Moving to the UK... Am I mad?

[mjwx]

Hi Everybody,

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, I wasn't sure what category it fits under.

With the European Migration Crisis in full swing I was thinking of emigrating from Australia to England. I'm currently collecting the documents to get an Ancestry Visa (Scottish Granddad, do I need to start drinking IRN BRU?) so at the moment I'm really after a sanity check as well as info and opinions.

The mining boom in Oz is well and truly over and a proper recession overdue escaping Oz seems like a good idea. I've been told by a lot of people that the IT industry in the UK is picking up, especially in Manchester and Glasgow.

My contract is set to end sometime next year and there's no chance of an extension beyond that (they're outsourcing the IT dept) so I'll be looking for a new job anyway. Something I'm dreading with the current job market and the AUD dropping, Australia is already expensive to live in and now the dollar isn't buying as much as it used to.

Also money wont be an issue in the short term. I'll have at least 15K AUD saved by January before I sell my car ($12K hopefully).

[marc26]

If you have the chance to do it.....go for it.
I see no reason not to.
And you always seem to have a good pulse on your industry and where it is headed so I am sure you are making an informed decision

[Thin White Duke]

Kris 1 is doing the same as you......but the opposite direction

[Geespot]

Weather and property rentals property running costs and council tax will punch a huge hole in your budget compared to Oz (I think?)

Glasgow and Manchester weather little difference. Lots and lots of rain and little sun no matter what time of year

Glasgow and Scotland unrivalled countryside and much lower population densisty

Oh and never ending work hours but probably same as Oz?

[kris-one]

Income tax too is higher

[K2]

Don't know how old you are mjwx, but if younger than 40 then probably would be a good move career wise .... yeah sure the weather is crap from Nov-Mar but if work makes up for it then not such a tough cross to bear.

Manc or Glasgow chicks - well you might be grateful so many Eastern Euro chicks have invaded!

Tech in London/South East have read is rivaling Silicon Valley as far as start ups go, but as Gee rightly points out, housing costs will gobble a big chunk out of your pay packet - taxes less so, Aussie taxes are horrendous!

If you do head over - good luck, the water maybe not be lovely but as a country to earn coin, the UK is way up there. I would say that I don't think the mining bust will last much longer, either China recovers or the global economy will start to unravel pretty damn quick.

PS - If your here by July 1st next year - don't miss the BM get together.

[kris-one]

Regarding where you move to I think a lot will depend wherever you will want to stay in a house share or rent a 1 bed property yourself. If you don't mind sharing then London isn't too bad but renting a 1-bed place and then having to include all utility bills and council tax and fees to agent and deposit yourself...damnnn it's tear inducing in London. Whereas up north (I would look at Leeds too) you can get much nicer places to live that wont require 60%+ of your take home pay. Whilst the salary wont be as much as you would get in London the rents could be as much as half less as you would pay down south.

IT there always seems to be work. Where I used to work many IT guys were contractor "tarts" and making £300 a day + and mostly the guys I spoke to were just desktop support (isn't that kind of the lowest rung?).

[Geespot]

I think you will find Glasgow house prices significantly cheaper than say Manchester but with no downside if anything big upsides

200k GBP or the rental on something at that value gets you a pretty swanky place with commutes of walking or 20-30 minutes bus train rides to the city centre. Likewise within 20-30 minutes you can be at Loch Lomond or on the Ayrshire coast or Edinburgh just an hour away

[Stillearly]

mostly the guys I spoke to were just desktop support (isn't that kind of the lowest rung?).

"have you tried switching it off and on again ?"

[NeedHoliday]

I don't think I'd want to be anywhere but London for IT. Manchester has some companies there, but nothing on the scale London has, and the pay will be obviously less too 'up north. Then there's the weather, the fact Manchester is a shithole.. god I think you'd be crazy. I moved from UK to Asia almost 4 years ago and haven't regretted it since. Now moving to Australia next month and really looking forward to it.

[kris-one]

How is Manchester a shit hole!? It's got loads going for it and it's on the edge of the peak district.

[NeedHoliday]

Every time I've gone drinking or shopping there it maked me depressed. I know it's much better than it was 5+ years ago, but it's still always had that chav vibe for me.

[Waharoa]

I moved to the UK 25 years ago... my English mates think I am the most joyous person in the world... and my NZ mates think I'm even more miserable a cunt than when I left... that's the beauty of the UK... if you are miserable you'll fit right in... and if you have an ounce of positivity about you, they'll soon knock that fucker out of you and make you a much more rounded, down to earth sort of person... oh.. and I'd want triple salaries working in London... Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow much more preferable... and from how you are on here, I think you'd do well over here mjwx...

