To move out of London to Northern Ireland?

[InternetArgument]

I realised the other day that I have been trying not to think about all the reasons I’m anxious about staying in london. I have one 2 year old and another on the way.

I’ve had enough of the stress of living here. I have a large house, very small mortgage and it is lovely in one of the nicest areas in the locality.

Im sick of the crime, stress and pollution. DH and I both have ties to Ireland and we have been to the north before and loved it - city, town and country.

AIBU to want to cash out and run to the hills?

Thinking of near Derry or Belfast.

[isabellerossignol]

I’m interested in the comments about rigid recruitment process. I’ve never worked outside NI so have nothing to compare it too. How does it differ in the rest of the U.K.?

I see people all the time on Mumsnet saying 'even if you don't meet all the essential criteria for a job, you should apply anyway and show them how you could do the job anyway'. That would never work here, because if you don't already have the experience you'll just not get an interview.

The HR department where I work seem to spend half their working day dealing with phonecalls from applicants from elsewhere in the UK (the jobs are well paid, so people are willing to move here for them) who are absolutely furious at not having secured an interview, despite not having met the criteria.

[MrsFudge]

Also why NI? You say you have connections to Ireland, do you have family in NI itself? If not, personally I would think moving to the countryside in England would give you much of the benefits of NI without the difficulties of fitting in to a really quite different culture.

[Minesapineappledelight]

"Give it a try, you never know"

I bloody do know, I don't have two years paid experience, three years voluntary experience, and eight qualifications in being a trapeze artist, plus they want to know all about my sexual preferences on the equalities form

[CheekyChappy710]

@ILoveMaxiBondi yes I'm aware shes in London. Also....sarcasm.

[ILoveMaxiBondi]

NI is beautiful and lots of positives but not perfect by any stretch.

I don’t think anyone is under any illusions about that!

[hopeishere]

The equalities form doesn't count to getting an interview.

I think its more that jobs are advertised and there's less word of mouth recruitment as you have to show it was open to everyone and not just a "jobs for the boys" situation.

[ILoveMaxiBondi]

Also....sarcasm.

Yes, I got your sarcasm, that’s why I responded as I did.

[Nuyearnume]

I often wonder why people don’t move here ! Cheap houses,plenty of outdoor space and we are all Great craic!

[powershowerforanhour]

You could always fly over from London at weekends and fill your suitcase with Knotts cakes. They are very stackable. One suitcaseful should last you about a week, unless you have lots of people calling round your house for cups of tea in which case I'd say Wednesday morning coffee time, max.

[NeverTalksToStrangers]

Schools is a big thing. In general the schools here are fantastic and vast majority are state funded. Primary standards are high everywhere afaik. Yes, there's less options for secondary aged children who don't pass the transfer test but the proportion of children who DO get into grammar schools is quite high (I don't know the stats but I'd say at least a third). Your choice will be more limited if you rule out catholic education, but if that is something you would consider, you certainly don't have to prove that you go to mass like in English faith schools.

We don't get the free childcare hours but there's free provision for nursery school or playschool for most children aged 3-4. Some areas can be harder to get a place (especially for first borns), but more classes have been awarded in recent years. These might be removed with all the cuts to education budgets, but I haven't heard this if it is the case.

I don't believe NI is an intolerant and unfriendly place. Some areas, yes, but on the whole, most of the people I know are not bigoted and see the political situation for the shit show that it is. I personally prefer Derry to Belfast. People from Belfast tend to take themselves too seriously and the accent is atrocious .

[isabellerossignol]

People from outside of N Ireland are often a bit horrified at the thought of the grammar school system but I don't think that not getting into a grammar school leaves children with a second rate education. The non grammars are mostly very good as well, although obviously there are exceptions. In the area where I live, the two hardest schools to get into are non grammars and plenty of kids don't even sit the transfer test because their parents prefer to send them to the non grammar even though they would probably get into grammar school if they wanted to.

