To want to move to the UK? And if not, what part to move to?

[Applecrumble9]

I am needing a little help at the moment trying to decide what to do. We are from Ireland, but really want/need a change. We don't have jobs where we can work remotely, we don't have a particularly "saught after" skillset etc but we think England may be a good choice for us, not "too" far. We absolutely love the English countryside, we find the people so friendly and helpful, we have never lived in England but have visited and always found there was so much more "on" for families etc.
We are also very unsure of where to look to move too? Somewhere relatively "safe" and "affordable" in today's standards, we absolutely love the outdoors and the sea but somewhere near the sea may be totally out of budget, we love the countryside but not sure if that would limit work opportunities?
Any information or tips would be so greatly appreciated.

Background info : married couple, in late 30's, moving towards early 40's, we will have 1 dc by the time we make the move (planning late 2026 for the move) we do not own our home, we are renting in Ireland (more by choice as we do have a deposit and mortgage approval but houses are so overpriced in Ireland and we don't feel "settled" here so buying seemed stupid unless we wanted to stay here for sure)

I work in disability suppport which is called "social care" here in Ireland, I have a Bachelor degree in social care but from what I've read I understand in England this may not be recognised quite the same, in Ireland I earn €40,000-€50,000 per year so that's roughly £33700-£42000 but from what I can see online I would only be earning £32000 per year in England in this line of work

My husband works in construction mainly driving diggers (excavators) and that line of work, he is pretty well paid at roughly €48,000 per year in Ireland. He has looked up work in England and a lot of it seems like short term work where maybe there is a job local for a couple of weeks/months and then you are out of work again (or maybe that is just how it is advertised) he would prefer a job where he could be home every evening so he wouldn't mind a change in sector, hes very hardworking and the type who can throw his hand to anything really, in terms of yearly salary its looking like about £35000 for him.

We would have about £60,000 in savings moving over which we would use to eventually put a deposit on a house.

So all in all we would have a combined salary of roughly £67,000 and we would need full time childcare for 1 young child, and to rent a 2 bed flat, probably need 2 cars, and we would like to get a yearly holiday in...

Is this do-able? Or are we totally mad? We need a change so desperately, we love so much about Ireland but it is wearing us down and sometimes a fresh start is needed. It looks like we would be taking a big hit in salary but the cost of living seems a lot cheaper in England.

Thank you to everyone for all of the amazing suggestions and information and advice both for and against the move. I am reading every comment and appreciate them all. We have visited Leeds, York, London, Yorkshire, Somerset, The Cotswolds and we've always found the people for the most part so genuine, friendly, chatty and kind. There has always been a nice atmosphere, and always something on and appears to be lots to do. We are hyper aware that holidaying is totally different to living somewhere, and we are aware of lots of the issues the UK is facing, Ireland seems to be facing lots of the same, as does Australia, Canada etc so we aren't necessarily trying to "run" from problems like rising crime, cost of living, high levels of immigration etc because these things are everywhere. But we just want a bit of a change, something to get us out of the rut we seem to be in. Ireland has so many benefits and we do love parts of living here, but where we live its a really small town, with no amenities, no gyms/fitness facilities at all, nothing banks, no real supermarket, no community feel, its a 2 hour drive to the nearest coast, moving somewhere else here is almost impossible because of the housing crisis and our rent is just about affordable in the town we're in but were we to move somewhere "better" rent would be taking so much of our wages it would hardly be worth it. We are a little lost on what to do but all of the advice has given us so much to think about and look in to. I like the idea of spending a few weeks in an area during maternity leave to get a feel for everyday life, I think that's something Im going to start looking in to x

Honestly, don't listen to all the doom mongers, saying what a dump the uk is. Those saying this have literally never lived in a truly bad country.

the work you do is everywhere in the uk so you could easily move to somewhere like Northumberland which has a beautiful if wild coastline, Newcastle is a great city but small towns and villages are available for affordable accommodation because much of it is ex mining. I’ve always found people so friendly though do your homework as there’s pockets of great deprivation. You could also look at County Durham and Teeside.

if you actually fancy the south look at Somerset, there’s a lot of social care and building work available, prices higher than the north but away from Bristol and Bath it’s more affordable than much of the south.