[dontpanic]

Why the Uk? I would be leaning towards the Middle East, Dubai, Abu Dhabi etc. Pretty much tax free, plenty of well paid work for qualified people and a decent social life with such a huge ex-pat population. For me it would be most preferable location to go work for a few years to make some decent money and then decide what I want to do once I'm in my '50's. I would be waiting for the brexit result before moving for good.

[kris-one]

^ I would genuinely only move to those places if my salary was north of 200k GBP (i.e not in a million years!). From your posts DP I don't think you would fit in in the slightest, I felt everyone was an extra on TOWIE 555

[sundancekid]

I don’t have much specific advice to offer… but always positive to uproot and reallocate at least a few times in life. Especially if you’re young and with few strings attached. Getting a bit restless living down here as well sometimes, and fearing that it’s all going a bit “stale” for lack of a better word. So if you have opportunity opening, why not jump at it.

If the job is location specific, I’d be less concerned about such things as annual precipitation or the general hotness of the chicks though… Seriously. Rather much more focused on jumping on an opportunity.

For what it’s worth, my employer is located in central London, and they have all but dismissed the idea of employing in-house IT personnel due to the huge costs involved.

[sundancekid]

I moved to the UK 25 years ago... my English mates think I am the most joyous person in the world... and my NZ mates think I'm even more miserable a cunt than when I left... that's the beauty of the UK... if you are miserable you'll fit right in... and if you have an ounce of positivity about you, they'll soon knock that fucker out of you and make you a much more rounded, down to earth sort of person... oh.. and I'd want triple salaries working in London... Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow much more preferable... and from how you are on here, I think you'd do well over here mjwx...

555… how delightfully depressing…

I’m kind of more a subscriber to the doctrine that if you’re a miserable SOB at heart it doesn’t really matter where you stay or even how much you earn. To a certain extent of course. But pretty damn sure that proximity to Hadrian’s wall is nowhere near the proper demarcation line.

[mjwx]

Thanks everyone for the comments and info.

Weather and property rentals property running costs and council tax will punch a huge hole in your budget compared to Oz (I think?)

I've had a look and the rent doesn't seem that much more than Perth when you're outside of London. Not sure about council tax (in Oz, the owner pays that, not the renter) but it's something to research. To put things into perspective, I live in a sharehouse in Perth which costs A$150 p/w (A$650 p/m).

From every English Ex-Pat at work (about half my office) they've said that the cost of living is much lower in the UK than Australia. Oz is insane for the price of a lot of things, especially anything labour or skill intensive (want a plumber, he wont get out of bed for less than A$80 an hour), want to eat at a cafe, that'll be $25 thanks.

Income tax too is higher

Approximately 20% higher. But the increased salaries compensate for it. From the research I did a few months back I'd be on about the same in the UK as I am in Oz (A$90,000 to GBP 50,000 is about the same after tax). With the AUD dropping under 0.5 GBP its more now.

Don't know how old you are mjwx, but if younger than 40 then probably would be a good move career wise .... yeah sure the weather is crap from Nov-Mar but if work makes up for it then not such a tough cross to bear.

I turned 33 two days ago.

Personally the weather doesn't seem to bother me that much, I don't mind cooler climates, I prefer Perth in the cooler months anyway.

Manc or Glasgow chicks - well you might be grateful so many Eastern Euro chicks have invaded!

They cant really be any worse than the beefy Aussie lasses you get over here

IT there always seems to be work. Where I used to work many IT guys were contractor "tarts" and making £300 a day + and mostly the guys I spoke to were just desktop support (isn't that kind of the lowest rung?).

I'm a VMWare specialist these days. Front line tech support was a while ago for me, if you get put on the phone to me either I'm in a very good mood or you're in a lot of trouble.

^ I would genuinely only move to those places if my salary was north of 200k GBP (i.e not in a million years!). From your posts DP I don't think you would fit in in the slightest, I felt everyone was an extra on TOWIE 555

+1, ME isn't somewhere I'd like to live. That being said I'd consider it if I were being paid an insane amount of money as I'd essentially be taking years out of my life to speed my retirement. Although I've thought of posting on WP's question thread about it.

I'm looking at the UK specifically because 1. it's easy for me to get a working visa without sponsorship and 2. I'd like to see a bit more of Europe, I figure I can do that piecemeal over a number of years. If I dont like the UK, I can always come back to Australia, if I do, the ancestry visa is a pathway to a UK passport.

[mjwx]

Kris 1 is doing the same as you......but the opposite direction

I haven't even applied for the visa yet, so it could go either way.

But K2 is right about the global resources market picking up, now is the time to do it when you're getting more than A$2 for your pound.

[kris-one]

You aint going to get much of a service by a plumber in the UK for £37! (80AUD)