General Opinion About Living In London?

carlmango11

Hey everyone,
Was just looking to hear what Irish peoples' opinions of living in London are. I'm 19 and have been obsessed with London since my early teens and have since wanted to live there. When I graduate next year it will become a large possibility.

However, I'm worried about meeting people (I'd probably be going alone). I wouldn't say I'm shy but I'm not overly sociable either. For example I'm not really the type to strike up a conversation with someone in a pub and then invite them to do something or whatever.

Also wondering about the people too. From my experience English/British culture is very very similar to Irish and the only difference is the accent but I'd still like to hear some opinions.

I was thinking of waiting until I'm a few years older. I'd be a just-turned-21 year old who looks even younger which I always feels works to my disadvantage.

So basically tell me all about your experience with moving to London. Anything you expected/didn't expect; any advice; any struggles; regrets etc.

Also another thing: I've read from a good few users here that the "London experience" was overwhelming. It's so busy and loud etc. etc. but I also noticed that these people were from rural areas. From a Dubliners viewpoint is this the case? I work in the centre of Dublin and, while I know London is a megacity in comparison, I am not put off by the whole urban experience. I've visited London ~10 times and during those ~2-4 day-long stays I've never been bothered by the crowds or noise. Dubliners' opinions?

Thanks

83ste

I'd say it's probably a good thing to do it when you're as young as possible - London is definitely a young person's city and full of students and college grads with ambition (and some without). However you'd want to be pretty sure you can get a job over here when you graduate as London is not much fun if you're skint.

English/British culture is very similar to Irish - in that a lot of people just get pissed and watch the Premiership and the same sh1t reality TV and soaps. So if you're like me and have no interest in that you may have to work a little harder to build meaningful relationships - but with London being the size it is, you'll find clubs, groups and just people in general dedicated to any interest/hobby you could think of.

I was born and raised in Dublin, so am used to urban hustle and bustle, but London is on another level. Rush-hour crowds and queues on the train/tube will take a bit of getting used to, as will the numpties who insist on strolling everywhere in their own little world, getting in your way.

chainsawman

You will feel more at home in Kilburn where there is large Irish communities reside.

carlmango11

Cheers for the replies. Not sure if I'd like to live in an Irish community in London; I'd feel like I was cheating or living in a bubble or something :pac::pac:

I reckon I'd be able to sort out a job beforehand as my field (software) seems fairly healthy so that's one thing less to worry about.

Mostly worried about the social side of everything; especially if I was in an office of old people it's hard to meet people but from what I've heard people often settle fairly quickly.

Playboy

Pros:

Lots of opportunities from a career perspective
Can earn lots of £££
One of the most multicultural cities in the world
Lots and lots of culture and history... musuems, galleries, opera, ballet
One of the food capitals of the world imo
Access to sporting events... premiership, rugby, cricket, olympics
Great city for fashion and shopping
One of the music capitals of the world... amazing selection of gigs and venues etc.
Brilliant clubs and bars and a diverse range that caters for everybody from city workers to punks
Beautiful women (and i assume men)
Basically if you want something there is a good chance you can find it here easily
Lots of green spaces and parks
Access to international airports
Ease of travel between london and Dublin

Cons
Very expensive city
Can be quite lonely... you need to make a real effort when making and maintaining friendships
the commute... big impact on your standard of living. For most people its minimum 2 hrs per day so make sure you use the time productively by reading... forget crappy tabloid newspapers
The tube... can be great when not busy but traveling during rush hour is a horrible experience and it is hell in the summer
Crime depending on where you live
Mice and rats... lots of them!
No family support (same goes for moving anywhere though I suppose)
Lot of temptation for a young person on their own, could lose yourself in London easily in a bad way


Imho there arent many cities in the workd though that can compete with London... NYC is probably the only. Other cities ofc have their charms but London has it all

**Don't read this if you don't want a negative view** Personally, I think it's quite a grim place for someone who's not earning a lot of money. People will tell you there's plenty to do in London for free. That's true, but it wears thin. It's not as if you're going to go to museums every day. I've found that just having quite a basic standard of living here and trying to enjoy your day to day life is ridiculously expensive.

