When people ask me where I'm from (which happens a lot as I recently started university) and I tell them Birmingham, their reaction is predictable. It's either "oh" or, "oh I've been there, to Digbeth coach station". Er, ok. Or else they comment on my accent. I'm not originally from Birmingham, but my family moved there from Brighton when I was little so I have a bit of an accent. I think people get confused between Birmingham accents and Black country accents (like Lenny Henry) when really they are quite different.
I feel quite defensive about what I consider to be my home town. When my friend from Spain visited me, she said she preferred Birmingham to Manchester and Liverpool. Me too! The people of Birmingham are generally down to earth and friendly. You have a great choice of shops, clubs and restaruants without the inflated prices of London. There is so much I can say about Birmingham, so I will split it up into sections.
Shopping
Birmingham city centre is great for shopping. Not only is there a great selection
of shops, but it is mostly pedestrianised and compact. All the usual suspects, like Top Shop, H+M, Marks+Sparks, WHSmith, but also some great individual shops. The new Bull Ring hosts the rag market, which is clean and spacious in its' new home. You can pick up some great buys at the markets, from fruit and veg, to rugs, to T-shirts. The new Mailbox complex has a Harvey Nichols for those of us with a bit more cash (not me then) and various other designer outlets. Apart from the city centre, there is The Fort Shopping centre, Star City and the Merry Hill centre over in Dudley. Merry Hill is great for Christmas shopping as it is all under one roof and the parking is free.
Entertainment
I have written a separate op on clubbing in Birmingham so I won't go into too much detail about the clubs. I will just say that Birmingham has a club for everyone, whether you are a skint student, an RnB, indie or dance music fan. There is a good selection of pubs and bars in town, but if you want to go out of the city centre, I would suggest either Moseley or Harborne, both of which have great pubs. I am biased though, as I grew up in Harborne! Reccomended pubs in Brum from me are-the Rat and Parrot on Broad Street, PJ's on Hurst Street and Walkabout on Broad Street. As for cinemas, there are three in the city centre, 2 UGC's and an Odeon. The UGC on Broad Street opened a year ago and it is huge, with massive screens. It's quite expensive, £5.50 on a weekend night. There are several more cinemas outside the city centre too. If you like the theatre, you will not be disappointed in Brum. Ok, it's not London, but there is still a good choice. You have the big players; the Rep, The Alex and the Hippodrome, which has just reopened after a massive refurbishment. The Rep also has a studio theatre called The Door which hosts new plays. It is only £2.99 on a Monday for students and under 26's and I totally recommend it. There is also the Crescent Theatre which hosts amateur plays and has a great youth theatre (can you tell I used to be a member?) There is the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, with some lovely paintings and a huge dinosaur that I remember from childhood visits. This is free. For new and modern art you could visit the Ikon Gallery in Oozels St, just off Broad St, which is also free and is a great place. There is also the newly opened Millenium Point Thinktank in Digbeth, which I haven't visited, but it looks great. Birmingham has a great gay scene if you are that way inclined. There are loads of bars and clubs down Hurst Street in the city centre.
Transport
The main form of public transport in Birmingham is the bus. Frequent and not too expensive, most people don't have an alternative other than the bus. If you are lucky, you will be on a route with the nice new buses that kneel down for pushchairs to get on. If you are unlucky you will be stuck on a bus with people smoking (it's supposed to be banned) and nowhere to sit. There is a metro (a sort of tram/train/bus crossbreed) that goes to Wolverhampton which is nice and clean, quick and cheap. The cross citytrains are ok but only go to certain places. Most of the suburbs don't have a train station so the bus is the only choice. If you want to get out of Birmingham, there is plenty of opportunity, with a large train station, coach station and Birmingham International Airport.
Some people say Birmingham is rough and dangerous. I would say that it is as dangerous as any big city. I am lucky in that all the time I have lived there I have never been a victim of serious crime. As long as you know which places to avoid (Digbeth and other quiet parts of town at night) and act sensibly I think you will be ok. My only complaint about Birmingham is that there are no green areas to sit in the city centre but apparantly they are re-opening the cathedral grounds soon.
For people who have never visited Brummy land, come on, give it a chance! You may be surprised. The city centre has parts that are very attractive, such as by the Council House where there is the statue of the Floozy in the Jacuzzi. The canal areas are also nice, especially around Brindley Place. Many people are surprised to hear that Birmingham has more canals than Venice, but it's true! It may be far from the sea (the nearest seaside is Weston SuperMare, 2 hours drive away!) but you are not far from lovely countryside like the Clent Hills, Malvern Hills and Lickey Hills.
Areas out of town
The nicest, greenest suburbs (in my opinion) to live in are Harborne, Moseley and Edgbaston. Edgbaston is home to the Botanical gardens, which is a great summer day out, and with a kiddies farm and adventure playground, it's not just for plant lovers! When I was little it was free to visit, and on Sundays there was always a brass band playing on the band stand. I have many happy memories of picnics there. Bartley Green has Woodgate Valley Country Park, a huge parkland. It has a nature centre and stables on site, and is a great place for dog walking. There is also the Midlands Art Centre and Cannon Hill Park in Edgbaston. The MAC, as it is otherwise known, hosts exhibitions, plays and films. Cannon Hill is a lovely park with a huge lake, tenniscourts and a big kids playground. Cannon Hill plays host to Fireworks Fantasia every summer, a classical music spectacular set to fireworks.
Take my advice-come to Brum!
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Advantages: Huge, multi-cultural, lots to do and see, nice atmosphere. Disadvantages: Far from the coast, some of the buildings, the spaghetti junction and the accent.
Advantages: Redevelopment, pedestrianisation, improved nightlife, cleaner, no traffic Disadvantages: still souless, no greenary, wildlife, do the local benefit?
dreamstar70 03.01.2001 (03.01.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Birmingham in general
Advantages: Easy access, lots to do/see/buy, open spaces, smog free, friendly Disadvantages: inner ring roads still lurk, not enough nightclubs, restaurants, needs to cater more for foreign tourist
Advantages: Mostly free, fascinating, reflects the city's industrial heritage Disadvantages: Not well publicised enough, buried under the city's poor reputation
michaird 31.12.2002 (31.12.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Birmingham in general
Advantages: Huge, multi-cultural, lots to do and see, nice atmosphere. Disadvantages: Far from the coast, some of the buildings, the spaghetti junction and the accent.
Nov 25th, 2001
(Apr 2nd, 2002)
very helpful by (96%):
somewhat helpful by (4%):
