Do you see yourself moving home?

silvervixen84

There's a thread over on AH at the moment about expats returning home to Ireland, and their different reasons and attitudes about it.

When I go home to visit family, I'm often asked by relatives if I see myself moving home. I tell them that I've no plans to do so in the near future.

I honestly love living in London and even though it's very expensive here, It would take something major to lure me away from here. That said, I could get bored of London life in the next couple of years and want to move on, but I would probably go somewhere else rather than home again.

Do you guys see yourselves settling here or is London just a stop-off?

83ste

This week, I'm going to dinner and an overnight stay in a country house hotel one night, go-karting another night, driving supercars around a test track in Bedfordshire another day and getting a passenger ride in a rally car through the forest in Cumbria another day - all thanks to my job. So the answer right now is a resounding no.

lima

serrity wrote: »

This week, I'm going to dinner and an overnight stay in a country house hotel one night, go-karting another night, driving supercars around a test track in Bedfordshire another day and getting a passenger ride in a rally car through the forest in Cumbria another day - all thanks to my job. So the answer right now is a resounding no.

That's enough to keep you busy!

For what its worth, I lived in London for over 6 years, and I got to the stage where I realized I would be living my 20's for the rest of my life... the parties, the pubs, the social life.. plus having no money because of this and not being able to save because if high rent.. After a quick bit of traveling I got a job offer in IT in Ireland and have been back since.. The life is certainly different in Dublin but I reckon when u get to late 20's/early 30's you want to set yourself up and calm down a bit, I still go party but if I want to stay in it's much easier to! Plus I cycle 15min to work and can save e1000 a month, so all those things more than make up for not having as good a social life here in Dubiln (everybodys either out in the suburbs or have moved to London!!)

Fysh

I don't think I'll live in London forever, but right now I can't see myself moving back to Ireland any time soon. It's far more likely I'd move somewhere else, I think.

ballsymchugh

tried it in 2009. back in 2011. i did see that thread and started looking at job advertisements at home again though, but not going to go back for another year or two at least i'd say.

BrokenArrows

I rarely plan anything.
I only decided to love to the UK 1 month before I did and I could quite easily move back to Ireland with the same decision making process. Lol.

blondie83

I got a bit head-wrecked here so got myself a good job back home, but work won't let me leave - I want to go but am trapped!

afatbollix

Here for life I think. I enjoy the London way of life. Just the simple things of not going out and getting ****ed every weekend! I also don't need to worry about annoying anyone I talk to about how good it is at the moment. Anyone I talk to in Ireland its all doom and they cant even afford a McDonalds.


My girlfriend is from Kent and I can see us moving south in years to come. Some where within 90 minutes of London by train but a nice village feel to the place. I might even join a cricket club. Christ.

ballsymchugh

blondie83 wrote: »

I got a bit head-wrecked here so got myself a good job back home, but work won't let me leave - I want to go but am trapped!

how come? we had someone working with us that gave us 3 weeks notice and moved to leeds. there was nothing that could be done, if an employee wants to leave, it's better to cut and run.

afatbollix wrote: »

My girlfriend is from Kent and I can see us moving south in years to come. Some where within 90 minutes of London by train but a nice village feel to the place. I might even join a cricket club. Christ.

may i present to you, Bearsted. cricket club on the green.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=bearsted&hl=en&ll=51.273622,0.580258&spn=0.00894,0.020621&sll=51.331684,-0.433273&sspn=0.071432,0.164967&gl=uk&hnear=Bearsted,+Kent,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.274544,0.579695&panoid=kctfTUuAl-oABN-d_c64Ng&cbp=12,202.94,,0,6.18

Woden

Amazon don't deliver next day at home!

On a more serious note yeah I get asked it a bit. It's not that I don't have plans to go home it's more I just don't have plans to go anywhere. First time that I've been settled down a bit with my own place and I'm enjoying London. Plenty of opportunities in work to be in Australia, South Africa and later in the year probably NY but was filling in a location form and just put down "London". Had always wanted to get to NY but don't have another move in me at the moment!