If you're not rich, you'll be living in Zone 3 or further out, which means a LOT of commuting. I live in Zone 4 and I don't even get a seat on the Tube most mornings at 7.15 am. So that's a nice 30 minutes of standing on a packed, sweaty Tube before I get into work - guaranteed to put me in a good mood for the rest of the day! :rolleyes: If you don't fancy that, you can take the bus if you have a spare 2 hours in the morning, or if you feel like taking your life into your hands, you could cycle, but most people end up using the Tube. Expect to pay a lot for your monthly Oyster card - mine is over £160 a month.

There is loads to do here, but most of it costs money. And it's very frustrating having so much on your doorstep that's totally out of your reach. There are loads of theatres, but I've only been to two shows in three years because it's so expensive. Great shopping, but can't really afford much except in charity shops. Loads of great restaurants, but can hardly ever go to them. I find that it's more annoying living here and not being able to enjoy it fully than living somewhere where there's just not much to do. And don't think I'm living in poverty - I'm making more than the average person in the UK. Your money just doesn't go far in the capital. As soon as I get paid each month, most of my money goes straight into paying rent, council tax and other necessities. Sure, it's a bit like that everywhere but I had WAY more disposable income when I was living in Dublin on a similar salary. I used to go on 3 or 4 trips abroad a year then and this year I struggled to afford a cheap week in Spain.

Of course, it's not all bad. I've done some really cool things here - you can attend TV show tapings, go to premieres etc if that's your thing (unfortunately I would have appreciated that much more as a teenager than I do now), the variety of international cuisine here is AMAZING, there's a lot of great touristy stuff to do. I just found that once I'd 'done it' a few times, the magic wore off and now I just can't wait to leave. I think London is a great place for tourists - I used to love visiting and I intend to visit in the future. I just don't think it's a place to live unless you're wealthy enough to really enjoy it.

And it's a very, very cold and unfriendly city, IMO, where people just rush from place to place like zombies. Very rarely see anyone offering help with buggies, prams or luggage (saw it every day in New York) and it's totally normal for a whole carriage full of men to stay sitting while there are elderly people and pregnant women standing. It really is a place where everyone is out for themselves. I saw dozens of people stepping over someone who'd collapsed on a tube station platform the other day. I've also found it very hard to make friends here, compared to in other cities I've lived. Most other Irish people I know just did the Irish thing and hang out with people from their hometowns and go to Irish pubs. Personally that's not for me and as a result, I've found it hard to form the kind of friendships I had elsewhere.

In short, I enjoyed my first year here, started getting frustrated in my second and now I just can't wait to leave. I know I'll miss it when I go because it is a really cool city, but now I just find it exhausting and expensive.

Fysh

I think that a lot of the experience of living in London depends on your circumstances - both your work prospects over here (you don't need to be loaded to enjoy yourself, but IMO realistically you need to be earning at least £25K to live here) and your reasons for moving here. I moved here of my own free will and have really enjoyed living here, but I've known a few folks who felt forced to move here to find work and in at least some cases the lack of choice they had in the matter has made it much harder for them to enjoy themselves here.

I disagree about the cost of living here being so much higher than Ireland - when I moved here from Cork 5 years ago the only substantial difference I found was rent (which I expected, and the difference wasn't as big as you'd think). To be honest unless you've got a way around one of the main expenses back home (eg use of a family car/living at home so not paying rent) I don't see that London costs substantially more, or at least that doesn't tally with my experience or those of other folks I know who've moved over. There's a lot more variety of things you can do here at little or no cost, and costs for things like healthcare or dental care can be a lot cheaper than they would be in Ireland. I'm actually quite surprised that someone would aim the complaint "Doing anything costs money" at London, when that describes Ireland much more so than London.

Moving anywhere new can be difficult and London can be a tiring city - I found it took me a good 6 months to adapt to the faster pace here, and that can be a bit disheartening. At the same time, what you get out of the place is directly related to the effort you put in.

