Birmingham: The most practical city for South Asians in the western world
1st thing 1st, I am an adopted Brummie, so I’ll be biased! But after living 4 years and swapping London for; It probably was one of my best decisions of life. Birmingham is centrally located in the UK specifically, more central to England. It’s about 110 miles North West from London, which takes either a 1 hour 25 mins train ride or about 2 hours drive.
My claim is big, hence I have to set up some criteria 1st. Being someone from the South Asian diaspora or coming from the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Srilanka; we have some similar sort of expectations of the west after migrating. for example, we usually come from populous cities and like the hustle and bustle. Or at least want to move to a happening place that only Big cities can provide. Birmingham is no big by Asian standards with only over 1 million people and even fewer within the 2 square miles of the city core. It’s more spread out rather than a dense Metropolis. But I didn’t say the “best” I said “practical”. Birmingham can’t compete with the likes of London, New York, Toronto or Sydney where most south Asians would think of moving 1st due to being an Ex-British colony and wanting to use their language expertise. I am not saying people aren’t moving to other countries but English-speaking countries will always be a priority. What Birmingham offers compared to other major cities is an affordable price tag and this alone makes up for all the facilities it doesn’t provide.
Birmingham is not a city for South Asians only; anybody is welcome; really! The University of Birmingham is preferred by many oriental students and they all love it. I’ve met Arab/Middle-Easterns Careebians, Africans as well as many Europeans. Couple this with the ever-welcoming West Midlanders, this becomes an even more diverse city than London itself, true story! You’ll find a Chinese quarter in the heart of the city center but from the 50s and 60s; the way south Asians have been able to dictate the ethnic background of the city; no other Western city has been this successful for sure!
The results are; many Mosques, Gurudwaras, and Temples for the religious ones! Add A plethora of pan-Asian restaurants and grocery shops, where you could go eat or buy any food and spice to forgo a home visit every few years! This hasn’t been made in the last decade but more likely it was decades in the making and now we all benefit from the generational migrants from the past. Someone who’s not brown tends to somehow know what Eid or Diwali is and has been to a school with someone from a subcontinental family background. So you won’t have to explain why you need a day off on Eid day to your manager if you get to work in an office based in Birmingham. Isn’t that a relief?
South Asians do have a fascination for Homes and Cars and it’s still affordable to Buy a 3-bed home within 10 miles of the city center for less than £200,000 or US $230,000. I mean you could get a Bigger home in USA but Brits do get to live in smaller homes than their counterparts across the pond in general. transport wise, it’s not particularly cheap to buy a car than any other part of the country but the road systems are very favorable to motoring compared to many other cities in the UK.
A map of Birmingham shows the city is surrounded by motorways built during the 60s and onwards with modern America-inspired car-centric motorways that go right through the middle of the city. In addition to that, there are fast lanes from around all parts of the city ending up on the ring roads. This makes going to the city quite efficient albeit not enough during rush hour but it is there and it works. Because of this Birmingham has survived without having a decent Metro system so far. Of course, we want the Metro to cover more parts of the city especially the city centre-North Solihull -HS2/Airport corridor. But as of now, if you like driving; Birmingham will reward you with time savings. For example; I live about 8 miles east of the city and yet I can be in the city center on a weekend within 20–22 minutes. In London, you would be driving 40 mins for the same distance.
I don’t wanna bring in cliche examples of Birmingham being so great as you’d find in other articles i.e. “Birmingham has a longer canal network than Venice”. Because that really means nothing! Birmingham doesn’t have the charm that you’d expect in a classic European city like Rome or Prague; Neoclassical architecture or full of Roman columns. You get some lovely ones; built between 1400s to the 1800s and that’s it. A lot of victorian Era buildings had to be demolished since world war 2. So, the food for the eyes is very limited even within the city center belt. New developments have given the city center squares a modern-classical vibe and mix of new and old sometimes can feel like chaos. This doesn’t really matter for a typical immigrant because we are here for a better living and anything is almost better than where most people come from. We mean business and comfortable living more than anything else; bluntly put.
Speaking of business, even though the immigrants coming in the 50s and 60s had different sorts of Businesses and Jobs mostly in factories; this started changing quickly to corner shops in the 70s and 80s. South Asians were quick to move to switch when midlands were losing their industries. Now Birmingham is figuring itself out as a service-based economy. Many businesses are moving here to take the advantage of affordable offices and can hire people cheaper than they would eventually do in London. Central location, good motorway network, upcoming HS2 and an international airport will always make sure Birmingham is a place to do business form. With HS2, Birmingham will become a commuter city for London. Some are pitching this as Brum becoming London zone 5 as it’s won’t take any more than 50 mins to reach Euston from Curzon Street Station. All the trajectory sets Birmingham up for a favorable position to live and find work than many other prosperous cities like Manchester, Leeds or Bristol. But if you are an investment banker working in Canary wharf; you may still want to stick to London for now.
Entertainment is big in South asian lifestyle and while non-Muslims don't really mind a beer in the local pub, Muslims have some issues going into Pubs because of the religious restrictions. So Brummie Muslims especially of Pakistani origin came up with an alternative to pubs in the name of Sheesha lounge inspired by Turkish and middle eastern cultures in design. They get the job done for socialising and meeting up with friends from time to time. Recently there seem to be popping up loads of "chai places" with morning paratha and chana-bhajis that we love a lot. If UK wasn’t so restrictive with street carts, Birmingham could have an amazing street food scene going on. To get this as a limited edition, go to Coventry road on the night before Eid and You'll see what I mean! It becomes home for few days.
I have not been to many other English-speaking countries and I am still to be made aware of a major up-and-coming city that is affordable yet provides all the homelike facilities for South Asian ex-pats. Usually, you can expect all the general facilities in the capitals or the biggest cities but they come with a hefty price tag to really settle down and branch out. Hence you need to look for a 2nd city or even a 3rd city but this might mean you are losing on other amenities or job opportunities. Balancing is important so that life doesn’t become too hectic and I’ve found Birmingham to be my perfect gateway to happiness. Birmingham is not yet a global city statistically, but is very close to one(day trips to London are really easy)! it’s rightly placed and made-up with everything you need if you are from the Indian subcontinent or beyond. Come and see, you won’t regret it! Just stay away if you love the sea, Oceans and even rivers!
