Birmingham

jessicaxxx

Myself and the other half are moving over to birmingham, Have work lined up so now just need to find a place to live. Anyone know what areas to avoid when renting and what areas would be nice and safe to live in?
Are there many young irish working and living over there as we know no one over there and most people seem to head to london for work!

Any advice on birmingham would be great

RoyMcC

Where will you be working Jessica?

jessicaxxx

Solihull if that's any help

silentrust

jessicaxxx wrote: »

Solihull if that's any help

Hi Jessica!

I am from Brum originally. Selly Oak is a bit of a chav town, Edgbaston is more up market and Bournville is probably the most middle class area.

If you want more info, feel free to send me a message.

Captain Havoc

I used to live in Acocks Green which was nice. There's loads of Irish in Birmingham and there's a few places where Irish people go, you won't have a problem following the GAA anyway.

RoyMcC

jessicaxxx wrote: »

Solihull if that's any help

Then south-east of the city might be best. Solihull itself will probably be expensive but Hall Green, Acocks Green, Sheldon, Yardley are perfect. If you're on a tight budget then nearer the city (e.g. Small Heath) would be cheaper but pretty run-down these days.

There's a pretty lively Irish pub/music scene around Digbeth but maybe you're wanting away from that.

Citycap

silentrust wrote: »

Hi Jessica!

I am from Brum originally. Selly Oak is a bit of a chav town, Edgbaston is more up market and Bournville is probably the most middle class area.

If you want more info, feel free to send me a message.

Can't agree with you about Selly Oak. Northfield, Longbridge or Pershore road are good.

Hootanany

Stechford is not bad or Shard End.

silentrust

RoyMcC wrote: »

Then south-east of the city might be best. Solihull itself will probably be expensive but Hall Green, Acocks Green, Sheldon, Yardley are perfect. If you're on a tight budget then nearer the city (e.g. Small Heath) would be cheaper but pretty run-down these days.

There's a pretty lively Irish pub/music scene around Digbeth but maybe you're wanting away from that.

Yes Small Heath is very dilapidated plus it is home to the evil nemesis of us Villa fans - Birmingham city.

Acocks Green is lovely.

Hootanany

Whoes us Paleface.

silentrust

Hootanany wrote: »

Whoes us Paleface.

You're right technically I should say, "We Villa fans." :-)

Captain Havoc

I used to go to St. Andrews, thankfully they were in the Premiership at the time.

Hootanany

I have yo say Blues fan here.
I used to stay in Erdington Slade Road many moons ago but not good for transport to Solihul hence Stechford & Shard end

Captain Havoc

Hootanany wrote: »

I have yo say Blues fan here.
I used to stay in Erdington Slade Road many moons ago but not good for transport to Solihul hence Stechford & Shard end

I used to work in the airport and used to get the buz to Yardley and then the 900, took 45 mins, I eventually got a mountain bike and it took me half and hour, I lived closer to Olton.

Hootanany

Captain Havoc wrote: »

I used to go to St. Andrews, thankfully they were in the Premiership at the time.

Why stop we all have share the pain

gucci

jessicaxxx wrote: »

Solihull if that's any help

Solihull is pretty nice itself!
Brum is very good once you make the effort to get to know it! Something for everyone, avoid broad street when your out in city centre and you should be fine :-)

RoyMcC

gucci wrote: »

Solihull is pretty nice itself!

It sure is, but you couldn't live there on a budget.

silentrust

RoyMcC wrote: »

It sure is, but you couldn't live there on a budget.

I remember being a student there back in '05, rent as part of a house share was £44 a week, food £24 a week, those were the days... :-D

PopePalpatine

Hi guys, I'm moving to Birmingham for an indefinite amount of time until probably the 7th-14th of September, so I'm just posting here as a heads-up.

dd972

People don't go to Birmingham for the scenery, but the Brummies are quite an affable and friendly lot, you're well away from the miserable and mean spirited 'sahrf east' mentality that afflicts Outer London and the Home Counties.

