Birmingham

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.

gucci

RoyMcC wrote: »

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.

only seeing this now but +1 for the spotted dog, i haven't been in for a match in a while but they do have rte for the wholesome views they provide!

Hootanany

Hennasseys s better

Dwight Schrute

Hi all,

I've accepted a job in Birmingham. I'm tight on cash at the moment, but will book a flight for this day two weeks.

What can I do in the meantime, if anything? I was going to ring some house shares and get talking, set up viewings and such like.

Is a week enough time (before I start the job) to set up a bank account and get an NIE number?

Any advice greatly appreciated - thanks for reading.

Kevhog1988

where will you be working in Birmingham?? i know of a few places you would get digs for a few days to get you on your feet.

Best option is to phone a birmingham irish centre. We always look after our own over here in the uk so someone will find you a place to stay.

Butterface

Start the ball rolling while you're still in Ireland and ring people to set up houseviewings a few days before you head over. You could try to take a place short-term until you're better acquainted with the city.

You'll need an address before you can open a bank account. Speak to your employers and explain this, and they can give you a letter of proof of employment. If it takes a while to sort out, you could also ask them if they could arrange to transfer your wages into your Irish account minus any charges they incur.

Best thing is to start looking up the accommodation sites and looking at places now. www.spareroom.co.uk is a good start.:)

partyguinness

I've been living in Brum for the past 6 years.

To be honest it's not the prettiest place and like most UK cities it can be very bleak. I call Birmingham "Gotham City". But I will say that the people are very nice.

I live north east..Sutton Coldfield- Lichfield area which is about 12-15 miles from the city centre. This area is very middle class, conservative (Andrew Mitchell is the local MP) and property is expensive. But as areas go over here, this is a nice area.

TBH....I don't go to the Irish Centre anymore. Personally I find the Irish areas quite depressing and well, sorry to say, dumps. You will find a mixture of old lads in their 70s-80s who moved over in the 1950s, Traveller types and muck savages in GAA jerseys. Now, the place serves an important function for the Irish who move here so it is vital and welcome...just not my scene.

But then again I am not from the border counties/midlands, into GAA and working in construction so I found myself with absolutely nothing in common with the Irish I met over here so I have no Irish friends or contacts whatsoever.

I did join a local GAA club (short lived) but they were young lads aged 17-22 just getting pissed every weekend or lads in their late 30s into 40s who just wanted to kick the **** out everything that moved on the pitch.

The thing is, the crowd over here are the exact type of crowd we were delighted to see the back of at home. I didn't associate with them in Ireland and I am not going to start now.It really depends on what you are coming from. Obnoxious snobby whatever you want to call me, I don't care just my position.

Being married with children and mortgage also puts me in a different category from singletons in their 20s with no ties and a big city at their fingertips.

The Spotted Dog is the best place for sports. They show all the rugby games. The owner is rugby mad.

I would take Dublin any day (although I am from Cork:o)

Jack B. Badd

Dwight Schrute wrote: »

Hi all,

I've accepted a job in Birmingham. I'm tight on cash at the moment, but will book a flight for this day two weeks.

What can I do in the meantime, if anything? I was going to ring some house shares and get talking, set up viewings and such like.

Is a week enough time (before I start the job) to set up a bank account and get an NIE number?

Any advice greatly appreciated - thanks for reading.

Merged into the Birmingham thread