Persuade me that moving to (London)Derry wouldn't be the end of the world ...

[hannahsaunt]

... because I'm not convinced. (See - I don't even know what to call the place!).

Where are you moving from?

Have only visited the place. Probably like any other place, good and bad bits.

Where are you moving from?

Why are you moving?

Have you got connections there at all - family/friends?

I'm about to start Uni there (have mentioned this just a few times lol) and am dead excited! It seems like a lovely city

It's only theoretical at the moment - dh needs a substantive job (they are few and far between in his field) and one has come up there. He is from NI but not that keen to return though sees the pluses in terms of nearer to his family (though not that near - they are in Down).

I am from the east coast of Scotland - half my life 20 minutes south of Edinburgh and the other half in Aberdeen. So 2-3 hours from my family.

My gut reaction is that it's the wet back of beyond ... (which I know is totally unreasonable to anyone from there ) but ... it's not home and it's still a long way from family and friends (our NI friends are in Down and south of there).

Hmm. Derry or Aberdeen? I'd actually see that as a tough choice! :o

Why not pay it a visit and see what you think.

Maybe there are some MNers here who know it better.

Seemed okay to us (me, American, DH, Scottish). Some really lovely food good value for money, IMO.

I get confused because all the road signs said 'Londonderry' but the 'London' had been spraypainted out. And it sounds pretty corny with the 'London' attached, though, from an aesthetic point of view.

HA - my mum and dad lived outside Edinburgh for almost 20 years - Sleazyjet would be your friend!

I know its a long way from your friends and family, but you know we're very friendly over here!

Whereabouts are you living at the moment? Are you in a big city, is that what worries you?

given theres recession,follow the money.in difficult times you have to make big decisions

good luck

and i hear derry is nice

Ds1 will be 10 in a few weeks so we would be locking into being there for at least 10 years (argh!) to see him and ds2 through secondary school.

I really hate the thought of moving to sectarianism and being labelled - it's not an environment I had ever envisaged raising my children in.

Is it really any more sectarian than say, some parts of Glasgow or its environs, though?

It'd be worth investigating, tbh.

Well, officially it is Londonderry. But I can't think of no one who actually calls it that!

Its an okay city. My in-laws live there and love it. I live in Belfast, BTW. And am an American Ex-pat.

Like expat said, it has its good things and some bad. There are actually some really great restaurants, a pretty good mall and some lovely areas to live.

And, of course, University of Ulster, Magee. Where botty will tell you over and over she is going to read law.

I would recommend a visit and see for yourself!

Ok well I live here, my parents are Scottish and I don't think I fit any labels - and my kids have a range of friends from all kinds of backgrounds - it isn't anything like as bad as it was when I was growing up, if that helps.

My DS's have grown up with mixed religion (if that makes sense) friends, and DD1 has just started at the local grammar and it seems to have a very mixed intake, judging from the fact that I just dropped her new friend home and they are from one religion and (nominally at least) DD1 is from the other.

Having said that, I don't LIVE in Derry so it might be different there, but I do have a friend who is on the Board of Governors for one of the grammar schools and I know that they take from both sides of the community.

There is an airport and a Matalan !

derry (or stroke city if you like )really isn't that far from down. i don't know much of derry but it is definitely not the back of beyond. far from it in fact. why don't you arrange a trip and see what you think. i am sure it is like everywhere, good parts and bad parts.

Tee - have you noticed that I mention it, really?????

FWIW I'm "Protestant" - well officially anyway - and I never ever say Londonderry - I always say Derry

The BBC policy is (according to one of their TV reporters) that they have to say Londonderry the first time they mention it, and after that they can call it Derry.

Not sure we'll get a chance to visit before deciding to make the application; tbh I'm not sure there is much of a choice - he needs to be seen to be applying and if offered it's not the sort of thing turned down.

I guess I'm a city girl at heart; I think Aberdeen is small with rubbish shopping, museums, theatres etc (it's not that bad, just not the choice that there is in Edinburgh) so don't want to be so remote. That said, I wouldn't blink about moving to Fort William (not that it's on offer); that body of water has a lot to answer for.

Sadly very aware of the rise in tensions and quite afraid of it in terms of choosing to expose the dc to that sort of life. I happily supported the decision to apply to Belfast - this just seems so very different.

Oooh no I'm terrified of the countryside, I always think the locals are going to kidnap me and steal me kidneys :)

There is no such place as Londonderry.

It's like saying BelfastYork.

OP - I have a soft spot for Derry (having grown up 30 miles away).

My first true love was a derry man. And he broke my heart into smithereens and then pissed on the pieces . However a recent FB search shows that he is now rather fat, balding and has married a right Majella so all's well .

Also, if you consider that the entire country of Northern Ireland, at its widest point, is only about 200 miles (rough estimate, I haven't actually measured!)? Down isn't very far away!!!

botty you might have mentioned it once...

Oh and my husband and his parents are Protestant and call it Derry.

OMG, it takes ages to get to much of anything from Ft. William. Took far less time to get from Derry to Belfast than Ft. William to Inverness or Glasgow.

In all honesty, I don't think Derry would be any worse than Belfast for tensions. Maybe someone from there will be along with more advice?

Northern Ireland is just like anywhere else most of the time - you get grotty sink estates with scumbags anywhere in the UK, just that over here the excuse they use for the violence is religion iyswim

IMHO

Oh and Michael Palin reckons the train journey from Derry to Coleraine is one of the top 10 in the world!!!!

pragmatically need job,need food in fridge.so make best of it. never been derry but been NI and eire tons.like it