Suburban Nightmare (Solihull in general)

Member Name: kittykat18

Product:	Solihull in general
Date:	09/05/02 (814 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant, Nice

Disadvantages: Dull, Dull, Dull

Although I class myself as living in Birmingham, I actually live just as close to Solihull town centre as I do to Brum. Solihull residents annoy me a bit to be honest. They always say "we're from So-lihull" in a way that indicates they think they are better than Brummies. House prices are expensive and on the whole people that live in Solihull are middle class and fairly dull (well why would anyone choose to live in boring old Solihull if you were wealthy apart from being boring?) I really hope no-one reads this that lives in Solihull as they will kill me!

All of the houses are big with several cars on the driveway and nicely pruned hedges. Down the middle of the roads and on the many roundabouts are pretty floral displays. Solihull have won the "In Bloom" award several times. I always think it is a waste putting flowers down the middle of the road.

The town centre is quite pleasant with all the ordinary shops and is very clean with hardly any litter. Typical people to be seen wondering around are children in nicely ironed uniforms and pulled up socks, and little old ladies. Solihull is not really a place for trendy city types or minority cultures, this is suburban hell.

Touchwood is a new shopping centre which is made up of several malls in a cross shape. It contains some lovely gift shops, fashion shops and delicatessans as well as a John Lewis, Bear Factory and Boots. It is very airy and a nice place to shop if a little pricey.

Nice just about sums Solihull up in my opinion. Pleasant enough, especially for families of Mr and Mrs average and 2.4 children, but there is nothing very distinctive or special about the place. Most young people with aspirations flee to London or another big city as soon as they can to escape a life of drudgery working in the bank on Solihull high street marrying Brian from school and living in a nice neat semi.

Birmingham Airport is only a few miles away from Solihul
l so at least you can get away easily, but that also means if you live in the areas close by you get a lot of noise from planes.

The National Exhibition Centre is right next to the airport so Solihull residents are well placed to go to events such as the Clothes Show, the Good Food Show, the Motor Show and to see concerts.

Solihull has an ice rink and bowling alley which serve a purpose although they seem increasingly dated next to the modern complexes in Birmingham. My friend used to drag me to the ice rink every week because she fancied the security guard but there is no special reason to go there. There is a UCI cinema in one of those horrible retail parks along with a few chain restaurants. Nice. In the city centre there are a few bars, again mostly chains like O'Niells, the Pitcher and Piano and Rosie O Briens. There are no nightclubs but at the weekend some of the bars have licences to open until 1am.

The name Soilhull comes from Soily Hill from the original parish church which was built on a muddy hill (I am making this place sound so appealing aren't I?). The M42 is only one mile away from Solihull town centre so it is very easy to reach if you had any special reason to visit (but I can't think of any unless you have relatives in the area).

Tudor Grange Sports centre is just outside the town centre and has a swimming pool and 3 slides (one is known as the death slide as it's straight down and very scary) as well as football pitches, tennis courts and a gym.

The areas schools are thought to be good, and Richie from 5ive (Billie's ex, the one who wore make up) went to the very posh private Solihull school. Solihull sixth form college offers a range of A Levels and is one of the best performing colleges in the West Midlands. Solihull college students fall into two camps- "American preppy" types and "I hate the world" tortured middle class Slipknot fans.

On the whole,
I am not keen on Solihull. I much prefer to go to Birmingham for shopping, nightlife and entertainment. Solihull seems to be lacking in personality and does not offer anything special to entice visitors. Birmingham may be a bit rough around the edges but its residents have personality.

If I find myself in twenty years living in a nice semi in Solihull working in a bank, do me a favour and shoot me.

Summary: