Manchester or London Options

[dave9211]

Hi,

I haven't been on here in a loooooooooooong time! Feels good to be back though.

This topic is nothing new, I think its been talked over a thousand times before but oh well, need some fresh advice.

I have always lived in Manchester (and love it). I've just got back from 18 months of travelling and now looking for a job, a flat and to settle down somewhere. I am in a dilemma of where to look/live. As I say, I love Manchester but after seeing the world, I feel like something new. So I'm looking towards London. I know a few people there so its not a totally daunting task. But what puts me off is meeting people and the cost of living.

How have people found it meeting others in London? How expensive is it? I've visited before and have an idea but its always been as a visit (and I have gone totally over the top!) but living costs are very different.

People I know who have lived there have always ended up moving back north, I don't know where its them or the fact that Northerners are so much better/friendlier/smarter/better looking (delete as appropriate).

Any advice or insight would be appreciated. x

This post has been edited by dave9211: May 30 2012, 21:22

[YORKSHIRE GUY]

Why not visit London for a few days and act as if you were going to move there?

Go through the motions of finding somewhere to live, weigh up the cost of getting to work.

Then settle down in Manchester.

[dixie]

How have people found it meeting others in London? How expensive is it? I've visited before and have an idea but its always been as a visit (and I have gone totally over the top!) but living costs are very different.

To give you an idea of costs, the BBC recently advertised two jobs, they were EXACTLY the same position only one was in Salford and the other in London. The salary for the Salford one was £18,000. The salary for the London one was £22,500. The extra £4,500 for the London job is to cover living expenses. Part of the reason they're trying to get out of London as much as possible.

[Ebenezer88]

I've had loads of friends move to London and as the OP says, they ALL bar one have eventually moved back up North. After the initial buzz, the ridiculous cost of living compared to even Manchester just outweighs the benefits, unless you have a REALLY good job and are earning a small fortune.

I'm not saying London is a bad place and people who are from there originally say that it's actually a managable place to live financially.

Personally? I'd stick with Manchester, there's always Leeds too, Sheffield is pretty ok right now or maybe be really adventurous and try Glasgow or Edinburgh .

There's always Belfast too .

[busted]

Well i've lived in both, i guess they both have their plusses and minuses. Personally, I have always preferred living up north because I find ti a more realistic place. The cost of living is so much easier, rent is a sensible amount, public transport/taxi's are cheaper and I think life in general is a lot easier. I find London just a little too big for me. Now, i do live out in Zone 4 at the moment, so if I want to go into central it takes around 45 minutes on the tube to get there. I could live further into central, but then my rent would go up for another £150/200 and I simply cannot afford that!

So like other posters have said, if you have the good job/money to live centrally and comfortably afford it then thats fine, but I think the north offers a more attractive and laid back lifestyle. )

[Parsifal]

I've just got back from 18 months of travelling and now looking for a job, a flat and to settle down somewhere.

It sounds like you're looking for a job that has equal opportunities everywhere. Some occupations have better opportunities for advancement in some places than others (e.g. London vs. Manchester). Would your future career prospects be better in one place or the other or does it not matter?

As an aside I once knew an aspiring actor here in New York who was originally from Montreal (Canada). He once commented that he was so glad that he went to English language schools as a boy rather than French language schools because if he hadn't then he'd still be there (implying that opportunities in theater are much better in New York than in Montreal). It doesn't sound like you're looking for a job in theater, but you get the idea.

So I suggest that you bring your future career aspirations into the reckoning as well and see where your opportunites are best served.

[duxk]

I've lived in both, London is sooo big no one really lives in London - they live in Greenwich, or Hampstead or Chelsea etc. I read somewhere that London would fill the gap between Glasgow and Edinburgh...

Visit London and see what you reckon but I'd stay with Manc

[Uninvited]

I lived near Manc until I was 22, then fled and moved to London. I'm still there, 6 years later, and if I can help it, I'll never move back.

[dixie]

I lived near Manc until I was 22, then fled and moved to London. I'm still there, 6 years later, and if I can help it, I'll never move back.

Your future husband will be very pleased with that with how much he bashes the North!

[jlover4eva]

I used to on regular trips to both London and Manchester...I would pick Manc anyday!!! The atmosphere, the people, the nightlife, the cost etc etc

[markabba]

I moved there and stayed 11 years.First year i hated it,then loved it for about 9 years,hated the last year and came back up north.I miss it sometimes but a few visits a year does me now

[Roger Mellie]

Move to Leicester. You're halfway between the two then

[dave9211]

Thanks for the response. I was pretty mixed about both, kind of want to live somewhere new but the cost of London is so high and i have been loving being in Manchester since I returned back. So I decided that wherever offers me a job i will take (obviously if it want I want to do). But then I get offered 2 jobs, one in Manchester, one in London, so I am back to square one! Both jobs would love to do, but now its more of a location decision not so much job decision.