Like any big change, you should do a good bit of research before making any final decisions about moving here - figure out what your work prospects are and what kind of salary you can reasonably expect, then work from there to figure out what your monthly budget will be like. There's a lot on offer here, but only you can decide whether what London offers is what you're looking for.

frag420

So would people advise a 32 yrs old guy who has changed career and is looking to move to London to boost said career. Will be starting again in a jr/exec position earning somewhere between 22-25k should I move?

Is it feasible? If so how much should someone bring with them for first few months to get started? I should have accom for first month or two with relatives but will be looking to get sorted in my own place after that.

cheers

frAg

Fysh

Fysh wrote: »

I disagree about the cost of living here being so much higher than Ireland - when I moved here from Cork 5 years ago the only substantial difference I found was rent (which I expected, and the difference wasn't as big as you'd think). To be honest unless you've got a way around one of the main expenses back home (eg use of a family car/living at home so not paying rent) I don't see that London costs substantially more, or at least that doesn't tally with my experience or those of other folks I know who've moved over. There's a lot more variety of things you can do here at little or no cost, and costs for things like healthcare or dental care can be a lot cheaper than they would be in Ireland. I'm actually quite surprised that someone would aim the complaint "Doing anything costs money" at London, when that describes Ireland much more so than London.

The main point is that London has much more to do than anywhere in Ireland, so you feel like you're missing out if you don't do it. I pretty much feel like, what's the point in living here if I can't afford to enjoy it? Sure, as I said, there's stuff to do for free, but you do most of it when you first arrive and then most of the fun stuff costs money and then you feel frustrated that you can't do it. It doesn't help that most of my friends CAN afford to do stuff, either because they have high-paying jobs or rich parents, so I'm always hearing what I'm missing out on. You almost feel guilty here for sitting in at home, whereas if you do that elsewhere, it's grand because there isn't all that much to do anyway. Do you see what I mean?

I feel like I have all the disadvantages of living in London (sky high rent, ridiculous commuting costs, pollution, crime/gangs...) and very few of the advantages. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to suffer the effects of the Olympics big time. I'll have to get up at the crack of dawn and stay hours after work to avoid the Tube crowds, I've lost a lot of work and therefore money because my clients are staying away from London because of the Olympics, I won't be able to get around anywhere at weekends because of all the transport disruption......and I'm getting absolutely no benefit from the Games at all. Couldn't afford tickets for any of the events and can't volunteer at it because I need to work. This pretty much sums up London in general for me. I feel like I put a lot in and get very little back in terms of personal satisfaction and quality of life.

I can only speak for myself, but I find London more expensive than Dublin. I was completely supporting myself there as well but I had more disposable income. This will obviously vary from person to person depending on lifestyle. I spent almost nothing on transport in Dublin because I could live close enough to the centre to walk to work and almost everywhere else. This is close to impossible in London because of the size of the city. I pay way more in rent and council tax here than I ever did there. I do save a lot on food and drink (especially alcohol) but it doesn't balance out. If I'd been a big drinker back in Ireland (I wasn't), I'm sure I would find London great in comparison.

I do see all the good points of London, but it's not worth it for me anymore. I find it more and more soulless every day. I totally get why people love it, but I find the crowds and general indifference to other people draining at this point and I just want to be somewhere smaller, cheaper and more relaxed. I don't want to become the person in the suit who barges pregnant women and elderly people out of the way so they don't have to wait 1 minute for the next train. What's it all for, really? I've always been a city person, but living here has taught me that huge cities aren't my thing.

I would still recommend trying it out for a year, but as I said, I wouldn't want to be here long-term unless I was earning enough to live in a nice area, avoid public transport, have a decent social life and afford a holiday or two a year. And even then, I can think of many other places I'd rather live.

enda1

I really like London and really like living here, but as others have said, unless you can afford to maintain a certain level of lifestyle, it could be a very tough place to live. There is so so much social division and tension (in both directions) between the poor and he wealthy. Naturally most Irish immigrants fall in between these groups of society but it is extremely evident on an almost daily basis. If you are though earning too little and in my opinion that's below about 50k for a couple or 30k for a single person, then you'll grow spiteful against both the wealthy for their decadence and excess and tr poor for their benefits, laziness and chavvy criminal culture.

