Moving to Belfast from London

[pouchkine]

Hi!

DH and I are thinking of moving to Belfast from London. He is from NI, near Enniskillen, not familiar with Belfast save for QUB. I'm English/mixed.

We want to move to start a family (we're about 30), and though we love London, it's not really somewhere we see family life to be. We're both in good professional jobs in London, though obviously now working from home 90%+ of the time, and likely to stay that way even with the vaccine. A colleague now lives in (L)Derry NI with her fiance, travels to London when needed.

Any advice appreciated - should we do it? What are the pitfalls? Anyone done the same?

It will be a big culture shock. Belfast is tiny but Belfast people think it's the centre of the known universe. Housing wise look at South Belfast or at a stretch Belmont/Ballyhackamore in East Belfast. You will be amazed at the housing stock (lovely Victorian double fronted efforts) and the price. Look at sites like PropertyPal for buying/rentals.
In normal times Belfast has quite a good social and arts scene. There are some lovely independent, local traders and an emerging foodie scene. It's easy to get out to the country or coast quickly.
People are generally friendly but as everywhere casual racism and misogyny can raise their heads.
I'm not from Belfast but lived there for 9 years and still work there. I've moved out to the sticks now.

@BadEyeBri

It will be a big culture shock. Belfast is tiny but Belfast people think it's the centre of the known universe. Housing wise look at South Belfast or at a stretch Belmont/Ballyhackamore in East Belfast. You will be amazed at the housing stock (lovely Victorian double fronted efforts) and the price. Look at sites like PropertyPal for buying/rentals. In normal times Belfast has quite a good social and arts scene. There are some lovely independent, local traders and an emerging foodie scene. It's easy to get out to the country or coast quickly. People are generally friendly but as everywhere casual racism and misogyny can raise their heads. I'm not from Belfast but lived there for 9 years and still work there. I've moved out to the sticks now.

Grew up in Belfast. Now a longtime Londoner. Think this is a good summary.

You will find the housing stock amazingly cheap but the city to be very, well, provincial by comparison. NI is still much more conservative than the rest of the UK in a number of ways. Don't underestimate how deeply the history of the Troubles is worked into things as well. I don't mean by that that you are going to actively find any trouble or feel hostility coming from England, but there are still very real fault lines between communities.

I'd be a bit hesitant to assume that work will stay completely remote indefinitely, and the opportunities will definitely be far fewer in Belfast.

Schools were pretty mixed in quality in my day, although there are/were some very high quality grammars.

Agree south Belfast probably the best area to consider purchasing in if budget suits

Or you could consider other locations slightly outside Belfast eg Holywood , Bangor or Lisburn

www.propertypal.com

Is the city life you are looking for? If not there are other good locations which would probably work well from a home working perspective as you are never more than an hour from BFS from anywhere in NI.
Enniskillen itself is a stunning area as is the north coast eg portstewart and a bit more detached from historical troubles and with very good schools

Have you spent any time in NI? Of not I would do a trial move if possible.

It will be a big change (I have lived and worked in both). Main thing I would say is try it for a year or two renting. Do NOT sell your London home till you are really sure.

There is lots to like about NI - the property you can get is amazing, it’s not a long hours culture, grammar schools, great countryside, people are friendly, it’s safe and family orientated.

However... I think it’s a tough place to move to if you don’t have family - even in MC Belfast, socialising is very family orientated, and it can be hard to make meaningful friends. Work opportunities are few (I would not assume WFH will last for ever). Even Belfast can be pretty dull if you are used to a vibrant city. Also - it is still quite a traumatised place, and while misogyny, racism and homophobia are found everywhere, you will find they are closer to the surface in NI.

Thank you for the helpful advice!

We are thinking of spending some time (when restrictions ease...) in Belfast to test the waters, and will definitely have to see how our workplaces deal with the eventual return to office. Ideally we're hoping that one or both of us will be able to do 100% remote, but it will not be the end of the world if we end up travelling to London frequently or if we have to try to transition to jobs based in NI in the medium term (though we do have to think about this one a bit more).

I think our main drivers are the living environment - more space, friendlier (overall), good schools. I haven't lived in Belfast, but spent all of my teenage years in Liverpool, and hope it's not too different! We definitely want to be in Belfast itself, though, as we are more "city", and South looks great (thanks for the heads up!). We are a little bit concerned about the "culture shock" (or reverse culture shock for DH), but I guess no knowing until we try...

There was lots of good info on this thread from someone making the same move. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3911121-to-ask-how-to-relocate-to-Belfast?pg=1

Thank you Atlanticpa for including the link to the other thread. I had been following it a while back before the OP moved, so it was lovely to catch up on her journey and see they've moved and are settling in well.
I forgot what a friendly bunch we are here!

Belfast is the best kept secret.....shuuuuuush🤫

Lived in Hong Kong, then London, then Belfast when we had our first baby. Amazing houses for peanuts, great schools for free, NHS and good focus on family life. Downsides are shit weather and shit salaries. If you keep your London salaries, you'll be golden!

Well there are good visa reasons if you're trying to start a family. Automatic EU passport for your children.

Thank you @Atlanticpa for the link - that is really helpful!