[Zofrasi]

Ive seen far more violence and anti-social behaviour on a Saturday night in small and medium sized towns in the UK than in South Tottenham, where I live, which is a lovely community minded place.

[Minesapineappledelight]

I don't think we are intolerant the way people think we are. Apart from the minority of nutcases. I think there's a things amongst some of the older lot too, where what people say and what they do tend to be two different things. Take an elderly relative of mine

"Isn't it terrible about Ashers having to make that gay cake? It's not right. Thon gays."

Me- "but your grandson is gay and you have him and his partner round every Sunday for dinner, and you offered his partner a lend of your Avon catalogue because he told you he wears makeup on Saturday nights"

Relative - "sure that's different. Our Darren was born that way. It was obvious from he was a wean"

Me -

Not saying it's the right attitude because it's not, it's just not always as simple as "cesspool of hate"

[sm40]

We live in London but dh is from NI.
Whilst the schools are fab and we could live in a mansion, it's usually grey (when we are there!) and mil gets excited if The weather gets over 20c! We went in the middle of the heatwave in London last year and shivered over there.
My dh Fled as soon as he could. As it's small everyone seems to know your business.
But lovely beaches and traybakes!

[Cocolepew]

Newtownards is lovely all year round actually.
The people who live there are without doubt the nicest in all of N.I.
😇😇

[Doubletrouble99]

I know this is a thread about NI but have you ever considered Northern England or Scotland. We live in the Scottish Borders now have lived in London for years. 40mins by train and we are in the middle of Edinburgh with all it's culture and fantastic stuff for kids. Gorgeous beaches and fantastic scenery. Good salaries too, obviously not as high as London but not the same costs.

[peachgreen]

I did exactly that a few years ago OP - moved from lovely leafy South London to NI. It was a massive culture shock and I regretted it LOADS at first but now I don't think I could go back. I love it here. People are a thousand times friendlier (and I didn't find London unfriendly), the schools are great, the food is amazing, lower cost of living more than makes up for the wage gap, the countryside is beautiful, work/life balance is way better, etc etc. The only cons, for me, are that I miss theatre - there IS good theatre in NI and a great arts scene but not the off-West End musicals that I love - and the fact that it is expensive to get back to see my family - and that I have to prepare for my kids moving away for uni (not a given, but I guess more likely). In my experience, unless you live in a particularly dodgy area (which we did when we first moved here and it was fine, just a bit more open with its biases!) sectarianism isn't really an issue - more just something people joke about - and the weather isn't significantly different really, other than not getting as hot in the summer.

That said I would also wait to see what happens with Brexit. It'll be make or break for NI, I think.

[powershowerforanhour]

You probably have the best calf muscles anyway, from all those wee strolls in Killynether wood (the name sounds sweet doesn't it? I hadn't reckoned on scrambling up what is basically a mountainside with leaf mould sliding under my feet, tripping over massive tree roots and miniature schnauzers).

[Minesapineappledelight]

And from the new wellbeing and leisure complex, weirdly named after an alcoholic party boy who crashed his car after a night of gambling and revelry

[Minesapineappledelight]

Sorry Coco. Rather have the blue skies of Ards than the grey skies of Bangor etc

[Cocolepew]

You know it's the truth

[Howzaboutye]

Yep my DH is definitely the wee English fellah now!
And would be forever more, if we moved back

I am mightily pissed off at people in England not understanding me though. I don't have a strong accent, but I get very blank looks. It's wearing.

[RedTitsMcGinty]

Oh Christ, no. The first 25 years of my life in NI was barely tolerable. No way am I leaving London to go back to a country with that shower of shites in charge, not that they’re even in charge anymore. Not for all the fifteens in the world. Maybe when abortion is available and marriage equality is in place. Maybe then. Just for the sodas.

[watsmyname]

Maybe rent for a period before committing. Getting back onto London property market could be very difficult if you decide it's not for you. But NI is

[watsmyname]

Brilliant and I wouldn't move anywhere else. Even with the government as it is 🙄