Places like Lichfield, Solihull or Sutton Coldfield are the leafiest and most affluent parts if your budget can stretch to them.

nogoodnamesleft

dd972 wrote: »

People don't go to Birmingham for the scenery, but the Brummies are quite an affable and friendly lot, you're well away from the miserable and mean spirited 'sahrf east' mentality that afflicts Outer London and the Home Counties.

Places like Lichfield, Solihull or Sutton Coldfield are the leafiest and most affluent parts if your budget can stretch to them.

Lichfield is about a 35min train journey to the city if/when it runs. London Midland used constantly cancel trains last year at short notice and terminate at Four Oaks necessitating commuters to wait over an hour in certain cases to continue their journey to Lichfield. The latest excuse was that they hadnt enough train drivers :rolleyes:

Lichfield in itself is grand dont expect it to be a lively spot, leafy suburbs but you pay a premium and a higher council tax. Its considered a "city" due to the number of cathedrals it has and lacks many amenities.

I gave a trip to Sutton Coldfield last year the suburbs of the town has some nice houses but the city center was drab and looked dirty. Wouldnt be a spot I would pick anyway.

RoyMcC

The OP will be working in Solihull - I don't imagine Sutton Coldfield or Lichfield are options.

brummytom

I live in Sutton myself, it's a good 20min/half an hour drive to Solihull, but can be longer or shorter depending on traffic, obviously.

So long as you avoid the inner suburbs, you'll be fine. Solihull itself is a fairly affluent place, lots of nice houses, but is a fairly pricey place to live. (Heads up - anyone who pronounces it as 'Soul-ee Hull' is a prick). A lot of Irish moved out to there from the inner suburbs.

There's a great organisation called Irish in Birmingham which would be able to help you out with anything you need.

RoyMcC

brummytom wrote: »

(Heads up - anyone who pronounces it as 'Soul-ee Hull' is a prick).

That's how we pronounced it in Sheldon How do you pronounce it?

Hootanany

Why do peeps in Shirley think they live in Solihul

silentrust

Hootanany wrote: »

Why do peeps in Shirley think they live in Solihul

Or SHUR-lay as we see in da Brum.

brummytom

RoyMcC wrote: »

That's how we pronounced it in Sheldon How do you pronounce it?

Solly-hull

Hootanany

Souley Hull

silentrust

Hootanany wrote: »

Souley Hull

Since we're on the topic, I had to go to a speech therapist for two years after living too long in Birmingham, in order to get back to speaking the Queen's English. The trouble with the Brum accent is that it has a way of creeping up on you... :-)

marilynhappy

Hello all. Joining this thread late in the day. I am doing an interview for work near Birmingham...is it a nice place? Does anyone have experience of relocating there? Did you find it easy to get to know people as an Irish person relocating? All opinions welcome!!

RoyMcC

marilynhappy wrote: »

Hello all. Joining this thread late in the day. I am doing an interview for work near Birmingham...is anyone have experience of relocating there? Did you find it easy to get to know people as an Irish person relocating? All opinions welcome!!

Marilyn, I lived in Birmingham for 24 years. The city has been welcoming Irish emigrants for a long time now. There's a big Irish community, but the Brummies are as welcoming as any.

There are many factors to consider before moving over of course. You'd need a bit of advice about areas to live - the city has a lot of rough edges and there are areas that you would be better off avoiding. A lot depends on the job, should you get it and where it is situated.

It's fine. Don't be put off by those that will tell you otherwise without having ever been there.

marilynhappy

Thanks Roy...I'm mulling it over now as a place. I'm sure it would be an interesting. Hmmm. Thanks for your insight though. Always helpful to ask people in the know.

jessicaxxx

Myself and the other half have been living in birmingham for the last 2 months and loving it. I was a bit nervous about moving to birmingham as i knew nothing about the place and i had london on my mind!
Its been great people are really nice, good transport, good nightlife, great shopping and great food and have some good festivals (cant wait for the german winter festival at xmas)

I am so happy we came here we are renting a lovely 2 bed apartment in a really nice area for reasonable rent and if we were in london all we could probably afford would be a shoebox!

