Why is London better than Dublin?

JaneeMack

Let's say you have a happy enough life in Dublin - Is London still better than Dublin? And why?

The reason I'm asking is - I have a permanent full time job here but got offered a job in London HQ and not 100% sure if I want to move.

I'm reasonably happy here, have some good friends, have a new relationship which is getting quite serious now.

Reason to move to London: Good for my career, seriously great opportunity to my career, a bigger pond

The hustle bustle of a big city doesn't really attract me (done it already overseas) - however, if I had to live in London, that still wouldn't be a problem at all.

Fysh

If you're happy living in Dublin, I'm not sure I'd recommend upping sticks anyway - I wanted a change from Cork when I made the move and knew from the things I wanted that London was a good fit. I know a few folks who moved over here from Dublin and have since moved back when the right job became available, so I'm not too sure that moving just for career reasons is a formula for success.

In saying that, I know there are several regular posters around here who've made the jump from Dublin to London and can provide better insight into the similarities and differences, so see what they have to say about things.

Nika Bolokov

Hi JaneeMack,

If you are happy then there is no need to make the move. London is great but after you have got over the excitement of living among major landmarks what makes your time here is the people you meet, and the things you do.It can take a long time to settle, some dont settle at all.

If you are happy. Then stay.

Feathers

You're best off weighing your options based on what you've said alone: close to friends, good job & relationship vs great job.

If you're happy in Dublin & you're not too fussed on moving to a bigger city, I don't think there's enough here to sway a major life decision.

There are plenty of good things about London, but it's not like you'd say, "I was 50/50 on the job offer alone, but knowing about the 24 hour buses & museums swing it for me".

djpbarry

JaneeMack wrote: »

Let's say you have a happy enough life in Dublin - Is London still better than Dublin? And why?

I moved to London from Dublin about 3 years ago. My wife is originally from London (we met in Dublin almost 10 years ago) and we had always talked about moving here. So, when my contract expired in Dublin and I spotted an opportunity in London, I went for it – the missus wasn’t really enjoying her job in Dublin at the time, so it was a relatively easy decision.

In hindsight was it the right thing to do? Yes, definitely. I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. But, I knew I needed a change of scenery, as did the missus. That’s not to say we don’t like Dublin – we do and the missus in particular left behind some very good friends. I like going back there for visits. Dublin’s got a lot going for it and there are definitely things about it that I miss. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a pretty good place to live. I would struggle to pick a favoured city between London and Dublin – there are things I like and dislike about both. There’s nothing in particular tying us to one place or the other and it’s not like it’s difficult to travel between the two. Neither of us would have too much difficulty getting jobs if we were to return to Dublin and we’d probably have more disposable income than we have here. So, it’s possible we will end up back there at some point, but it’s hard to say one way or another.

I think in your case, if you’re not really that fussed about experiencing London and you’ve got things pretty good in Dublin (wow, someone in Ireland who isn’t complaining about “d’resesshun” – how refreshing!), then the job opportunity would have to be a really outstanding one. If you were single, I might be inclined to encourage you to give it a go and see what happens. But if you’re just getting into a serious relationship, that makes it a much more difficult decision.

biko

It's personal preference I think. Life is so much more than career.
I like London more than Dublin, it's just a really nice city with so much more to offer.

djpbarry

biko wrote: »

I like London more than Dublin, it's just a really nice city with so much more to offer.

I'm not sure I would describe London as "nice". Big with lots to offer, definitely, but nice?

biko

Lol, I've lived for a few stints and just liked it. Sure there is hustle and bustle but I didn't mind for some reason.
I've also stayed or lived in Stockholm, Paris and Tel Aviv and enjoyed them all.

OP, just go, if you don't like it.. well Dublin is still here.

dd972

Aspects of London I prefer are the size, diversity of people and being away from the Village Idiot aspects of Irish life like strangers making instant assumptions or taking an instant dislike to you.

Aspects of Dublin I prefer are proximity to the sea and mountains, the general friendliness of the good folk you encounter and the generally better food you get in pubs.

All relative I suppose, I'd take Chiswick over Finglas and Clontarf over Wembley given the ideal income or situation.

