Relocating from the south east to Manchester for 1st job?
Discussion
Hello, hope this is the appropriate forum to post this.
I graduate this year and have been offered a graduate scheme with an international company in their Manchester office. The job looks fantastic, just what I want, I’ve accepted the contract and start in August.
I have been having a few doubts. I live near London and go to uni in the city of Oxford so my friends / family are all based in the south east. Moving up to Manchester seems like an adventure but is also a bit daunting. A lot of people I know seem to be flocking to jobs in London and I can’t help but have this silly thought that I’m missing out by not being in London. Yet Manchester seems such an exciting city.
My parents made the good point that if I go to Manchester and build a network of contacts up there, it will not be ideal if my career leads me to London in the future (which it is likely to) and I move away. But on the other hand I’m in my early 20s and don’t like the idea of putting down roots just yet. I like the idea of moving around every few years.
I’d be interested on hearing about people’s experience of working in London / Manchester. Do you enjoy it? Clearly things are far from normal at the moment, but in normal times would a young person be better off in either of these two cities? Thank you very much.
I graduate this year and have been offered a graduate scheme with an international company in their Manchester office. The job looks fantastic, just what I want, I’ve accepted the contract and start in August.
I have been having a few doubts. I live near London and go to uni in the city of Oxford so my friends / family are all based in the south east. Moving up to Manchester seems like an adventure but is also a bit daunting. A lot of people I know seem to be flocking to jobs in London and I can’t help but have this silly thought that I’m missing out by not being in London. Yet Manchester seems such an exciting city.
My parents made the good point that if I go to Manchester and build a network of contacts up there, it will not be ideal if my career leads me to London in the future (which it is likely to) and I move away. But on the other hand I’m in my early 20s and don’t like the idea of putting down roots just yet. I like the idea of moving around every few years.
I’d be interested on hearing about people’s experience of working in London / Manchester. Do you enjoy it? Clearly things are far from normal at the moment, but in normal times would a young person be better off in either of these two cities? Thank you very much.
Manchester is perfect for someone in their early 20s. In normal times- tons of great nightlife, restaurants, lots of which are independent. You'll probably be able to live in the city centre on a graduate salary too- it's affordable compared to London/SE.
Piccadilly is less than 2hrs 30m from Euston, so it's not too arduous if you want to visit. If you want a change after a few years, you should be able to get another job down south once you've got some experience.
Piccadilly is less than 2hrs 30m from Euston, so it's not too arduous if you want to visit. If you want a change after a few years, you should be able to get another job down south once you've got some experience.
you'll need to make friends in Manchester, within and outside work.A social life ( when we can have one) will be the determinate to whether you enjoy living away from the South East. It will be soul destroying if you feel like you have to commute every weekend for some night life and home cooking.
As others have said, you have a job that appears to be fantastic and are with an international company. You now need to man up and make the most of it.
As others have said, you have a job that appears to be fantastic and are with an international company. You now need to man up and make the most of it.
Manchester is a great City, there has been lots of development work over the last fifteen years, it obviously is a LOT smaller than London, but on the upside it is a lot cheaper, one of my lads rents a house on The Isle of Dogs and pays £1600pm.....just outside Manchester would be half that for similar.
It's not that far!
I went to university in Brighton, and my first graduate role was Shetland! I was there for two years, had a great time, made friends in work and out of work and have kept in touch with them.
It sounds like they'll be a few graduates starting at the same time and I suspect a few in your position. Would you look to flat share with one/some of them? That was quite a popular choice for us and it felt a little bit like a continuation of university.
Go for it!
Just thought I should add my parents live in Manchester and I now live near London. You'll find plenty to do in Manchester, but worth spending a bit of extra effort keeping in touch with old friends in London, you really can visit for a couple of days quite easily.
I went to university in Brighton, and my first graduate role was Shetland! I was there for two years, had a great time, made friends in work and out of work and have kept in touch with them.
It sounds like they'll be a few graduates starting at the same time and I suspect a few in your position. Would you look to flat share with one/some of them? That was quite a popular choice for us and it felt a little bit like a continuation of university.
Go for it!
Just thought I should add my parents live in Manchester and I now live near London. You'll find plenty to do in Manchester, but worth spending a bit of extra effort keeping in touch with old friends in London, you really can visit for a couple of days quite easily.
