Which English city should I go live in?

Mrbrianmolko

Dunno if this is the right forum? Mods feel free to move if necessary.

Ok I’ve decided to make a huge decision and move to England to start a new life and new job. But I need some help in the decision. I haven’t picked a city yet as to where I want to move to, I’m sure I’ll be able to get a job in pretty much any city, so could anyone give suggestions as to which city would be best for a young man to go to?
I’m talking in terms of cost, nightlife, rent, ease of getting a job (which will be in a council), people, closeness to ryanair airport (for the frequent trips home), infrastructure, safety and crime, quality of life etc

Can anyone make a recommendation?

I’m mad about football and a Liverpool supporter, so naivly I have been thinking about Liverpool (it would be handy to be able to go to Anfield once a month) but so far I haven’t put to much thought into it, so thought id start here first.

Thanks people.

silverside

Well London has lots of jobs but many people don't like it (expensive, unfriendly, busy, etc). If you're working in a council i guess pay will be same in any city, in that case go for a nicer place to live.

I have heard good things about Newcastle, Manchester people are ok too.

Savman

Manchester all the way

Nalz

Savman wrote:

Manchester all the way

ya think? all its got is a few decent chinese restaurants and the best football team on the planet. Apart from that it isnt the best.

Some parts of London are the beez kneez. Liverpool, Sheffield and Manchester are no nos for me. Meant to be freezing in Newcastle. Dunno what Leeds, Southampton or Nottingham is like, but Birmingham is meant to be rough (like everywhere else I suppose!).

Miguel_Sanchez

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Sizzler

If you are making such a big decision, feck going to england, get yourself over to the states

csm

i'm in college in southampton at the moment, wouldn't recommend it tbh but then i don't really know what you're looking for in a city

i've also heard great things about brighton. bristol's quite cool as well. sister lives in manchester and loves it. however i've been there for a couple of weekends myself and wouldn't live there based on that.

haven't been in liverpool in donkeys but it's a big up-and-coming city with literally billions being spent on it. think it's the biggest civic project in europe at the moment (even eclipsing ballymun!).

if anyone ever suggests living in hatfield or coventry then punch them in the face and run away screaming. god-awful places IMHO!!

Spondulick

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Would have to agree. I grew up in London and moved to Brighton when i was 14, it is much better than London as in the people are way more friendlier, has the best weather and is great crack. Its in Sussex which is the county with the lowest crime rate in the UK, but don't be fooled as like most places it can be quite dodgy as well. Theres is an abundance of Jobs available there, according to my friends that live there. The only one downfall is Sussex is marginally more expensive to live in compared to other counties, due to a higher overall property value. But i would say you would get the best quality of life there as opposed to other cities.

kensutz

Norwich, everything you need is there and well worth looking at.

Fratton Fred

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Gay Capital of the UK as well, if that floats your boat.:rolleyes:

London is the place to be and is probably one of the hippest cities on the planet, but you need to remember London has three times the population of Ireland so you need to pick your spot.

You could try Kilburn, which would be like home from home, or you could try somewhere like Hampstead or Primrose Hill which are very expensive, but very nice. Brixton and Clapham are becoming the trendy place to be as well, although Brixton is a bit errr dodgy in parts:eek:

With London you also have easy access to five airports from which to fly to Dublin (Always worth trying Aer Lingus and BMI, they are often cheaper than Ryanair)

Southampton is dead, there is nothing going on there.

Nottingham has great night life but is the gun capital of the UK. There are also rumours of there being three times more women than men there;)

Take a look at Reading. Easy access to London and Heathrow and the fastest growing economy in the UK. Stacks of jobs and plenty of fairly cheap property. You can also watch London Irish as they play at the Mad Stad.

Newcastle, good night life but very cold and they talk funny
Birmingham - No!
Manchester - some parts are very trendy and easy to get to Liverpool and plenty of flights back to Ireland
Liverpool - I thought you wanted to avoid crime??
Leeds, apparantly very nice but like all big cities, you need to pick you spot carefully.

thebaz

Liverpool would be a good shout -- good football as you say, and you might change your allegiance to the peoples club and become a blue nose

r3nu4l

Cambridge for the win

Positives:
Nice friendly city
45 mins from London Kings Cross by train
Some great pubs including one or two real Irish pubs
Great Real Ale festival in Summer and Winter
Eating out and drinking out much cheaper than Dublin and most places in Ireland
Low crime rate
Shopping is pretty good
Small city but has loads of great restaurants, two cinema multiplexes, bowling alley etc.
Great History, musuems and colleges
Great market in central city
Lots of clubs and societies to join up and make new friends

Stanstead airport is a 30 min drive, train direct from Cambridge to Stanstead is 30 mins (not the most reliable service!!). National express buses to the airport are frequent and take 50 mins.

