Birmingha.... sorry, BerminGGum, UK. Oft confused with the nearby Black Country and/or Bromsgrove, which have their own unique (and quite literally conflicting cultures, some people will get deeply offended on either side if you assume they're from the other camp).
Seen as overweight, stupid, lazy, in love with crime, degredation and ugly concrete cityscapes built to take advantage of the local production of highly inferior motor cars whilst (literally) shoving the pedestrians underground, faggots (offal meatballs) and chips with mushy peas and with a very annoying accent which I won't even try to replicate here.
Well, there is some element of truth in that, and in the early/mid 80s when I was growing up around here it was definitely the case on the urban downfall front. However we have been mindful of that nasty image and worked hard to pull ourselves up. We were, after all, a city of industry, the heart of the early industrial revolution, and still a major crossroads of the country.
Since the late 80s/early 90s the city has been part of a major redevelopment project. The "concrete collar" inner ring road has been partly demolished (for better or worse) and about half of the original subways have so far been filled in and replaced with normal crossings. A cycle of history-destroying rebuilding continues, with a lot of the concrete monstrosities that went up in place of fine but half-bombed victorian classics being gotten rid of for more pleasing and colourful new builds. There's Brindleyplace of course, the various concert halls and convention centres, the Digbeth Dalek (silver-spotted Selfridges store in the Bull Ring), new Matt Boulton college and the surrounding Masshouse development, and a number of quite cool skyscrapers and such. We're having a serious shot at being a good seat of learning (the existing large university, and a growing number of smaller colleges, some of which progressing to semi- or full university status) and apart from the inner urban underclass which every city has, you'd hardly call the average brummie all that thick any more. Even for the chavs, the tower blocks are being cleared to be replaced with nicer affordable housing, and free or cheap community further-ed courses abound.
EDIT: I somehow forget not just the renovated children's hospital, but the Supermassive White Heffalump aka new QE superhospital. Despite having been employed at the old one when work started. Now in full flow and actually quite cool.
Laziness, I think not, given all of the above, and our culture of graft which, arguably, had a hand in changing the world.
We have the largest "urban" (rightfully, suburban, but it is surrounded by housing on all sides) park in europe, plus a large - and growing - number of other parkland either in or within easy reach of the centre. It's never been a completely foliage-free environment, but it's becoming much more leafy and colourful even so.
On top of which, apparently non-brits find our accent and dialect one of the most musical and interesting. It's the flat nasal tones of a few uninspired culprits who became famous (and would have been monotonous even in french or italian, never mind any other british accent) that led to the less attractive image. I don't even know that many people who have a strong "brummie" accent - it's been diluted by massive subsumption of suburbs and movement of people around the city and the wider midlands (it's now more of a general "midlands-ish" accent, which can make someone from the rugby-northants area sound fairly similar even to a modern Dudley resident) - but the odd few who pop up are always interesting to listen to and FAR from flat.
Oh, and don't knock the faggits cheeps en' paiz until you've had a plate of them. Fantastic guilty pleasure food on a wet (it helps the plants grow!) summer evening and tastier than you'd expect for what would otherwise be a grim staple.
Now, should we consider the actual black country (from dudley and stourbridge up to stafford and stoke) or bromsgrove area.... ugggghhh *shudder*. Now there's nasty
(hehe... not really... it just needs a little investment of its own, and a motorway finally built around the far side of it to do away with the epic congestion)