Dont take the decision to move here lightly, as it's a tough cruel city though one with such an irresistible energy and plethora of possibilities.

djpbarry

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

And don't think I'm living in poverty - I'm making more than the average person in the UK.

Well that probably puts you in roughly the same income bracket as myself and I really couldn’t say that I can’t afford to do stuff in London. Sure, it’s an expensive city on average, but there are plenty of affordable entertainment options. I also know several people who have below average incomes and they don’t seem to have too much trouble enjoying themselves!

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

And it's a very, very cold and unfriendly city, IMO, where people just rush from place to place like zombies. Very rarely see anyone offering help with buggies, prams or luggage (saw it every day in New York) and it's totally normal for a whole carriage full of men to stay sitting while there are elderly people and pregnant women standing. It really is a place where everyone is out for themselves.

I really could not disagree more. Londoners are without question the most polite people I have ever encountered. Far more so than Dubliners. Go take the DART during rush hour and tell me that tube users are rude or inconsiderate by comparison. And I see people offering their seats to others on a daily basis (literally).

As for London being unfriendly, I would say that on the surface it may appear to be, but I have found that once you establish a connection with people here, they make a much greater effort to maintain a friendship than people in Dublin. This is actually one of the things I absolutely hated about Ireland in general – people were typically very non-committal and friendship was often terribly superficial. I find it much easier to manage a social life in London – if people say they’re going to do something, then, come hell or high water, they’ll do it. There’s almost always a definite response to an invite, as opposed to Dublin, where the suggestion of doing something at the weekend was often met with “ah sure, we’ll see”.

I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking Dublin here – I still really like Dublin and think it’s a great place to live. But I really like London too and I’ve made a lot of good friends here, most of whom are not Irish. I also accept that everyone’s experience is going to be different, but I would encourage you to make one last effort to enjoy London – throw yourself into the city so far as is possible. If you still come out thinking it’s not for you, at least you can tell yourself you gave it your best shot. But stop using money as an excuse! Yes, there are some obscenely wealthy people here, but they are in the extreme minority - the majority of London’s 10 million-odd people are on fairly modest incomes.

S.M.B.

djpbarry wrote: »

Well that probably puts you in roughly the same income bracket as myself and I really couldn’t say that I can’t afford to do stuff in London. Sure, it’s an expensive city on average, but there are plenty of affordable entertainment options. I also know several people who have below average incomes and they don’t seem to have too much trouble enjoying themselves!

I'm more than likely in the same bracket too and I feel the same. I've never got the impression that I couldn't afford to take advantage of Londons offerings. Maybe if I socialised with people earning a lot more than me I'd notice a bit more but would that not happen anywhere, regardless of what city you live in?

djpbarry

djpbarry wrote: »

Well that probably puts you in roughly the same income bracket as myself and I really couldn’t say that I can’t afford to do stuff in London. Sure, it’s an expensive city on average, but there are plenty of affordable entertainment options. I also know several people who have below average incomes and they don’t seem to have too much trouble enjoying themselves!

I can afford to do stuff, just not the stuff I want to do. I can afford to go to the local pub, the park etc but I can do that anywhere. It bothers me working next to a West End theatre but never being able to go, being surrounded by amazing restaurants but not being able to afford them...it's just frustrating to be surrounded by so much and not be able to take advantage of it all.

I also hate having to live so far out because rent in Zone 1 is so expensive and waste so much of my life sitting or, more often, standing on a sweaty, packed Tube. That's just not quality of life for me.

I really could not disagree more. Londoners are without question the most polite people I have ever encountered. Far more so than Dubliners. Go take the DART during rush hour and tell me that tube users are rude or inconsiderate by comparison. And I see people offering their seats to others on a daily basis (literally).

