Possible Move to Manchester - where to start!?

J Howard

Hi all

Really hoping someone can offer some advice here. Lost my job awhile back and have moved from temp job to temp job since. Tired of it now and thought about moving to the UK. Manchester seemed like a good choice given the good amount of decent sizes cities and towns around it or close enough anyway. But I'm a little overwhlemed thinking about hwo to start this. I have about 7,000 in savings. so I was wondering what is the best way to go about moving?

Is it realistic to look for a job BEFORE getting there?

Should you move into a B&B or something and find a cheap flat somewhere (do people rent for a month at a time?)
I read everywhere that landlords look for references which I would have a problem getting for the simple reason - I don't have any! also how easy is it to get a place with at least a bed and couch in there?

what are other peoples experiences moving to the UK? I'd appreciate any feedback.

Fysh

As a starting point I would think you've got enough in savings to make the move. I'm not sure what Manchester's like in terms of the accommodation market, but it's certainly not unheard of for people to have short-term rentals of a few weeks or a couple of months. Have a look on gumtree, there should be a few useful postings there.

There are more places rented unfurnished in the UK than in Ireland, but it's not usually difficult to find somewhere furnished.

Landlord references may be an issue, depending on whether you're renting privately or through an agency. When we moved from Cork to London we just got a reference letter from our Irish landlords and used them without problems - could you do something similar? Some agencies use reference checking services like Maras - it may be worth looking into as an alternative. Be aware that some landlords or agencies will try to claim that you have to pay six months rent up front as a deposit - this is almost invariably a bad sign and I'd advise against doing so.
Speaking of deposits, it's worth reading up about the UK's Deposit Protection Schemes - landlords are legally obliged to put any deposit on a rental property into one of the approved schemes as a sort of escrow service.

You can try to line up job interviews before moving but it may be hard to convince prospective employers to take you seriously if you can't prove you're moving over imminently. There's absolutely no harm in sending out CVs and/or making calls, though it may help your chances if you can provide a definite moving date as well.

Beasty

I lived in and around Manchester for getting on for 25 years before moving to Ireland in 2007

The local newspaper is the Manchester Evening News, and their online version is available at www.manchesteronline.com. It has a jobs section as well, and it's definitely realistic to look for a job beforehand.

Greater Manchester is a big place, and you are best off spending some time exploring the place. If you can get some short-term accomodation, all the better. If not, you can get cheap flights - I would suggest you head over for a couple of days.

There are a number of local towns, and each one has it's own character. The North Manchester towns of Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Bolton reflect the areas industrial past, and tend to be a bit more down to earth, and chepaer. The city centre and some of the Southern towns have become quite pricey over recent years.

The tram network links Bury in the North through to Altrincham in the South and Eccles in the West, and is a very reliable way of getting round town.

Manchester has a large student population also, mainly based just south of the city centre

Basically Manchester has everything you could ask of a "big" city, but is not so big as to overwhelm you. It's sporting facilities are second to none and it has a very good transport network.

I'm biased, but would recommend Manchester as a great place to live

marmurr1916

Beasty wrote: »

There are a number of local towns, and each one has it's own character. The North Manchester towns of Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Bolton reflect the areas industrial past, and tend to be a bit more down to earth, and chepaer.

Don't know about Bury and Bolton but Oldham and Rochdale are dumps IMO - although The Baum in Rochdale is a decent enough pub!

Why not try Edinburgh OP? Very nice city, easy to get to from Ireland (Ryanair and Aer Lingus flights), big enough to have everything you need but small enough to get around fairly easily.

Lady Lainy

oh great, delighted to find this thread. I'm thinking of moving to UK next summer....get away from home/family....fresh start...

i have no where in mind....yet.....i dont really know england that well...but just the cost of living over there is enough to make me wanna move!

I've studied and worked in the animal care industry.....also plan on bring my dog on pet passport, another reason i wanna go to england...more dog shows....more of an industry.

I have quite fairly decent savings saved up....enough to keep me going if i didnt get a job STRAIGHT away.

ICANN

Lady Lainy wrote: »

i have no where in mind....yet.....i dont really know england that well...but just the cost of living over there is enough to make me wanna move!

