Welcome mattM, and enjoy the forum.
Roy's absolutely right . I'm hoping to visit brum for the first time in almost 50 years, and everyone on here that I've come across as being worth listening to backs him up.....some others have even said, ''your memories are untarnished, keep them unsullied by what you'll find today''. Yes, I'm nostalgic about the city that raised me; it (and we) didn't have a lot, most open spaces were ''bomb sites'' ( the original and real adventure playgrounds) when we were children and there were almost no tvs, fridges, washing machines and very few cars ''down our way'', but because, rather than despite this, the place had heart, as Roy said ''..houses they called them slums most have gone and so did the heart of brum''.
I'm glad to hear that you live a clean pleasant area. I lived very briefly in the original Barbican almost 40 years ago, found the street markets good value and very interesting, and there was a department store called Gamages 5 minutes walk from Smithfield and Bart's that was utterly unique - they didn't just sell detached stiff collars (which I quite liked) they had them with rounded collar tips from before the war, and a wide range of armlets and tie pins, if anybody remembers them. Even Harrods was still a civilised store with much merchandise within the reach of most folk, if they saved up for it. They'd accept your cheque before bankers cards had been thought of.