DART users are also rude, yes. And Londoners might be polite but it's that surface kind of polite. They don't push and shove and they say please and thank you, but I see very little consideration for others on the whole. Sure, I also see people offering seats, but I also see just as much of people on crutches, heavily pregnant etc standing while everyone just ignores them. I'd say Dubliners are almost as bad, but New Yorkers, for example are MUCH, much, much nicer in these situations.

As for London being unfriendly, I would say that on the surface it may appear to be, but I have found that once you establish a connection with people here, they make a much greater effort to maintain a friendship than people in Dublin. This is actually one of the things I absolutely hated about Ireland in general – people were typically very non-committal and friendship was often terribly superficial. I find it much easier to manage a social life in London – if people say they’re going to do something, then, come hell or high water, they’ll do it. There’s almost always a definite response to an invite, as opposed to Dublin, where the suggestion of doing something at the weekend was often met with “ah sure, we’ll see”.

I agree with you about Irish people. I'm British born and lived in England until I was 11, so I'm not really comparing London and Dublin. I'm comparing London with all the other places I've lived, and there have been many. I do totally agree that Londoners commit to things and stick to plans - that is something I like. But a lot of people in the world are like that as well.

I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking Dublin here – I still really like Dublin and think it’s a great place to live. But I really like London too and I’ve made a lot of good friends here, most of whom are not Irish. I also accept that everyone’s experience is going to be different, but I would encourage you to make one last effort to enjoy London – throw yourself into the city so far as is possible. If you still come out thinking it’s not for you, at least you can tell yourself you gave it your best shot. But stop using money as an excuse! Yes, there are some obscenely wealthy people here, but they are in the extreme minority - the majority of London’s 10 million-odd people are on fairly modest incomes.

I like London, I just don't like living here. I don't think it's a great place to live when you're making under 25K. I think my quality of life is extremely poor compared to other places I've lived on the same salary. There's more pollution, more commuting, more crime, more overcrowding, more rent/bills/tax and I just don't think it's worth it. I've been here for going on four years now. I enjoyed it at first and I still think it's a great city to visit, but I could never imagine staying here long term or bringing up a family here unless I was earning significantly more money. I think it's a city you need money to enjoy.

I lived in a city in southern Spain on a shoestring budget but loved it because there were so many things that didn't cost much money, like sitting out on a terrace with a one euro beer or on your own balcony with a coffee, going to the beach to swim in the day or walk at night, walking in the nearby mountains. I could have a great time and spend little to nothing without even trying. Because London lacks the 'natural' stuff like good weather/beach/mountains, I think most people do end up spending money to compensate. I've found that I'm much happier when I leave the city at the weekends to go hiking or to the beach, but that's also really expensive!

I don't think there's any point in me trying to explain any further. I get why people like London, but I know a hell of a lot of people who think like me and who are leaving because of it. If I ever came back to live around here, I'd get a house an hour or so outside London, where rents are much cheaper, you get a much better lifestyle, but you can still travel in at the weekend if you fancy it.

Fysh

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I like London, I just don't like living here. I don't think it's a great place to live when you're making under 25K. I think my quality of life is extremely poor compared to other places I've lived on the same salary. There's more pollution, more commuting, more crime, more overcrowding, more rent/bills/tax and I just don't think it's worth it. I've been here for going on four years now. I enjoyed it at first and I still think it's a great city to visit, but I could never imagine staying here long term or bringing up a family here unless I was earning significantly more money. I think it's a city you need money to enjoy.

I can certainly see earning under 25K putting a strain on things - bills and rents have gone up since I moved here in 2007, and 25Kpa was what you'd need at a minimum to live here comfortably then (as several recruiters told me, very bluntly in some caseS) at that point, so it's probably more like 27 or 28K today.

If you're determined to do it you could try cycling for travel and save at least some of your commute money, though that doesn't work so well in the wet weather Otherwise it's a case of balancing the books as best you can. I do think there's a lot here you can enjoy without it having to cost the earth, though. There are a lot of good restaurants, theatres, film festivals and fairs that you can get into quite cheaply and enjoy. There's a difference between wanting to do the expensive stuff and wanting to do anything - and I think it's unfair to suggest London only caters to the refined and moneyed palate.

