Moving To/Living In London Megathread - ALL QUESTIONS TO GO HERE

Summerhill10

Canada or London ?

rainbow kirby

Merged with existing thread

seachto7

Someone might be able to offer some tips/advice.

I've been having very little luck applying for jobs in London. I'm applying from Ireland and have told them on application that I would have no problem coming over for interviews etc. I've even used a UK address in some applications.

Apart from the fact I might be applying for jobs I have little chance of getting, or other factors, I am beginning to think applying from Ireland is working against me.

If I were in London, and managed to get an interview, and would be in a position to start a job pretty much immediately, I'm of the thought I might be better off.

However, London is not a place I would like to be without a job. It's darn expensive. A roll of a dice is needed I think.....

zweton

Is it usually handy enough to be able to get UK jobs from Ireland.

seachto7

My experience this time last year, applying for slightly different types of jobs was a lot different. I was offered three interviews in the space of a few weeks.
I got offered a place at uni in the meantime, so didn't go ahead with them all.

rainbow kirby

I applied from Ireland and had 2 job offers going over - took me 8 weeks ish to find the first one, and got the second offer when I interviewed in London while over visiting my OH for my birthday (around 2 weeks before I actually moved).

RiseToMe

I applied from Ireland as well, interview via phone, skype and then they flew me over for a day for a face to face interview and here I am !

seachto7

RiseToMe wrote: »

I applied from Ireland as well, interview via phone, skype and then they flew me over for a day for a face to face interview and here I am !

I would be more comfortable with that kind of scenario rather than moving over with nothing.

dersawazzie

James Stephenson wrote: »

Hi, I'm 19 and I'm thinking of emigrating to London, I don't have any degree but did get a decent leaving cert of 430 points but decided not to go to college.I play gaa at a high level, would thus help me out in any way or not? Would I be able to get a job easy enough of is it difficult? And is it a good or bad idea, would the pay be good ifI got a construction job?

Any advice, stories or personal information would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

Having read your post I think that contacting a few of the local club secretaries would do you no harm. London is not a cheap place to be without some income it can also be lonely so try to make as many connections as soon as you can. It is a fantastic city with great opportunities but as many people I know love it as loathe it. Good luck with everything.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

Big Shlong

Hi, I am looking to move to England as I can't get work as a truck driver here in Ireland. I'm just wondering does anyone know if there is jobs over there where they are taking on rookie truck drivers? Also where would be the best place to live, I was thinking Manchester or London area's . Also does anyone know the deal with bringing a car from ireland to England, how much would it be to bring it on a ferry and how do u go about getting the English plates for the car and is there an nct over there like there is in Ireland??

83ste

I always see trucks going around with 'drivers wanted - call this number' signs, so as long as you already have your HGV license you should be able to find a job easy enough.

Best place to get that type of work would probably be the midlands - Manchester/Birmingham/Leicester/Northampton/Milton Keynes etc. Lots of logistics depots and haulage firms located around there as it's well connected to the motorway network.

Unless you're particularly attached to it, I'd strongly recommend selling your car in Ireland before you come over - the process to re-register it here is quite convoluted (including changing the speedo from km/h to mp/h) and there's a much better selection of well-priced and well-mantained used cars to choose from in the UK than in Ireland.

All cars in the UK have to pass an MoT (similar to the NCT) every year, however there's no waiting-list bollocks to contend with, as any Kwik-Fit, dealership or local garage can do it.

Ferry crossings cost in the region of £250 return - about 300 euro I think.

rainbow kirby

Threads merged.

Big Shlong

83ste wrote: »

I always see trucks going around with 'drivers wanted - call this number' signs, so as long as you already have your HGV license you should be able to find a job easy enough.

Best place to get that type of work would probably be the midlands - Manchester/Birmingham/Leicester/Northampton/Milton Keynes etc. Lots of logistics depots and haulage firms located around there as it's well connected to the motorway network.

Unless you're particularly attached to it, I'd strongly recommend selling your car in Ireland before you come over - the process to re-register it here is quite convoluted (including changing the speedo from km/h to mp/h) and there's a much better selection of well-priced and well-mantained used cars to choose from in the UK than in Ireland.

All cars in the UK have to pass an MoT (similar to the NCT) every year, however there's no waiting-list bollocks to contend with, as any Kwik-Fit, dealership or local garage can do it.

Ferry crossings cost in the region of £250 return - about 300 euro I think.

Thanks for the reply, that's some really good info. Have you worked in England before or are you still there now? Also will my Irish licence be OK over there or will I have to get it transferred.?

Big Shlong

I was also told you can't work unless you have national insurance and a bank account? How do you go about getting the insurance and is it hard to get a bank account set up??

83ste

Big Shlong wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, that's some really good info. Have you worked in England before or are you still there now? Also will my Irish licence be OK over there or will I have to get it transferred.?

