Job offer in Birmingham but apprehensive about leaving London

[snoutandab0ut]

Posting for advice. I currently have a job in my chosen industry in London which I am not totally satisfied with for a number of reasons, including crappy management and unwillingness to improve things (will elaborate if anyone’s interested).

I’ve been offered a job in Birmingham with a prestigious organisation and its a higher salary than I’m on now - similar-ish role, but some differences. My industry is very London centric and I’m worried about leaving and whether I’d feel isolated from it. I don’t know anyone in Birmingham and haven’t spent any time there really apart from passing through on a work trip.

Would be great to hear from some people who’ve made a similar move or those who live and work in Brum about the general vibe there. I’m aware I probably sound like a London wanker and perfectly happy to admit I may have become ensconced in the bubble here (not originally from London, I actually grew up in the midlands but not near Birmingham).

WWYD?

I moved from London to Birmingham over a decade ago. Admittedly I had only lived in London for a few years.

Have a look at a website called I Choose Birmingham. It’s a weekly email that tells of all things awesome in Brum and was set up by a guy who moved from London to Birmingham about 5 years ago.

Birmingham surprises me constantly, and is ever changing. It’s not London, and it doesn’t need to be. The best thing about leaving London for me is being able to return to visit without any of the day to day frustrations.

Thanks, I’ll check it out. Off on a recce of the offices and the city centre tomorrow so hopefully will come back feeling positive!

I moved from down south to Birmingham and I was incredibly unhappy. Though to be fair I lived in an awful area and it was 15 years ago at least. Back then people were unfriendlyand quite open about disliking southerners. However I know Brum has had a huge amount of investment over recent years and I am sure it is much much nicer now

I live in Birmingham and I bloody love it. Wonderful suburbs and over the last few years there is a lot more going on there. Your money will go a lot further

Oh my gosh you’ll be so much better of if your salary increases but you move out of London! I don’t know Birmingham at all but that would be a big factor for me.

I've lived in Birmingham and loved it (sometimes wish we could move back) it's a big city but more friendly than London and a lot cheaper. Great stuff to do and you can escape to the countryside easily (I would choose to live on the outskirts and take the train in personally). I'm a Londoner who lives in the midlands and would never move back to London, well it would have to be once in a lifetime type opportunity (and would still choose to live in Hertfordshire!)

Yeah the salary increase is obviously a factor and also, as a friend of mine pointed out, would mean that in the future if I looked to go back to London I could command a higher salary than I do now. The organisation I’ve been offered the job in has branches all around the UK so there is plenty of scope to move about. It’s the lifestyle change I’m most torn about as I know it would be lovely to have my own place (currently flat share with a friend) but I’ve become accustomed to being in the ‘London bubble’

I loved living in London but found that Birmingham had a lot of the things I loved about London but without all the hassle and expense. Obviously it can't offer everything London does, but it has improved so much, and for the sheer easiness of everyday living I found it much better.

We could afford to live within easy walking distance of the city centre with all the shops, restaurants, museums, art galleries, symphony hall, etc, etc, which would have been unthinkable in London, so we actually made better use of a lot of the things Birmingham had to offer than we ever really did in London.

Birmingham is booming

I find Brum so dull compared to London and really wouldn't want to live there unless there was a good reason to. It sounds like going will be good for your career so I would probably go for it knowing you will be able to leave again!

I think everywhere seems a bit dull compared to London! But the thought of an entire flat to myself rather than a grotty shared one is very tempting

Birmingham has a really fresh, friendly vibe I find. I’m too old for clubs but some amazing bars and restaurants around.
The jewellery quarter is buzzing atm. There are some fantastic apartments for sale/rent.
If only someone would sort out the rubbish along the highways...

Why is it London centric?

I'd move, unless you're likely to scupper future chances. Birmingham is a big and lovely city too

The best thing about Birmingham (besides being a great city in its own right these days - it's had a massive re-gen which is still going on) is that you can get into the centre of London in 2 hrs or less (2hrs to Marylebone and 1hr 27 to Euston), which is fantastic if you still want to be able to visit friends/see exhibitions/etc fairly regularly. It's also close to other lovely towns and cities like Worcester, and also has v easy access to countryside and hills.

Birmingham is good for a night out; whether you like clubs, fancy bars, casual bars, grotty seedy bars if that's your thing, differing scales of restaurants, plenty of theatre and music from symphony hall to arenas to medium venues to pubs and bars with a basement.

I hated Birmingham growing up (didn't live there but it was our closest city), moved to London and then ended up back in Birmingham while DP did his masters and we couldn't believe how much we loved it. Don't think we could move back to London now unless our careers called for it mine won't.

Everything north of Watford is a steaming wasteland, surely as a Londoner uou must know that?

I think you really need to go visit yourself and see - Birmingham is very divisive.
I haven't lived in the city, but lived nearby for several years, and visit quite a lot as I have friends who live there. I wouldn't live there myself - tbh it's hard to articulate why, I just really don't like the feel of the place.
I live in London at the moment and love it, but could see myself living happily in other UK cities. Just not Birmingham.

It has a lot going for it though - lots of development etc. My friends who live there love it.