As you might have guessed, Birmingham hasn't got a lot to recommend it. It's Britain's second largest city, but for the most part it's sprawling, ugly and characterless. Sorry if this offends any passionate home-loving Brummies, but if Elisa can take her pick of English cities, well....
If you want a big city, go to Manchester or Liverpool.
If you want a smaller city, try Bristol, Bath, York, Cambridge, Norwich, Brighton. There are plenty to choose from.