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

0%

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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Great

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

We are muslim so we dont need any bars or anything like that but theres plenty of halal food available everywhere in broad street and other areas

Please review your development:

The design of the facility is great. The new painting is much better than the old pink in the reception area. The building is beautiful with a nice view from our apartment. The 3rd floor lounge is my favourite and really stylish. Love hanging out there

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

The bin chute doesnt work and this is not convenient at night

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

Yes they are very responsive and deal with things very quick

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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One of the best places to live in

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

Good area to live in although its a bit noisy but nothing to bad. Every thing a person need is only walking distance

Please review your development:

Very nice design also the apartment feels comfortable and homely and the facilities are new and up to date the cinema room has every thing someone need to have a good time and also the dining room is a very nice place to have a get together with family or friends

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

The community is very pleasant here and management is nice and helpful

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

The only thing is the facilities need to be open for longer or even 24/7 and the bin shoots need to be open for every floor

4
Facilities
4
Design
4
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Amazing maintenance and property management

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

Buying groceries is pretty convenient since there is a Sainsbury’s Local in front of Moda, however it can be a bit too expensive. Morrisons is not that far away and is a good alternative. Some nights can be very noisy if you live in the lower floors.

Please review your development:

The Mercian is a beautiful building with amazing maintenance and property management. It’s always very clean and just nice to look at and be in. The Mercian team always has activites and things to do in the building. The gym is always so clean and nice.

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

That at the week ends specifically saturday in the night it gets pretty loud and can be a bit disturbing to sleep if you live in the lower floors.

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

One of the gym equipment was malfunctioned so I raised a complaint to the team and in less than a week it got resolved.

5
Facilities
5
Design
4
Location
2
Value
5
Management
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Would recommend

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

Absolutely love being in the heart of the city – lots to do and feels like everything is on your doorstep. It’s also surprisingly quiet at night and you don’t hear constant noise from outside at all. We’ve not needed to use public transport yet as everything is within walking distance. When we’ve visited family in Wolverhampton, it’s been really easy to jump on the train.

Please review your development:

Special thank you to Jodie who has been so helpful and we really feel she’s gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome. We’ve gotten used to the layout of the facilities now and there’s a good flow to the building. No problems so far and hopefully that’ll be the case going forward.

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

Nothing, I feel like we were fully informed and we got to ask questions before moving in.

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

N/a, we haven’t raised any yet, but I’m sure they’ll be helpful if one does arise

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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