AIBU to not be entirely excited about this?

[VaginaPagina]

I had been looking for a job for ages with no success. About a week ago, I was finally offered a job. It's a great company and pays reasonably well.

So I should be happy right? Well, I am happy and I have no intention of turning it down. I feel like I can really do well with this job and I loved the culture of the company.

Except that I am also secretly a little disappointed and sad :(

I'm a London girl- I studied here and lived here for 5 years and I love it. I don't want to leave London :( Especially not to go to Glasgow which is where this job is.

No offence intended towards anyone who lives in Scotland, but I am so apprehensive about moving there! It's too cold

I also found it a bit boring when I went there. Granted, it was only for a day but it felt like a month.

To make matters worse, I don't know anybody at all in Glasgow (or Scotland for that matter) and this means that I will be very lonely.
My parents live in a different country entirely and that was already hard enough to deal with, but now I have to move away from my mates too.

I know I'm being a big baby about this but I really wanted to vent!

Anyone with similar experiences? How did you deal with it?

I'd also appreciate any advice from people who currently live in Scotland. I've been told that it might be better to live in Edinburgh and travel to Glasgow for work. Does that sound feasible?? I haven't been to Edinburgh yet, but a lot of my mates said it was better than Glasgow

Can't believe nobody's mentioned that they are digging up the centre of Edinburgh for a tram line, and it aint going to be finished for years. It makes getting around Edinburgh a right royal PITA, especially with a car. If you think this might be a short-term move don't move to Edinburgh, you won't form a good impression. Take the train from Glasgow and walk .

Also, the Hydro is about to open in Glasgow, if it's entertainment you want.

West End (Woodland Road area) and South Side (Pollokshields / Shawlands) have substantial Asian populations. Both are also handy for either trains to London or the airport. And lots of curry shops, mmmmmm!

It's Glasgow then

I meant, trains to London, or the airport for planes to London.

OldLadyKnowsNothing- Thanks for the link. I hadn't really thought about my budget yet, but a lot of the one bed flats on that website seem to be quite affordable. Certainly a lot cheaper than what I am paying now!

Elephantseye- Yes! It's Glasgow :)

I would certainly go for Glasgow over Edinburgh. I think you will be fine, if you take it as an 18 month adventure and see how it goes.

I have recently moved from london to cardiff. It is a different country and that does take some getting used to, I won't lie. Attitudes are different. There is more money in the NHS here as well and we get free prescriptions, yet there aren't enough beds for cardiac surgery patients. I don't know what your medical condition is so I would very carefully look into provision for it especially if it is something rare.

I lived and worked in Glasgow when at university and is my favourite city, always feels like going home. I would say definitely look to the west end to live as quite a bohemian feel and lots going on. Edinburgh close for a visit but I'm not as keen as very very touristy and expensive to live and commute. Give it a chance, people are fab! :)

I was in a similar position to you, almost exactly, except I moved to a city about an hour from London and three hours from family. Same in every other way.

I accepted every invitation, was super-friendly to everyone. Haven't had time to read the whole thread so don't know about living arrangements, but I shared and deliberately chose a housemate who was v friendly. She took me to a BBQ the first day I moved here. I met DH there! :) :) :)

For goodness sake get a grip ! You judge a place on 1 day!!!!!! Question the NHS! the weather! As someone said it's not Outer Mongolia , it's 400 miles north. We have running water and electricity, Tesco & M&S, BBC & mobile phones , even speak English ( with an accent) If you want your super job - buy a warm coat and jump on the plane/train. Come with the right attitude and you will be fine. We don't bite !!!!!!

So I've just been told that I might be given pvt health cover by the company if I pushed for it.

I believe it is Nuffield?? Is the private care in Scotland any good? Better/worse than NHS?

I don't want to push for something that will be rubbish anyway.

ElvisJesusandCocaCola- What a sweet story!! :) I hope I have a similar one tell in a couple of years!

skinoncustard- I know it is unfair of me to judge in one day. It is quite possible that I judged too quickly. It's just that I've been a Londonder for so long now that anywhere else seems 'foreign'. I am also not someone who adjusts to change very quickly.

I also have some feelings of guilt over not having found a job close to where my parents live. :( I know I should be closer to them because I do miss them sooooo much and they need me as they are growing older. But the opportunities in the country they live in are not that great. It's also not a fully developed country and that has kept me away. I've been feeling a bit selfish about this and that might be influencing my reaction to a lot of things.

