Which English city should I go live in?

Mrbrianmolko

Dunno if this is the right forum? Mods feel free to move if necessary.

Ok I’ve decided to make a huge decision and move to England to start a new life and new job. But I need some help in the decision. I haven’t picked a city yet as to where I want to move to, I’m sure I’ll be able to get a job in pretty much any city, so could anyone give suggestions as to which city would be best for a young man to go to?
I’m talking in terms of cost, nightlife, rent, ease of getting a job (which will be in a council), people, closeness to ryanair airport (for the frequent trips home), infrastructure, safety and crime, quality of life etc

Can anyone make a recommendation?

I’m mad about football and a Liverpool supporter, so naivly I have been thinking about Liverpool (it would be handy to be able to go to Anfield once a month) but so far I haven’t put to much thought into it, so thought id start here first.

Thanks people.

silverside

Well London has lots of jobs but many people don't like it (expensive, unfriendly, busy, etc). If you're working in a council i guess pay will be same in any city, in that case go for a nicer place to live.

I have heard good things about Newcastle, Manchester people are ok too.

Savman

Manchester all the way

Nalz

Savman wrote:

Manchester all the way

ya think? all its got is a few decent chinese restaurants and the best football team on the planet. Apart from that it isnt the best.

Some parts of London are the beez kneez. Liverpool, Sheffield and Manchester are no nos for me. Meant to be freezing in Newcastle. Dunno what Leeds, Southampton or Nottingham is like, but Birmingham is meant to be rough (like everywhere else I suppose!).

Miguel_Sanchez

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Sizzler

If you are making such a big decision, feck going to england, get yourself over to the states

csm

i'm in college in southampton at the moment, wouldn't recommend it tbh but then i don't really know what you're looking for in a city

i've also heard great things about brighton. bristol's quite cool as well. sister lives in manchester and loves it. however i've been there for a couple of weekends myself and wouldn't live there based on that.

haven't been in liverpool in donkeys but it's a big up-and-coming city with literally billions being spent on it. think it's the biggest civic project in europe at the moment (even eclipsing ballymun!).

if anyone ever suggests living in hatfield or coventry then punch them in the face and run away screaming. god-awful places IMHO!!

Spondulick

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Would have to agree. I grew up in London and moved to Brighton when i was 14, it is much better than London as in the people are way more friendlier, has the best weather and is great crack. Its in Sussex which is the county with the lowest crime rate in the UK, but don't be fooled as like most places it can be quite dodgy as well. Theres is an abundance of Jobs available there, according to my friends that live there. The only one downfall is Sussex is marginally more expensive to live in compared to other counties, due to a higher overall property value. But i would say you would get the best quality of life there as opposed to other cities.

kensutz

Norwich, everything you need is there and well worth looking at.

Fratton Fred

Jeff_Lebowski wrote:

A friend of mine moved to Brighton recently and she loves the place. Great craic to be had for 20 somethings apparently.

Good music and arts scene I'm led to believe.

Gay Capital of the UK as well, if that floats your boat.:rolleyes:

London is the place to be and is probably one of the hippest cities on the planet, but you need to remember London has three times the population of Ireland so you need to pick your spot.

You could try Kilburn, which would be like home from home, or you could try somewhere like Hampstead or Primrose Hill which are very expensive, but very nice. Brixton and Clapham are becoming the trendy place to be as well, although Brixton is a bit errr dodgy in parts:eek:

With London you also have easy access to five airports from which to fly to Dublin (Always worth trying Aer Lingus and BMI, they are often cheaper than Ryanair)

Southampton is dead, there is nothing going on there.

Nottingham has great night life but is the gun capital of the UK. There are also rumours of there being three times more women than men there;)

Take a look at Reading. Easy access to London and Heathrow and the fastest growing economy in the UK. Stacks of jobs and plenty of fairly cheap property. You can also watch London Irish as they play at the Mad Stad.

Newcastle, good night life but very cold and they talk funny
Birmingham - No!
Manchester - some parts are very trendy and easy to get to Liverpool and plenty of flights back to Ireland
Liverpool - I thought you wanted to avoid crime??
Leeds, apparantly very nice but like all big cities, you need to pick you spot carefully.

thebaz

Liverpool would be a good shout -- good football as you say, and you might change your allegiance to the peoples club and become a blue nose

r3nu4l

Cambridge for the win

Positives:
Nice friendly city
45 mins from London Kings Cross by train
Some great pubs including one or two real Irish pubs
Great Real Ale festival in Summer and Winter
Eating out and drinking out much cheaper than Dublin and most places in Ireland
Low crime rate
Shopping is pretty good
Small city but has loads of great restaurants, two cinema multiplexes, bowling alley etc.
Great History, musuems and colleges
Great market in central city
Lots of clubs and societies to join up and make new friends

Stanstead airport is a 30 min drive, train direct from Cambridge to Stanstead is 30 mins (not the most reliable service!!). National express buses to the airport are frequent and take 50 mins.