Negatives:
Few 'niteclubs' for a student city...I prefer the pubs and restaurants anyway
Housing is expensive

In general, the UK income tax system looks better on paper but in reality there are other taxes that make up for it (e.g. council tax). The National Insurance rate is also quite high.
On the whole the cost of living is probably the same but cheaper to go out for a night.

3greenrizla's

Fratton Fred wrote:

Southampton is dead, there is nothing going on there.

But you do get to watch the Mighty Saints @ fortress St Marys

personally I would to go to London, you can always get a train to Sotton.

Ruu_Old

Bumped over to Abroad. London all the way babeh! I lived there for a few months and liked it.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Generally speaking, the further north you go the more liberal it gets. The cheaper the pint too, if that's a consideration. Rent and other amenaties are cheaper too.

Fratton Fred

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Generally speaking, the further north you go the more liberal it gets. The cheaper the pint too, if that's a consideration. Rent and other amenaties are cheaper too.

there is a reason for that though.....

Fratton Fred

3greenrizla's wrote:

But you do get to watch the Mighty Saints @ fortress St Marys

personally I would to go to London, you can always get a train to Sotton.

looney alert

Matches

York is a great city, loads and loads of Bars to choose from and great craic at night. It's also close to Leeds and to Harrogate which are great for nights out as well.

Not sure about rent but the place is cheap to drink in, check out evil eye, a great boozer with serious women in it.

Enjoy.

Limerick Dude

London I always found to be very busy and its just too big for my liking.

Ive been to Newcastle aswel and I found it a really nice place. Very cold though. Really good atmosphere there and the locals are pretty sound!

Catari Jaguar

London!!! End of.

Mrbrianmolko

Thanks for the insight so far. So i definetly should avoid birmingham, Newcastle and the whole tyneside area!?

As much as id love to live in London, i think it will be just to expensive to live there! Il be starting off on about 26-28k sterling, which i presume will last pissing time in London. Although it will be handy to get a job there.

I think im looking at manchester as well, but will definetly consider Brighton if a job pops up there, seems to be a great place.
And Liverpool is a no no then? I thought the scousers where like us DUbs in terms of humour etc and a great laugh?

Anyway thnaks and keep it coming!! Tis a big decsion!

daiixi

York is cute, I loved London and Brighton is great. I hated Edinburgh though.

Faith

I was just about to suggest Edinburgh. I live there and love it. Nice people, not too expensive, small city so everything's within walking distance, great bus service etc. Fantastic nightlife!

But it is in Scotland, so if you're only thinking in terms on England, it's no good.

Mrbrianmolko

Yep faith england only, theres something about scotland i just dont like. Everytime i think of it i just think of scumbags in celtic and rangers jereseys!!

And to the man that suggested the USA, not a chance. I hate all things american, incl. Bush, the people, there dietery habits and there need for everything to be big. So its england or even wales for me.

Ruu_Old

Mrbrianmolko wrote:

Yep faith england only, theres something about scotland i just dont like. Everytime i think of it i just think of scumbags in celtic and rangers jereseys!!

And to the man that suggested the USA, not a chance. I hate all things american, incl. Bush, the people, there dietery habits and there need for everything to be big. So its england or even wales for me.

He'll be gone for good in '08. Its not too bad, I moved to Illinois in '05 and have to say I love the laid back country folk. People seem to be very competitive at work but at least there is no begrudgery (in my experience) like there is in Ireland regarding promotions or developments in work. G'luck anyway.

Mrbrianmolko

And i heard in the US they get very fwe holidays? I love my holidays, and would need at least 4 weeks off throughout the year!

Ruu_Old

I think its 2 weeks a year, not 100% certain.

motormatic

I lived in Chester as a kid, very beautiful city, lots of history. There is a lot to do there and it's close to both Liverpool and Manchester. I haven't been there in quite some time so I wouldn't know as to the job market and such, but it's a wonderful place.

Mrbrianmolko

Sent in an apllication for Cotswolds, probably wont take it but im just testing the water.

My profession is fairly well sought after so I should have no problem finding somewhere. Chester seems a good idea.

jrey1981

based on your requirements I would suggest Manchester. I've been out there and stayed there a good few times. The people tend to be friendlier the more north you go.

Reasonably close to Liverpool and you've a choice of airports in the region served by Ryanair.

I lived in Southampton for 5 years and went to uni there.

Chester or Cotswolds aren't too bad from what I've heard.