Edited by cml24 on Sunday 17th January 14:13
I’ve lived in 14 houses, everywhere from Aberdeen to Bournemouth. The key when you relocate is to work hard at socialising, that means trying to play in team sports, join clubs, develop interests that will allow you to meet people. All work and no play gets very trying, very quickly. A busy lad, day and night,is a happy lad. I’d snatch their hand off for the job. You ARE one of the few lucky ones to get a good offer, don’t squander it.
You will have a much better social life and living standard in Manchester than you will in London. Doesn’t mean you can’t move to London later when you are established. I always look upon a multi location CV favourable as it shows real flexibility. If you move around when you’re younger it’s great fun, you learn a lot and meet lots of useful people. Those that don’t tend to regret it later on when they can’t so easily. As someone above said just having a grad job this year is great. Go for it and make the best of every opportunity
CycloneChilli said:
Hello, hope this is the appropriate forum to post this.
I graduate this year and have been offered a graduate scheme with an international company in their Manchester office. The job looks fantastic, just what I want, I’ve accepted the contract and start in August.
I have been having a few doubts. I live near London and go to uni in the city of Oxford so my friends / family are all based in the south east. Moving up to Manchester seems like an adventure but is also a bit daunting. A lot of people I know seem to be flocking to jobs in London and I can’t help but have this silly thought that I’m missing out by not being in London. Yet Manchester seems such an exciting city.
My parents made the good point that if I go to Manchester and build a network of contacts up there, it will not be ideal if my career leads me to London in the future (which it is likely to) and I move away. But on the other hand I’m in my early 20s and don’t like the idea of putting down roots just yet. I like the idea of moving around every few years.
I’d be interested on hearing about people’s experience of working in London / Manchester. Do you enjoy it? Clearly things are far from normal at the moment, but in normal times would a young person be better off in either of these two cities? Thank you very much.
It's a good question. I've studied/worked in Manchester for the last 30 years. From my personal point of view it's a great City and the jobs/salaries/house prices mean you can have a very good lifestyle. I have colleagues who work in London and, whilst salaries are a lot higher, these seem to be swallowed up by the cost of accommodation [which just seems absolutely bonkers]. My youngest is studying at UCL and she will be paying £200/week next year for 1 bedroom in a 3-bedroom apartment in a non-stabby part of London. One of my nephews works in IB in London and pays £1,200/month, again in a flat share. Having said that a decent apartment in Manchester City centre would set you back £700pcm so maybe the difference isn't that much?I graduate this year and have been offered a graduate scheme with an international company in their Manchester office. The job looks fantastic, just what I want, I’ve accepted the contract and start in August.
I have been having a few doubts. I live near London and go to uni in the city of Oxford so my friends / family are all based in the south east. Moving up to Manchester seems like an adventure but is also a bit daunting. A lot of people I know seem to be flocking to jobs in London and I can’t help but have this silly thought that I’m missing out by not being in London. Yet Manchester seems such an exciting city.
My parents made the good point that if I go to Manchester and build a network of contacts up there, it will not be ideal if my career leads me to London in the future (which it is likely to) and I move away. But on the other hand I’m in my early 20s and don’t like the idea of putting down roots just yet. I like the idea of moving around every few years.
I’d be interested on hearing about people’s experience of working in London / Manchester. Do you enjoy it? Clearly things are far from normal at the moment, but in normal times would a young person be better off in either of these two cities? Thank you very much.
Anyway I digress. If you're working for a National/Multi National company you'll have plenty of opportunities to move.
Countdown said:
Anyway I digress. If you're working for a National/Multi National company you'll have plenty of opportunities to move.
This. If the company and job are good, go for it. Assuming it’s a graduate programme with other grads, odds are you’ll be socialising with them so you should have a ready made friend group.Think of it like moving for uni - sure, you still have friends from your home town, but you don’t spend your weekends going home to see them.
Wow thank you so much everyone for replying, I cannot stress enough how useful and reassuring it has been for me to read through all your replies.
My trepidation has gone and I’m now really excited to be starting in Manchester!
Cheers everyone for the advice on socialising etc, I will definitely make the most of this opportunity! Appreciate all the help.
My trepidation has gone and I’m now really excited to be starting in Manchester!
cml24 said:
It's not that far!
It sounds like they'll be a few graduates starting at the same time and I suspect a few in your position. Would you look to flat share with one/some of them? That was quite a popular choice for us and it felt a little bit like a continuation of university.
Go for it!
