My job only exists in London

[ILikeyourHairyHands]

I see this all the time on threads. Unless you're the Prime Minister, Queen, keeper of the ravens at the tower, a genuine pearly queen or jellied eel and pie and mash slinger, I reckon that's utter bollox.

There may be more opportunities within your chosen career in London but outside very specific roles, your job does not only exist in London.

DHs job can only be done in London as it is specific to a piece of electrical plant equipment (which he is an expert in) that is only in London. His foundational level experience as an engineer can be done elsewhere but his specialist job is only found in London. My job can be done from anywhere as long as there is broadband and an airport to get to meetings.

He honestly couldn't go to another tech company. There are two which are the best for him to work at, he did 4 years at one and is now at the other. What tech companies are there outside London of the same calibre? Can you name some?

We live in NYC - my job can be done anywhere, but DH's job at a mega-bank? Not so much. If we were in the UK I suppose outside of London he could work at RBS in Edinburgh, and I think Coutts has a branch in Bristol? But his options outside those places might be a bit limited.

OP you sound like my Mum - she doesn't understand why we can't move back to my home town. When I point out there's a bit of a lack of employment opportunities for DH she counters "why can't he just become a travel agent?". He does finance/ops for the bank and overseeing travel and expenses is one of the many things that fall under him. I suppose he could be a travel agent, but I don't think it would be quite as lucrative...

@flowery As a lawyer based in Cambridge working on a $2bn dispute involving one of the largest financial institutions in the world, I'd have to disagree.

Whilst I now live outside of London (and the UK), my job is still inherently tied to London as it's in the headquarters of a major multi-national business. You would not be able to build the career I have without having spent at least your formative years in a major global city (London, NY etc).

I could have done something related to my educational background outside of London, but it would be nowhere near as impactful or fulfilling.

It's the difference between working in "tech" and working at Apple.

Yes, I have family in the film industry

Whilst filming is worldwide, the big studios are in London.

You need to be within very easy commute (if not in) London to get the jobs.

You’re probably right that people don’t consider enough different careers/jobs outside their focus, and hang on in locations/jobs they hate for too long.

But the concentration of opportunities in London is high, so the probability of getting a job fitting a person’s spec (area of interest, salary etc) is also high. In addition there is a high concentration of good schools. It is reasonable to be reluctant to leave London and have a high threshold before doing so.

A high concentration of good schools??

As an aside a chap I know trains the ravens at the Tower of London.
He does not live in London.

My husband works in finance. 8 years ago, we were fed up of the London commuting lifestyle. I begged him to find another job elsewhere in the UK, but it just wasn’t an option - while investment banks might have offices in other cities in the U.K., all those doing his role are down in London.

So we emigrated and we are much happier.

Why are you bothered OP? You seem to have this weird crusade, when people have explained.

@FlamingoAndJohn trains the ravens to do what? Wander around looking dishevelled and pissed off, croaking?

I'm not particularly bothered Curtainly, I'd just seen on a thread (for the umpteenth time), that a poster was claiming to ve unhappy in London but couldn't move because their job only existed there. Which got me wondering what exactly are these jobs that are so very specific with zero transferable skills that prevent these posters from moving. And it appears 'very few' is the answer. Yes, there are many exact job titles and opportunities that exist for the large part in London, but none of the jobs mentioned embue the person with such a very specific skill-set that they would be unable to work elsewhere.

Obviously loads of people are happy to live and work in London and enjoy the multitudinous opportunities offered, I have absolutely no problem with that, I'm fully aware that career progression for many industries is best achieved in London, I was speaking about a particular type of poster who hates London but 'can't possibly leave'. That's all!

And no, I don't sound like your Mum AllFurcoat, I'm more than happy for my children to go where the best opportunities for them are, but, if you came to me and wailed that you were desperately unhappy living in London but were trapped by your husband's career I'd help you explore the range of possibilities out there for him. None of which would be travel-agency.

@simkin. He trains them not to fly off. They don’t clip their wings anymore.

That's what I thought it might be Flamingo!, I quite fancy being a raven trainer.

Geographical limitations do exist though. I teach a subject that is only offered at 5 universities in the UK. That limits my options somewhat.

Oh, yes, I'm well aware of that Cosmo, similarly if you work in biotech the area around Cambridge would be best for you.

My point really was, if you absolutely hate where you're living, even if your work is quite specialised, there are always alternatives.

And if none of the alternatives appeal, do something else! Most jobs have a range of transferable skills, that's ultimately the crux of my argument.

Not sure why it offends some people.

Well! I didn't know that @FlamingoAndJohn. Thanks for the education.

"allfurcoatnoknickers

We live in NYC - my job can be done anywhere, but DH's job at a mega-bank? Not so much. If we were in the UK I suppose outside of London he could work at RBS in Edinburgh, and I think Coutts has a branch in Bristol? But his options outside those places might be a bit limited."
Isn't Lloyd's in Edinburgh? Does every other big bank have hq in London?

If only it were that simple op!

Why all the hate for London? I love it here. Have lived here all my life. It doesn’t mean it’s better than anywhere else, but it is great

The queen of England is the queen of England, no matter where she is

this job doesn't exist the queen is queen of the united kingdom and the commonwealth and she is not required to be in London at least 90% of the time

There are a few different points here 99% of the population could find work in their field outside London but a few jobs are very London specific, the actual numbers of people working specifically in London is small a few hundred thousand at most
firstly 85-90% of population live and work outside London already, most people in London are doing jobs that are done everywhere police, nursing teaching retail bus drivers chefs plumbers etc there are major hospitals all over the country there are brain surgeons in Glasgow Sheffield etc; not every major international company has it head office in London depending on Industry eg the hub of the oil industry is Aberdeen
secondly it is a different point as to whether does doing ordinary jobs in London should have to move away from family to get affordable housing etc
thirdly lots and lots of jobs can't be done remotely or WFH ( this is often presented as a solution to snow days) but education, health, plumbers builders retail transport; none of this works from home, only those jobs which require a desk and computer can really considered to e suitable for WFH and because of secure online access may not be always possible