Where to live in the West Midlands

easilydistracted

A rather more complicated problem than the title suggests.

I have been offered a new job in Coventry, based on the Warwick University Campus. My partner is now working at Coventry University but he is only on a years contract so his work venue may change. I will be covering Coventry, Northampton and Warwickshire for work, starting March or April next year dependent on checks.

My partner's daughter lives in Rugeley (South Staffordshire) and she visits once a week and is only young so we don't want her to have a ridiculous car journey.

Can anyone suggest a nice but interesting and preferably diverse area that is reasonable travelling time of both places. The only place I really like at the moment is Moseley in Birmingham but not convinced it will be reasonable travelling time of either location. Also looked at Sutton Coldfield which seems ok if a little sensible but the traffic seems pretty horrendous. We love Warwick but it is too far to Rugeley.

Does anyone have any other ideas or can give me advice about the commute times to the places suggested? Ideally I would drop my partner at the Coventry Uni then go onto Warwick Uni but this obviously adds to the journey. He rides but doesn't drive and I drive but don't ride but am prepared to do a CBT if that makes a difference?

Thanks everyone (I live in the South West at the moment so am pretty clueless on areas). We will be in Nuneaton short term but not particularly the long term plan. We would be looking at spending around £200-220K max if buying although may rent first.

Thanks all

Cisco001

How about Solihull if you want to near birmingham. At least it is the correct side of motorway.

BTW, I think leamington spa is a nice place, although I don't know it well enough...

Winger14

Have a look at Water Orton / Coleshill

kiddakidda

Solihull / Knowle - Single road straight to Warwick (A4141)

patricia..xx

I have lived in Moseley and loved it. Whilst not wanting to discourage you, you would have to drive to work and I would expect it would take about an hour at rush hour, perhaps more. It is also the wrong side of the city for easy access from Rugeley - again probably an hours drive.

Also, what type of place are you looking for? Moseley is great for flats and 6 bedroom mansions, but not so great for normal and affordable houses, your budget would buy a 2 bed period house. The market here is also pretty competitive as there are still not huge numbers of houses coming up for sale so sellers can be very picky about who they choose with multiple offers.

I think due to the slightly rubbish position of the Warwick campus public transport will always be a problem, so factor in driving times wherever you look at. Rugeley I think has a good train service anywhere on the Birmingham cross city line so perhaps check some of those areas.

Solihull is nice, but if you think you'd like Moseley you probably wouldn't like it, for reasons you'd only understand if you were local, but similar to your thoughts on Sutton Coldfield! I prefer the vibes of Warwick to Leamington if you start looking that direction, and it may not be as hard as you think to get there from Rugeley.

EverGreen_2

You need to be in the east side for easy connection with Rugeley.
Pedmore, Solihul and Knowle are good areas but far away for that connection. Mosley is good but the traffic may create big problems.


Nuneaton in itself is good area. Look at Walmely and Walmley Ash, Tamworth (parts of Sutton Coldfield) are nice areas. Aldridge and Little Aston (not Aston) are the best areas in Sutton Coldfiled but a bit expensive.


Good luck

kinger101

If one of you works at Coventry Uni, and the other works at Warwick Uni, then Coventry is the most sensible place to live really. Leamington Spa is nice, but dropping someone off at Coventry Uni, then driving back to Warwick Uni is madness. Buses connections between LS and Warwick Uni (and Coventry) are good though. Kenilworth is also on the same bus route.

kiddakidda

The daily commute to Warwick / Coventry would be a nightmare from Sutton Coldfield or Moseley. Yet a couple of times a week for the little un on the M42 / M6 will be much more bearable than a daily grind from the other side of Birmingham

easilydistracted

Hmmm definitely food for thought. In the longer term I will be travelling away from my office base or working from home quite a bit so the Warwick Uni thing is not a super major factor.

How long do people think the journey from Sutton or Solihull would realistically be?

I actually have a one and a half hour each way commute at the moment but am certainly looking at aiming at an hour or less, preferably 45 mins. Hopefully similar travel time to Rugeley.

I am sure I can work it out a bit better while up there. I started off looking in Solihull and drove through looking for the interesting bit and realised I'd come out the other end. The highlight appears to be John Lewis, which is why Sutton seemed ok in comparison. Think I've been really spoilt with my current area,

Thanks for all the advice, please keep it coming!

kiddakidda

95% of Solihull centre is pedestrianised. You would need to park up and have a walk round.

Solihull to Warwick Uni (12 miles) = 22-35 mins - subject to traffic
Sutton Coldfield to Warwick Uni (23 Miles) = 40-60 mins - subject to traffic

Sutton Coldfield to Rugeley (18 Miles) = 30 - 45 mins
Solihull to Rugeley (32 Miles) = 45 - 60 mins

easilydistracted

Thanks for all your efforts kiddakidda. I've checked out all the distances but I just don't know how much to trust the time estimates on the different websites. After some wriggling around on google maps I found a few bits of the centre and the cinema, will have to explore when I am in Nuneaton this weekend.