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I lived in a city in southern Spain on a shoestring budget but loved it because there were so many things that didn't cost much money, like sitting out on a terrace with a one euro beer or on your own balcony with a coffee, going to the beach to swim in the day or walk at night, walking in the nearby mountains. I could have a great time and spend little to nothing without even trying. Because London lacks the 'natural' stuff like good weather/beach/mountains, I think most people do end up spending money to compensate. I've found that I'm much happier when I leave the city at the weekends to go hiking or to the beach, but that's also really expensive!

I grew up in Malaga, and I know exactly what you mean about just being able to sit around or do stuff outside and enjoy the weather.

That being said, the town I grew up in wasn't particularly exciting and while it was possible to not spend any money while doing stuff I still recall many a day spent bored off my arse wishing I was somewhere else. The fact that the weather's nice will help, but by itself it doesn't solve all the problems.

Not to mention that the last few times I was down there I found it considerably harder to find places doing €1 cañas or cheap, decent tapas - the touristification of most of the Costa Del Sol and quite a lof of the rest of the south has seen prices trending steadily upwards. Cost of life everywhere's going up, sadly

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I don't think there's any point in me trying to explain any further. I get why people like London, but I know a hell of a lot of people who think like me and who are leaving because of it. If I ever came back to live around here, I'd get a house an hour or so outside London, where rents are much cheaper, you get a much better lifestyle, but you can still travel in at the weekend if you fancy it.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose When I first moved here some friends over here were suggesting living out at the arse end of one of the tube lines for the sake of cheap rents, but of course that then means that any trip into town means you're spending an age on each leg of the journey, and you either leave gigs early to catch the last tube or have to arrange crashspace/arrange a hotel. Balancing what you want against what you can afford to spend is the trick.

Fysh

Fysh wrote: »

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose When I first moved here some friends over here were suggesting living out at the arse end of one of the tube lines for the sake of cheap rents, but of course that then means that any trip into town means you're spending an age on each leg of the journey, and you either leave gigs early to catch the last tube or have to arrange crashspace/arrange a hotel. Balancing what you want against what you can afford to spend is the trick.

Well, that's exactly it. I feel like I just can't afford to live in London (I'm probably earning the equivalent of 23-24K at the moment). I already live really far out and I'm still spending a fortune on rent and commuting loads every day. I personally just hate spending such a massive chunk of my income on rent/bills/council tax. It leaves me with hardly any money to do anything else and there's no getting away from that. Finding cheap/free things to do in London is well and good, but the cost of daily life here means I can't really afford to go on holidays, buy new clothes and other things I took for granted living elsewhere.

I feel like I'm constantly scrimping and saving and getting nothing out of it. That stuff was fine when I was a student but I just want to live like an adult now. I don't want to be sharing flats with randomers until I'm 38, never learn to drive or own a car, never go on decent holidays and still be sneaking naggins into gigs. A lot of people are willing to put up with that to live in the big smoke, but it's not for me. I don't really see the point when you can live elsewhere, earn a similar salary and afford so much more. If I returned to the UK after this, I'd choose Bristol or Brighton (expensive city but great quality of life) over London.

Horses for courses!

philologos

Dublin is a small kettle of fish in respect to London. I love living in London though, although one point to be wary of is in a large city like it, it is what you make of it. I.E - You'll need to go and get involved in stuff to build up a good friendbase I think. There's a lot to do, and pretty much every interest will be covered by something. That's one thing you have to like about a city like London.

The downside for me is just the sheer busyness of the city. The commute can get quite annoying, and even the pavements are rammed full of people. Sometimes I just need to get outside of London for a bit

Jack B. Badd

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I'm probably earning the equivalent of 23-24K at the moment

Do you mean the equivalent of 23-24K Euros? Because that equates to 18-19K GBP and I would think that living in London on that salary would be a struggle.

djpbarry

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I feel like I just can't afford to live in London (I'm probably earning the equivalent of 23-24K at the moment).

That doesn’t tally with what you said earlier?