Yeah there are 10 other grads starting so the plan is to flat share, really nice to hear that it’s like a continuation of university! Just what I’d love.It sounds like they'll be a few graduates starting at the same time and I suspect a few in your position. Would you look to flat share with one/some of them? That was quite a popular choice for us and it felt a little bit like a continuation of university.
Go for it!
Edited by cml24 on Sunday 17th January 14:13
Cheers everyone for the advice on socialising etc, I will definitely make the most of this opportunity! Appreciate all the help.
CycloneChilli said:
Yeah there are 10 other grads starting so the plan is to flat share, really nice to hear that it’s like a continuation of university! Just what I’d love.
Cheers everyone for the advice on socialising etc, I will definitely make the most of this opportunity! Appreciate all the help.
This is a good thing to do because it immediately gives you a new group of friends. Just treat it like going to university as you said. Assume the grad programme is for two years or something and then you can decide from there Cheers everyone for the advice on socialising etc, I will definitely make the most of this opportunity! Appreciate all the help.
I moved to Manchester from Scotland for my first job in IT many years ago. Back then Manchester was a great place to live, I imagine it's even better now. I found many of my workmates had also moved away from home and we formed a decent social circle, many of whom I still see even though I am back in Scotland. Go for it, it will be a great experience
pokethepope said:
There's going to be lots of graduates who struggle to get any job at all in the next few years. As you describe this role as "fantastic", take it. You can always transfer/move to London after you've got a couple years' experience on your CV.
This. It's not like you're moving country. Manchester is a great city so take the opportunity to experience something other than London.I don't have any Manchester specific advice, but when I graduated from Loughborough University I moved to Nottingham for a graduate job. I knew almost nothing about the city and didn't know anyone there. It was a daunting move at the time, but everything worked out. I would echo what others have said, make friends with fellow graduates at work and get involved in sports/societies.
Be warned it rains a lot in Manchester.
From a professional company of cartographers, so presumably they know
what they are on about, about 860 mm a year.
Same resource has Oxford at 650 mm and London at 610 mm, so Manchester
has about 40% more rain than London.
Expect to spend a lot of time indoors. Buy the best raincoat you can
and make sure it's got a good hood.
Same resource has Fort William at 2,000 mm. I can only assume local folks
there have webbed feet and are good swimmers.
From a professional company of cartographers, so presumably they know
what they are on about, about 860 mm a year.
Same resource has Oxford at 650 mm and London at 610 mm, so Manchester
has about 40% more rain than London.
Expect to spend a lot of time indoors. Buy the best raincoat you can
and make sure it's got a good hood.
Same resource has Fort William at 2,000 mm. I can only assume local folks
there have webbed feet and are good swimmers.
As others have mentioned, try and build a social network in and perhaps more importantly outside of work. Sports clubs are a good idea, but don't overlook a friendly local boozer! It can be daunting having a solo drink, but can often provide people with much needed contacts. I'm not advocating full tilt alcohol abuse, but a few pints in the local couple of times a week won't hurt you.
I went to Tokyo at 23 for work, and was my first time living away from home, having lived and studied in London prior. Being different/exotic helped, but being able to pop out solo and hold your own becomes a vital life skill. I travel a lot now, and being able to strike up a conversation in a bar from Chicago to Tokyo has given me fond memories!
Obviously this is like bad uncle advice, and I'm seriously not suggesting liver abuse; but don't overlook social settings even if they are more daunting at first (and obviously don't pick the nutters pub).
Of course you might be devastatingly handsome, in that case just Tinder.
Its great that you have a good job offer given the bag of crap the economy will be next year. At least just try Manchester, its vital life experience and will help you for the future. Even if you can't drive to London in 2hours anymore; it's not that far.
I went to Tokyo at 23 for work, and was my first time living away from home, having lived and studied in London prior. Being different/exotic helped, but being able to pop out solo and hold your own becomes a vital life skill. I travel a lot now, and being able to strike up a conversation in a bar from Chicago to Tokyo has given me fond memories!
Obviously this is like bad uncle advice, and I'm seriously not suggesting liver abuse; but don't overlook social settings even if they are more daunting at first (and obviously don't pick the nutters pub).
Of course you might be devastatingly handsome, in that case just Tinder.
Its great that you have a good job offer given the bag of crap the economy will be next year. At least just try Manchester, its vital life experience and will help you for the future. Even if you can't drive to London in 2hours anymore; it's not that far.
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