England is a very expensive place to live- rent is robbery in most major cities. On top of this electricity and gas prices are constantly on the rise and you have to play council tax and water bills on top of that. Wages are much lower than at home also. Petrol prices are higher than Ireland.

Having lived in the UK for over a year now I have noticed the cost of basic food shopping going up each month too.

The only think I really think is cheaper than at home is eating and drinking out. English shops like boots and argos are cheaper than at home too but other shops like Primark and H&M are the same, in fact penneys in Ireland is cheaper.

If you want any info about moving to/ living in England just PM me I'm happy to help.:)

nogoodnamesleft

ICANN wrote: »

England is a very expensive place to live- rent is robbery in most major cities. On top of this electricity and gas prices are constantly on the rise and you have to play council tax and water bills on top of that. Wages are much lower than at home also. Petrol prices are higher than Ireland.

Having lived in the UK for over a year now I have noticed the cost of basic food shopping going up each month too.

The only think I really think is cheaper than at home is eating and drinking out. English shops like boots and argos are cheaper than at home too but other shops like Primark and H&M are the same, in fact penneys in Ireland is cheaper.

If you want any info about moving to/ living in England just PM me I'm happy to help.:)

I have to say I disagree with most of what has been said in your post. I have an Irish registered car in the Uk at the moment and I have been calculating costs associated with running it in Ireland and the UK (its a 1.9 TDI), road tax UK £165 (Ireland 626euro), insurance is slightly more expensive and diesel has an addiitional excise on (depends on the amount of mileage your covering). By and large its cheaper to run a car in the UK or to buy one due to lack of VRT.

Council tax depends on the local council and the size of the house. Its about 900 - £1000 per year. pays for police, fire, council upkeep costs and bin collection. Water depends on who your with £600 per year.

Groceries are by and large cheaper and a pound does really go a long way. Eating out is roughly the same and alcohol depending on where you drink is slightly cheaper. Primark (pennies )lists their prices in £ and Euro equivalent. And the euro price is always more expensive. Observed one item which was £57 being sold for 70 odd euro.

Phone charges: I am with 3 Uk and pay £10 pound a month for unlimited internet, 600 uk txts and 600 mins to any networks. VF in ireland were 40euro on contract for 500mb of data 300mins and 300 txts. Install whatsapp and skype on the Uk phone and you have free calls and txts to Ireland.

Regards salary: TTax is not as high and salaries for the industry im in are higher. Oh and no USC!

ICANN

nogoodnamesleft wrote: »

I have to say I disagree with most of what has been said in your post. I have an Irish registered car in the Uk at the moment and I have been calculating costs associated with running it in Ireland and the UK (its a 1.9 TDI), road tax UK £165 (Ireland 626euro), insurance is slightly more expensive and diesel has an addiitional excise on (depends on the amount of mileage your covering). By and large its cheaper to run a car in the UK or to buy one due to lack of VRT.

Council tax depends on the local council and the size of the house. Its about 900 - £1000 per year. pays for police, fire, council upkeep costs and bin collection. Water depends on who your with £600 per year.

Groceries are by and large cheaper and a pound does really go a long way. Eating out is roughly the same and alcohol depending on where you drink is slightly cheaper. Primark (pennies )lists their prices in £ and Euro equivalent. And the euro price is always more expensive. Observed one item which was £57 being sold for 70 odd euro.

Phone charges: I am with 3 Uk and pay £10 pound a month for unlimited internet, 600 uk txts and 600 mins to any networks. VF in ireland were 40euro on contract for 500mb of data 300mins and 300 txts. Install whatsapp and skype on the Uk phone and you have free calls and txts to Ireland.

Regards salary: TTax is not as high and salaries for the industry im in are higher. Oh and no USC!

I don't know where exactly you're living but I've lived in Manchester and London and it's robbery. Supermarkets have been getting more expensive over the past two years as well as buses and trains. I am pay as you go as I can't get a pay monthly contract and a tenner doesn't get you far with calls. I've noticed things that are €10 in penneys are £10 in the UK with a lot of items. The days of the UK being cheaper are long gone. I know I live in the most expensive part of the UK but I was on holiday for a week in Bristol and it was still steep.