Moving to Scotland

Slig

I am just sick of moving from crap job to crap job while my qualifications gather dust in the background and I watch my country getting flushed down the toilet. I have a house, loans and expences and no real prospect of long term employment.

My wife and I decided that if we are going to move it would be to somewhere we both like and we have settled on Edinburgh. We both have friends over there so we decided to rent out our own 3 bed semi in the west of Ireland, sell one car, find jobs and rent an apartment in Edinburgh city centre.

We have started looking for jobs and plan to head over in the new year. Problem is we dont know anything about emigrating as its something that has never occured to us before. Do we need to sign up for a new pps number or anything over there, will my Irish driving licence need to be changed (I'm looking for a truck driving job) does anybody know if there are any problems getting a bank account in Scotland?

Sorry about taking the lazy route and asking here instead of researching further but I'd be grateful for any help

Edinduberdeen

I lived in Edinburgh for a few years there and absolutely loved it! Can't wait to get back there!

To answer your questions - yeah, you need to apply for a National Insurance number (UK version of PPS). You need to go to the Job Centre and apply for an interview (if I remember correctly): http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/NationalInsurance/IntroductiontoNationalInsurance/DG_190057

As far as I know, if you're living in the UK more than 6 months you should technically apply for a UK licence (and especially if you're looking for a driving job), but there should be no hassle with that (I don't know about this though - I got my licence when I was living in Edinburgh so never had to worry about it).
I had no problems opening a bank account in Scotland.

Good luck!

Blackjack

Slig wrote: »

I am just sick of moving from crap job to crap job while my qualifications gather dust in the background and I watch my country getting flushed down the toilet. I have a house, loans and expences and no real prospect of long term employment.

My wife and I decided that if we are going to move it would be to somewhere we both like and we have settled on Edinburgh. We both have friends over there so we decided to rent out our own 3 bed semi in the west of Ireland, sell one car, find jobs and rent an apartment in Edinburgh city centre.

We have started looking for jobs and plan to head over in the new year. Problem is we dont know anything about emigrating as its something that has never occured to us before. Do we need to sign up for a new pps number or anything over there, will my Irish driving licence need to be changed (I'm looking for a truck driving job) does anybody know if there are any problems getting a bank account in Scotland?

Sorry about taking the lazy route and asking here instead of researching further but I'd be grateful for any help

Edinburgh is Reasonably easy to move to. Importantly, it's only a short flight to Dublin - 40 minutes flying time - and if you are from the west there are flights to Galway too which may suit.

For apartment rentals there are a number of agents. The protection for tenants is pretty good there, most if not all places offer a Short Assured Tenancy, which is a 6 month Minimum for the tenant rolling to monthly thereafter.
If you want to check out some areas and see whats in the locality etc, try http://www.upmystreet.com/

You will need to get a National Insurance number (PPS equivalent) there, this involved an interview for me, even though I had one previously from some summer jobs in London - I had done the interview thing in London previously as well.

Getting a Bank account can be a pain, you need to do an "Interview", which the bank then decides whether they want to have you as a customer or not (and you thought it was bad here). Best advice I can give you is to talk to your bank here to see if they can open one for you. BOI have personal banking in the UK, could be worth talking to them.

I did live there for a number of years so can give more details if you want to PM me with some specific questions.

PiE

Hi Slig, I moved from Dublin to Edinburgh about 3 years ago now; still love it here. Best decision I ever made. Here's a few things I've been through myself over that time.

For the NI number they'll want you to at least have proof that you're actively seeking employment - so print off job applications and any emails/letters you have from your search. Anything from future job interview emails to "sorry, not this time" emails - anything to prove you're actively looking for work.

I was with BOI back in Ireland and thought setting up a BOI UK account would be simple. It's not. As far as they are concerned the two companies are entirely separate. Whether things have changed since 3 years ago, I don't know but I doubt it.

From what I've seen, the banks will offer you a very basic account as long as you can provide proof of address. Don't expect any overdraft or credit cards for the first year or two.

Rent in Edinburgh is relatively high compared to practically everywhere else in Scotland. The majority of flats are old tenement style building with no reserved parking so you will need to get on-street parking permits which cost between £80-£160 a year, depending on area. Most of the modern apartments are generally located outside of the city centre but obviously have better parking facilities.

As mentioned above your driving license is valid but if you're looking to work in haulage a UK license will be a bonus. I'm not sure how they deal with it in Irish cases but I know that a full Australian license can be swapped straight away for a UK one, no questions asked (though this may be due to Oz being in the Commonwealth).

Living area wise, it depends on what you like but personally I would try to get close to the Meadows area - in summer it's just a great area to hang out with friends/play sports/have BBQs etc. It's a large part of what makes Edinburgh such a nice place to be.

Hope this helps.

Edinduberdeen

PiE wrote: »

Rent in Edinburgh is relatively high compared to practically everywhere else in Scotland.

Or so I thought until I moved to Aberdeen! :mad:

As mentioned above your driving license is valid but if you're looking to work in haulage a UK license will be a bonus. I'm not sure how they deal with it in Irish cases but I know that a full Australian license can be swapped straight away for a UK one, no questions asked (though this may be due to Oz being in the Commonwealth).

As far as I know, EU licences are all equivalent and it's just a matter of exchanging one for the other

Living area wise, it depends on what you like but personally I would try to get close to the Meadows area - in summer it's just a great area to hang out with friends/play sports/have BBQs etc. It's a large part of what makes Edinburgh such a nice place to be.

