Moving to the UK...

[grimreaper]

Hi folks,

I'm giving serious thought to moving to the UK/Ireland within the coming months. I've googled around and it seems that the job situation doesnt look too bad. Who do you suggest I submit my CV too. There seems to be hundreds of sites.

One issue is where to live - london/south east is expensive but closer to most of the jobs. What about other areas?

My intention is to work in the UK for a short time, say 3 years. My long term plan is to eventually move to Asia. BTW, if any of you know how I can get a job in asia dont hesitate to share :)

grimreaper

[Rod Hyde]

I'm giving serious thought to moving to the UK/Ireland within the coming months. I've googled around and it seems that the job situation doesnt look too bad. Who do you suggest I submit my CV too. There seems to be hundreds of sites.
grimreaper
Assuming you want a job in IT, or something related, then there are plenty of agencies and the occasional employer to be found on jobserve (http://www.jobserve.co.uk). The job market is definitely picking up - a couple of agencies I've talked to recently seem to have doubled in size in the last year.

--- Rod

[princec]

Hm, I'm not sure it really makes any financial sense right now though. The cost of accomodation in the UK is appallingly high if you want to live anywhere near civilisation - and if you can't afford that then the cost of transport is appallingly high if you live out in the countryside :(

The IT market is still suffering a lot compared to 5 years ago when agencies actively sought people out for jobs.

Cas :)

[grimreaper]

Accomodation is worrying. I'm not looking for anything flash. A small apartment is enough for me. What's the typical rent I'd expect to pay if staying in London?

As regards jobs: I've folowed Rod's suggestion and there seems to be some people, mostly banks, looking for C++ Unix developers... Anyway, I can always do VB if push comes to shove :)

grimreaper

[ztownsend]

ironic - I live in the South East (Kent) and I'm looking to move abroad - somewhere sunny with a cheaper cost of living!!

I guess, its an OK job market here, but from what I gather, it's been pretty flat the last few years. Hasn't everywhere? Not in the job market, so can't confirm how it compares.

Unless you particularly want to work in someone else's office, can't you just work freelance, from wherever you live at the moment? That's my plan - an adsl line, WIFI, a beach, a deckchair - you get the picture...


Zach

[cliffski]

I agree, the cost of living in the UK is very high, especially housing. If you are living alone, you will be paying most of your salary in rent just to live in one room, especially in london.
Unless you are going to walk straight into a highly paid job, id seriously reconsider moving to the UK, espeically as we seem to be changing more and more into a facist state every day!

[princec]

To stay in London in somewhere that has no rats or crack dealers living with you will cost you between £400-600 a week plus bills for a little bedroom in a house with 4-5 other people.

Cas :)

[Nemesis]

I have a friend and co-worker living in Ealing Broadway. Not sure how much she's paying, but it's quite reasonable apparently and the area is quite nice.

As for me, I still prefer this little spec of an island... :)

[Rod Hyde]

Accomodation is worrying. I'm not looking for anything flash. A small apartment is enough for me. What's the typical rent I'd expect to pay if staying in London?

It is 5 years since I rented in London (sunny Stanmore - more respectable than I am) so I can't give you an up to date figure, but take a look at the properties listing in Loot (http://www.loot.co.uk) to get some ideas of typical rents.

The alternative is to move to a cheaper town outside of London and take the train. Sometimes it is quicker to do that than to travel within London.

--- Rod

[grimreaper]

Rod: you're great! :) Thanks for the info.

A quick glance showed up a nice sounding place in Islington N7 for £315. And sharing a 2 bedroom flat in West Kensington for £150 which sounds reasonable. BTW, are these places nice? From the map they seem pretty close to the City of London.

grimreaper

[cliffski]

kensignton is nice. as i recall islingtons a bit slummy, regardless of what some of the yuppies living there might think

[ghermann]

As I just arrived in UK some months ago, I can tell you that in despite an increase in IT market, life isn't easy, especially when you're not a antive english speaker.

What companies will ask you before is to have an history in England. By history, they mean two references they can call to check if you're a good worker. If your two references don't speak english (English people only speak one language, english), it will be a bit hard to prove your good behavior as an employee and a lot of employers refuse to hire you because of that. They tell you to find a job as soon as possible and get a history and call them back six months later.

In that case, you are obliged to find a small job for six months, do whatever you can for a low salary. If you speak french, german or spanish, you can be lucky to find an office job, not high paid but it's better than working in a restaurant or in a shop (if you're cute and fashion aware).

Let's talk about a big problem in UK : opening a bank account. If you're lucky enough, you can have a bank account in 15 minutes. In bad case, it's 3-4 months.

If you want any information, ask me.

[Nemesis]

I have a coworker staying long term in the UK. She had a hard time opening a bank account. For starters, she needed some proof of long term residence, say, in the form of a bill addressed to said residence. Not a big problem you might say, where it not for the fact that most service entities tended to write her surname wrong because it wasn't a know British surname. That's enough for a bank to refuse opening the account... buggers!