Business Graduate. Moving to Manchester. Advice?

Fukuyama

Hi Guys,

So I'm just finishing up in college at the minute; about to hand in my dissertation on Friday .

Anyway, myself and a friend are going to move to Manchester at end of July for work. I have lived abroad before for short period of time (a month here, two months there) but I've never moved totally. Chances are I could be gone for a few years.

We plan on getting a 2 bed in the Northern Quarter. Hopefully for around £700 pcm.

Would £1,500 each be enough to cover moving over and expenses while we find work?

I was thinking of grabbing a retail job initially (I have lots of experience) to keep myself afloat before going after better paid career prospects. What's the labour market like the Manchester right now?

Any pitfalls I should be aware of when going over?

Any advice or thought would be much appreciated!

Cheers,
Dean

ancapailldorcha

Hi Dean,

Congrats on the dissertation.

I living in Manchester for 18 months so I'd like to think I know the place fairly well. It's essentially the London of the north and England's second city. A lot of companies are based there and your qualification should boost your chances of getting something more long term. I'm not sure what employment prospects would be for a business graduate but Manchester is probably your best bet for anything financial outside London.

You mention that you and your pal have £1,500 each. Bear in mind that a lot of places will want another month's rent as a deposit as well. There are quite a few job sites you may want to peruse as well. The good news is that the city is fairly cheap. You should be able to get a decent place for about £300-£400 per month each.

From an employment perspective, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job. I'll quote one of my earlier posts at the end of this which will hopefully help you. A lot of pubs and the like want you to apply online these days. You can also try registering with agencies before you move as a short term solution. They might even have a job for you before you land.

If you can, try and sort out a National Insurance (PRSI) number before you go. It's not urgent, just nice to have out of the way.

In terms of pitfalls, the only thing I'd say is to choose your area carefully which I think you've done. Wythenshawe, Moss Side, Oldham, Rochdale and so on wouldn't be the nicest areas. I lived in Sale myself and thought it was wonderful. I got so much value for money there compared to where I am now.

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I strongly recommend:

www.jobs.ac.uk (Best for University posts but some companies use it as well)
www.jobs.nhs.uk (If you have a degree in Biomedical Science)
www.newscientistjobs.com

Also worth a look:

www.indeed.co.uk
www.jobs.co.uk
www.totaljobs.com (Infested with recruitment agencies)
www.jobsite.co.uk
www.reed.co.uk
www.fish4.co.uk
www.monster.co.uk

Fukuyama

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Hi Dean,

Congrats on the dissertation.

I living in Manchester for 18 months so I'd like to think I know the place fairly well. It's essentially the London of the north and England's second city. A lot of companies are based there and your qualification should boost your chances of getting something more long term. I'm not sure what employment prospects would be for a business graduate but Manchester is probably your best bet for anything financial outside London.

You mention that you and your pal have £1,500 each. Bear in mind that a lot of places will want another month's rent as a deposit as well. There are quite a few job sites you may want to peruse as well. The good news is that the city is fairly cheap. You should be able to get a decent place for about £300-£400 per month each.

From an employment perspective, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job. I'll quote one of my earlier posts at the end of this which will hopefully help you. A lot of pubs and the like want you to apply online these days. You can also try registering with agencies before you move as a short term solution. They might even have a job for you before you land.

If you can, try and sort out a National Insurance (PRSI) number before you go. It's not urgent, just nice to have out of the way.

In terms of pitfalls, the only thing I'd say is to choose your area carefully which I think you've done. Wythenshawe, Moss Side, Oldham, Rochdale and so on wouldn't be the nicest areas. I lived in Sale myself and thought it was wonderful. I got so much value for money there compared to where I am now.

Thanks for all this info!

In terms of accommodation: I've only ever rented rooms in flats before from live-in landlords. Kind of 'cash in hand' stuff. However, we'd like to get a flat to ourselves instead of sharing. I notice that most apartments are let through agencies. What kind of agency fees should we be expecting? And do they normally look for references etc.. ?

Do you know of any reputable agencies that'd cater to business graduates - even things like admin roles would be fine to get the ball rolling!

Thanks again!

ancapailldorcha

I've sorted all of my accommodation in the past using Gumtree or Spareroom which won't be what you'll want to use if there is 2 of ye. I've never rented a place myself before. I'd say you're facing at least £100 in agency fees. That's what I paid to get things sorted in Manchester. It might be more if it's a whole flat rather than just a room which is what I went for. Some landlords do deal directly with tenants. Keep an eye on Gumtree as well as rightmove, Zoopla and so on.

You'll need references. At least one anyway. Also, I'd may consider speaking to your parents about being guarantors. I'm not sure how likely that is. This is my third place in the UK and I had to ask my aunt to act as guarantor despite renting 2 rooms before without needing one. I'm not sure how that works internationally and it's unlikely but maybe lend it some thought.

Recruitment agencies are the among scum of the earth. The only reason I'd even consider suggesting one is that they can be useful in helping a newly-fledged graduate gain vital experience in work. I'm afraid I can't help you too much here. You could try calling or emailing the HR departments of some of the bigger firms in Manchester and seeing if they have vacancies or even advice. I'd say calling might give a better impression than email. I work as a scientist so these kinds of companies are not my area of expertise unfortunately.

Mackenzie1983

Best of luck with move. Manchester is a great city to live in. I would echo what the other poster said about being careful where you live. As like any big city Manchester has a number of area which are not the nicest however it is important not to rule out whole area just because parts of it are not nice. For instance I live in Saddleworth which is in Oldham however it would be classed as a very nice place to live. That said there are other parts of Oldham I would not walk through during the day!

Long Gone

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

.

I living in Manchester for 18 months so I'd like to think I know the place fairly well. It's essentially the London of the north and England's second city.

Wrong - Birmingham is officially England's second city.

ancapailldorcha

Long Gone wrote: »

Wrong - Birmingham is officially England's second city.

I couldn't care less. It's a charmless scumhole. A lot of companies have bases in Manchester so the OP's chance of getting a job is probably better there. Most people I've met here feel the same way.

NoCrackHaving

Op, word of advice, look outside of Northern Quarter for better value (even 2 minutes walk away!)

Anocoats, New Islington and the part of Salford just across the river are all literally 5 minutes walk from Northern Quarter centre and a lot cheaper.

Also Hulme is pretty cool and up and coming.

Avoid Rochdale (EDL stronghold), Gorton (set of Shameless) and Longsight like the plague.

Moss Side is known as being pretty rough but really hasn't a patch on those kips.

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I couldn't care less. It's a charmless scumhole. A lot of companies have bases in Manchester so the OP's chance of getting a job is probably better there. Most people I've met here feel the same way.

Couldn't agree more. Birmingham is one the ugliest, roughest, grimmest cities I've ever been too. Also, chances of a job are far, far lower than Manchester.