Phil, I met my future wife whilst working in London. There came a point when we decided to live in Birmingham. Without exception, all her friends asked her why she would want to live there, looking down their nose. It was interesting that none of them had been outside London.
My wife loves Birmingham, inspite of being a Camberwell girl. But she does get a bit miffed that strangers say to her, I know where you're from. ....Brum. She has a better Brummie accent than I have, inspite of not living there for a while.
She loved the easy access to culture. We went to the theatre every week, Symphony Hall is better than anything in London and of course ticket prices are way cheaper. Obviously the quality of shopping helped and all relatively close together.
It thrills me when friends down here tell me they are going to Brum and they all come back amazed at how good it is. All except one couple, who somehow went the wrong way and ended up at the 5 Ways Shopping Centre and wasn't impressed.