Should I move home or move to London?

indilemma

Hi I'm currently living in Frankfurt(for the past 10 years) but I was thinking of moving back to Ireland as I could have a job lined up however the prospect of a job in London has come up so I'm not really sure.

London or Dublin, what are the pros and cons of each?

I'm 31 and my girlfriend is from Frankfurt, which would be better for two young people?

Thanks.

zAbbo

London, without a doubt.

devereaux17

i honestly cant think of 1 thing that dublin has over london????

emeraldstar

London, definitely

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

devereaux17

actually no place is boring just people, eventually when you get used to london it will become boring now obviously london is far superior to dublin in most ways but the only difference is it will take a lil longer for u to become bored in london.

does london have the lovely beaches dublin does possess and the stunning coast line? no.

gowger

This is a very subjective question but ..

I lived in london for three years and I prefer dublin in many ways.

Firstly though London is great if you are very rich and young and into clubbing and what not. All the national museums are free. The art scene is pretty good. The underground rave scene is probably second to none.

I found the society there to be very hostile and arrogant and this got me down after a while. I found it hard to meet new people, people always assume the worst about you and are very aggressive in general.

It's also a nightmare when it comes to getting around. It's just too big. It takes ages to visit anyone and there's never any time left in the day after you've travelled to work and back.

So for me Dublin is a nice size and the people are much much more easy to get along with. The nightlife is adequate, I get to see top artists as often as I would ever want or can afford. Although one major criticism is that everything closes by about 3 am! What the hell is that about ? :eek:

I found also in london there's so much going on that it's hard to remember that there's actually a world that exists outside of it! :-) And this effects peoples minds, they get stuck there and don't travel and have very open minds to the rest of the world

I would say if you like people and socialising then go for Dublin for sure! you can always visit london for €5 on ryanair if you wanna visit for something that you can't miss

If you are highly career orientated and into drugs and clubbing and never sleep then probably london is more your bag

I reiterate though, this is a very subjective question!! I'm from rural ireland

... next stop Rio De Janeiro, 18m people, wish me luck!

Fratton Fred

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I've worked in both and the jobs in London have paid a lot more than in Ireland, but that could be the industry I work in.

Without kids, I would say London f'sure, with kids...not so sure.

London Irish

gowger wrote: »

This is a very subjective question but ..

I lived in london for three years and I prefer dublin in many ways.

Firstly though London is great if you are very rich and young and into clubbing and what not. All the national museums are free. The art scene is pretty good. The underground rave scene is probably second to none.

I found the society there to be very hostile and arrogant and this got me down after a while. I found it hard to meet new people, people always assume the worst about you and are very aggressive in general.

It's also a nightmare when it comes to getting around. It's just too big. It takes ages to visit anyone and there's never any time left in the day after you've travelled to work and back.

So for me Dublin is a nice size and the people are much much more easy to get along with. The nightlife is adequate, I get to see top artists as often as I would ever want or can afford. Although one major criticism is that everything closes by about 3 am! What the hell is that about ? :eek:

I found also in london there's so much going on that it's hard to remember that there's actually a world that exists outside of it! :-) And this effects peoples minds, they get stuck there and don't travel and have very open minds to the rest of the world

I would say if you like people and socialising then go for Dublin for sure! you can always visit london for €5 on ryanair if you wanna visit for something that you can't miss

If you are highly career orientated and into drugs and clubbing and never sleep then probably london is more your bag

I reiterate though, this is a very subjective question!! I'm from rural ireland

... next stop Rio De Janeiro, 18m people, wish me luck!

I'm 34, also from rural Ireland. Been living in London for nearly 6 years, after 3.5 years previously in Dublin. For what it's worth, left because of property mania and didn't want to be part of the rush when the lights went out on the boom.

I've had perhaps the opposite experience of gowger - no disrespect of course. I should say that I'm in IT, farily well paid - but not on City IT wages. I go to the pub a bit - no clubbing or drugs though and now settled down with a significant other.

The first year was quite tough, as it is a huge city and overwhleming (and I had lived in Boston and NY previously), and expensive. But I found people quite welcoming and open, and have done so ever since. Of course, these were mainly the people I met through work or through friends. I've even had friendly conversations with strangers down the pub! But you have to accept that no-one talks to each other on public transport, etc, and that there is a rat race mentality sometimes. You just don't have to be part of that, just observe it instead.

An observation I got from a friend of a friend when I first moved is that - for our age group - there's people from all over the world who are also trying to make it there, in the same situation and so want to socialise and get on....

