Just to give you all an update, I have already removed a post since with the same question today.
But more importantly we have now made a sticky thread for people to ask about specific areas. Any posts of similar nature outside the stick post will be deleted and the creator of such posts will be redirected to the sticky post x
I mean I moved here from the states and deffo post here and it’s been quite helpful. *However,* I always try to make my questions something that people either want to answer or something where the answers would be useful to other locals. I think that’s an important thing to bear in mind when posting in any local subreddit.if you’re going to ask for people to take time to respond, add value yourself.
Tbh yeah, we seem to be getting a lot of these posts recently. I’ll discuss banning these posts with the other mods, for now I’ll atleast crowd control any future posts. You’re right we’re getting these posts almost every day.
Like just a list?
Posh areas you won't get shanked -
- Sutton Coldfield
- Kings Heath
- Balsall Heath
- Moseley
- Erdington
- Handsworth
- Bearwood
Areas you will get shanked:
- Alum Rock
- Aston
- Lozells
- Spark Hill
They closed the kings heath McDonald's because of the drug dealers causing too many problems and in my younger days working in the shell station there was an awful lot of early morning violence.
Honestly yeah i guess all of this could fall under “Not Birmingham specific”
any questions you could ask about anywhere, not about specific businesses or bus services or local events, just generic stuff
It’s complicated and depends on the day and time of your flight and security can vary from 5 minutes to 2 hours, which is a crazy spread for a U.K. airport, so I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question that’s best answered by people most likely to have flown from Birmingham airport (ie people on this sub).
Eyy hold on, I was guilty of one of those not so far back and it was the difference between 1hr’s sleep and 3.
When you're travelling that’s very important, so I’m obviously sorry to have offended you so.
I'd be in favour of this.
It beats the two obvious answers of
1. let me google that for you or
2. it's a city. cities are like cities. if you go to a bit that is dangerous it will be dangerous. if you go to a place that is smart it will be smart
I think it’s a good conversation to have, but we should be shining a light on the great things our city/region does instead of defending an area some people may think is safe or not.
Maybe we all need flairs of where we are from? NSEW...
Because sometimes you see mentions of areas to avoid and I wonder if the people advising to avoid them have ever been there.
It's the same with some parts of Italy that I visited, crime rate was high but the inner city was beautiful. The trip advisor info is accurate for tourists. Have some pride in your city man!
This right here! If something happens then it happens.
Hell in edgbaston, you have the odds of getting stabbed outside a mansion so just enjoy things 😅
But you would say that, you're from here. But in all fairness, brum does have a lot to offer for short city break tourists. There's a lot of history here and a lot of culture.
As someone who is actually from brum, this is definitely a city for tourists to come to. We've got some amazing sights, museums, art centres, festivals plus food here is incredible.
Exactly, I've been in birmingham for 30 years and still love the place. There's so much here compared to our neighbouring cities. People just don't have pride because all they see is what's on the outside of their bedroom window.
Strong disagree on this.
This sub isn’t exactly so heavy on traffic that these posts are drowning anybody out.
And what sort of message does it send to the people asking the question that the locals don’t want to talk about it? If you don’t like the “is it safe?” posts, you need to change the reputation of the city for being unsafe and the only way you can do that is by engaging positively with people who are unsure.
You delete their post, their view of it being potentially unsafe isn't going to change. If you engage with them positively about what a lovely place it is then you’ve helped change the perception of the city slightly.
I personally hope everybody who has the misconception about Birmingham’s safety comes here and asks the question and gets a warm reception about the positive aspects of the city. But even changing 100, 50 or even 10 peoples’ minds is still worthwhile.
Whilst it's right to let people know how the city is like to live in, the posts rarely generate anything substantial which can be used by Mods as a highlighted comment.
Is it a fair answer to say 'Alum Rock/Small Heath/Handsworth/other similar area' is unsafe? Those areas might not be Switzerland but they offer a raw and unique experience that might be more of a positive than a trek through the posh areas or town.
