the people very rude and often wondered if they had passed their driving exam. Often witnessed fights and police chases in the city centre. Fights in Asda like gannets at the reduced aisle.

XH is Arab and used to find the people there rude too. I found Coventry road the worst. I used to get stared up and down despite dressing conservatively.

I think if you tone down the inventive and read the thread, you'll see people have told OP that it's fine to move wherever she wants to for whatever she wants.

The virtue signalling is from those who feel they need to announce they're leaving and do a flounce

The town I grew up in had the highest crime rate for any town in England in the 1970's

99%+ white english

I used to go out for a night out multi cultural Manchester to get away from it

Perhaps its your perception

I personally really like Edgbaston and the surrounding area, but I feel like Sutton Coldfield has what you're looking for.

@MrFluffyDogIsMyBestFriend

Where I live we also have an established British Asian community who really are part of the framework of the city and contribute in many ways, especially as local business owners. The rough areas here are the poorer areas that are majority white British and as far as I can tell crime and disorder is mainly caused by white British thugs. I am not close with the local Asian community as they live in quite specific parts, but all my interactions have been positive and frankly they all seem like good people, just like the white people that are my neighbours.

But just because it is a specific white community that causes problems where I live does not mean the OP’s experience could be different in another place.

It was her experience- not a generalisation.

Have you thought about Balsall Common or Kenilworth? Both are commutable to Birmingham.