Recommendations

Intro to Birmingham

Welcome to Birmingham, the birthplace of heavy metal, the football league and the Peaky Blinders. Birmingham is a city to be proud of, a major part of the industrial revolution and “the workshop of the world”. It’s a multicultural, foodie haven filled to the brim with exciting talent that’s still discovering its voice.

We’re the youngest city in Europe and are founding more start-ups than anywhere else outside London. TL:DR, come to Birmingham – it’s on the ascendency.

For the past few decades, Birmingham has struggled with its identity. It almost became embarrassed of the things it was most famous for (industry, heavy metal) and the outward perception of the city was one of a concrete hell.

In the past 10 years that has all changed. We’re now in an independent revolution with dozens of restaurants and retailers kicking back against the fall of the high street. There’s never been a better time to eat in the city with amazing venues that cater to every taste bud.

Buying & renting

One of the great things about Birmingham is that it’s cheap to live here. There are certainly some more expensive spots like Harborne or Moseley, but moving slightly out of those areas into Bearwood or Stirchley will net you a lovely 3-bed house for less than £700 per month.

Entertainment

Birmingham is a festival city. There’s at least one festival every week and there are some superb ones. We’re obviously biased, but since you’re here you probably want to check out Birmingham Design Festival run by us. There’s also Birmingham Literature Festival, Verve Poetry Festival, Flatpack film festival and Birmingham Weekender.

Nightlife is pretty decent here, though we do better with bars and live music than with clubs. There’s a list of top places below.