Will see where I am at in a year or so.

blondie83

ballsymchugh wrote: »

how come? we had someone working with us that gave us 3 weeks notice and moved to leeds. there was nothing that could be done, if an employee wants to leave, it's better to cut and run.

Ah yeah you're right, I mean technically speaking I could leave now and all, would just prefer not to! It's that typical Irish "don't burn your bridges" thing! They want 3 months but I just can't do that to be honest

Lump

I would like to but wouldn't get the work there, I love my job and it's pretty specific. Might move to America before moving home!

Reekwind

Do I like London? Yes. Do I consider it to be in any way 'home'? Not in the slightest

I'm happy to hang around here for another 2-3 years but ultimately I moved here for work and I want to go home at some point. Certainly I don't see myself settling down here for the long-haul. But then even a lot of the English tend to feel the same way about this city

blondie83 wrote:

Ah yeah you're right, I mean technically speaking I could leave now and all, would just prefer not to! It's that typical Irish "don't burn your bridges" thing! They want 3 months but I just can't do that to be honest

Unless you're in very special circumstances then three months in ridiculous. One week is the statutory requirement, with four being typical in most industries

ballsymchugh

Reekwind wrote: »

Unless you're in very special circumstances then three months in ridiculous. One week is the statutory requirement, with four being typical in most industries

it can depend on contracts. strictly speaking, the person that was working with me should have given 3 months notice to both us and the local primary care trust as it can take time to find suitable replacements (criminal background check, registration etc). fortunately there were plenty of replacements ready to take over straight away, but a few years ago, it would've fooked us over badly.
the one week notice is if you are paid weekly. if you are paid monthly it's a month etc.

Playboy

Not anytime soon I think. My line of work is much easier to come by here than at home and tbh I still like living in London even though commuting gets on my nerves. Can never say never though. If the stars align then of course it's an option but I'm not making any plans.

Playboy

ballsymchugh wrote: »

it can depend on contracts. strictly speaking, the person that was working with me should have given 3 months notice to both us and the local primary care trust as it can take time to find suitable replacements (criminal background check, registration etc). fortunately there were plenty of replacements ready to take over straight away, but a few years ago, it would've fooked us over badly.
the one week notice is if you are paid weekly. if you are paid monthly it's a month etc.

I'd echo this. Anyone operating at senior manager level or above would normally have a 3 month notice period and would have to negotiate hard to get it amended. I have certainly found it difficult to keep my notice terms to a mimimum as companies try and limit their risk as it can take a long time to find adequate replacements and get them vetted.

FTA69

F*ck going home to be honest.

I have a job here that I absolutely love and have recently been given an extension on my contract thus am over the moon. It pays a great wage and is an opportunity that I could never hope to get back in Ireland. My partner is a nurse and she was recently accepted onto a midwifery course whereupon they will pay her a full nurse's wage while she's studying at a prestigious college (25 accepted out of hundreds of applicants) and she's guaranteed a job at the end of it. There's nothing for her at home only agency work. We have a beautiful flat (albeit an expensive one!) and a full social life. We have a number of holidays coming up and we love exploring London at the weekends.

I was a nightclub doorman in Ireland like, and as fun as dealing with drunks every weekend was; I think I'll stay put for now.

old hippy

Going home? London is my home now. Took me a while to realise that. Of course I miss everyone back home but that's a long time ago, a lifetime in ways.

I'll be here another 10 years I reckon, then it's off to my next home.

tibor

Maybe not home, but somewhere else after a few years for sure.
Raising a family in central London would be insanely expensive and staying would mean committing to a soul crushing commute.
Plenty of jobs at home and elsewhere, in my line of work, that would allow a much better lifestyle for someone at that stage of life.

