Many people have preconceptions about Birmingham as a city, but forget everything you know, and find out why you should consider one of the numerous Birmingham Universities.
1. Travel
The trains in Birmingham are amazing. They're far cheaper than the trains in other cities, which means that you can get into the centre in minutes from all over the city. There's never a need for a car in Birmingham, especially with a station as impressive a Birmingham New Street, which has 12 platforms and features a shopping centre and every food place you could ever possibly imagine.
2. Location
Birmingham is right in the middle of the UK. It's the perfect place to visit all of you uni friends all over the country, and never more than a few hours from home for most people.
3. Nightlife
There is something for everyone in Birmingham. Whether you like a cheesy night on Broad Street, a danceathon in Snobs or a rave in Digbeth, the Birmingham club scene is big enough to cater to everyone’s favourite scene. The Rainbow venues offer some of the highest rated raves in the world, with the best DJ’s in the country and bi-weekly raves on top of all of the events which take place on the weekends.
4. Shops
The Bullring is one of the most impressive shopping centres in the UK. It features an enormous Selfridges and all of the high street fashion stores you can imagine (160 of them to be precise). On top of this, the biggest Primark in the world is set to open next door to the Bullring. But if high street stores are a bit too "mainstream" for you, you'll find Digbeth just down the road, full of independent shops, vintage stores, and an adorable little cinema!
5. Venues
Birmingham has two arena's, and countless music venues. There is almost always a Birmingham date on a tour and failing that, a return train journey to Coventry is under five pounds. Artists who have performed in the city in the past year include Lorde, Paramore, Ariana Grande and Drake. These music venues have also been host to the IAAF World Indoor Athletics championships and Crufts over the last month alone.
6. Old Joe
The University of Birmingham has the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, affectionately named Old Joe after Joseph Chamberlain. Old Joe is said to be the inspiration for the tower of Orthanc, the black tower of Isengard, in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. There have also been unconfirmed reports that the clock tower in Monsters University was based on Old Joe. So he’s kind of a big deal...
7. Birmingham's canals rival Venice's canals
There are 35 miles worth of canals in Birmingham, compared to Venice’s measly 26, so scrap the dream of travelling on a gondola down the Grand Canal with your significant other, Birmingham is the city for you. On a more practical level, the canals are great places to run and cycle along, and you might "accidentally" stumble across a pub along the way...
If you aren’t convinced by now that Birmingham is the best student city in the UK, the only solution is to come and see it for yourself.
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