Birmingham: Where to Eat, Work, and Play

Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city, home-town to Jamelia, Cat Deeley, Ozzy Osbourne, and my second home and place of study: the University of Birmingham.

Let’s begin with the important stuff--going out. The main area for clubs, bars, and pubs is Broad Street in the city centre. Literally a street full of restaurants and clubs, it’s populated with students every night of the week. The biggest, though not necessarily the best club, is The Works, which varies in its themed nights. Home to the famous Vodbull event, the drinks are reasonable, the crowd rarely rowdy, but always up for a fun night. About a 10 minute walk from Broad Street is The Arcadia Centre, (and a stone’s throw from New Street Station), home of the newest club in town, Oceana, as well as Forbidden Fruit and 52 Degrees North. Since its opening, Oceana has proved the most popular with freshers and veterans alike. Spacious, not too expensive, and easy to access, you can’t really go wrong in a club with a silver panther inside.

In addition to clubbing, the city centre has a wide array of things to do. Three cinemas, a very cheap bowling alley (£2.50 for students), loads of places to eat, ranging from Nandos to kebab houses.

Of course there is the Bullring Shopping Centre, which, to me is like a mini-shopping city inside of Birmingham. But if the prices there are too much for you (watch your debit card spending habits!), there are always the Bullring markets: a series of indoor/outdoor markets where you can find cheap goods, fresh food, fancy dress outfits, and all sorts of crazy things. We also have a fortnightly German meat market-- very random but good fun.

After you’ve spent all your money, you actually have to do some studying. The Birmingham Uni campus is a beautiful one (one of the swaying factors in my choosing it), with so much green grass, a great sports hall and an enormous clock tower that inspired Mr. Tolkien in some books about a ring and two towers or something.

In the summer time, students chill out on the grass, study and picnic in the sun, or even play Frisbee. In the winter time, while you’re cooped up in the library, you can look at the track and field near by, admire the tower, or relax in one of the numerous eateries (we’ve even got a Subway opening up soon). The library has a great depth of books for research, and teachers are more than willing to offer advice with any difficulties you may have, obviously varying with each department.

When you’re not studying, eating, or going out, you can write for The Redbrick, our university paper, or speak to the masses on BURN FM, the university’s very own radio station. It’s good fun, and a great way to meet like-minded people. But if you haven’t got the gift of the gab, try a sport or dance lessons. It’s a great way to pass the time, keep you fit, and again, you can meet so many people.

As a second year student, I live in Selly Oak (or as some affectionately call it, “Smelly Oak”) the obligatory student town. Here, you’re never far from people you lived with in halls. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you, but it does give a great community feeling. While Selly Oak is infamous for high crime rates and err…bathrooms next to the kitchens (maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner, but that’s weird to me), it is home to so many cafes (including “The Selly Sausage”), convenience stores, electrical shops and so many things you will always need. About a 10 minute walk from the campus, life is very convenient, and I look forward to seeing you here soon…except I don’t know what you look like.