Why I Love Living in Birmingham

I love living in Birmingham and I genuinely couldn’t ask for a better city to do my degree in. Birmingham is a city of opportunity and spontaneity. With its expansive city centre, Birmingham is home to the Bullring, packed with popular retail stores and food stalls; a diverse mix of shops lining New Street; Birmingham New Street Station, the largest railway station outside London; and the impressive Birmingham Library, one of the biggest public libraries in the UK, complete with a rooftop garden that’s freely accessible to all.

Birmingham has a wide community, access to opportunities and large retail scene however it is less crowded than London making it more of a community hub and you don’t have to suffer with London pricing. Birmingham is the place that gives access to all which is why I genuinely could not choose a better place to do my university degree.

Because of Birmingham’s location it was easy to travel from the city to home, and it also made it easy for others to visit me. When you’re in a brand-new city feeling homesick, a friend visiting is always welcome. Birmingham also has a proficient travel system within the city. With a multitude of bus services - those that are really popular have as little as a 4-minute wait time in between - that can take you across the city and into the county/surrounding towns. This is in addition to the inner-city train system that too take you across the West Midlands and UK. The university campus has its own train station, and they also offer a discounted NX bus West Midlands price for bus travel if needed. There are also many Beryl bikes which is the name of the E-Scooter/Bike system scattered around if looking for simpler travel.

Birmingham being a large multicultural city made for loads of places to explore even in the surroundings of city centre. There’s China town full of amazing Asian restaurants which is intertwined with Gay Village, a place full of LGBT+ owned establishments.

During Christmas in Birmingham the biggest German market outside the country and Austria, The Frankfurt Market, makes an appearance, decorating New Street in fairy lights as many stalls line its way down the city centre. It most definitely helps induce the Christmas spirit, looking and smelling spectacular.

There’s the Red Brick Market in Digbeth just outside town that highlights independent stores, traders and talent local artists. It’s next to the Custard Factory which is also a creative space and hosts many fun stores like the Mockingbird Cinema, board game cafés, retro arcades etc. Digbeth is a very vibrant and artsy area, for those that are interested it’s only 10 minutes away from the city centre.

There are also many pockets of green space in Birmingham, like Winterbourne Gardens. It’s a lovely spot, especially in the summer as many students love to go to for picnics.

What I particularly love about living in accommodation on campus is that the University of Birmingham campus is very expansive and the area around it is full of students, so it felt as if I was always in a little bubble of student life which I really enjoyed. The immersive experience allowed me to solely focus on university with no distractions from the busyness of the city and you feel safe.

The city is so close to the university and with so many opportunities too like networking events or internships. The university has many connections and is very helpful in always promoting these opportunities to you through Careers Network. Which is even more of a reason why I truly love living in Birmingham.