Wouldn't be in a hurry to move back to the UK myself, but that's just my humble opinion.

gary the great

Why wouldnt you be in a hurry to go back?

What did you not like about it?

iguana

Mrbrianmolko wrote:

As much as id love to live in London, i think it will be just to expensive to live there! Il be starting off on about 26-28k sterling, which i presume will last pissing time in London. Although it will be handy to get a job there.

£27k is the average annual salary in London. I know people who live comfortably on £20k, it's just a matter of choosing the right area to live in. Housing costs can vary wildly from one area to the next. My house cost £250k, but the same house 5 minutes south of me would have cost £420k. Rentals go along similar ratios.

If you could walk to your office you would save about a £1000 a year on transport. There are 33 borough councils in London, the trick would be to live and work in the same borough, but to pick one of the less swanky boroughs, eg. not Westminster or Kensington and Chelsea. Someplace like Brent, Waltham Forest or Haringey* would be ideal, not too far out that going to central London for nights out/culture would be an ordeal but affordable accomodation.

*Particularily Tottenham in Haringey. Cheap accomodation, 15 mins from Oxford St and you could always go to a Liverpool away game at White Hart Lane or Arsenal stadium.:D (Guess where I live ).

Saruman

Sizzler wrote:

If you are making such a big decision, feck going to england, get yourself over to the states

Well since he can go to the UK and have the option of coming home any weekend and more importatly... since he can get a job there and live as easy as here where as in the states he would need a green card which means the lottery.. well its just not that simple as go to the states.

Besides.. working in the US sucks.. way different ethos over there.. no statutory holidays.. only days off you get are July 4th and Christmas and even depend on the job.

I like Manchester, i think its nice.. Also Liverpool.
Never been to London, well other than passing though.
I lived and worked in Leeds for a while.. its ok but a bit of a dump.
Nottingham is a lovely city!

iguana

Saruman wrote:

Besides.. working in the US sucks.. way different ethos over there.. no statutory holidays.. only days off you get are July 4th and Christmas and even depend on the job.

No healthcare, no social welfare if things go bad, stricter drug laws, no proper football (and he is a big fan).

gary the great

Hmm that makes for intresting reading Iguana, im in the same situation as the op. i could get a job in a london council handy enough and tbh London would be my preference over anywhere else, was just worried about the cost of living. So you reckon i could live on 27k fairly easily?

What I will do is apply for some places in the coming weeks, then drag this thread back up and get peoples thoughts. But tbh i reckon its gonna be London, Liverpool or brighton, in that order.

WhiteWashMan

leeds is pretty hip and happening.
but the weather is nicer down south.
guildford is great, but expensive.
london is london is london, and i recommend everyone spend some time there.

it really depends on what you want in a city.

smashey

What is the big problem with Birmingham here? In the last year, I have spent time in Manchester and Birmingham and if I had to choose, Brum would be the place. Like every other big city, it has places to avoid but it also has a lot going for it. There have been some great developments there since the early nineties.

A Dub in Glasgo

Mrbrianmolko wrote:

Yep faith england only, theres something about scotland i just dont like. Everytime i think of it i just think of scumbags in celtic and rangers jereseys!!

You are deluded if you think there are no scumbags in England!

Blackjack

Middlesbrough. Lovely English City.;)

Paul Tergat

Manchester and Leeds are both class places to live...just avoid Bradford at all costs!!!

Killaqueen!!!

Sizzler wrote:

If you are making such a big decision, feck going to england, get yourself over to the states

Yeah, America is amazing but, depending on where you go/what you do, work isn't great in terms of money.

I don't see the point in moving to England but obviously you have your reasons...

London is great. And in terms of ease to get to Ryanair flights - Gatwick is 30mins away on the train. It's very easy to get around. Shopping is good and if you like the city life, than its great. Nightlife, too.

But you may not like the sheer amount of people (not to mention Brits arrogance ) but when I was there, I met some friendly people.

county

A Dub in Glasgo wrote:

You are deluded if you think there are no scumbags in England!

there isn`t,we sent them up to scotland years ago;)

A Dub in Glasgo

county wrote:

there isn`t,we sent them up to scotland years ago;)

Or they went to Ireland

Mrbrianmolko

Killaqueen!!! wrote:

I don't see the point in moving to England but obviously you have your reasons...

But you may not like the sheer amount of people (not to mention Brits arrogance ) but when I was there, I met some friendly people.

As i said i must go to england career wise, its near impossible to get a career in my feild without experience and that cant be gotten here in ireland for the foresable future. And I want to get outta Ireland for a year or so while im young, experience something a bit different and start a new chapter of life.

