Thousands of people choose to make Birmingham their home each year - moving from London and many other areas across the UK and overseas.
However, there are some locals who decide to move out of the city to towns nearby - often known as commuter towns. During the pandemic, researchers found that as many as half of the population enquired about moving further afield, according to Rightmove.
Now Selecta UK, a food tech business, has undertaken research to identify which Birmingham commuter towns are the best places to live.
The company standardised the latest city and country-level data available for key categories including train travel time to Birmingham, annual season ticket cost, school ratings, crime ratings and available wellness facilities to rate the most desirable commuter towns near Birmingham from best to worst.
Commenting on the findings, Selecta UK said: “With hybrid working the new norm and many workers spending more days in the office post-pandemic, it’s interesting to see workers are not solely concerned with travel times into Birmingham, but also about their local community and amenities.
“We hope people find our research informative and it helps those looking for a good commute location to Birmingham to support both their professional and personal preferences.” You can view the full study findings here.
Here are the top 10 Birmingham commuter towns to live according to new research:
1. Bromsgrove - score 6.19
Bromsgrove is well-known for a prestigious and independent residential school called Bromsgrove School. The town also has plenty of green, outdoor space, with 90 percent of its 217 square kilometres listed as greenbelt. Being only a short 26 minutes from Birmingham, it’s a quick and easy journey for commuters and hybrid workers. The town scores favourably in most of the categories but in particular for the percentage of outstanding schools (28%), for which it receives the highest score out of all the towns listed. Bromsgrove also has the top score for the number of picturesque National Trust properties in its vicinity. For example, Hanbury Hall and the 8 Hills Regional Park where you can enjoy long leisurely walks with the family or loved ones while basking in the sounds of the thriving ecosystem it is home to. Bromsgrove has the lowest crime rate recorded out of the list of towns, testifying to the desirability of the area. This might be why house prices are the second highest, on average £347,200, in turn reflecting the town’s popularity.
2. Tipton - score 5.78
It is a mere 19-minute train journey to Birmingham and boasts the highest number of health and wellbeing facilities available to locals, 15 in total. With an average house price of £176,415, it is the most affordable area to move to within the area. It misses out on the top spot due to only having less green space for locals and visitors to enjoy.
3. Warwick - score 5.32
Contributing factors to Warwick stealing the third spot are its high number of health and wellbeing facilities available to locals and for being only a short 29-minute train commute to Birmingham. The only category where it scores significantly less favourably than the top two most desirable towns is for its percentage of outstanding rated schools nearby. Warwick only has 9 percent whereas Bromsgrove has 28 percent and Tipton has 15 percent. Warwick, famous for Warwick Castle, is number one for the most ‘Instagrammable’ of all the commuter towns. Photos of Warwick have been posted about 977,000 times.
4. Rowley Regis - score 4.96
With train ticket cost at £37 and a 20 minute journey to Birmingham Rowley Regis ranks highly in the study. Average house prices are £212,445 and 12% of its school s are outstanding. However it also has the highest crime rate with 14.5 crimes per 1,000 people.