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:
9. Penkridge - score 3.63
It takes 32 minutes to get to Birmingham on the train from Penkridge adn a season ticket costs £87. The average house price is £324,789, but none of the schools have an outstanding rating. The crime rate is 7.6 per 100,000 people. | jacquimartin - stock.adobe.com
10. Shifnal - score
A train into Birmingham from Shifnal takes 44 minutes and a season ticket costs £90. The average house prices aren’t cheapat £316,305 and none of the schools are rated as outstanding. The crime rate is lower than other commuter towns at 4.6 per 100,000 people | Shropshire Star