Birmingham

Birmingham is located in the West Midlands in the heart of England. Often described as England’s second city it is a hub of business, tourism and importantly – is home to Cadburys dairy chocolate. Our Birmingham Area Guide looks at the residential regions of the city centre. These areas can be broken down into several quarters and are currently undergoing some exciting regeneration. As well as this, it explores the best places to live in Birmingham and reviews from residents who own or rent in Birmingham.

Birmingham residents, or Brummies, provide a welcoming home to new visitors and old. Birmingham’s history is built on its industrial power and majestic waterways, music, shopping and culture.

4.82
Average Location Score

Excellent

84%

Very Good

12%

Average

3%

Disappointing

1%

Very Poor

0%

Best places to live in Birmingham

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

New flats behind a train line

Getting Around Birmingham

Birmingham city is very much at the heart of the UK. It thrives off links to all the major motorways with links to the M5, M6, M40 and M42 via the Spaghetti Junction. As a transport hub with national bus and train links and a smart new tram system, Birmingham is easily connected to the rest of the UK. Also, Birmingham’s Finance district highest number of insurance and finance businesses outside of London. With a number of luxury offices with restaurants, cafés or commercial outlets there are also a growing number of residential apartments.

Old canal building in front of Office blocks in Birmingham, West Midlands

The Jewellery Quarter

The Jewellery Quarter dates back over 250 years and is home to more than 500 jewellery retailers making it one of the largest concentrations of jewellery businesses in Europe. The JQ, as it’s known locally, is home to bars, independent restaurants and creative businesses. The Jewellery Quarter home to Islington Gates and Regency Place is often described as the perfect place to work, rest and play.

 

“Close to the city centre and canal side. Love the view.” Anon, Verified Resident of Islington Gates

East Side

Birmingham’s East Side is undergoing some of the most active redevelopment. A number of parks, office buildings and luxury apartments are being built whilst incorporating some of its old charm. As well as this, the Hs2 link offering fast speed connections to London will be arriving into Curzon Street Station. Not far from the Bullring shopping centre is Digbeth, also known as the Irish Quarter and Birmingham’s creative district. With galleries, music venues, and independent shops, this area of Birmingham is home to the famous Custard Factory.

Birmingham's new library

China Town

China Town, more formally known as Southside, perfectly sums up much of Birmingham multi-cultural charm. With clubs, shops, residential apartments like Madison House and The Forum as well as a multitude of restaurant. Also, this area incorporates The gay village, Chinese quarter and Hippodrome theatre.

 

“I think the area is quite fine. As it is close to the city centre, I find it very accessible and convenient to get around. There are also lots of shops and restaurants nearby.” James, Verified Resident of The Forum

The City Centre

If you are, however, looking for canal side living and a huge variety of leisure facilities then the west side of the Birmingham City Centre, home to Liberty Place, is the area for you. The Brindley Place area contains international entertainment centres including: The International Convention Centre, Symphony Hall and Sealife Centre. The Gun Quarter which previously supported the productions of guns now has a number of unconverted buildings ripe for conversion. As such this is an area undergoing a lot of change and is forecasted to be one of the best areas to rent in Birmingham.

 

“Good area, classed as city centre but outside city centre. Close to nice bars and restaurants. Don’t need to use buses or trains you can easily everywhere.” Anon, Verified Resident of Liberty Place

 

You can find out more about living in Birmingham by reading reviews from residents. Click on the developments below to find out more about residents’ experiences and discover great places to rent in Birmingham. Although, if there’s a Birmingham property that you can’t see on HomeViews,  you can add a new listing and leave your review here.

Reviews in Birmingham

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One of the nicer parts of birmingham

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Apr 2024

Good- Everything is a short walk away and can have everything delivered to your place
Bad – The area isnt great, there is always noise and sirens from broad street. The insurance costs 3x times more than average for vehicles. Parking isnt avaiable at a reasonable rate

Please review your development:

Facilities are nice and well maintained. Everyone is really kind and helpful.
Charlotte is a real stand out as she has gone out of her way time and time again to help the tennants.
The communitiy team is very active and also organises events on a regular basis.
If the insurance costs werent that high, I this would be one of the best places to stay in Birmingham.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Cost of insuring your vehicle. Because the building is on broad street, insurance can be ridiculous even sometimes cost more than the vehicle itself.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

The building managemet responds to all issues in a timely manner and follows up on any requests you have put in.

5
Facilities
5
Design
2
Location
3
Value
5
Management
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This is home.

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Apr 2024

The shops are very close to moda. Everything is basically walking distance. Cinemas, restaurants and grocery.

Please review your development:

The building is very pretty and well maintained all the time. It’s always clean and as soon as you enter the place it smells like a whole different world. The elevators are always clean and tidy. They clean the corridors almost everyday. They have fresh flowers all the time.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The wind sound In corridors and apartments are very loud.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They always reply within few hours and try and sort every issue out ASAP.

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Good place that Sherbourne

Review Date Apr 2024

The location is good, close to amenities, city centre walkable, very connected to public transport links

Please review your development:

Design, good design very neutral ability to alter home is good as it is uncommon.
Amenities are good, kitchen is excellent, washer dryer works, ability to keep pets is good.
Management is good, well staffed, staff are friendly and work quick, events are a nice bonus.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The road nearby can be a bit of a wind tunnel on the way to broad street.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Management responded quickly to problems with bills.

4
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Ideal Location – Vibrant Yet Peaceful

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Apr 2024

Excellent availability in terms of grocery shopping with Sainsbury’s local being right on the opposite side of the road and 15ish minutes of walk to the big Tesco. And there are of course so many bars, restaurants and even the cinema here on Broad Street. I haven’t had any issues with traffic noise either probably because of good sound blockage in the building.

Please review your development:

I love the minimalistic design and very welcoming management. Facilities are top notch, the 24/7 concierge is my favorite because I always have packages coming and I am not home at that time very often. Everything is high quality and pleasant on the eyes. The management is very cooperative, Charlotte and Vince from the team made everything very seamless and smooth and were very helpful with everything related from move-in to actually settling in and feeling at home. So are the other people here, whether it’s a technical issue or taking care of big packages etc. Everything’s 10/10

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I don’t think there is anything like that, everything met my expectations.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes, it was instant. From getting through the move-in process to getting help with the issues and questions about the facilities.

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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