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I already live really far out and I'm still spending a fortune on rent and commuting loads every day. I personally just hate spending such a massive chunk of my income on rent/bills/council tax.

You could consider moving closer to work? Sure, you might spend more on rent, but you’ll save on commuting and, perhaps more importantly, you’ll save time. Could you move to within cycling distance of your workplace?

Feathers

carlmango11 wrote: »

Also another thing: I've read from a good few users here that the "London experience" was overwhelming. It's so busy and loud etc. etc. but I also noticed that these people were from rural areas. From a Dubliners viewpoint is this the case? I work in the centre of Dublin and, while I know London is a megacity in comparison, I am not put off by the whole urban experience. I've visited London ~10 times and during those ~2-4 day-long stays I've never been bothered by the crowds or noise. Dubliners' opinions?

As a born and bred Dubliner, London is another scale altogether, but you don't see it as a tourist. Probably because by the time you get up everyone is in work already and your doing everything at a comfortable pace.

Next time you're over, make your way to Bank station at about ten to nine on a weekday — it's like herding cattle. Makes sense when you think about it — the population of London is just under double the population of the whole of Ireland!

Playboy wrote:

Can be quite lonely... you need to make a real effort when making and maintaining friendships

This is very true. Luckily for me, a number of close friends moved over at the same time I did about 3 years ago. I moved over for college initially, so had decent free time and could meet people /stay over mid-week etc. But much harder to keep in touch now when everyone's working long hours at completely different corners of the city. Dublin, you're never more than half hour walk from someone within the city centre & you could reach any suburb in about an hour.

djpbarry

djpbarry wrote: »

That doesn’t tally with what you said earlier?
You could consider moving closer to work? Sure, you might spend more on rent, but you’ll save on commuting and, perhaps more importantly, you’ll save time. Could you move to within cycling distance of your workplace?

I didn't mean the equivalent of 24K in euros, I meant that I'm not a salaried employee and my pay changes from month to month depending on how many hours I work. I looked at my last pay check, which is pretty typical of what I've earned so far this year and multiplied by 12.

I've already decided to leave London, so it doesn't matter whether I move or not. If I came back, I probably would try to find somewhere in Zone 2 or closer, yeah, if I could afford it. Remember that landlords want to see your payslips to make sure you can pay the rent - I was limited by that last time.

djpbarry

Gordon Hot Tether wrote: »

I didn't mean the equivalent of 24K in euros...

What I mean is you said you were earning above the UK average? The UK average is around about £26 - 27k.

Certainly, earning less than that in London would be tough and I can't say I'd blame you for leaving. You could enjoy a much better standard of living elsewhere in the UK on a similar salary.

golden lane

Feathers wrote: »

As a born and bred Dubliner, London is another scale altogether, but you don't see it as a tourist. Probably because by the time you get up everyone is in work already and your doing everything at a comfortable pace.

Next time you're over, make your way to Bank station at about ten to nine on a weekday — it's like herding cattle. Makes sense when you think about it — the population of London is just under double the population of the whole of Ireland!



This is very true. Luckily for me, a number of close friends moved over at the same time I did about 3 years ago. I moved over for college initially, so had decent free time and could meet people /stay over mid-week etc. But much harder to keep in touch now when everyone's working long hours at completely different corners of the city. Dublin, you're never more than half hour walk from someone within the city centre & you could reach any suburb in about an hour.

mind the gap!!!!!!

carlmango11

Thanks again for the responses. They're very interesting and it's the kind of stuff I was looking for as I know moving there is not a perfect experience.

I've noticed a lot of people saying that one would need to make an effort to built a network of friends by getting involved in activities. Do you mean clubs and sports? What sort of clubs have people joined?

Thanks

afatbollix

I joined a motor club and am now on the committee and Running events for the club like Goodwood and other rallys. It is a good comunity who have let me in very quickly and it has a good social meetings aswell as events. I have met mates for life in this one

Im also in a squash club mostly to get me off the couch every week.

I thought about joining a rugby club but just didn't have the time working shifts to put myself 100% behind it.