I moved from Ireland to Glasgow to study at uni and totally loved it, it really felt like home very quickly. I am ancient though, so this was twenty years ago. I eventually settled in Edinburgh because of work. Definitely would not live in Edinburgh and commute to Glasgow, a quick google tells me an annual train ticket is £3512, that is money that would be better in your pocket!
These are my own observations over the last few years, they are of course massive generalisations, and there are many exceptions. For context I was 26 when I moved to Edinburgh, was single and still wanting to party!

I'm not a big clothes shopping fan but even I can see that Glasgow has a much wider choice of shops, unless Harvey Nicks is your thing. . . although Edinburgh has lovely foodie type shops.

I find Glasgow a more 'in your face' city, in a nice way. It feels urban, alive, young, open to change. I continue to find Edinburgh quite staid and conservative, at times.

Glasgow somehow feels a lot larger than Edinburgh, although coming from London I am sure they will both feel a lot smaller. Not necessarily a bad thing. Glasgow is very easy to get around with the 'clockwork orange', the locals name for the underground. Edinburgh has been in hiatus for what feels like years because of the tram works, but I think the worst is over.

Housing is generally cheaper in Glasgow, it can be ridiculously expensive to buy a family home in Edinburgh. Though maybe not by London standards.

The commonwealth games are coming to Glasgow next year which has triggered substantial investment in sporting facilities, new velodrome for example.

If you enjoy going to see bands/gigs that tour larger venues they are more likely to play Glasgow, as there is nothing equivalent to the SECC in Edinburgh. If you enjoy rugby, Murrayfield in Edinburgh is where the international matches are played.

I don't think there is an equivalent to the west end of Glasgow in Edinburgh, although I am prepared to be corrected.

In terms of sectarianism, I did come across more of it in glasgow than Edinburgh, but having said that, it was still minimal in the context of my every day life, and would not consider it, if I was choosing where to live.

Glasgow has a reputation for being friendlier than Edinburgh but there are friendly people everywhere.

btw, I love living in Edinburgh now and would not move to Glasgow, but in my twenties I could not imagine living anywhere else. Edinburgh suits my lifestyle now.

Sorry this has turned into an essay, I have been having a bit of a trip down memory lane. Feel like hitting the m8 now and going for a trip to Glasgow.

Glasgow is a great place, and you will love it.

I am from Edinburgh but wouldn't bother living here to commute there.

Not sure why people need to constantly post how much nicer people are in Glasgow than Edinburgh though, not that kind.

It's true - there are arseholes everywhere.

I did loathe the sectarianism - it seemed to pop up everywhere. I had a pair of hideous green shoes and someone said they didn't like the colour because green is associated with Ireland/Catholicism. Silly things like that.

Of course, not everyone is so narrow minded.

Most people I know who lived / live in Glasgow love the place, but it wasn't for me.

Congratulations on the job!

I feel your pain. I LOVE London. I'm from the south of England but class myself as a London girl (studied & then lived there for a couple of years). Still miss it. Moved to Scotland a while back as I couldn't afford to buy in London. I've lived in both Edinburgh & Scotland. I'd say .....

Visit both Glasgow & Edinburgh to get a feel for them. As you can tell from this thread alone, they are very different cities and everyone has a clear favourite. IMO ...

Edinburgh
Beautiful, polite, historic, cool, pretty middle class/gentile, small (more like a town), fab festival, very cosmopolitan, academic/cultured. Bad points: some people find it aloof/standoffish (def not me). Expensive.

Glasgow
Better shopping, better clubs, a proper big city, much cheaper houses. Cool stuff going on. Arty. Better gigs than Edinburgh. Bad points: this is based on me living there in the late 90's so things may have changed DRASTICALLY and I don't want to offend anyone but it can be very anti-English. I experienced problems on a weekly basis and have never once had bother for being English in Edinburgh. Both Glasgow & Edinburgh have rough areas, but the rough areas of Glasgow are unbelievable.

Both cities have great bars and restaurants.

There is a much better quality of life in Scotland compared to England, IMO. the NHS service is incredible. Education is fantastic. The countryside is stunning and varied. Licensing hours are much more user friendly. All bars are open until 1am in Edinburgh, quite a few until later.

I've commuted Glasgow-Edinburgh before and wouldn't advise it personally. It obviously lengthens your day and it's expensive. However, hundreds of people do it. I guess it's more important to work out which city is the one for you.

Hope that helps. It's a nice 'problem' to have, OP! Good luck.

Oh and the thing is, it's only 45 mins on the train from Edinburgh-Glasgow so the better shopping isn't really a deal breaker. I travel through every other week.

