South of Birmingham

[susiewong]

We are considering relocating from Scotland to somewhere south of Birmingham - a very scary for me since I've never even been to that part of the country yet! Can anyone recommend any specific towns/villages that would be good for family life (2 school age children) ? Or tell me where to steer clear of !
thanks

Sorry, no our family moved of of the area, we were only there for 2 years whilst I did my GCSE's.

I live in a small village near evesham. wouldnt' want to live in evesham itself personally (but that's just me!). we like rural
our first school is outstanding and our middle school is too.
very happy here and would recommend it!

Crumbs ouch sounds like you're me !! we live in a village just outside Evesham found first school really good and middle school aswell !! this feels like being in the Twilight Zone! susie if you need any advise on this area seems like there are a lot of us who can help you!

advice not advise ! sorry

Hey minkysmums - maybe we are neighbours?! how spooky!
we used to live somewhere else in Worcestershire Susie, it was nearer to Brum but we prefer it here - very good links to M5 (or M40 at stratford) etc if needed too

I lived in Solihull, most of the school's in the south of the borough are excellent as are the secondary's.

Facitities in Solihull are excellent, shops and stuff.

Ouch / Minkysmum - DH really likes Evesham and surrounding areas (he currently is down 2/3 days a week so has been out and about looking) - I am coming for a visit next week to have a drive around. Starting with Evesham. Do you mind me asking which schools/village ? He has spotted one house in Greenhill ( i think), Lanesfield Pl- do you know where that is ? Any thoughts ?

Thanks so much for all the replies everyone, I am overwhelmed at the responses. I am going through each area on rightmove daily !

If you are going to stay down in the area, can I recommend the Evesham hotel ? It is not to everyones taste ( v v quirky), but they are super friendly and helpful, and the foods really nice too

thanks CMOT, hotel already booked for this trip but will keep it mind for future trips- I'm sure there will be many! Might pop in for lunch...

I think Greenhill is near town? its the lovely part of town though.
we are in between the littletons (south littleton really) and offenham. both village schools are very (very!) good. and the middle school for us would be Blackminster (excellent reputation)
cleeve prior is nice, honeyborne is nice - all quite quiet villages wtih bare minimum (ie a shop and a pub and a school!)
very close to river avon for walks or sports too

Hi Susiewong - just spotted this thread! If I could offer one note of caution it would be to check school availabilty first if your children are of school age. I would draw up a shortlist of areas and contact the schools in those areas first as you may find long waiting lists. I know from my own experience that all the primary schools in Hagley, Belbroughton, Clent, Romsley, Pedmore and many Bromsgrove first schools are full so you may have to hunt around first.

Other than that I would echo what others have said. Worc over Warwickshire (to pricey!). But areas like Clent & Belboughton are expensive and you don't get much house for your money. Hagley is a good option (although check school places) and possibly Malvern. Good Luck anyway...

thanks again ladies for replies. Last week's trip was a bit of a disaster. After all our research (mostly dh's tbh) we went to Evesham and the village of Bidford. DH loved it, I didn't ! (sorry to anyone who lives there but it just wasn't for me). Small houses for the money, tiny gardens - just not what I was hoping for. Evesham didn't do much for me either...just didn't get a good feeling.... So we are back to square one ! I now know though I don't want to stay in a "village" - well I think so anyway but suppose you can get different sizes of villages ! THB 1 day just isn't enough time to do anywhere justice....so it's back to endless nights on the internet again. Now looking at Pershore and Solihull....any more suggestions would be more than welcome....

Susie, did you look at Hollywood or Wythall? Would be very, very short commute for DH!

Earlswood/Tanworth In Arden could be worth a look as well depending on budget.

susie - Pershore is a village - probably bigger than Bidford but still "villagey". Parts of Solihull are expensive and you would get even less house for your money than Bidford.

What sort of things are you looking for ? What didn't you like about Bidford ?

I am based near Birmingham and am a surveyor who has been a residential acquisition agent so know the area pretty well. If you post a list of what you are looking for/what you love/hate about where you are now etc., then I can make some suggestions for you.

Tanworth in Arden is v.expensive. Hockley Heath, Earlswood or Lapworth might be worth a look.

Theres a lot more facilities in Pershore than in Bidford - sports, swimming, shops, restaurants etc. I wouldn't call it a village - its a small town.

If you want to know more, or would like the local papers saved and sent to you, CAT me. I know what it's like to make a long relocation, and we spent a few weekends in the area before we chose an area

My vote is for Kenilworth - good schools, lovely family orientated small town and easy to get to know people - always important if you're relocating and aren't going to know anyone. Near enough to Leamington Spa and Warwick. Very good road links all over the place but no train station...as yet...but they are talking about reinstating it.

Earlswood is nice... though your money would go a lot further in Maypole

It's an old thread I know, but I found some really useful information in here. I'm wondering where you ended up susiewong? I'm currently considering evesham but must be commutable to cheltenham, not sure how true that is. I think I'll have a look at pershore after reading this.