Articles From the Team
10 reasons to choose Birmingham over London
Midway between England’s big cultural powerhouses – London and Liverpool, Birmingham has often missed out on its share of the limelight. As a native Brummie this has always irked me somewhat. Having spent a number of years living away and abroad, I am very proud to call Birmingham home and no more so than right now.
The last ten years have seen so much change going on in the city with the emergence of new and independent retail shops, coffee shops and bars, not to mention the transformation of Birmingham New Street into Grand Central, completely changing the central hub of travel.
So what’s all the fuss about? Why should you consider choosing a job in Birmingham over a job in London. Here are 10 reasons to consider!
- The cost of living – it is still a lot cheaper to live and work in Birmingham than London and when it comes to getting on the property ladder you get a lot more for your money.
- Improved transport – we now have a tram running through Birmingham and improving City links and connections. Whilst HS2 is still a while off completion, the infrastructure and opportunities it will bring to the City are endless – travel from Birmingham to London in 48 minutes and Birmingham to Manchester in 41 minutes!
- Increased employment – according to a recent report from property experts Savills there will be a 29% increase in employment levels in the City over the next 10 years. See the full report at http://www.savills.co.uk/research/uk.aspx.
- Proximity to the coast – you can be lying on the beach in less than two hours….the time it can often take to drive into or out of London from the M25!
- Eastside Locks – the redevelopment of the east side of the City continues with the development of an urban business park which will eventually house the new home for HS2, alongside retail, leisure, learning, living and business all working together to form a new community.
- Education – Birmingham is the largest UK centre for higher education outside of London with two of the Universities ranked amongst the top in the World Rankings fro 2016-17. The University of Birmingham’s recent announcement that it is opening a campus in Dubai will serve to further strengthen its international ties.
- The sites – our City is awash with beautiful buildings, miles of canals and modern architecture. Over a million people visited the new library in its first year of opening and it is definitely worth a visit, not least for the views from the roof top gardens but also for the dedicated Shakespeare room.
- Culture and diversity – we are a varied bunch and we are proud of our heritage and diversity. Birmingham is a City renowned for the arts, music and festivals celebrating our history and individuality.
- Creative hotspots – continue to emerge in the urban sprawl, check out the old industrial district of Digbeth, where vintage shops and bars exist in and around the old Victorian buildings. We also have the UK’s oldest working independent cinema.
- Food and drink - we have more Michelin star restaurants than any other City outside of London and they are good. We also have an amazing street food scene going on, fantastic pubs and an award winning street food event every week.