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

We all know what I’m describing isn’t simply just innocent staring. It’s staring accompanied by grinning, leering, smirking, whispering between the group, calling out words that you can’t quite hear.

A group of men were allowed to do this to you in your women’s ward?

No they weren’t - they were asked to leave after a nurse saw one move my curtain whilst I was away from my bed (after I had complained about the staring etc.). Of course had this been a one off incident then I wouldn’t make mass generalisations, but I’ve experienced this kind of behaviour in Birmingham multiple times.

I went shopping in Birmingham today and the shops were brilliant, what a great place to shop. Know nothing about the other problems.
Can somebody please tell me why there is no public seating anywhere in the centre of the City. I didn't want to buy coffee everytime I wanted to sit down, why is this, is there a reason?

I worked somewhere which was given a big regeneration grant and planned out a city centre with no seating or trees to discourage anti social behaviour. My brief was around public health and I did try to change their thinking (places to build community, less mobile people to sit down and rest, again passive surveillance) but ultimately I was shot down and left that job. I really don’t think scorched earth town planning is sensible but it does seem to be in vogue.

I went shopping in Birmingham today and the shops were brilliant, what a great place to shop. Know nothing about the other problems.
Can somebody please tell me why there is no public seating anywhere in the centre of the City. I didn't want to buy coffee everytime I wanted to sit down, why is this, is there a reason?

A lot of the big new shopping centres are privately owned. They're looking to maxmise profit by getting people into cafes. If you head to the Cathedral, Pigeon Park, is a good place to watch the world go buy. Around Eastside there's also a newer park area with benches. And there is seating in the stepped areas around the Council House.

@missbish grooming gangs are irrelevant to this situation as they specifically target young vulnerable women and girls, such as care leavers, and they are not snatching women off the street in broad daylight - the perpetrator is known to the victim - as is the nature of grooming and not some random stranger "staring" at you.

Grooming gangs are an evil - but so is this unfounded moral panic that certain groups are all out to get "white British people" and "white females" and the far right are just weaponizing the trauma of the victims for their own gain.

I don't blame you OP. I lived in Brum for over 20 years and worked in a community role for 24 that took me the length and breadth of the city. Over the last 5 years or so it has deteriorated so much. Stopping at traffic lights on the Pershore Rd or Bristol Rd is a game of Russian Roulette with beggars knocking your window. I got away 5 years ago and now live somewhere I love and everyday cannot believe how lucky I am to live here. Yes you have pockets of affluence (I lived in Sutton Coldfield for 17 years) but nothing could ever persuade me to move back when I look at my quality of life and that of my DC now.

For those talking about racism, there is no way as a white woman I would consider living in an area like Alum Rock, Sparkbrook / Sparkhill - I suffered racist abuse from men in those area for just for doing my job, they are also total shit holes - fact.

I’m not sure why you’re @ingme talking about grooming gangs, I never mentioned them.

Finally another poster talking some facts

I think a lot depends on how you define 'quality of life'. If living in a fairly uniformly prosperous area matters a lot to you, then cities - where affluent areas lie close to less affluent ones - is possibly problematic. But Solihull also has areas of poverty.

But I think some more affluent areas have poor facilities. For example less public transport because it's assumed everyone has cars - so kids have to be chauffeured everywhere.. Less community activity because everyone is so busy working long hours/commmuting to pay the vast mortgages. Again more chauffeuring for children. Poorer public services because Conservative councils are keeping the council tax ultra low. Longer commutes to major cities meaning more exhaustion and poorer quality of life.

So for many people living not far from the centre a city, while imperfect, has real advantages.

I've lived in Birmingham for 25 years and I don't recognise your description at all. I have two teenage daughters and we have never felt unsafe.

What about Leamington or Warwick where we live. Lovely area and good train and motorway links to Brum, Solihull, London etc and feels more polished than Brum with more upmarket vibe without being snooty (I talk as a born and bred Brummie!)

I live in Solihull (Dorridge) and I love living here. Dorridge and Knowle are part of Solihull but have their own centres and a railway station. We may have restaurants and shops but I regularly go into Touchwood for John Lewis and other big chains. Our council tax is lower too than Birmingham and we have a weekly bin collection! It’s quite obvious when you enter Solihull from Birmingham as the roads are immediately better as is the area. I don’t think I’ll ever leave now but not everywhere in Solihull is nice as others have pointed out! What’s your budget?

I'm surprised that Edgbaston is so bad. Isn’t that a “posh” part of Birmingham? Why can’t you leave the West Midlands?

EDIT: just saw a post about Leamington going downhill. I go frequently and while I love the architecture - it has gone downhill. So many shops have closed down, I can remember when I was walking down the high street and saw two topless men chasing each other swearing at each other quite aggressively but this is the reality of many UK towns. If you cannot leave the West Midlands then try Dorridge/Knowle, anti social behaviour isn’t really an issue but it’s not as lively as Edgbaston. It isn’t very diverse (I say this as an ethnic minority) but that’s not an issue.

Let’s face it, London is by far and away the best city in the UK. There is a weird hatred of it on MN for some reason. Jealousy I assume😂

OP, YANBU to say you don’t like an area. But the ‘white women under threat’ narrative is tiresome. I hear this when white women talk about getting dirty, threatening looks when they walk through certain parts of East London where I grew up. There are dodgy men in those areas for sure but women of all races feel unsafe around them. For some reason there is a cohort of white women who are convinced they, and they alone, are at risk from certain non-white men.