Yes - I've been working in the UK for just over four years. You can drive on an Irish license for three years before you need to exchange it for a UK one. There's no need to re-sit the test, you just swap it at a DVLA office.

You need a national insurance number in order to be taxed correctly when you start working. Getting one just involves making an appointment at the nearest Jobcentre. Getting a bank account is easier if there's a UK address you can give them when you're applying to open it.

biZrb

83ste wrote: »

You can drive on an Irish license for three years before you need to exchange it for a UK one. There's no need to re-sit the test, you just swap it at a DVLA office.

You exchange your licence either after 3 years or when you reach 70 - whichever is the longest.

ballsymchugh

biZrb wrote: »

You exchange your licence either after 3 years or when you reach 70 - whichever is the longest.

or keep your head down and say nothing, like i managed for 12 years.
a friend of mine was asked to produce his licence to the local police station. the skivvy behind the desk just looked at this pink bit of folded paper and asked what she was supposed to do with it, and if ireland was still part of the 'british republic' before deciding it was too much hassle to deal with.

enda1

ballsymchugh wrote: »

or keep your head down and say nothing, like i managed for 12 years.
a friend of mine was asked to produce his licence to the local police station. the skivvy behind the desk just looked at this pink bit of folded paper and asked what she was supposed to do with it, and if ireland was still part of the 'british republic' before deciding it was too much hassle to deal with.

So are you over 73 then? You can keep using the Irish license until you are at least 70! The wording of the rule really seems to confuse people.

ballsymchugh

enda1 wrote: »

So are you over 73 then? You can keep using the Irish license until you are at least 70! The wording of the rule really seems to confuse people.

73 and a half

i don't get why people seem to be in such a rush to change the licence. i've seen it mentioned loads of times on the thread alright but it's an EU licence and perfectly valid.

83ste

ballsymchugh wrote: »

73 and a half

i don't get why people seem to be in such a rush to change the licence. i've seen it mentioned loads of times on the thread alright but it's an EU licence and perfectly valid.

I do much prefer having a hard card instead of a flaky bit of paper though.

BrokenArrows

83ste wrote: »

I do much prefer having a hard card instead of a flaky bit of paper though.

Ya the only reason i changed was because the pink bit of paper was annoying and hard to carry around. The card is handy and fits in the wallet.

However Ireland are issuing proper cards now and look very similar to the UK one.

biZrb

ballsymchugh wrote: »

73 and a half

You don't look a day over 65

dice3344

Hello Everyone,

My boyfriend and I made the move last week, and are settling in well so far. I've been lucky to hear back about jobs fairly quickly but my boyfriend is finding it harder to source the kind of roles he was hoping for. He's just finished a Masters in Business Information Systems and has 5/6 years experience as a Team Leader/Manager for a large online merchandiser.
He's looked at London Jobs, Indeed and the Guardian, is there anyone who's in a similar area who could recommend any other good sites for him?

Thanks for your help!

x43r0

dice3344 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,

My boyfriend and I made the move last week, and are settling in well so far. I've been lucky to hear back about jobs fairly quickly but my boyfriend is finding it harder to source the kind of roles he was hoping for. He's just finished a Masters in Business Information Systems and has 5/6 years experience as a Team Leader/Manager for a large online merchandiser.
He's looked at London Jobs, Indeed and the Guardian, is there anyone who's in a similar area who could recommend any other good sites for him?

Thanks for your help!

He shouldn't have too much trouble with that degree/experience. What type of role is he hoping for?

dice3344

Hi x43r0,

He's looking for a Business/Systems Analyst or something in the area of Business Intelligence. I think he's willing to accept graduate roles for now too, to get a foot in the door.

x43r0

I think I did the same masters (UCC?)

I work as a Business Analyst in a marketing agency which handles customer data for clients from lots of industries.

I previously was a BA in a bank in Canary Wharf.

I don't know what industry your other half is looking at but the two above I mentioned generally have a fairly healthy demand for data orientated people.

Is he interested in a particular industry?

dice3344

Yes, it was the ISBP Masters in UCC. Did you find that people were receptive to it when you were looking for work here in London?

The customer data role sounds like the area he's interested in. Do you think he should keep going with the job sites or maybe approach some companies directly? Do you know if there are any agencies that specialise in these roles?

Thanks again!

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

x43r0

dice3344 wrote: »

Yes, it was the ISBP Masters in UCC. Did you find that people were receptive to it when you were looking for work here in London?

The customer data role sounds like the area he's interested in. Do you think he should keep going with the job sites or maybe approach some companies directly? Do you know if there are any agencies that specialise in these roles?

Thanks again!

Ah I did the straight BIS Masters.

I prefer using agencies myself. I can't think of a list off the top of my head but a quick look at Gemini's site (they got me my current role) shows 3 handy looking roles similar to what I do

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