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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Grateful for nearly 3 years at Sherborne Place

Review Date Apr 2024

Very central and has easy access to city centre and bus lines. Brindley Place with plenty of restaurants and bars is walking distance. Not much noise. The neighborhood is good.

Please review your development:

Ila team is great. They have been responsive and helpful all along. The coworking space is small. Was hoping to have access to a wellness studio but we moved out before it was ever ready. Design is good. Furniture pack is decent. Wardrobe space is way too small.

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

We moved into Ground Floor on a whim. Lack of privacy was one of the major setbacks for us. South facing and getting plenty of sunlight was a major advantage

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

Yes they have. They’ve always been responsive and helpful all throughout our stay

4
Facilities
4
Design
5
Location
4
Value
5
Management
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Wonderful home

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

The Jewellery Quarter is a fantastic place to love- loads of bars and restaurants but a really lovely village feel. St Paul’s provides lovely green space too. Easy proximity for city centre amenities too. Just perfect!

Please review your development:

I absolutely love living here. The team are so great, the location is perfect and it just absolutely feels like home. The apartment is really well designed, the furniture is well suited and I love having a balcony. I really couldn’t recommend Whitmore Collection enough.

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

Make use of the resident spaces- the lounge is brilliant

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

Yes within hours! It’s incredibly rare that I’ve had issues but they are always promptly resolved.

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Best move in amazing staff and amazing building

Review Date Mar 2024

Great location, amazing people and overall a great community to be a part of close to shops, transport and restaurants

Please review your development:

Great place, amazing gym and equipment the move in process was easy and simple and Faris helped me with everything and made this whole process easy, showed me around all the facilities and really showed me what this place has to offer and its values, the community and people here are friendly makes you never want to leave

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

Great community it’s like a family here, will be here for the long term

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

Faris has helped me with every step of the process from the viewing to giving me the keys, I’m so lucky that he helped so much

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Manager Response

Thank you Zhehao for your amazing review- we hope you feel part of The Mercian family- we are so pleased that you have had a great experience so far 🙂

Great staff, very helpful

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Mar 2024

Great location, close to shops, restaurants and cafe’s, very central for transport links, amazing community and staff that make you feel part of the family

Please review your development:

Great staff, very helpful especially Zain and Faris who has gone above and beyond for me, I’ve been here for a year and have upgraded to a 2 bed now and the whole process was smooth and efficient. Faris has been like a brother to me and made me feel like family.

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

Moda has turned out better then expected and I have extended my stay

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

Faris has responded very quick and efficiently and always found a solution to the problem!

5
Facilities
5
Design
5
Location
5
Value
5
Management
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Manager Response

Thank you Felix for taking time to leave a review. I will be sure to pass on your kind words to Faris. We are so pleased that you decided to extend your stay at The Mercian. Hope to see you soon!

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