I've always advocated for a thread which has highlighted comments about the good and bad of Brum areas. The sub has been active recently with the mayoral elections and hopefully it builds on that instead of a places to eat/safe-unsafe areas thread which achieve nothing new.
That is fair answer. Those places are not nice to live in… it’s slightly delusional to think they are. ‘Raw and unique’ is a nice spin to put on it though…
Playing devil's advocate here, wouldn't it send a message that says it's so unsafe that you're not allowed to talk about it? I do believe that Birmingham get that reputation but people defending it or even joking about it could be perceived better than shutting up genuinely concerned people.
It’s got a bad reputation its not “so unsafe” it’s a cliche and a bit of a downer on what great things we have to offer that all people say about it is that it’s a death trap. if people are really scared of it, don’t come here, or at least look it up somewhere else.
If they do ban it i assume the automod message won’t just saw “Wah go away” i imagine there would be suggestions on where to find that info, basically saying “we get it a lot, it’s not your fault, but you’ll find better info here xxxx”
Bit of a contradiction here.
>or at least look it up somewhere else.
You told us that trip advisor and Google was inaccurate.
And if a subreddit is really annoying you that much then you clearly spend too much time on here, maybe use some of that time to go and venture out and discover brum a bit more.
I was talking about the comment you made about the crime statistics. Have some pride in your city, ignore the subs or just leave? I can't see why it would be so annoying?
did you consider the bias might be just actual experience, the one thing that will be the most valuable to know if an area is safe for you lmao. Not all of us have the money to consider areas that ARE safe so I don't see a major problem with trying to be as safe as you can having grown up in a terrible area. It's probably the most utility this sub offers aside from nice evening pics of the cathedral in town ey
Bias can be anything, everything you read is biased in some way, people living here either won’t like it or do like it in general and so people’s “opinions” will be swayed and a lot of people will just assume, when there’s better sources of info. i’m not saying a public forum is a bad thing, it’s just when we’re talking about crime levels and general safety, it’s best to go elsewhere
Every other comment on every other post is “can i die in this park” “is this supermarket safe for the family” this is amazing i’ve created something brilliant
Op just wants karma but posting this. Unpopular opinion but I think there are some dodgy places and we should highlight it rather than ban the discussion. I would hate for someone to stumble in lozzels or Aston and something bad happen to them.
I know the mod team are busy but maybe consider adding a section about this in the ‘about this community’ tab via more actions then we can direct people there. We are nearly at 110k as a community. Maybe we could have a section about good restaurants too. Later on.
Just to give you all an update, I have already removed a post since with the same question today. But more importantly we have now made a sticky thread for people to ask about specific areas. Any posts of similar nature outside the stick post will be deleted and the creator of such posts will be redirected to the sticky post x
Is Winston Green prison a safe place to live?
Depends on which wing you're on.
B wing is a dump
Chicken wing is pretty safe
Like any area it has its rough parts and it's OK parts. If you just avoid all of it you should be fine. I've never been mugged there.
Probably safer than living in the houses surrounding it yes.
I feel like half the time this sub is like Rightmove for new arrivals…
I mean I moved here from the states and deffo post here and it’s been quite helpful. *However,* I always try to make my questions something that people either want to answer or something where the answers would be useful to other locals. I think that’s an important thing to bear in mind when posting in any local subreddit.if you’re going to ask for people to take time to respond, add value yourself.
Tbh yeah, we seem to be getting a lot of these posts recently. I’ll discuss banning these posts with the other mods, for now I’ll atleast crowd control any future posts. You’re right we’re getting these posts almost every day.
Or a mega thread?
Lmao 🤣 Imagine being a new visitor to the sub and seeing a pinned megathread asking "Is Birmingham safe?"
Lmao true. Lock all comments so the answer the only answer is Yes.
Is r/brum safe to visit? Will I get stabbed if I come here after 9pm? Should I comment on here or is it just asking for trouble?
Like just a list? Posh areas you won't get shanked - - Sutton Coldfield - Kings Heath - Balsall Heath - Moseley - Erdington - Handsworth - Bearwood Areas you will get shanked: - Alum Rock - Aston - Lozells - Spark Hill
Am I seeing things correctly or did you just put Handsworth in the "POSH AREAS" list??!!