Hope this helps.

God, I miss the meadows!!

kingofburt

I may as well add my 2 cents also, but there is some good advice above already. I moved to Edinburgh just under 2 years ago with my girlfriend and we loved it, although we only stayed for just over a year and a half.

I'd agree with the Meadows area as a good place to stay, nice flats, good facilites and pretty close to the centre. Also, there are some very good value gyms (pure gym) and independent grocers. Be prepared to be asked for a large deposit as estate agents do not recognise Irish credit ratings so you are considered high risk. A lot of the estate agents are chancers, google them before signing anything to check their history, some are terrible about returning deposits. Feel free to PM me for recommendations or suggestions if you want but this site http://www.globrix.com/property/rent/edinburgh?ns=true&rd=1&br=rent&qt=Edinburgh&keyword_field= will give you an idea of rents and locations.

Also, make sure to factor in the cost of rates, water and sewerage, it'll add an extra £120 per month to your rent, but then internet and tv is pretty cheap.

As for jobs, it was quite good when I was there, lots of recruiters, don't be afraid to negotiate a better salary or jump from job to job. The basic tax free allowance is very low, but thats the same for everywhere in the UK. Don't know anything about truck driving, you might be better looking at living between Glasgow and Edinburgh so you can be available to more work.

You'll not regret choosing Edinburgh, its a great city, brilliant social scene and lots of things to do when you're not working plus its cheap and easy to get home, or to visit most places in Europe for a break.

Slig

Wow, I didnt think I'd get such possitive responces.
Its a big step for us, moving country. We never really travelled except our honeymoon and its brilliant to hear such possitive experiences from Edinburgh. We both really like the city and the atmosphere and as we are both Architectural Technicians we love the architecture over there.

We have both signed up to all the recruitment agency websites and I'm starting to make calls now.

Thanks for all the advise and info so far

OS119

when you're thinking about looking for accomodation don't be afraid to use private LL's rather than agents - often they'll not only charge less (around 10% i reckon) but they are are usually more interested in meeting you than in your references.

adverts will be in the newspapers and in newsagents in the studenty/fashionable areas.

i lived in glasgow while at Uni, i must have lived in half a dozen different flats and i think i gave a reference in one of them - and they weren't cockroach infested dives either.

i know you've set yourselves on Edinburgh, but i'd put a word in for Glasgow - its cheaper (two bed tenement flat in the fairly fashionable shawlands area will cost about £500 - 550pcm), its bigger, its less infested with people wearing kilts, and its got a much larger manufacturing base.

i love it, maybe not as picture postcard as Edinburgh, but its arcitecture is impressive, its green spaces (botanics, queens park, pollok park) are superb, and its museums are excellent.

rudydaisy

Hey just saw ur post as Im looking for some help with agencies. We have moved over from meath and like you we were very aprehensive about moving away. We got our house rented out for the next couple of years and m husband got offered a job here. He has been over here since Auust and I made the plunge just after xmas as I did not want to leave my job at home. I am finding it difficult to contact recruitment agencies here, they don't seem to want to meet their potential clients. Not like at home anyway! Here's the gist of what we have had to do. Peter came over and in August, he imediately opened a bank account with Loyds TSB, not really a problem, he then bought a phone and sent off for his licence. You need the following to obtain a uk licence, you need an address over here you get the form at the post office and you send your irish licence with it. It took about three weeks for his to come back, as he works in car sales he was unable to start work properly without his licence. So if you know anyone in the uk of NI that u could use their address and do it from home, it woud help you. We also went through a letting agency through a contact at his work as all the agencies were looking for 6 months rent up front! that was not possible for us. So I can forward you that contact if you require it. We got a lovely tenament apartment at Harrison Gardens, really nice area, rent is £650 + 180 for fees so £830 a month for the apartment. But there are cheaper around. Regards Dawn

Blackjack

rudydaisy wrote: »

Hey just saw ur post as Im looking for some help with agencies. We have moved over from meath and like you we were very aprehensive about moving away. We got our house rented out for the next couple of years and m husband got offered a job here. He has been over here since Auust and I made the plunge just after xmas as I did not want to leave my job at home. I am finding it difficult to contact recruitment agencies here, they don't seem to want to meet their potential clients. Not like at home anyway! Here's the gist of what we have had to do. Peter came over and in August, he imediately opened a bank account with Loyds TSB, not really a problem, he then bought a phone and sent off for his licence. You need the following to obtain a uk licence, you need an address over here you get the form at the post office and you send your irish licence with it. It took about three weeks for his to come back, as he works in car sales he was unable to start work properly without his licence. So if you know anyone in the uk of NI that u could use their address and do it from home, it woud help you. We also went through a letting agency through a contact at his work as all the agencies were looking for 6 months rent up front! that was not possible for us. So I can forward you that contact if you require it. We got a lovely tenament apartment at Harrison Gardens, really nice area, rent is £650 + 180 for fees so £830 a month for the apartment. But there are cheaper around. Regards Dawn

Can I ask how big the apartment is, and if by fees you are combining Council Tax and Management fees?.

rudydaisy

Its a two bed apartment one large on med. Nice size living room and seperate kitchen, bathroom. Al rooms are a ggod size. The Fees are council tax re waste water etc. More expensive than we thought! 515 per qtr 2045 a year. So it does add a substantial to your rental. We could have went for a modern place. But I really like the old worldly feel to a place and has lots of character.