Scarinae

I wouldn’t move home unless I had a job lined up. That said, I don’t think I’ll stay in London forever. I have this vague plan of staying put for a few more years and then reassessing where I’m going to go next. My brother moved home last year, after seven years in London, and he found it a bit of an adjustment.

tibor wrote: »

Raising a family in central London would be insanely expensive and staying would mean committing to a soul crushing commute.

It does seem like people move further out from London as they get older, whether that’s because they have children or because they can get a nicer place or whatever. Loads of people in my office come in from Kent and Surrey, some with really long commutes and expensive annual tickets. I just don’t think I could be arsed with that.

FTA69

I've also considered the prospect of family etc but at the moment I'm only 25 and she's 23 so it isn't a pressing issue at the moment. I also couldn't face into a long daily commute from W*nkerville, Hertfordshire. In fact the prospect of living in some dryballs, Toryesque village in Surrey or Beds would make me want to shoot myself to be honest. If I was to knock London on the head it would be for the likes of Brighton, a place that's infinitely cheaper than London but also has a bit of variety to it.

old hippy

FTA69 wrote: »

I've also considered the prospect of family etc but at the moment I'm only 25 and she's 23 so it isn't a pressing issue at the moment. I also couldn't face into a long daily commute from W*nkerville, Hertfordshire. In fact the prospect of living in some dryballs, Toryesque village in Surrey or Beds would make me want to shoot myself to be honest. If I was to knock London on the head it would be for the likes of Brighton, a place that's infinitely cheaper than London but also has a bit of variety to it.

Brighton is ace. I briefly lived there and it's a bit like Dublin, good vibe, lots of music, great for independent shops and it's beside the sea and a bus ride away to the countryside.

FTA69

Not to mention the fact that it's not a mad crazy drive either into Sussex where I currently do a lot of work. Who knows, it may be an option later or it may not. I must head down there for a spin some weekend, I've only been there twice really briefly.

ballsymchugh

FTA69 wrote: »

I've also considered the prospect of family etc but at the moment I'm only 25 and she's 23 so it isn't a pressing issue at the moment. I also couldn't face into a long daily commute from W*nkerville, Hertfordshire. In fact the prospect of living in some dryballs, Toryesque village in Surrey or Beds would make me want to shoot myself to be honest. If I was to knock London on the head it would be for the likes of Brighton, a place that's infinitely cheaper than London but also has a bit of variety to it.

no offense, but not sure what it is about the way you post, but i thought you were well into your 40s!

old hippy

FTA69 wrote: »

Not to mention the fact that it's not a mad crazy drive either into Sussex where I currently do a lot of work. Who knows, it may be an option later or it may not. I must head down there for a spin some weekend, I've only been there twice really briefly.

I recommend a relaxing pint in The Great Eastern.

who the fug

old hippy wrote: »

Going home? London is my home now. Took me a while to realise that. Of course I miss everyone back home but that's a long time ago, a lifetime in ways.

I'll be here another 10 years I reckon, then it's off to my next home.

Same here, mind you I could get to like Yorkshire

BizzyC

Had always planned on moving back after 2-3 years, but with the job market at home I can see that easily becoming 6-7.

frag420

Im here 8 weeks so no intention of heading home ha ha!! I reckon I will get 3-5 yrs in London and then look at my options, maybe the US?

For now London is my bitch and I fully intend to take full and unapologetic advantage of her!!

frAg

old hippy

BizzyC wrote: »

Had always planned on moving back after 2-3 years, but with the job market at home I can see that easily becoming 6-7.

Initially planned to give it 4 or 5 years. Been here 14 years now!

How so Joe

I'm here studying, so once I finish my course I'll be back home to the boyfriend, most likely.
Unless he manages to get a job over here, but I don't think he's that interested in moving over, so I'll go back. I'm not sure I could stay here forever anyways.

enda1

No intention to move to Ireland ever. Home is where I live, not where my parents live.