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

Thank you. This is mumsnet and of course people can believe what they like, but I’m genuinely not coming at this from a race point of view. The culture and atmosphere in some parts of Birmingham is just awful.

I live more than 2 hours away from
birmingham, and I still know that Knowle and Dorridge are middle class, largely white areas, so I’m surprised that you need to ask if they are different from sparkbrook !

Sorry OP but your comments about it being unsafe for a white person to live in Birmingham indicate otherwise. As a PP has said, why not visit Solihull and decide for yourself?

So it is OK for OP to feel intimidated and unwelcome due to being white (so racism towards her) but she mustn't comment on it bevause that is 'racist'. Ok then.

OP, Mumsnet is not representative of real life. In real life, .most people would understand and not shout you down and call you racist for feeling unwelcome in a British city.

I live just outside Birmingham and my teenage daughter travels to and from college through the city centre every day.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to move but I disagree that Birmingham is less safe to bring children up in than elsewhere.

We are led by my husbands career. Unfortunately this means moving around a lot without much choice as to where we go.

I probably notice the bad bits much more now that I have children. I barely feel safe enough to take them into the city centre alone.

You can't say much these days without being labeled a racist (I'm Welsh, so I hear it all the time 😂). I wouldn't want to live in Birmingham either, the bins and rats are enough to put me off. Sorry not sorry lol

I grew up in Birmingham and have never felt unsafe. Stabbings are not ‘a daily occurrence’ stop trying to stir up drama you’re not doing yourself any favours.
It’s just a city. With good and bad parts. Solihull is nicer sure. But the surrounding areas are not so nice.
If I were you I would move out to bromsgrove, alvechurch, barnt green, droitwich (although that is a bit scummy so you might not like it there either )
If you live in edgbaston though surely you know all these areas? I lived in a few different places in and around Birmingham and could tell you the best and worst places quite easily

Why have you quoted me and made a random statement about what I apparently think is or is not acceptable?

Yes I know they do! Every single person I’ve mentioned wanting to move away to has agreed with me (and no, I don’t live in some hugely privileged bubble!). I don’t know anybody in real life who would say that they love Birmingham.

@Hatebirmingham Who said I have only ever lived in Birmingham? I have lived in many big and small cities, market towns and ever abroad for a bit. I am not even from Birmingham originally.

Also annual total crime rate in Edgbaston is 147 per thousand resident population. This can be rated as 5 out of 10 or average crime level compared to other wards in England and Wales.

You are worried about an issue that doesn't really impact you.

I don't think you hate Birmingham, I think you hate something else, but for very good reasons you can't say it.

Stafford; Lichfield; Kidderminster; Kinver.

What is the issue with a Muslim person being an MP?

Why don't you drive to Solihull to see what you think of it?

I grew up in Edgbaston and consider Solihull basically part of Birmingham. I find it really weird when people say 'I'm not from Birmingham, I'm from SOLIHULL'. Also Solihull is just a more rubbish version of the rest of Birmingham? All the same tat but without the historical interest of Edgbaston or Bourneville or the cultural interest of other bits.

If you really want a different vibe head to a village like Knowle. I'd die of boredom there but each to their own?

I don’t know why Birmingham gets such a bad reputation, there’s rough parts of every large city. You must live in a dodgy part of Edgbaston if you’re having this many issues, I used to work there and the vast majority of it is very very affluent (many private schools, huge million pound+ houses).

I would recommend Barnt Green over Solihull, if you’re looking for safe less diverse areas.

Knowle and Dorridge fine and nice places for kids to grow up. I know what you mean about safety and cultural cohesion.. FWIW I grew up there as a brown kid, my family still live there, DD has friends from Asian families there. Only thing is I would say is that it is less interesting than edgbaston and a bit/lot more consumption focused. Very “considerably richer than yow”. I think proximity to universities makes places more interesting. But nice houses, easy walk to schools, park etc..

Yes but you can’t just live your entire life in Edgbaston. I’ll admit there are some really nice streets here and we’ve met some lovely people. But the areas you have to travel to for just general life (shopping, appointments etc etc.) are all awful.

🤣

We used to live in Stourbridge which has good links into Brum. Admittedly this was a few years ago but it was a great place to bring the children up

Thank you! Yes without doing the “I’m not racist, I have brown friends!” thing 😂, we have friends from lots of different cultures and of different races. This is not a race issue - perhaps people who haven’t experienced Birmingham or similar areas don’t quite understand this.

thanks for your advice.

Also the city centre redesign is really poor and feels dangerous. We live somewhere where kids can catch trains to shop into London or Birmingham. We choose to let the 16yos go to London not Birmingham as the sight lines for safety, passive surveillance and ability to avoid strung out drug addicts and angry people is easier in London.

This could be the reason when you have mentioned this area when you don't even live there!

What is the demographics of Sparkbrook?

Sparkbrook has the second highest non-white population in Birmingham, with a total of 78% minority ethnic residents living in the mainly terraced area; notably it is home to a large Pakistani population as well as a large Somali population.

Here we go. 🙄