17 years old, moving to england , loads of questions ???

Fiona7272

I am 17years old and my boyfriend and I want to move over to england to start a life together, he is 19.
We want to know really how to start off over there, and how social welfare or anything like that would work over there? Until we get jobs or until i go to college.
Also any information on colleges would help alot because all i want to do is Hair & Beauty, but we'll never get jobs or anything here in Ireland.
So any information or anyway you could help us out would be really appreciated
We just wanna know how life really works over there... Thanks x

questionmark?

OP I would never try and put people off doing what they want but only fair I answer you truthfully.

First off the streets over here are not paved with gold.

Where would you go too? The cost of living is cheaper in the North of the country compared to the South but in return for the cheaper cost of living there are less opportunities. In order to move here you need a slush fund to set you up as paying letting agents fees, deposit and first months rent is far from cheap.

I know if you are getting Job Seekers you can transfer it for a few weeks to the UK before having to sign on benefits over here. A life on benefits isn't easy here and I doubt you would be anywhere near the top of the social housing ladder.

Life can be good here. I live in Bristol and with the jobs and sociol scene it was a good choice for me.

Would your boyfriend consider moving here first as he is 19 and see can he get a job and place to stay before you join him in order to keep costs and the risk down?

newhere2

exciting im from london, and one bit of advice i can say is choose your location carefully, there are colleages everywhere so thats not a prob, you should be able to sign on no prob if thats what you are doing here,but try not to get caught in a poverty trap, really depends on where in the uk you want to move to,

eg london very good bits and very bad bits all expensive will feel very poor unless earning good money couple approx 20k would be ok will stuggle to find a decent place to live if on housing benefit so can be stressfull.

other areas eg norfork may be better but prob not as many jobs but if your both just planning to study, i would try and find the cheapest lowest crime rate area google the areas for there stats on crime rate, employment etc, althrough dont just choose the cheapest rent eg blackburn altho cheap can be not so nice place to live,

if you did want to choose london i would recommend maybe watford, barnet, altho not tech in london its close enough and safer, it you want anymore info send me a message.

ibizaprincess

Although there any more jobs in England than Ireland, you will need to have money behind you for accommodation etc don't just assume that Housing will give you accommodation. Also the benefits system over here is not as generous as the irish benefits system. As already mentioned can your boyfriend not move over first and get established and then you follow in time. Do you have any friends or family over here that you could stay with until you get on your feet? Good luck

ancapailldorcha

Hi OP,

Have you thought about which part of the UK you'd like to live in at all. London is definitely the most expensive part of the country. The north has the advantage of being cheaper but is somewhat deprived in places. I'd reckon Manchester or Liverpool would be good options as both have strong Irish communities you could ask for help.
I'd definitely not move over without at least £1,500 or so as you'll need a deposit and a month's rent. Bring references if you can. Some places will ask for proof you have a job as well.
You can sort out a National Insurance number before you go as well. In fact, it's a very good idea.
As far as getting work goes, you could try recruitment or temping agencies. A lot of hotels outsource for catering staff. The likes of Gumtree can be very useful. Try ringing up the Irish bars for advice. It'd be a very good idea to sort work or at least an interview or 2 before heading over.