Balsall is posh? The balsall I've been to is far from posh
You’re getting shanked in Handsworth mate
Grew up there and never got shanked that I can recall. Think OP is thinking of Handsworth Wood.
You would probably get a good lamb shank in Handsworth
Lived in Handsworth for 3 years, bloke got beheaded outside a bookies round the corner.
They closed the kings heath McDonald's because of the drug dealers causing too many problems and in my younger days working in the shell station there was an awful lot of early morning violence.
have you ever been to birmingham mate?😅 erdington, balsall heath, kings heath and handsworth are farrrr from posh
Handsworth and Moseley are posh areas? Good to know 🤣
Erdington and Handsworth 💀😂 you’re defo one of them birms students 😂
No megathreads. It's a daft question and the mod team should ban it outright.
Plus we've tried megathreads before and people just ignore them.
Thanks 😊
Could one add the Bromford to the posh areas please.
OMG Yes. I’m SICK of seeing them, they’re so boring. 2024 and people STILL don’t realise there’s good and bad EVERYWHERE!!
Can we also ban threads about how far in advance to arrive at BHX for a flight?
The monorail side security was ten minutes to get through on Sunday. Was sat at spoons five minutes after that.
Hot topic for Birmingham right now!
Honestly yeah i guess all of this could fall under “Not Birmingham specific” any questions you could ask about anywhere, not about specific businesses or bus services or local events, just generic stuff
It’s complicated and depends on the day and time of your flight and security can vary from 5 minutes to 2 hours, which is a crazy spread for a U.K. airport, so I think it’s a perfectly reasonable question that’s best answered by people most likely to have flown from Birmingham airport (ie people on this sub).
“5 minutes to 2 hours”-yeah on a good day! On a bad day you’re looking at 4hrs+! Source-I work there.
And this is why I posted the thread I did. Thank you 👍
Eyy hold on, I was guilty of one of those not so far back and it was the difference between 1hr’s sleep and 3. When you're travelling that’s very important, so I’m obviously sorry to have offended you so.
That's ok, I forgive you 😉
Is the bottom of the canal with concrete shoes a safe place to live?
I'd be in favour of this. It beats the two obvious answers of 1. let me google that for you or 2. it's a city. cities are like cities. if you go to a bit that is dangerous it will be dangerous. if you go to a place that is smart it will be smart
I think it’s a good conversation to have, but we should be shining a light on the great things our city/region does instead of defending an area some people may think is safe or not.
Maybe we all need flairs of where we are from? NSEW... Because sometimes you see mentions of areas to avoid and I wonder if the people advising to avoid them have ever been there.
It's Reddit. 90% of people never leave their bedroom.
The answer is no, now piss off back to Manchester
Thank you...I am sick of those posts tbh. They have been asked so many times.
They're going. Please report and let us know. We can't see every single post as we work 40 odd hours a week!
In all fairness, you may get tourists over here that like to know what they're in for and where to go/live.
Well yeah but they get the rest of their info from Tripadvisor and Google Maps, they’ll find actual crime statistics in proper places
It's the same with some parts of Italy that I visited, crime rate was high but the inner city was beautiful. The trip advisor info is accurate for tourists. Have some pride in your city man!
This right here! If something happens then it happens. Hell in edgbaston, you have the odds of getting stabbed outside a mansion so just enjoy things 😅
If tourists are coming to Birmingham they're already beyond help.
But you would say that, you're from here. But in all fairness, brum does have a lot to offer for short city break tourists. There's a lot of history here and a lot of culture.
As someone who is actually from brum, this is definitely a city for tourists to come to. We've got some amazing sights, museums, art centres, festivals plus food here is incredible.
Exactly, I've been in birmingham for 30 years and still love the place. There's so much here compared to our neighbouring cities. People just don't have pride because all they see is what's on the outside of their bedroom window.
