Safety in Birmingham City

I live in south east london and was thinking of going to either aston or university of birmingham but i have read a lot about racial tensions and gang violence in many areas of birmingham which i beginning to hinder my choice. I want to know if is as worse as they say it is in the media as were i live is portrayed as a very violent place yet it is not as bad as it seems.

thanks in advance

Reply 1

g_star_raw_1989

15

I would stay out of : Aston, Lozells, Handsworth and areas such as these.

Reply 2

Frankly Vulgar

Birmingham is pretty safe, as British cities go. Just use some common sense. The chance of you being knifed in the city centre is very low.

It's also not *that* exciting - don't go there expecting nightlife (or daylife) equivalent to London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc.

Reply 3

**:)**

i really don't think it is that bad, i am often in handsworth and there are people there from every race and nationality so i can't see racisim being a huge problem, like you said if you live in london which is protratyed to be awful then i can't see you finding birmingham any worse.
everywhere has it's problems so just don't be an idiot and start causing trouble and you will be fine.

however i am a white female and i felt very uncomfortable walking down the street in handsworth because i felt like everyone was staring at me because women in general don't walk down the street there (which i find odd). also i was being heckled and acosted by loads of men and i am really nothing special. it's a lot different to where i am from (worcester)

Reply 4

KayleeLand

16

Frankly Vulgar

It's also not *that* exciting - don't go there expecting nightlife (or daylife) equivalent to London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc.

Clearly not a Brummie!

Brum is great! I've lived here all my life and thankfully can say that this terrible gang business is very much confined to gang areas. Racism isn't a problem here unless you go out of your way to make it one. The student areas (Selly Oak etc...) are just the normal dodgy student places all the student cities have. My one piece of warning is not to go upstairs on a double decker bus!

Reply 5

marcusfox

16

South east London - as in Bermondsey or Lewisham and areas like that? Just follow common sense as you would having grown up in your local area. Unlikely to be much of Birmingham thats dodgier than much of south east London.

Marcus

Reply 6

Frankly Vulgar

KayleeLand

Clearly not a Brummie!

Almost.

But seriously now, the centre of Birmingham is dead most nights, let's not pretend it's a buzzing metropolis!

Reply 7

Usman938

11

Avoid Sparkhill and Sparkbrook.

Reply 8

KayleeLand

16

Frankly Vulgar

But seriously now, the centre of Birmingham is dead most nights, let's not pretend it's a buzzing metropolis!

Hahahahahaha you make me laugh! 'Buzzing metroplis' you say hahahahaha. Birminghams nightlife is totally and utterly dependent on its student population to go and drink Monday through to Friday. But there is a large range of places to suit every taste, which you don't get from a slightly smaller city... say Sheffield! I love Birmingham!

Reply 9

KayleeLand

16

Usman938

Avoid Sparkhill and Sparkbrook.

Nah they don't have to be avoided! Especially not if you want a decent curry! Just don't take any valuables...

Reply 10

Frankly Vulgar

KayleeLand

Hahahahahaha you make me laugh! 'Buzzing metroplis' you say hahahahaha. Birminghams nightlife is totally and utterly dependent on its student population to go and drink Monday through to Friday. But there is a large range of places to suit every taste, which you don't get from a slightly smaller city... say Sheffield! I love Birmingham!

Yeah, that's the point! Decent cities have a decent nightlife independent of their student population. Birmingham is supposed to be the UK's second city, but culturally it just doesn't cut it. Sorry if you think that's harsh, or disagree, but it's hard to see how Brum is better in that respect than a number of other British cities.

Reply 11

KayleeLand

16

Even though we have majorly strayed from the thread topic... Birmingham IS the second city and yes it does cut it culturally. Birmingham has everything you could possibly want. All UK cities except London are dependent on students - hence the cheap midweek prices and marketing towards them.

Reply 12

clad in armour

16

KayleeLand

Clearly not a Brummie!

Brum is great! I've lived here all my life and thankfully can say that this terrible gang business is very much confined to gang areas. Racism isn't a problem here unless you go out of your way to make it one. The student areas (Selly Oak etc...) are just the normal dodgy student places all the student cities have. My one piece of warning is not to go upstairs on a double decker bus!

so true

Reply 13

clad in armour

16

what do you think of Nechells

Reply 14

KayleeLand

16

Don't live there if you've got a choice. Although I have only ever been there in a car! It just looks abit rundown, but I don't think its that rough. What do u think of Nechells? Whats you're favourite part of Brum?

Reply 15

clad in armour

16

KayleeLand

Don't live there if you've got a choice. Although I have only ever been there in a car! It just looks abit rundown, but I don't think its that rough. What do u think of Nechells? Whats you're favourite part of Brum?

BULLRING!!

Reply 16

musa89

am frm south london so i doubt it get rough then tht..lol...but yh..every major city has high crime rate..every city has dodge areas....u just have to be careful..

Reply 17

HJV

16

g_star_raw_1989

I would stay out of : Aston, Lozells, Handsworth and areas such as these.

And just to clarify to the OP, Aston Uni isn't actually in Aston but nearer to the city centre.

Reply 18

Smtn

16

As a rule of thumb, The centre is generally safe and alot of the suburbs are dodgy. If you see any high rise dodgy looking flats AVOID (eg close to aston)

Reply 19

Conkermon

11

Whats Digbeth like? Only reason I ask is that Air is there and I reckon that'll be a club I go to fairly frequently. Also Water Street as Subway City puts on a night that I'm interested in. Going to Warwick but the nightlife there doesn't really look like it'll cut it so weekend visits to Brum are looking likely.

Safety in Birmingham City

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