Work seems plentiful i found work within 3 weeks in a job i really wanted. the areas i would suggest to live in would be Edgbaston, Moseley, Harbourne they are a little bit more expensive but nice areas close to city.

marilynhappy

Wow thanks Jessica that's a very good review : ) I'm happy for you that your move went so well and you got a job you wanted so much. That's great. Time will tell now if I end up heading over. Thank you for your advice regarding areas.

Captain Havoc

Hootanany

Could you not have got bigger map?:D

gucci

I can also add my endorsement to moving to brum too. It's a great lively place to live if your young and open minded! As mentioned above, the price of living is pretty good in comparison to London, of course there is obviously less events of the international scale as london, but there is plenty going on. Best of luck in the interview, if your successful and need specific advice, feel free to ask!!

marilynhappy

Thank you Gucci, Roy, Jessica and Captain Havoc! (Sounds like a collection of superheroes or something) All well and moving to Birmingham now : ) Very excited! Thanks for insights/offers of help. Am laughing at map also, although I might know better what the jokes actually mean when I'm there.

gucci

marilynhappy wrote: »

Am laughing at map also, although I might know better what the jokes actually mean when I'm there.

best of luck,from that map make sure you go to the Balti Triangle (Quarter) some absolutely amazing curry to be had, even if your not a fan, go there and tell them-they will make you something to change your mind!

also somethin i would highly recommend is to join twitter if you haven't already,sreally good for keeping up to date with events going on locally in music,food,festivals etc

Captain Havoc

gucci wrote: »

best of luck,from that map make sure you go to the Balti Triangle (Quarter) some absolutely amazing curry to be had, even if your not a fan, go there and tell them-they will make you something to change your mind!

also somethin i would highly recommend is to join twitter if you haven't already,sreally good for keeping up to date with events going on locally in music,food,festivals etc

I got into the curry when I lived in Brum, awesome after, during or before a few pints.

marilynhappy

Thanks ...good advice Gucci. I must look into clubs and activities when I get there..hoping with the massive population there will be a few good things to join and get in to. Fingers crossed!

marilynhappy

Update- been here just a few days and I think Brummie is great : )

RoyMcC

Thanks for the update Marilyn - next thing Brum will be getting a better reputation

You working and got somewhere OK to live?

WilcoYHF

Hi All,

I'm moving to Birmingham next week, I've been over there a couple of times with work and now they want me to move over so I know it doesn't deserve the reputation it has. Being a Villa fan I thought I'd be looking forward to living there but the closer it gets the more I'm dreading leaving Dublin.

If anyone knows of any 5 a side football games going I'd love to get involve it might make the settling in process easier!!

Also if anyone knows of a good cycling club let me know as I'll definitely be joining one.

Hootanany

KRO

WilcoYHF

I was hoping to move into a place around the Mailboxbut there seems to be some nice places in the Jewellery quarter. Whats this area like?

RoyMcC

Well you'll be paying city centre rates, but you'll know that I guess. I've been a long time away but the Jewellery Quarter has undergone a real facelift in recent years. Just outside the city with all its amenities, plus there used to be some cracking little bars up that way

Ficheall

Moving to Birmingham in a fortnight to start work in the Uni. Have never been. Trying to find a decent, cheap, 2-bed house, in a nice area within walking distance of UoB. Any recommendations?

Santa Cruz

Ficheall wrote: »

Moving to Birmingham in a fortnight to start work in the Uni. Have never been. Trying to find a decent, cheap, 2-bed house, in a nice area within walking distance of UoB. Any recommendations?

Some lovely little avenues around Selly Oak, Bournville, Northfield. Pershore road Edgbaston.

WilcoYHF

Anyone know where would be the best place in Brum to watch the ireland match tonight?

RoyMcC

WilcoYHF wrote: »

Anyone know where would be the best place in Brum to watch the ireland match tonight?

I'm guessing a bit now but I'd be trying the Spotted Dog first then, if no luck, a jog around the corner to the Irish Centre. Late bars tonight I believe.