Moving to England

Kernel32

I am looking at the possibility of a job in London early next year. I am working as an IT contractor in Ireland, just got back from 5 years in the states. Ireland hasn't impressed me too much work wise and in other ways but London looks promising. What is the cost of living like compared to Ireland? I know that rent would be higher but what about groceries, utilities, stuff like that, I find it very expensive in Ireland compared to that states. What about contracting in London, can I do it through my Irish LLC or do I need to go through a whole new company setup in England? Any comments would be great.

Also, on the whole bank account discussion. I had a lot of trouble in Ireland trying to open a personal and business bank account. AIB were horrible and BOI were barely tolerable but just enough so I could get through the process. I know they are following new laws and rules but customer service is terrible at both banks, the whole process makes you feel like a criminal.

WhiteWashMan

i have split this off as its more an inquisitive post, rather than a 'helpful' pointer post in the sticky thread.
i hope you dont mind, but most people will notice this more than in the sticky thread anyway.

Blitzkrieger

Don't know about the work stuff - cos I couldn't find any when I was over there. There is loads of work going, but there's loads of people looking for it too. One of the jobs I applied for got 4,000 applicants.

A phrase I heard a lot was "You really see the value of your pound". Rent is expensive, but salaries are higher to compensate. Groceries are cheap, as is eating out or going out - at least locally. Around Picadilly Circus or Leiciester (terrible spelling) Square it's quite expensive. Basically there's a whole spectrum of shops/services for just about everything. Someone with your experience should be able to live quite well over there.

Kernel32

Thanks WhiteWashMan, after a little confusion I found it.

Blitzkrieger, are you in IT? The market appears pretty good in London right now. I spoke with some recruiters and they seemed positive about finding work because I have a lot of .Net experience. My concern about moving is not understanding how far a pound will stretch. Anyway, I am going to head over for a long weekend sometime soon with the missus and young fella to check it out for myself and see if its somewhere we could live for a while.

WhiteWashMan

well, i live in guildford, and your pound will stretch.
beer is cheaper than irealnd, although city centre prices in london can be real expensive. food and general cost of living is a lot lower however.
rental and house prices are on a par with dublin.

over all, better quality of life, and they know how to fix roads within 2 days here instead of 2 months in ireland.

Blitzkrieger

Originally posted by Kernel32
know that rent would be higher but what about groceries, utilities, stuff like that,

Originally posted by Kernel32
My concern about moving is not understanding how far a pound will stretch.

OK - I'm confused

Originally posted by Kernel32
Blitzkrieger, are you in IT? The market appears pretty good in London right now. I spoke with some recruiters and they seemed positive about finding work because I have a lot of .Net experience.

The market in London seems to be about the best in the world. The trouble is so many people know that. I'm a graduate with no experience so I found it hard to compete with the other 4,000 applicants for any given job. I may be going over to try again in October.

Btw - I think there's info on opening a bank account in the 'Moving to England' sticky.