Negatives:
Few 'niteclubs' for a student city...I prefer the pubs and restaurants anyway
Housing is expensive

In general, the UK income tax system looks better on paper but in reality there are other taxes that make up for it (e.g. council tax). The National Insurance rate is also quite high.
On the whole the cost of living is probably the same but cheaper to go out for a night.

3greenrizla's

Fratton Fred wrote:

Southampton is dead, there is nothing going on there.

But you do get to watch the Mighty Saints @ fortress St Marys

personally I would to go to London, you can always get a train to Sotton.

Ruu_Old

Bumped over to Abroad. London all the way babeh! I lived there for a few months and liked it.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Generally speaking, the further north you go the more liberal it gets. The cheaper the pint too, if that's a consideration. Rent and other amenaties are cheaper too.

Fratton Fred

Ikky Poo2 wrote:

Generally speaking, the further north you go the more liberal it gets. The cheaper the pint too, if that's a consideration. Rent and other amenaties are cheaper too.

there is a reason for that though.....

Fratton Fred

3greenrizla's wrote:

But you do get to watch the Mighty Saints @ fortress St Marys

personally I would to go to London, you can always get a train to Sotton.

looney alert

Matches

York is a great city, loads and loads of Bars to choose from and great craic at night. It's also close to Leeds and to Harrogate which are great for nights out as well.

Not sure about rent but the place is cheap to drink in, check out evil eye, a great boozer with serious women in it.

Enjoy.

Limerick Dude

London I always found to be very busy and its just too big for my liking.

Ive been to Newcastle aswel and I found it a really nice place. Very cold though. Really good atmosphere there and the locals are pretty sound!

Catari Jaguar

London!!! End of.

Mrbrianmolko

Thanks for the insight so far. So i definetly should avoid birmingham, Newcastle and the whole tyneside area!?

As much as id love to live in London, i think it will be just to expensive to live there! Il be starting off on about 26-28k sterling, which i presume will last pissing time in London. Although it will be handy to get a job there.

I think im looking at manchester as well, but will definetly consider Brighton if a job pops up there, seems to be a great place.
And Liverpool is a no no then? I thought the scousers where like us DUbs in terms of humour etc and a great laugh?

Anyway thnaks and keep it coming!! Tis a big decsion!

daiixi

York is cute, I loved London and Brighton is great. I hated Edinburgh though.

Faith

I was just about to suggest Edinburgh. I live there and love it. Nice people, not too expensive, small city so everything's within walking distance, great bus service etc. Fantastic nightlife!

But it is in Scotland, so if you're only thinking in terms on England, it's no good.

Mrbrianmolko

Yep faith england only, theres something about scotland i just dont like. Everytime i think of it i just think of scumbags in celtic and rangers jereseys!!

And to the man that suggested the USA, not a chance. I hate all things american, incl. Bush, the people, there dietery habits and there need for everything to be big. So its england or even wales for me.

Ruu_Old

Mrbrianmolko wrote:

Yep faith england only, theres something about scotland i just dont like. Everytime i think of it i just think of scumbags in celtic and rangers jereseys!!

And to the man that suggested the USA, not a chance. I hate all things american, incl. Bush, the people, there dietery habits and there need for everything to be big. So its england or even wales for me.

He'll be gone for good in '08. Its not too bad, I moved to Illinois in '05 and have to say I love the laid back country folk. People seem to be very competitive at work but at least there is no begrudgery (in my experience) like there is in Ireland regarding promotions or developments in work. G'luck anyway.

Mrbrianmolko

And i heard in the US they get very fwe holidays? I love my holidays, and would need at least 4 weeks off throughout the year!

Ruu_Old

I think its 2 weeks a year, not 100% certain.

motormatic

I lived in Chester as a kid, very beautiful city, lots of history. There is a lot to do there and it's close to both Liverpool and Manchester. I haven't been there in quite some time so I wouldn't know as to the job market and such, but it's a wonderful place.

Mrbrianmolko

Sent in an apllication for Cotswolds, probably wont take it but im just testing the water.

My profession is fairly well sought after so I should have no problem finding somewhere. Chester seems a good idea.

jrey1981

based on your requirements I would suggest Manchester. I've been out there and stayed there a good few times. The people tend to be friendlier the more north you go.

Reasonably close to Liverpool and you've a choice of airports in the region served by Ryanair.

I lived in Southampton for 5 years and went to uni there.

Chester or Cotswolds aren't too bad from what I've heard.

Wouldn't be in a hurry to move back to the UK myself, but that's just my humble opinion.

gary the great

Why wouldnt you be in a hurry to go back?

What did you not like about it?