Would def recommend Ballyhack, it’s really come up since 2000s and nearly feels like a village with v good transport links into the city centre. It’s also getting more mixed and schools would be v good esp if your child can get into a grammar (30-40% children). Alternatively it’s not in Belfast but 20 mins out is Holywood which is lovely, with good schools and the beach. South Belfast is alright, but can get very expensive and I’ve found people from there to be quite up themselves! I’d always said I’d never move back but it’s getting tempting now..
I think the pitfalls is it can be fairly insular but the people are friendly and the quality of living vs the cost is very good! My brother is a doctor and when he speaks to his equivalents in London they’re amazed at his quality of life as he doesn’t do private work. Re schools, there aren’t that many private schools. I can only think of 2/3 private secondaries and there’s a few private preps attached to state grammars. I know the children of one of the richest men in Northern Ireland went to grammar schools!

We've made a similar move recently. I'm from NI, dh is a Londoner. I've been trying for a decade to get my dh to move and he finally agreed! He has settled better than me and loves it. It's not as backward as people (people who haven't lived here) made it out to be apparently! He got a job with the same salary. I've got a higher salary. We're mortgage free and have a bigger and nicer house! Dc at a local school which is Miles better than where she was.

We looked at south Belfast but the houses were relatively expensive and small. We also looked at stormont area which I love, but in the end settled on jordanstown. A few minutes walk to the sea, cafes, bars, restaurants on your doorstep, direct train into Belfast (about 10-15 I think) and 5ish miles by car. We love it! If you need any removals recommendations then I can't rate the Dixon line highly enough. A local business and half the London prices we were quoted.

Thanks @pouchkine & others it's great to hear all the positives about NI and Belfast. Hope you don't mind my posting this message here too. My DH and I are planning a similar move. We live in an up and coming area (read drug dealers still lurking but a nice vegan cafe has popped up recently! 😁) in SE London and have a 6 month old DS. DH works in private sector and I work for the NHS, job wise we should both be able to find work fairly easily - I hope. My husband is white and from east Belfast, I'm black and a Londoner through and through. DH's family in Belfast are lovely and I really enjoy visiting and am very tempted to move, not least for a quieter life, and cheaper housing. Apart from leaving family and friends my other main concern is the reception we are likely to get as a mixed family and our son as a mixed race person. I'm fine with being in a minority and have lived in other parts of the UK with not many, black or brown faces. I think what I'm worried about is whether we'll have any overt racial abuse that might make our day to day lives difficult. This is my first ever post and not sure whether this is poor etiquette to tag on bit wondered whether anyone could speak to this concern of ours? I'd really like to hear that these worries are just in my head and we should hurry up and book the moving van! 😁

@Boustersmum I have really noticed that south belfast is definitely the most ethnically mixed area I’ve seen (I’m not from there or living there so not biased). There’s a school called st brides off the Malone road that I was sitting outside (waiting for an appointment) and I was really wowed by how solidly mixed the pupils seemed. Methody is round the corner which has historically had one of the most diverse intakes because of its (now closed) boarding dept.

All of you beware it is absolute true that it is quietly socially conservative in a way of completely forgotten. What I mean is that ‘respectability’ is highly prized, family absolutely at the forefront, and sometimes you try to make friends only to find that they go to the golf club/rugby club every weekend with their own kids and their parents and cousins and nothing will ever ever change that. I came back after leaving a motley tribe of friends who were like family to me. I still miss them!

@Boustersmum I share some of your worry, and am hoping Belfast being a decent sized city isn't half bad!

DH and I are still pretty keen but delaying the decision for now, or at least until the lockdown eases...

Thanks @Tooearlyforsquats checked out St Bride's website and it looks a great and diverse school. Very positive.

Thanks @pouchkine. Would be good to know how you get on. All the best with your future plans

There was a great thread about this a while back.
There was some great information regarding schools, areas to live etc.
The OP had moved during this summer and was able to be well organised using the helpful info she was given.
I wish I could find it.

I live near the jordanstown university of Ulster campus and there's quite a bit of diversity due to uni academics. The local school is very diverse and welcoming.

I found the thread @pouchkine

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3911121-to-ask-how-to-relocate-to-Belfast

@Huginamugg thank you so much!

Doh, I see Atlanticapa has linked it up thread.
Oh well, so good we named it twice

Hi I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice please. My husband is from Belfast and we are looking to move back. I have 2 little boys 4 and 6 my youngest is being assessed for autism. We are looking at areas from Hollywood, Bangor and round that costal area. I was wondering if anyone can recommend any schools that would be good for both of them, one that would be suitable for my youngest. I’m just a bit nervous about moving to be honest 😊 x

The whole area from from Helens Bay, Bangor, Groomsport is really an underappreciated scenic area, fantastic costal walks, watersports, train from Bangor-Belfast, amazing accessible beaches with no crowds, etc. I think you'll really really like it!

We didn't have kids at the time but our closest neighbours kids traveled to Our Lady and St Patrick's College (called "the Knock") and did really great there.

Your DH being from NI is a great advantage, his insight will be invaluable. Being English I had no real understanding of the level of sectarianism until I lived there.