Why Birmingham won't keep me after I graduate

Sep 9 2009 by Rebekah Douglas

Two years ago Rebekah Douglas chose to come to Birmingham to study for her degree. As her third year approaches, she explains why it will almost certainly be her last in the city.

Two years ago I took the plunge and moved to Birmingham – my first time living away from home – to start a journalism course.

Now, as I begin my final year, it is time to think about my future and where I go from here.

Not only is it my last chance to get the most out of my degree but it’s time for me to go places – which most likely means leaving Birmingham.

So why did I choose Birmingham in the first place and why am I now thinking about leaving? As a girl who grew up in the Cheshire town of Altrincham, I have always thought of Manchester as my home city. I have always been drawn by the hustle and bustle of city life so when looking for a university place I was looking for something that would be as good as, if not better than, home.

I was feeling pretty ambitious and wanted to go to a city that was bigger and brighter than anything I’d known before.

Initially I considered London because if you’re looking for a big city you can’t really go wrong with the capital.

London has everything for those who are ready for it but the thought of moving so far to a population of seven million people was more than a little bit daunting – I needed somewhere that was a notch down. The thought of long hours of travel and expensive train tickets also made it something of a write-off.

Then came Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK and only an hour and a half train ride from home. It seemed like the perfect place for my university years – other popular student cities such as Leeds and Sheffield were tempting but not quite big enough to fulfil my love for exploring and adventure!

I suppose I saw Birmingham as like a halfway house between the provinces and the really big city. I wouldn’t say Birmingham is in any way a bad place to live, it’s not.

However, for me it’s my student city, it’s not my home and I won’t limit myself to only looking for a career here. I’ll be considering a lot of places for my future and if the job opportunities that I come across this year are amazing here then maybe I’ll be encouraged to stay, but I have ambitions to go to many places during my life.

Students who move out of the city don’t move because they don’t like the city, but because they either want to continue to broaden their horizons or prefer a return home where they are closer to family and friends.