Move down south - would you do it?

rIcK

rIcK

rIcK

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I currently live in Central Manchester and own an apartment here, I work around 4 miles from where I live and cycle each day.

I will potentially have the opportunity to move to the centre of London, this both comes with a reasonable pay rise and a better job opportunity. I would be considering renting in the Greenwich area.

So this is a question, is it worth considering the move I would like to hear peoples thoughts on this?
 
I wouldn't. The only time I'd live in London is if I can afford a maybach and to be chauffeured everywhere.

Especially now that I have kids. I'd never bring kids up in a big city.
 
I moved down south from Sheffield 6 years ago for a new job and it's worked out great for me.

It's a bit of a change and if you can absorb the higher cost of living, then I've found there are generally more opportunities around (obviously depending on the field of work you're in).

At least you have an apartment so you have something to fall back on - I'd go for it.
 
rIcK said:
I currently live in Central Manchester and own an apartment here, I work around 4 miles from where I live and cycle each day.

I will potentially have the opportunity to move to the centre of London, this both comes with a reasonable pay rise and a better job opportunity. I would be considering renting in the Greenwich area.

So this is a question, is it worth considering the move I would like to hear peoples thoughts on this?
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I wouldn't move to London unless it was for at least triple the salary as the lifestyle hit would be too significant.
 
rIcK said:
I currently live in Central Manchester and own an apartment here, I work around 4 miles from where I live and cycle each day.

I will potentially have the opportunity to move to the centre of London, this both comes with a reasonable pay rise and a better job opportunity. I would be considering renting in the Greenwich area.

So this is a question, is it worth considering the move I would like to hear peoples thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

Take the job, but don't live in London, live outside and commute in. Draw a circle 35 miles around the capital and look on Right Move to see what you can afford to buy or rent.

The cost of living is more expensive here and there's no getting away from that, so make sure you do your sums!
 
If you want to move up in the world, sure. If you're content with your current situation then no. London is for people who have drive and ambition, first and foremost.
 
I have no desire for kids, however commuting distance needs to be small I have done with that and there is nothing which makes you more depressed. I would be looking for < 8 miles around St Pauls Cathedral.

It would cost me an extra £1000 per month to simply rent, that in itself would be covered by the wage increase. I cannot imagine what else would cost that much more?

Food - I can't imagine this being much different than where I live right now
Drink - I don't go out drinking often enough for this to make a difference, even then places vary in price ( Spinningfields / NQ in Manchester for example )
Transport - I cycle everywhere this is going to cost me nothing more than now
Bills - Internet and Electric are again the same...

So assuming I am content with renting in the short term and I have not made a massive mistake on the part of bills. How do people find the culture shift / City shift from moving to London? Manchester is not a terrible place, it has a bad homeless problem however everything is relatively walkable and there is lots going on.
 
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I'm from the South West - I moved upto London for work and after 3-4 years was all too ready to move back out again (though other factors prompted the move out) I enjoy London but living there not so much - finding somewhere to live a good bit outside but within comfortable commute wouldn't be a bad option though could be almost as expensive as living in London.
 
If you own an apartment in Manchester and have a 4 mile cycle to work, then stay there. Manchester is likely going to be a nice place to be for the near future.
 
Once you're settled/content you've made the right decision for yourself, you could look at offsetting the cost of living by renting out your apartment in Manchester.

Can't comment on the 'culture shift' as I don't live in London itself (I prefer open space :p) but any difference is just going to be because everything is on a larger scale. London is just another city so vs Manchester, it's going to be similar - more variety and busier, if anything. You get used to it pretty quickly.

Your cost estimates are about right I reckon - you're saving a lot not having to commute but offset in rent.
 
I used to live in Yorkshire. I moved down south and it has been much better. Berkshire, Surrey, Bedfordshire and now London.
 
Absolutely not. It's horrid down south... you can't even get gravy on your chips from a bloody chippy. Just wrong. You will hate it in comparison to Manchester in all honesty.

Oh and say goodbye to spam.
 
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Seriously no don't do it I've been down here 15 years and if I could persuade my wife I'd be up back the m6 as soon as you could say chip barmcake
 
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