Tolkien grew up in the Birmingham area! You'll be able to go and see a lot of his old childhood hangouts (many of which inspired places in the LoTR).

The problem with Birmingham as a tourist destination (except for Tolkien fans, that is), is that, while it's big, it doesn't have a lot of beautiful and historic buildings. And old buildings are one of the major things the tourists want to see. But as a place to live, it looks like it's got plenty of interesting things to do - and that matters more than old buildings.