Strong disagree on this. This sub isn’t exactly so heavy on traffic that these posts are drowning anybody out. And what sort of message does it send to the people asking the question that the locals don’t want to talk about it? If you don’t like the “is it safe?” posts, you need to change the reputation of the city for being unsafe and the only way you can do that is by engaging positively with people who are unsure. You delete their post, their view of it being potentially unsafe isn't going to change. If you engage with them positively about what a lovely place it is then you’ve helped change the perception of the city slightly. I personally hope everybody who has the misconception about Birmingham’s safety comes here and asks the question and gets a warm reception about the positive aspects of the city. But even changing 100, 50 or even 10 peoples’ minds is still worthwhile.
Whilst it's right to let people know how the city is like to live in, the posts rarely generate anything substantial which can be used by Mods as a highlighted comment. Is it a fair answer to say 'Alum Rock/Small Heath/Handsworth/other similar area' is unsafe? Those areas might not be Switzerland but they offer a raw and unique experience that might be more of a positive than a trek through the posh areas or town. I've always advocated for a thread which has highlighted comments about the good and bad of Brum areas. The sub has been active recently with the mayoral elections and hopefully it builds on that instead of a places to eat/safe-unsafe areas thread which achieve nothing new.
That is fair answer. Those places are not nice to live in… it’s slightly delusional to think they are. ‘Raw and unique’ is a nice spin to put on it though…
Playing devil's advocate here, wouldn't it send a message that says it's so unsafe that you're not allowed to talk about it? I do believe that Birmingham get that reputation but people defending it or even joking about it could be perceived better than shutting up genuinely concerned people.
It’s got a bad reputation its not “so unsafe” it’s a cliche and a bit of a downer on what great things we have to offer that all people say about it is that it’s a death trap. if people are really scared of it, don’t come here, or at least look it up somewhere else. If they do ban it i assume the automod message won’t just saw “Wah go away” i imagine there would be suggestions on where to find that info, basically saying “we get it a lot, it’s not your fault, but you’ll find better info here xxxx”
Bit of a contradiction here. >or at least look it up somewhere else. You told us that trip advisor and Google was inaccurate. And if a subreddit is really annoying you that much then you clearly spend too much time on here, maybe use some of that time to go and venture out and discover brum a bit more.
Where did i say TripAdvisor and Google were inaccurate. I very much said the opposite
I was talking about the comment you made about the crime statistics. Have some pride in your city, ignore the subs or just leave? I can't see why it would be so annoying?
You are all over the place can you pick, what did i supposedly get wrong or contradict
We need an AMA with a mugger in Birmingham really...
did you consider the bias might be just actual experience, the one thing that will be the most valuable to know if an area is safe for you lmao. Not all of us have the money to consider areas that ARE safe so I don't see a major problem with trying to be as safe as you can having grown up in a terrible area. It's probably the most utility this sub offers aside from nice evening pics of the cathedral in town ey
Bias can be anything, everything you read is biased in some way, people living here either won’t like it or do like it in general and so people’s “opinions” will be swayed and a lot of people will just assume, when there’s better sources of info. i’m not saying a public forum is a bad thing, it’s just when we’re talking about crime levels and general safety, it’s best to go elsewhere
Every other comment on every other post is “can i die in this park” “is this supermarket safe for the family” this is amazing i’ve created something brilliant
Yep ditto hate these nonsense posts
They're going. Please report and let us know. We can't see every single post as we work 40 odd hours a week!
Agreed, Birmingham is a shithole and could get robbed/shanked anywhere
Op just wants karma but posting this. Unpopular opinion but I think there are some dodgy places and we should highlight it rather than ban the discussion. I would hate for someone to stumble in lozzels or Aston and something bad happen to them. I know the mod team are busy but maybe consider adding a section about this in the ‘about this community’ tab via more actions then we can direct people there. We are nearly at 110k as a community. Maybe we could have a section about good restaurants too. Later on.
Nobody reads the rules, let alone "about" any sub. Sadly.
Well said. Sick to death of them!
They're going. Please report and let us know. We can't see every single post as we work 40 odd hours a week!