Anyway im seriously thinking London at the mo, i was there and loved the vibe. But we'll see how it goes!

Keep the advice coming!

iguana

Mrbrianmolko wrote:

Anyway im seriously thinking London at the mo, i was there and loved the vibe. But we'll see how it goes!

If you are thinking London start by checking out jobs, here are a list of the London boroughs. Each one functions with it's own council so it gives you a starting point as to which councils you can seek out work with and a vague idea of where they are.

Living in the inner borough's generally zone 1 and 2 will be more expensive, but if you live too far out it won't feel like London. Price wise the inner circle of outer boroughs, if that makes sense, will be a lot better value than inner London but not too far out that central London feels far away. It's why estate agents say that zone 3 is the new zone 2.:D Obviously though it will depend on the jobs available, and some inner borough may pay a higher London weighting - a salary adjustment to help cover higher cost of living.

Once you find an area which looks like a possiblity you can look it up and ask questions on movethat or find out the prices of flatshares on gumtree. Remember when you are calculating expenses to account for council tax and water charges. It is also as in Ireland quite a bit cheaper to flat share than to have your own place.

gary the great

Great thread lads, lots of good info and links there Iguana. Just had a look at LGjobs there and the only place in London that are advertising jobs in my feild at the moment is Newham. But i read the Wiki and apparently is the 4th worst place to live in Britan, thats why theres loads of jobs I presume!!

So that doesnt really appeal to me. Not in anyt rush to move anyway, when the right job in the right place comes up il go for the interview.

iguana

gary the great wrote:

Just had a look at LGjobs there and the only place in London that are advertising jobs in my feild at the moment is Newham.

Try looking up the website of each council, they all have their own job pages which will possibly have the vacancy adverts first and tips on how to apply.

Rippy

Yeah Newham is really nasty. I lived there for 8 years in the 90's before escaping to Cork. Pubs, shops , clubs but most of all the people all dreadful.
Full of Cockney W*nk€rs! If London Redbridge ,just up the road is much nicer.
Wanstead and Woodford cheapish, villagey, nicer people , central line and
M11 to Stanstead very handy.
I would agree with Norwich , lovely city which has it all, long drive to Stanstead though.
Hull or Lincoln are pretty cool too.

gary the great

Rippy wrote:

Yeah Newham is really nasty. I lived there for 8 years in the 90's before escaping to Cork. Pubs, shops , clubs but most of all the people all dreadful.
Full of Cockney W*nk€rs! If London Redbridge ,just up the road is much nicer.
Wanstead and Woodford cheapish, villagey, nicer people , central line and
M11 to Stanstead very handy.
I would agree with Norwich , lovely city which has it all, long drive to Stanstead though.
Hull or Lincoln are pretty cool too.

Ye thats what i thought, no wonder theres loads of jobs there!

Revelation Joe

Personal choices:
Nottingham - great nightlife, great transport, reasonably cheap, avoid The Meadows and St Annes areas, and it used to be four women to every man
Brighton - as above but avoid Moulsecoomb. Doesn't have the women-to-men ratio. Fifty mins by train from London. Very very busy in Summer
London - same as any big city really. Good parts and bad parts. Tubes, buses and trains mean getting around is easy. Good choice of borough councils for work.
Bristol is supposed to be OK but I've only been there for work so don't know much about it.

Other possibles: York, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Reading (very nice place), Derby
Places to avoid: Slough, the Essex coast (Harlow/Basildon/Southend/Romford)

That's all I can think of for now...

Del (Essex born, Nottingham bred, lived in East London, Slough, Kent and Brighton)

fricatus

I spent two years living in Birmingham and the best day was when I was looking out the window on the flight home! I haven't been back since and my life is better for it.

The people admittedly were very friendly and very nice, but the city is so ugly, you have to go there to see just how much. It's got a tiny (and admittedly beautiful) central area, but outside that, it's just an industrial wasteland. Imagine the Naas Road starting at Dorset St/Capel St/Kevin St and spreading for miles... it's that bad.

If you're going to advance your career and have an experience outside Ireland, go to London. Matter a damn that it's expensive, you can live cheaply by makin certain sacrifices and it's got very little in the line of competition for the title of the greatest city in the world.

I've reached my thirties and am back in my native Waterford, where I'm delighted to stay. If I could replay my twenties though, I would have lived in LDN rather than Brum. When you look back you will be glad you lived in a truly great city.

If you don't live in London, it might be an idea to live in one of the beautiful smaller cities in England, like Cambridge, Bath, Chester, Canterbury or York. Don't forget though, that some of these places are Tory to the core, and as a Dub you might find more kindred spirits in the bigger cities.