It's the wrong people. You're not a social worker, if I read your post correctly, you're a carer/support worker/outreach worker. It's care agencies/homes you need to speak to about your qualifications.

Social worker is the ones carrying out care act assessments to decide how much help someone is entitled to, removing children from abusive parents, organising old people to go into residential care homes, helping mentally ill people get their lives back together and helping decide who gets sectioned (hospitalised) etc.

Support worker is the one goes to homes to help disabled people access the community and it's services if they can't do that alone, carers do personal care like showering in clients home or working in a care home, outreach worker can range between like any other support worker to things like going out looking for homeless and checking they're ok.

I’m half Irish, my DP is Irish and I also think you’re crazy, Ireland is so much nicer 🤣. The education system here leaves a lot to be desired, yes there’s more to do but there’s not the same kind of community that you get in Ireland. Life for kids is definitely a lot more wholesome in Ireland!

Anyhow, if you’re determined to do it, I’d say you’re massively underestimating what your DH could earn in construction here. My DP and his siblings are construction workers and earn a lot more than £35k. If you want to PM me I can suggest a company he can contact for work, that seems to pretty much only have Irish people on their books, and they pay well.

For where to live look at the train lines and which ones are fast. National rail enquiries 08457 484950 are brilliant if you need help to plan a route and will tell you what platform to get on etc. So maybe one of you can commute if you running two cars is too much to start with and you want to live by the coast but work inland. Annual train tickets are the cheapest cost per use but obviously expensive to purchase and you only want that for a permanent job. Carer going to people's homes you'd be using your own car, so factor in business use car insurance because of travelling to multiple places of work per day. Ordinary car insurance only covers you for commuting to one place of work per day and not having clients in the car.

Your job is in demand, especially if you're actually good! Your husband if he's in construction you probably sign up for employment agencies get temporary work (you can do this for carers too), get known as a hard worker, the agency puts more effort into finding you work if you're reliable, the more you say yes the more they'll ask you first before anyone else.

Care company may call itself an agency but that's meaning the client can book a few hours here and there. For the staff you're the agency employee which could be temporary or permanent dependant on if it's an employment agency or a care provider company. Hope that makes sense. The difference is employment agency you've less rights but more autonomy, between placements you can decide you are having a week's holiday (unpaid usually, the "holiday pay" would form part of your hourly wage and paid in with that). Care company where you're permanent employee you'd have to ask for annual leave (paid) and it's at employer's discretion when because the entire staff can't all have Christmas off.

These employment agencies do permanent roles too just tell them to sign you up for both and provide CV. There's temporary (via the agency as your employer and the work placement as their client who they invoice) that's a few weeks or days here and there upto to ongoing with no end date depending on client's wishes, useful if you're not sure about staying in a particular area of UK because you can leave when you like with short notice period (and they can get rid of you quite easily too, so they're happier to take a chance on an unknown). Short term permanent contract of 3/6/9/12 months where the client is your employer or standard permanent job with no end date. Employer pays employment agency a finders fee for permanent roles, so agency puts effort into selling the product (which is you).

Oi! Birmingham is Brill. Hull on the other hand….

There are parts of Hull and the surrounding areas that are perfectly decent too and there's the waterfront, lovely old town, The Deep, lots of small museums, it's near the coast, countryside, market towns like Beverly and Driffield, there's a nice scuba diving and open water swimming lake on the outskirts, big concert arena. But MN can't help being negative about everywhere except a few small pockets of the country.

But OP, I don’t know anything about Northern Ireland but it sounds like that could be worth considering?

Irish in London here. I say go for it and aim for Yorkshire or Northumberland. Beautiful countryside, good cities etc. I'd move north if we could but partner's work keeps us in Central London.

You're right that there's loads to do, much better amenities, and groceries and utilities are far cheaper in the UK even in spite of inflation. The countryside can be stunning and there's so much fabulous and well preserved, accessible heritage.

Transport in all regions, even the worst served, is much better than Ireland.

Couple of watch outs..

Agree with others that the vibe here is very downbeat. Political culture is in the toilet. I'm back and forth constantly between UK and Ireland, and political and media culture are far more respectful and sophisticated in Ireland- honestly you'll be shocked at the division, chaos and general immaturity in public discourse.

We've also stopped trying to access the NHS as it's a loopy hunger games bun fight to get a GP appt. We're lucky to have insurance through partner's work.