John_Rambo

JaneeMack wrote: »

Reason to move to London: Good for my career, seriously great opportunity to my career, a bigger pond

Go for it, it's a megacity, you can't compare it to Dublin! as Biko says, Dublin will be still there if you don't like London (In fairness, Biko has a fairly warped view on our capital). I have friends over there, I have visited them and to be honest, with my situation, income, interests and need for space, Dublin has more to offer. I'm a watersports enthusiast, the coast means a lot, I can afford somewhere close to the city, but beside the beach, close to a marina with a good bit of room (garden, garage space etc..). At the weekend I can nip in to the city centre with no traffic to speak off, no congestion charges, cheap parking is available if I don't want to use widely available public transport. But, London is bigger, more diverse, and the Indian food is better than India!

As with anywhere, location is the key.

Fratton Fred

JaneeMack wrote: »

Let's say you have a happy enough life in Dublin - Is London still better than Dublin? And why?

The reason I'm asking is - I have a permanent full time job here but got offered a job in London HQ and not 100% sure if I want to move.

I'm reasonably happy here, have some good friends, have a new relationship which is getting quite serious now.

Reason to move to London: Good for my career, seriously great opportunity to my career, a bigger pond

The hustle bustle of a big city doesn't really attract me (done it already overseas) - however, if I had to live in London, that still wouldn't be a problem at all.

Are you single? Kids?

For me, London is a great place to work but I'd rather raise a family in Dublin.

For a single person who has been offered a great opportunity in London, I'd jump at the chance.

Lapin

I'd go for it OP.

If the job offer was any further away, I might have second thoughts.

But London is close enough (and cheap enough) to commute back and forward from at weekends or fortnightly to pursue a career and maintain a relationship.

Rather then asking which city is better, I'd weigh up the cost of living in both places and calculate where you would be better off in the long term.

There is an endless list of pros and cons for both cities and its all down to personal preference.

But in terms of career opportunities, London has a lot more to offer. Although this depends on what your occupation is of course.

As someone else said, Dublin will always be there if you find London doesn't suit. I love the place but admit its not for everyone.

But if you don't try, you'll never know.

djpbarry

dd972 wrote: »

Aspects of London I prefer are the size, diversity of people and being away from the Village Idiot aspects of Irish life like strangers making instant assumptions or taking an instant dislike to you.

I’ve met just as many idiots in London as I have anywhere else.

Lapin wrote: »

But London is close enough (and cheap enough) to commute back and forward from at weekends or fortnightly to pursue a career and maintain a relationship.

I couldn’t disagree with this more.

Ignoring for a moment the colossal waste of time and money involved in flying “home” every other week, you’ll never settle in London if you don’t think of it as home. What’s more, you’ll never get the best of London if you leave every (other) weekend!

JaneeMack

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Are you single? Kids?

For me, London is a great place to work but I'd rather raise a family in Dublin.

For a single person who has been offered a great opportunity in London, I'd jump at the chance.

I'm separated but have a new relationship just about to get serious.

I work in finance so this would be a great opportunity for me career-wise.

While I want to have my own family in about 2-3 years time in Dublin (somewhere in the suburb definitely), definitely not keen on the idea of having a family in London or in England where I don't know a soul.

Fysh

JaneeMack wrote: »

I'm separated but have a new relationship just about to get serious.

I work in finance so this would be a great opportunity for me career-wise.

While I want to have my own family in about 2-3 years time in Dublin (somewhere in the suburb definitely), definitely not keen on the idea of having a family in London or in England where I don't know a soul.

There's the crux of your answer - either you don't take the career opportunity, or you put any plans you've got for starting a family on hold for at least however long you would want to pursue the career options over here.

biko

Note that in London there is the distance factor. Whereas in Dublin you might live kinda close to city centre and be able to bike/drive, in London you will probably love far away and tube/bus it. I lived in Epping for a few months and the tube into city took bloody ageeees
Epping itself was lovely though.
Depends on your circumstance/work/etc where you end up of course.

Lapin

djpbarry wrote: »

I couldn't disagree with this more.

