Good city in Europe for living and working?

TheSockMonster

What cities in Europe would be the best for travelling and working? My friend and I are interested in leaving the country for a few months and doing bar work/waitressing etc. to support ourselves. What cities would be cheaper to live in and easy to get that kind of work? I only speak english but my friend is fluent in french too. I dont want to limit it to just Frace though.

Thanks

SomeGirl123

Amsterdam - It's lively and they all speak English there. I got a job in an office (admin) and didn't require Dutch at all. There are lots of agencies to help you find temp or perm work. Although it is not that cheap - average prices for a city I suppose.

TheSockMonster

SomeGirl123 wrote: »

Amsterdam - It's lively and they all speak English there. I got a job in an office (admin) and didn't require Dutch at all. There are lots of agencies to help you find temp or perm work. Although it is not that cheap - average prices for a city I suppose.

Thanks, Amsterdam was actually one city that I had considered. Did you have that job lined up for when you got there or did you apply when you got over there? This is actually really interesting because business/office admin is the type of work I want to get into, long term.

TheSockMonster

Also, can you recommend an agency?

leonidas83

Edinburgh is another great city to live in, the nightlife is something else, also there's plenty of cafes/restaurants so there wouldnt be a problem with you finding work.

Rent is alot more reasonable than in other parts of the UK, (London, Manchester, etc).

There is a great historical aspect to the city aswell, plenty to do on your days off & your only 1 hour from glasgow by train, so even if your not a fan of the nightlife in Edinburgh, Glasgow is another hotspot.

I suppose it depends on what your looking for really

SomeGirl123

No, I didn't have a job lined up. I arrived there and got a job in a touristy shop first but that didn't last long - boss was kinda mean. So went to some agencies - This is the one I got a job thru: http://www.projob.nl/en/
Also theres a site for expatriates (shows lots of cities, not just amsterdam) which I used alot to look for place to stay and jobs: http://www.expatriates.com/
This was a few years ago now, but I had a great time. It's a fun place to live.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Brussels might be an idea. Excellent trasnpot links and beer, not sure how much fun it is.

Berlin is cheap, but the job situation is not great. They do exist, though.

TheSockMonster

Thanks for the links Somegirl123.

My friend is keen to go somewhere on the continent. She's already spent a year in the uk and worked as an au pair in the alps. The only foreign places I've been are Malaga and Tenerife on holidays!
She's thinking of Brussels because she speaks French, but someone told me its a different kind of French in Belgium?
I'm just bouncing ideas around at the moment. I don't want to fly out somewhere and find its totally wrong for what we're looking for.

SomeGirl123

Funny, I am looking to go on a holiday soon and was looking at Tenerife and the likes, as I've never been on a sun holiday!
Anyhow, I have spent a little time in France and Belgium - few weeks just - Belgium did seem like a lovely place. I'm not sure really about the language but I'd say you would get on fine with French & English there.
I wouldn't worry too much about finding the perfect place - you will prob find out from experience what you like and dislike about the places - and once you are on the continent without any ties, you could always move around.

Civilian_Target

Nice in the south of France is a good bet in the summer. There's enough Irish bars along the cote d'azur that you can probably snag a job in one of them without being able to speak french

kerry4sam

Glasgow or Rome would get my vote. Was offered a job years ago teaching English by some contacts of my friends once i done a tefl course. Dont know how different my life would be today if i took up the offer. Thats another job opportunity - tefl.

I am currently in Scotland and there are jobs going in Glasgow of you ask around. Where i work at home, we have affiliates all over the world, but speaking to employees in Glasgow, there are jobs in Glasgow if you have contacts and or ask around.

I will write up my reviews once i reach back home and get some sleep, but Glasgow was like home from home for me personally. Similar feeling when i was in Rome all those years ago.

Micky Dolenz

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

Brussels might be an idea. Excellent trasnpot links and beer, not sure how much fun it is.

Berlin is cheap, but the job situation is not great. They do exist, though.

Currently live in Brussels. It is good craic, can get by with basic French. A lot of Irish and British bars here. The weather is only slightly better then Ireland though.

OP, where ever you decide to go, be sure and learn numbers at least in whatever the local language is. It will give you the edge over other English only speakers when looking for a job in a cash business.

misnormer

Munich.Never run out of places to see or go always something happening + olympic park .excellent transportation system, and for tavel hop on a train and go anywhere in germany for under €30.
switzerland is only an 90 Minutes away as with the alps.

TheSockMonster

Thank you all for your replies.

crushproof

Just came across this thread, good question SockMonster!

misnormer wrote: »

Munich.Never run out of places to see or go always something happening + olympic park .excellent transportation system, and for tavel hop on a train and go anywhere in germany for under €30.
switzerland is only an 90 Minutes away as with the alps.

Hey Misnormer, how is Munich job wise, need much German and can you get by with English and learn German as you go?
Thinking of giving somewhere in Europe a go but not really good on the languages side and don't want to end up stuck without work! Would be great to be able pick up some work while learning the language.

munchkin_utd

the one catch with Munich is that accomodation may be awkward enough to get as the uni holidays begin later than ireland so all those rooms dont become available till later in the summer.

Unemployment is 4% so technically almost full employment but many jobs with opening are in services where you deal with the public so you'd need the lingo for that.
On the other hand the airport is always crying out for workers and for stuff like baggage handler you can get away with english.

For students theres also a job office for casual work at the university that you dont have to be a local student to access
its popular with employers as they get smart intelligent motivated workers to cover for people away on summer breaks yet they are cheap to employ as theres little or no social insurance and all that to be paid! Over the years various factories have taken Irish students without any german.

Munich used to be a mecca for Irish students till the boom came and you could make silly money on the sites at home or go trekking in the Andes with 1000s of euro that mammy gave you from that untapped source of free money that was an "equity release" on the family home.
Either way, if you give it a lash and it doesnt work out then you are still only 2 hours from Ireland on a relatively cheap ryanair or aer lingus flight which is one advantage of seeing europe rather than USA or Australia, aside from the initial cost which is also far less if you want to spend your summer in Europe