Are you a social worker or care/support worker? Social workers are paid a reasonable amount, while carers and support workers end up on the minimum wage or just above it.

Your budget isn’t huge and work sounds a bit precarious for your DH. The cost of living here is also very high.

I think you’d struggle to afford much in the nicer parts of the south east, though that’s a generalisation.

I’d look at market towns in areas such as Warwickshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire. Places like Bridgnorth or Bewdley, but you may want/need somewhere bigger to avoid feeling isolated. Read up on local schools before making a decision.

North west - Preston has some nice areas and isn't far from the sea, close to the Lakes and Trough of Bowland

You have nothing to lose by trying it.

I agree with pp about Irish schools, here at secondary level it can be much harder to access a good one although if you are a practicing catholic you will have more options.

Think carefully about where you live as some of the countryside can be very isolated. You sound like you would prefer to live in a city or large town. York would be a good option but I have no idea re rents or job market.

I think it’s nice to read something positive about the UK on here and there are lovely parts and communities so don’t be put off. Although I did initially read Ireland as Iceland (early morn, not got specs on yet) which struck me as a strange origin for Anglophiles! Anyway, agree the north would be best, west or east, or central even. Always liked Sheffield area and it’s well connected for other regions too.

I work jn construction. Leeds could be a good shout as it’s central to Manchester, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Hull, Bradford etc which all seem to be constantly partially under construction .

You and your DH earn almost €100,000 combined in Ireland as a disability support worker and an unqualified labourer, You have savings of €70,000, have private health insurance and access to good schools.

I know you want a change and I wish I could suggest to you to consider moving to Australia or Canada, but you would need additional qualifications in order to qualify for a work visa. Countries in the Middle-East are also out as they pay immigrants low wages to do these jobs and treat them like slaves.

Moving to England is an option. However, you won't earn anywhere near €100,000. The places where you are likely to be able to find secure employment will not be the cheapest to live in. You will likely find it challenging to pay your bills. You are unlikely to be able to build up substantial savings or to be in a position to pay private health insurance and you will be very lucky if you live in an area with access to good schools. You have a lot to lose by moving here.

Have you considered Scotland? The Clyde coast is near to Glasgow. There are a lot of construction opportunities in the Glasgow area and heaven knows a need for social care personnel. Also there is more of a cultural similarity between the Scots and the Irish. Just sayin'

If you are a social worker, you'll have to do overseas qualifications registration. They seem to expect an MA though for equivalence. And as others say, care work will be much lower paid.
Overseas applicant guidance - Social Work England https://share.google/ifEa6VZK2ud2l7shE

I'd agree with the advice to go north. Cornwall and SW, and coastal Wales are lovely, but outside a few cities work is scarce and living costs are high.

People are getting confused because of the terminology. OP said she helps people with disability in an area called social care in Ireland. That's a support worker of some description. We also call that social care in UK, but most lay people who've had no experience of it won't know that. They're reading "social care" and equating it with social workers. It's linked, in that often it's social workers (who work for the councils social services department) who organise social care. But it's the care agencies, support workers, carers etc who provide the social care. I don't see anything from OP to suggest she is a social worker.

Does it have to be England? Some of Scotland might also be suitable and still easy to get back home to Ireland.

I have sent you a PM, Would love more information on that company.
Thank you so much

This is so helpful. Thank you so much

Im a support worker, I have a Bachelor degree from Ireland in "social care work" my job here is in a disability day service where I put support plans in place for service users, say for example socialising could be one so then I will organise activities suitable to that service user that promotes socialising. The same for say "fitness" ill organise swimming lessons/yoga etc and take the service user to these (there's a lot more to it & a lot more paperwork etc but that's the basics)
I've also worked as a family support worker which was basically working with families where someone may be suffering with addiction/mental health/abuse etc and Ill work to support that family and link them to services, provide information and support with the basics, report any safeguarding concerns, attend court cases where necessary, that kind of thing x

I am Irish and living in England.. i like it.

I think if anyone grows up in Ireland , we often just want a change.

Its nice to live somewhere new and see somewhere different, that ia a bit bigger.

There are a lot of support worker jobs in England.

The same kind of jobs are here.

You can interview from Ireland and get a job before you come over