Where to live - North or South?

[christmaspringle]

Need help on making a decision.

I'm 27 and single. Have about 6k in savings. Own a house and let it out, currently share.

Currently I live in a northern city - my university city - I moved here last year. I thought I would enjoy it but I hate it. People seem very 'local', the city seems small and backward and I haven't made any new friends really.

I want to move to London next year. Probably around July when my current tenancy ends. This gives me 6-7 months to find a decent job. I'm quite established in my current career, would be looking at 45-50k.

But my parents are putting me off. They think I'm looking for something that I will never find - as I've moved twice since leaving university. Also that London is too expensive, I'll be lonely and I'll never buy another house.

Wwyd?

How portable is your job, OP? And what is it you want for the next few years of your life? If you want lively city buzz, diversity, and a thriving cultural scene, then London would certainly be one place to find it, but not the only place - there are plenty of smaller cities where you would be able to make friends and pursue/take up outside interests.

If you can work anywhere, here are some suggestions of great cities which won't be as costly as London:

Edinburgh (my city - I'm biased!)
Glasgow
Manchester
Leeds
Norwich
Bristol

I'm sure there are loads of others. If you give us a bit more detail on what you're looking for, I'm sure we can help.

YABU to think it's about north and south though

It is because I currently live in Leeds! I thought I would like it and I hate it.

Not really looking to settle down but it seems everyone else my age here is. I like going out and having fun.

I lived in London for over 10 years. Moved down at 24. If you're going to do London do it now. But be warned it can be a lonely place. I had friends there before I moved so had a social life ready made. Unless you manage to live in zone 1 you'll be spending a lot of time on public transport. I loved it but it's expensive.

I'm now back in Glasgow. I love it. You can take black cabs without bankruptcy, there is loads going on music wise, arts wise and it's great for getting out to the countryside. It's also a very friendly city.

We’ve just moved from Leeds to Edinburgh as a matter of choice. In your position I’d go for London or maybe Edinburgh.

I do have friends there already and I'm a friendly person but people in Leeds seem very established in their groups already. There seem to be less socialising opportunities for people above 25. Most people my age are in serious relationships or settling down.

I certainly found I was loosing friends (moving away) and finding it hard to replace them when I lived in Leeds despite a wide circle at my company (lots of young grads).

Move to London. Why not? £50k is a fine salary to be young and free in London on. You can spend £1k on a lovely room in a lovely shared house/flat (you know, a nice one not a hell hole tbat MN seems to think all shared houses are) and it’s dead easy to make friends as so many ‘new’ people.

I found my circle expanded hugely as everyone was always up for inviting a friend of a friend and it was cool for acquinatances to come along to stuff and be included.

You’ll have enough cash to enjoy life here.

I just wonder what London will actually offer that Leeds doesn't? I would have thought that Leeds was a pretty cool pace to live

Two big and important questions though - where in London? It makes a massive difference - and will/should be related to where you're working. Are you in the kind of job that you can easily move around?

I'd find the job first, and then work out where you're going to live. If you have a very long commute, it will make your day long and your life more expensive than it needs to be.

Second, but related - can you afford to buy/rent? This will obviously depend where you want to live - which is related to Q1!

I'd beware, though, of thinking that the lack of friends is because you're in the wrong place. I'd look carefully at what's happening right now that means you don't have many friends - is there a different strategy you might use so that you can make new friends?

My job would have much better prospects in London than it does in the north so that's not an issue.

I don't find I meet many like minded people here, despite having a hobby, a sport, all that stuff. At 27, people seem keen to settle down.

I hated Leeds. Moved to Liverpool and loved it. Much more friendly and geographically smaller. Housing very cheap in comparison to the rest of the country. I'd recommend South Liverpool Allerton/Aigburth areas.

I've lived in a few places, UK & abroad, North & South.

Edinburgh - Liked it but too cold.
Newcastle - Hated it, cold and like going back a few decades.
London - Loved it but expensive.
Elsewhere in SE - Good comprimise
Brighton - Loved it
Gloucester - Didn't like it, too quiet.

I've lived in major cities in France, Germany and Spain. Spain ticks all the boxes, Madrid & Barcelona are brilliant.

I do feel like Leeds is a few decades behind...

I think Leeds is a little bit dull. (I live in a dull town and like it though). What about Birmingham? It gets a bad press but is pretty interesting. Lots going on and nightlife is good.

I don't find I meet many like minded people here, despite having a hobby, a sport, all that stuff. At 27, people seem keen to settle down.

Surely you'll find this anywhere you go though. Pretty much everyone in their late 20s that I know are buckling down with saving to get on the housing ladder... partying isn't a huge priority.
Maybe it's different in London though since its not so backwards

Why don't you try abroad? Loads of English speaking jobs while you learn, or remote working. I guess it depends on what you do.

I do feel like Leeds is a few decades behind... spoken with all the assurance of someone who wasn't around a few decades ago ;-)

I think there's a certain amount of luck in establishing friendships. (And I don't recognise the Leeds that you describe.) But London does have great opportunities, and people certainly seem to wait longer before doing the whole settling down and having kids stuff, so there may be more people

I moved to London from a Northern city and just wish I’d done it sooner. There is far more going on, and I agree that people here are less about settling down in their 20s. In fact, it’s only now, in my late 30s, that I am seeing people move out of london to start their families.

I found it easy to meet people through my hobbies, too.

One other suggestion is Bristol - really lovely and young city.

FormerlyFrika Actually I am 28 and live in London and I can testify that almost all my work peers and friends around my age are very much single and not settled at all.

The whole of Leeds is a few decades behind? is this going to turn into one of those threads about the amazingness of London ?

Ok so some of the Leeds infrastructure is ok and there are some nice bars, pubs etc. But I find the mindset of people quite backwards.

In my office there are around 20 of us under 30, and I'm the only single person.

That's not backwards. That's different.

Bullshit you get that everywhere some 20.odd year olds are settling down some are not you are making massive generalisations about an entire city

I live in a northern city (single and 28) and I wish I had the balls to move to London, so I'd say do it!

If it doesn't work out, then so what, at least you tried it!

I don't think it's a generalisation to say people in one city have a greater propensity to settle down.

That's not why I think it's backwards?