Ignoring for a moment the colossal waste of time and money involved in flying “home” every other week.

It can cost more in both time and money to travel from Dublin to other parts of Ireland, yet thousands of people do this every week and nobody bats an eyelid.

djpbarry wrote: »

You’ll never settle in London if you don’t think of it as home. What’s more, you’ll never get the best of London if you leave every (other) weekend!

I agree.

But the OP never suggested he wants to settle in London and doesn't seem interested in getting the best from the place. He said he has lived abroad before so I don't think he's interested in moving there for the whole cultural experience.

It seems his decision is based on developing his career while building a relationship with his partner in Dublin. Assuming his partner is not in a position to move to London too, commuting is a perfectly viable option.

Nothing wasteful about this. I did it myself for a while. Once you get the knack of booking the right flights and organising travel to and from the airport, you don't be long cutting it down to a fine art. Its fairly straight forward.

After all, thousands of people do it every week.
Often in less time than it takes the thousands travelling from Dublin to Donegal or Kerry, or London to Devon or Yorkshire.

who the fug

Why does one have to be better than the other, two of my favourite cities in the world, just suits me at moment to live in London

djpbarry

Lapin wrote: »

It can cost more in both time and money to travel from Dublin to other parts of Ireland, yet thousands of people do this every week and nobody bats an eyelid.

It's just as daft, in my opinion.

Lapin wrote: »

It seems his decision is based on developing his career while building a relationship with his partner in Dublin.

I suspect he is a she.

Lapin wrote: »

Assuming his partner is not in a position to move to London too, commuting is a perfectly viable option.

Well, that depends on the individual. Personally, I value my time far too highly to waste it commuting between cities. I also don’t really see the point in paying London’s extortionate rents if you’re going to be leaving the place empty most/every weekend(s).

Fratton Fred

JaneeMack wrote: »

I'm separated but have a new relationship just about to get serious.

I work in finance so this would be a great opportunity for me career-wise.

While I want to have my own family in about 2-3 years time in Dublin (somewhere in the suburb definitely), definitely not keen on the idea of having a family in London or in England where I don't know a soul.

Where would you be based, the city or canary wharf? They are both amazing places to work and as much as I love Dublin, there is nothing here that comes close.

The buzz, the money, the noise, I loved it in both places. Yeah, it can be a long old day and getting a packed jubilee train at 6pm on a hot evening is a drag, but everybody in London does iI and there is almost a feeling of camaraderie about it.

I honestly believe that if you're in the finance industry, it is something you have to do if you want to go places. Who knows, they may want you to work in New York next.

Feathers

Lapin wrote: »

It can cost more in both time and money to travel from Dublin to other parts of Ireland, yet thousands of people do this every week and nobody bats an eyelid.

I know everyone says that, but have you found it to be true for you? As in, if you factor in time to get to the airport, wait/security at the airport, flight time to Dublin & commute time on the other end… & I'm living and working in East London, if I go to Heathrow it'll take me almost 5 hours door-to-door — you'd get pretty far at home driving.

I wouldn't fancy that every weekend (though I know people who have done it too); it's managable, but fair from ideal & I'd weigh it carefully if keeping it up over a couple of years. Guess it depends on where you live & work in London too.

Fratton Fred

Feathers wrote: »

I know everyone says that, but have you found it to be true for you? As in, if you factor in time to get to the airport, wait/security at the airport, flight time to Dublin & commute time on the other end… & I'm living and working in East London, if I go to Heathrow it'll take me almost 5 hours door-to-door — you'd get pretty far at home driving.

I wouldn't fancy that every weekend (though I know people who have done it too); it's managable, but fair from ideal & I'd weigh it carefully if keeping it up over a couple of years. Guess it depends on where you live & work in London too.

I did the Monday am flight to London, Friday evening home for over three years, it was a killer.

Friday night is gone and then Sunday all you can think about is getting up at 4:30 the next morning for a 6:40 flight.

Once or twice a month no problem, but every week really starts to take its toll.