I loved loved loved Glasgow when I lived there all be it 15 years ago and would always love to move back (currently overseas so won't happen soon!) And I'm English and never had any problems - but then I'd been in Dundee for 4 years before so may I'd just got a thick skin
Best thing for me - you wake up on a weekend morning and can choose between city centre or completely isolated countryside and frankly within a pretty quick time you can be in either.

I'm an East Coast girl originally but been in Glasgow 7 years now (also did my teacher training here years back) and can't imagine living anywhere else. We're on the South side and its a great community where we live - ethnically diverse, friendly, in-your-face but never intrusive. I'm disabled and have neighbours who'd never see me stuck and we've only been in this street 18 months.

From a health point of view, it's a brilliant place. My disability is neurological and the top uk place for my treatment is Glasgow - the Southern General is a world class hospital and I get treatment there I probably couldn't access even in London. My dh works in the nhs (GP) and has enough friends doing the same job in England to be sure he'd never want to work there - his surgery routinely offers same day appointments and home visits many people could only dream of! I'd say private health care probably isn't worth it.

Glasgow is a buzzing city. I was an undergrad in Edinburgh, lived there 7 years but I don't think I'd go back now - Glasgow is home and my dc are thoroughly Weegie! A great example of what it's like happened to me at Christmas - I was visiting a friend after shopping and left my bags on the subway by mistake. Next time the train came round (it's just a circle!!) someone had stayed on all the way round to hand them in at the right station. I love this place.

Glasgow has some areas of bad deprivation, poor health, and given the amount of Irn Bru consumed I'm surprised the whole population isn't orange sometimes. I work in a sector which deals with people from the very poorest sections of the city (and, by design we live on one of the "schemes") and I can't say I've ever felt threatened or unsafe.

I can see why people suggest the West End or Merchant City, but it's always worth seeing more than those. Go to the South Side, go to the other parks, not just Kelvingrove (Glasgow has a larger % of parkland than anywhere else in the uk).

And, no one has mentioned it yet, but there is a friendly (if ever so slightly boozy) MN community in Glasgow. Let us know when you're arriving!!

I had a pair of hideous green shoes and someone said they didn't like the colour because green is associated with Ireland/Catholicism.

Ha, we have what we call the 'sectarian chopping board' - it has a union jack on it . My OH is a weegie but is a Jags man rather than Old Firm.

"I spent 8 years in Wales, I would never have dreamed of calling myself 'a Cardiff girl' and people would have laughed in my face if I had."

I think OP meant she's the kind of girl who loves London (i.e. a London girl).

I get you OP - I've been a Sydney girl, a New York girl and even a Tel Aviv girl. Now I'm a Glasgow girl and pretty pleased with my lot

I think it will be the best of both worlds.

Your ideal job, affordable housing and a new start somewhere.

And you can always take a weekend trip to London every few weeks. Arrange to meet friends, be a tourist in London and really enjoy what it has to offer without all the downsides of London life (commute, high housing costs etc)

And you have the possibility of transferring back to London or applying for other London jobs when you have some more experience.

congratulations on the job

"I wonder at what point she'll call herself a Glaswegian? I'm guessing never"

Of course, who wouldn't want to be associated with London, now Glasgow on the other hand...

Always makes me smile when I come across "real" Londoners with this type of discourse; they fondly think of themselves as the most cosmopolitan people and yet come across as sweetly parochial and insular.

There's a big world out there heart; a world where London can seem like quite a small place.

Besides, some people are even proud to call Glasgow home (regardless of where they were born). I know because I'm one of them!

Let the OP call herself whatever she wants.

I've lived in London on and off as a child as well in addition to the 5 years I lived there alone. My parents moved a lot. Except for a few years abroad, wherever I've lived in England has always been within a 45-60 minutes train ride from London. I suppose that's why I called myself a Londoner :)

No offence was meant to anyone who has lived there longer!

I'm in Edinburgh and love it to bits, but I wouldn't want to commute everyday to Glasgow.

Live in Glasgow (at least to begin with) and see where you might want to live long term after a year or so. Lots of people live in the central belt and get family sized houses and commute into either Edinburgh or Glasgow, so that might be an option if you end up staying.

Congratulations on the job.

New information keeps coming my way and I keep coming back to check the accuracy of it on mumsnet

I have now been told that Glasgow has a high crime rate and is an unsafe city Depending on where in London you are, I suppose London isn't the safest city in the world either!

But I'm still wondering if someone could elaborate further on how Glasgow got this reputation and any tips tips to stay safe.