Can't decide between Manchester or London!

[runnerbean09]

Currently live in Manchester. I went to uni here, lived elsewhere (midlands) for a bit then moved back last year. I'm not sure about the city and have been thinking about moving to London.

Pros of Manchester
Can afford to buy a house here - that's my biggest influencer so far. I'm quite fed up of sharing.
Have reasonably well paid job - 34k current salary
Makes sense to settle here as it is affordable
Haven't made a huge effort socially

Cons of Manchester
Have struggled to find friends here. At my age people seem settled down and I'm not anywhere near that
Don't have the London experience
Salaries overall are lower

I don't have family in either city so that doesn't sway my decision.

Am 28, single and work in advertising.

Wwyd?

No brainer for me in your shoes.
Manchester a large UK city.
London a world city that I utterly adore.

London London London

You’ve done pros and cons of Manchester, why not do the same for London?

London. If you work in advertising you will go a whole lot further there and the workplace social life is so much better. You'll probably be in a house share though, if that doesn't bother you.

London every time!

I go to and from both of them and I would prefer Manchester to live. London is fine, but it’s really unfriendly compared to Manchester. Manchester is far more relaxed, you don’t ever get that in London.
London has nicer places to visit though, London has more jobs. It depends what you’re after to be honest.
Easier to meet friends in Manchester as a general rule, people in London have cliques and very close knit groups.
Found it much easier to get around London

London, definitely, so much more potential there. And I'm from very near Manchester & have lived and worked there, great, but just not the same. Go!

Pros and cons of London

Pros
Much better for my career
Probably better socially - my experience of it is that people can't afford to settle down at a younger age so don't
Get the experience whilst I'm relatively young
More going on
Potentially easier to meet a partner!

Cons
Expensive and no hope of living alone or buying
Have to share - I'm used to sharing but I'm a bit fed up of it
Potentially isolating as I don't know many people

I'm worried my experience of London is through rose-tinted glasses as it's mainly from being with and visiting ex dp who has a gorgeous 4 bed house in Hackney - I won't be living like this!

I do own a house in the midlands so I am on the ladder. It's up for sale in order to buy in Manchester but I could let it again.

What would you earn in London? What sort of thing do you actually want out of life? They both offer things the other doesn't, but some of the things Manchester does better at than London don't matter if you're rich.

Have you got friends in London? Otherwise it would probably be best to focus on finding activities to help you make friends where you are

I don't have many friends in London but haven't got many here either! I've only been here a year and have been focussed on work, logistics of finding somewhere to live etc. I'm quite lonely but maybe moving to a new city wouldn't really help.

London all the way for me. Moved here 6 years ago and have no intention of leaving anytime soon.

So basically the only swaying factor is the “London experience” and only you will know how important that is compared to the rest

I was 28 and sharing on London with two kiwis, 30 and 31.

Absolutely brilliant two years.

London is the place I’d choose over anywhere anytime. Doesn’t mean it’s right for you but London fills my heart

Hithere would you say 28 is too old to move?

No not at all

It’s not really a comparison OP.

Manchester is like a suburban town compared with London

It is what floats your boat. As a pp said, my heart belongs to London even though I moved out five years ago.

London for advertising.

I found it easier to make friends in London that any other place apart from backpacking around the world many years ago There is a scene for everything.

London. Better opportunities. And the ‘London isn’t friendly’ that people say just isn’t true. people are very friendly but you have to put yourself out there. It’s a world city so diverse to say the least. That suits some, and won’t others.

London. You can always leave!

I moved to London at 27, knowing three other people here. You’re in a much better position than I was then as you a) make more money and b) own a house elsewhere. I loved it, and still do! You can totally make friends through Meetup groups or hobbies, plus work colleagues. I also found houseshares a good way to make friends - my long term flat mate was one of my bridesmaids! And I met DH here .

I think you will find it easier to find friends in London. As you say, in Manchester people have settled down and often have their own social circle as they're from there or went to uni there. In London people do settle later and often have come by themselves, from all kinds of other places and don't have a big group of childhood friends there.

I’m a born and bred Londoner, and have lived here all my life except for one year elsewhere in the UK.

I stay in London as my small family live here, but unfortunately I live at the opposite end to them, and I’m 1.5 hours away which is far too far away for my liking. Aside from this, my non-Londoner DH would never move away from London - he even considers zone 4 to be an undesirable place to live as it’s too far from the centre.

If my family didn’t live here, and my DH didn’t put his foot down so much, or if I was single, I’d definitely move away from London. I’d probably only go to Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey or Kent.

If I had no ties to London, I definitely wouldn’t consider moving here. Everything is far too expensive, yet you constantly feel like you want to spend money, and making friends is next to impossible. My DH has been here for 13 years and despite being very sociable, joining various clubs etc, he hasn’t made one single friend. I’ve made 3 friends, but they’re all from countries towards the other side of the world. 2 of them have moved back, and the other one is going back next year.

Don’t waste your time and money here, go elsewhere (and I mean that in a nice way). What about Bath or Bristol, if you’re not sure about Manchester?

Manchester, unless your going to be on a huge salary you will have to house share in London whereas you can have your own house in Manchester. It’s a smaller city but you just get so much more for your money in the north.

Did London for 13 years, moved for love/for a house rather than tiny flat (which I was lucky enough to own).
I'm in Manchester now (since 2015) but it hasn't won me over and whenever I go to London for work (at least once a fortnight) I almost physically ache where I miss it so much!