Lyn, I suppose it was a better way of life for my step mother, because the back to backs where she was were in disrepair, and not suitable for an ageing person. The flats in Nechels were brand new when she moved into one, and she was happy at last to have a bathroom and a nice little kitchen, leaving all the cochroaches and uglies that went with the back to back slums. However, I can understand that for you, with a young family it would have been very difficult. They were not the sort of homes that young families should have had to live in anywhere, not just Brum. One thing that always puzzled me was, who were the landlords of the back to back houses? Were they owned privately by wealthy business men? I can remember that nothing was ever repaired without a lot of badgering, even then only very basic repairs were carried out, and most people gave up and did their own.