Fysh

I'm horrified at the idea of actually doing the trip back to Dublin every weekend Yes, I know in some sectors you can actually get paid well enough that the cost involved is barely noticeable, but I can't imagine why on earth anyone would want to come and work in a city like London if they pretty much lived a subsistence lifestyle here and went back to Dublin every weekend. That sounds like a formula for serious burnout.

Fratton Fred

Fysh wrote: »

I'm horrified at the idea of actually doing the trip back to Dublin every weekend Yes, I know in some sectors you can actually get paid well enough that the cost involved is barely noticeable, but I can't imagine why on earth anyone would want to come and work in a city like London if they pretty much lived a subsistence lifestyle here and went back to Dublin every weekend. That sounds like a formula for serious burnout.

In my case, because I was earning a sizeable chunk of money contracting, but only on three month contracts. It wasn't secure enough to warrant moving the family mid school year, but much better than the dole in Ireland.

It was always only a temporary thing, it just went on for three years. Kinda handy being in moorgate and mot having to rush home on Thursday night as well!

JaneeMack

Fratton Fred wrote: »

It was always only a temporary thing, it just went on for three years. Kinda handy being in moorgate and mot having to rush home on Thursday night as well!

If I do move, my office will be in Moorgate. (Dunno anything about Moorgate to be honest!!) Yeah, seriously considering doing the commute thing for a while anyway - probably until around May next year before I make the final decision. The job itself starts in Jan.

BraziliaNZ

JaneeMack wrote: »

If I do move, my office will be in Moorgate. (Dunno anything about Moorgate to be honest!!) Yeah, seriously considering doing the commute thing for a while anyway - probably until around May next year before I make the final decision. The job itself starts in Jan.

Just by Liverpool St, heart of the city. You'd be close to some trendy areas too like Shoreditch, Brick Lane etc.
London and Dublin can't really be compared, it depends on what the individual wants. The noise and constant flow of people here can be a bit much sometimes. It's just NEVER quiet. And you can't go ANYWHERE without there being another 1,056 people there doing the same thing. I love it though, but you definitely need a break every now and again. I'm going back to Dublin next week for a few days and can't wait to lie in bed in Artane with the window open and zero noise outside.

who the fug

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Just by Liverpool St, heart of the city. You'd be close to some trendy areas too like Shoreditch, Brick Lane etc.
London and Dublin can't really be compared, it depends on what the individual wants. The noise and constant flow of people here can be a bit much sometimes. It's just NEVER quiet. And you can't go ANYWHERE without there being another 1,056 people there doing the same thing. I love it though, but you definitely need a break every now and again. I'm going back to Dublin next week for a few days and can't wait to lie in bed in Artane with the window open and zero noise outside.

Lots of hidden places in London where one can go for peace and quiet far from the madding horde, even in W1.

BraziliaNZ

who the fug wrote: »

Lots of hidden places in London where one can go for peace and quiet far from the madding horde, even in W1.

Well, not where I live, it just seems to be a catwalk for absolute lunatics

djpbarry

who the fug wrote: »

Lots of hidden places in London where one can go for peace and quiet far from the madding horde, even in W1.

If your based in The City, all you have to do is wait until the weekend for a bit of peace and quiet.

who the fug

djpbarry wrote: »

If your based in The City, all you have to do is wait until the weekend for a bit of peace and quiet.

Or wait until after eight

Fratton Fred

JaneeMack wrote: »

If I do move, my office will be in Moorgate. (Dunno anything about Moorgate to be honest!!) Yeah, seriously considering doing the commute thing for a while anyway - probably until around May next year before I make the final decision. The job itself starts in Jan.

It's difficult to describe moorgate. I worked at the top end on Finsbury square and its kind of got everything there. Most importantly, we had a pret a manger downstairs so breakfast was sorted.

When you first goto the city it is pretty disorienting, everybody moves quickly and knows where they're going, but you don't.then when you find your feet and explore a bit, you find the hidden gems, like a 300 year old church nestling between two skyscrapers, or a traditional English pub steeped in history next to a brand new shiney office complex.

Then there's places like the royal exchange, that looks like a private building, but is really a small shopping mall, with only real top end names in it (such as tiffany and co, Gucci and Bulgari.

Then there's the restaurants!