Birmingham Uni student life?

hey, was wondering if anyone could tell me what Birmingham is like as a city to live in ? is there a good night life? is the shopping centre decent ? is it nice to live there ??

Reply 1

Wimbs

Birmingham Uni itself is a great uni and in the Russell Group (ie. best unis outside Oxbridge.)

Birmingham is a fascinating city. It has many interesting things such as excellent shopping (the Bullring is state of the art) , decent nightlife (as a student and newbie to the city you will no doubt come across and have many good nights out in Broad Street. Although if you want a 'real' clubbing experience go to Digbeth 1/2 a mile out of town. ) Then theres Brindleyplace for the canal waterfront area and more upmarket bars/clubs. The Jewellery Quarter similarly offers more stylish places to drink. We have excellent sporting facilities such as the Alexander Stadium. There is plenty of history in Birmingham, after all the city spawned the Industrial Revolution. Birmingham is a diverse melting pot of cultures that live very harmoniously together , you will get world class cuisine here.

In terms of where to live, the Vale is the obvious location. Considering you live in the second biggest populated city in the UK, it is a beautiful place to live in Halls in the first year. On the one hand it is well under a mile to walk to Broad Street yet the valley looks downhill to the uni and there are lots of trees and a south facing aspect so you get the Sun! It is a 15-20min walk to lectures but this is via a lake and pleasant avenue. Chamberlain has modern state of the art halls as well as more traditional ones like Mason (I assume its still there.) (Although theres something to be said for the days of a floor of 32 with 4 bathrooms lol with the old Chamberlain!)

After first year you have Selly Oak which is a proper student village complete with student services eg. takeaways/coffee shops/bars. If you want to continue living in Brum post degree there are some excellent (if pricey) 'hipster' suburbs such as Moseley and Harborne.Many placers of interest are a train ride away such as Stratford upon Avon and the city is at the hub of the railway network of the UK.

There are many positives and its a great city to study. I would visit the city and uni if you can although I would always say shop around and check several places out.

One or two slight downsides:-

1. Although you probably won't have much need to as a student, the public transport is 'clunkier' than, say Manchester. Brum only has one metro line going to Wolverhampton and otherwise its train or bus to 'explore' the city, although the canal network is a good way of doing this and there are over 500 parks in the city, there is plenty of green space here.

2. Were about the most landlocked city in the country. Forget a quick walk to the beach!

3. There are areas to be a bit careful around in Brum, but then that's true of any city.

Reply 2

Aston University

Official Rep

Hi Lucy!

Although this thread is a bit old now, you may still be considering Birmingham as a place to study and live! If so, please read on:

Birmingham as a city:

For students, Brum is brilliant. Unlike many "student towns" that exist only for students, Birmingham is a mix of student populated, locals, commuters and justa bout eeveryone else. OF course there are very student-orientated parts of town: Selly Oak for University of Birmingham students, Edgbaston where a lot of private-reniing students live. We are Aston uni, a campus university uniquely based in the middle of the city centre (more central than other educational institutions in our city!) yet all of our classrooms, accommodation and facilities (on-campus shops; SU; fitness centre; pubs) are on-site - yet town's also a 8 minute walk down the road.

The night life here is wonderful. Broad Street, Digbeth, Gay Village, Chinatown and the Arcadian are bursting with a huge variety of nightclubs, bars and pubs - each with differeing personalities and vibes. There's plenty of cultural night-time events all the time too.

Shopping - again - is great. The Bullring is our main shopping centre, and a famous attraction for our city. It's 3 floors of all major brands. We also have high street stores in New Street, and lovely independent shopping areas in the Custard Factory and Oasis Market.

We hope this helps you consider Birmingham as a place to study and live! (This was written by a final year student who's lived here for 3 years!)