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?

Manchester.

My experience of living in London is that it's not what we imagine. I studied there and stayed in the halls. I really enjoyed it then as in the middle of it all and had time and energy to make the most of it.

Then I got a FT job, had no choice but to get a house in Zone 3, and experienced the same than my neighbour and that is after commuting every day, with the stress and tiredness that goes with it, the last thing I cared to do during the week-end was to commute again and after a couple of years, I hardly got to enjoy what London offered.

For this reason, I would definitely pick Manchester.

You're 28 and single - this does not have to be a forever decision.

You could give London a try for a couple of years, then go back to Manchester if you wanted. One rule I'd set myself in your position would be "do not take a job in London for less than my current pay + 5K" - you do not want to go backwards in your career, and there should be a London weighting in any job you go after.

I know both cities well. At my age and stage I'd go for Manchester simply because I could afford a house there, but at age 28 two more years of renting won't stop you ever getting on the housing ladder.

The making friends thing is really luck of the draw. I struggled in London, personally, but I don't think it's the city itself, I really think sometimes you fall on your feet in life and sometimes you have to work harder. (A similar thing happened when I had DC - for some reason I didn't click with any of the women I met at baby groups - then went back to work and made loads of really good friends through DS's nursery. It wasn't that the first group were bad people and the second nicer, just that through chance I wasn't on the same wavelength. It happens).

(Yes, Manchester is provincial compared to London - but compared to much of the UK it's fabulous - two symphony orchestras, an opera house, loads of theatre, art galleries... Much better countryside nearby as well, and only a couple of hours to the Lakes or North Wales. On the other hand, London has the Proms, the National Gallery, Covent Garden, the science museum, easy access to Europe.)

I've lived in both & would say that London isn't a place to settle unless you are fantastically well paid or have family there. I no longer live in either but could never move back to London, it's exhausting. I would move back to Manchester in a heart beat. Dating is actually harder in London as it's so spread our. No brainer for me in your shoes.

London, particularly in the summer, as a 20/30 year old is, quite simply, the best place on the planet.