Moving to Birmingham with a family: the first month

A base, not a decision

Many families take a furnished apartment for the first month or two of a move. It means you can start work or school on time, see the neighbourhoods for yourselves at different times of day, and choose where to live once you know the city — rather than from a listing a hundred miles away.

Room for everyone

Our Birmingham residences have one, two or three bedrooms, and a three-bedroom residence at Makers Place sleeps up to six. If you need more room — grandparents staying for the first weeks, or a nanny — one booking can hold up to six residences side by side in the same building.

Getting around

Central Birmingham is compact and walkable. The West Midlands Metro tram runs from Edgbaston through Five Ways, Brindleyplace and the city centre to the Jewellery Quarter and on to Wolverhampton, and trains from New Street, Snow Hill and Moor Street reach the suburbs and beyond. You can pay with a contactless card on the trams and the buses.

What to sort in the first weeks

• Register with a GP practice near where you're staying: you don't need a permanent address to see a doctor.
• Look at schools and their admission arrangements before you choose an area — Birmingham City Council's school admissions pages are the place to start.
• Visit the neighbourhoods you're considering on a weekday morning and a Saturday afternoon, and try the commute.
• Set up a postal redirect from your old address while you're between homes.

Weekends in the city

Children and grown-ups alike enjoy the National SEA LIFE Centre at Brindleyplace — penguins, sharks and turtles, and a tunnel under the water — and the rooftop terraces of the Library of Birmingham. The canals make for an easy walk on a Sunday, and Cadbury World in Bournville is a short trip south.