What gowger says is true - great culture here - lots of free stuff and places to visit - good pub culture here too if that's your thing. Money-wise, things settled down once I'd settled in, and I'd still say its cheaper than Dublin, for me. Yes, the city can be time-consuming to navigate but if you stay here long enough you'll figure out the best areas to live in for you (I live in zone 1 on a decent tube line, 30 mins walk from work - for affordable rent - it wasn't this way when I first moved here). Important thing is that each area has their own "vibe" so to speak - east London is very young and fashionable and clubbish....I've lived in Angel which was nice but expensive, and now living near Maida Vale which is more middle-class, family oriented. And so on.

Ultimately your experience will be driven by the type of industry you work in (and the type of people in it - you work with them every day), any existing contacts you have there, and where you choose to live. For example, the area I work in IT, attracts driven but friendly people from all over the world who are generally happy to socialise and have a laugh with (I have got a lot of good mates I met through work here...).

So yes, its subjective! But when I weigh up Dublin vs London, it's London hands down.

ciaran67

devereaux17 wrote: »

i honestly cant think of 1 thing that dublin has over london????

As a Londoner now in Ireland I could give you several.

scruff321

devereaux17 wrote: »

i honestly cant think of 1 thing that dublin has over london????

are you serious? i hope your not irish if thats your attitude towards dublin

people are much more friendly in dublin
smaller city isnt always a bad thing
plenty of culture, nightlife and general things to do

ciaran67

scruff321 wrote: »

are you serious? i hope your not irish if thats your attitude towards dublin

people are much more friendly in dublin
smaller city isnt always a bad thing
plenty of culture, nightlife and general things to do

I drive a cab here and apart from one bad experience ive never had anything other than the most decent people you could meet. The laughs ive had. London is colder than a winters night in Kathmandu.

SeanSSS

I'm curious what you ended up doing and your experience of it? I've been living in London for 8 years and always assumed I'd move home. Feeling homesick at the moment. Anyone have any experience of moving back to Ireland after being abroad and if it was a good decision?

CBear1993

SeanSSS wrote: »

I'm curious what you ended up doing and your experience of it? I've been living in London for 8 years and always assumed I'd move home. Feeling homesick at the moment. Anyone have any experience of moving back to Ireland after being abroad and if it was a good decision?

Why have you got fed up with London? What part are you in out of interest.. have a friend moved over there 2 years ago and don’t think he’ll ever be back. Fiancé and child on the way

maninasia

If you're a Dubliner...It'll be Dublin in your heart.
For our country cousins I can understand why it's a toss up.

SeanSSS

CBear1993 wrote: »

Why have you got fed up with London? What part are you in out of interest.. have a friend moved over there 2 years ago and don’t think he’ll ever be back. Fiancé and child on the way

I'm in east London but have lived all over the city really. I like it but it's a bit hectic sometimes and I feel a slower pace of life might be better for settling down and meeting someone etc... The problem is there are way more opportunities in my line of work here than in Ireland, so I find it hard to justify the move back as regards career.

SeanSSS

maninasia wrote: »

If you're a Dubliner...It'll be Dublin in your heart.
For our country cousins I can understand why it's a toss up.

You mean for people from the rest of the country. I'm from Galway which I've realised over the years having traveled around that it's a great town to grow up in and live. I've lived in Dublin as well and would probably have to go there for work in what I do if I were to move back, although there are even more opportunities in London ... It's really a choice between career and what may be a better pace of life, being near home and all that.

CBear1993

I’d imagine London is better than Dublin anyway. 2 years into Dublin and not overly impressed.

SeanSSS

CBear1993 wrote: »

I’d imagine London is better than Dublin anyway. 2 years into Dublin and not overly impressed.

Where were you before?

CBear1993

Sydney for a year. Don't know why I moved home!! Just didn't see myself there for that long, although I loved the place. I've a girlfriend of 2 years now basically since I moved home so I feel like I'd be better set up to head away. Went off the rails a bit in sydney with a big group of single lads... :D

theteal

CBear1993 wrote: »

I’d imagine London is better than Dublin anyway. 2 years into Dublin and not overly impressed.

More and bigger variety of jobs, yes. IMO it's too big, too busy/smelly/noisy. I'd pick Dublin to live in a heartbeat - benefit of being born and raised there. I've been here nearly a decade and I still couldn't tell you where to go for a random late Tuesday night session. Now the first couple of years were great craic but you get sick of having to get trains everywhere - thankfully they're super regular though.

I've wasted too many hours travelling (I lived East, less East than now but still more Essex than London) across to Greenfort, Ruislip, Acton, Kingston ect. ect. to play football matches. . . .the traffic