Moving to Whitehaven what work could I do

[Quadri]

Hello everyone I am soon moving to Whitehaven from GCC currently doing an exceutive job here not sure I wil find similar nearby? alternatively I will be considering some business any good ideas what sells there or nearby places?

@Quadri, I lived in Whitehaven during the week for a a couple of years when I work at Sellaffield. Social deprivation in the area is high - as borne out in Map 2 here. I'm not convinced that this part of the works wild give your children a beneficial start in life or rosy career prospects.

There are a number of tech companies (and few others) based at Westlakes on that West Cumbria post - possibly some finance opportunities there, but there won't be any large corporate HOs. Westlakes

And if you're moving soon.... you'll need a big coat!

I lived there for five years. I agree with others. It’s a very deprived area and quite backwards in its thinking. There is very little to do. Your children would find it very hard to fit in and it would be a massive culture shock. Honestly, just don’t it. The countryside is beautiful but that’s it.

Also the schools are dreadful.

Your children would not get better career/education in Whitehaven. I’d think you were doing your children a disservice by this move. How about Cockermouth or Keswick and your wife commuting in.

Nooooo you can't move to Whitehaven. Move to Keswick and your wife can commute. God, even Carlisle would be better.

I’m not sure this is completely true. There’s been huge investment in education in the area. West Lakes Academy has a pretty good reputation. They’re not going to match international schools in Gulf states though.

Hell of a drive too!

A bastard of a drive in winter

Oh dear, some of these comments make me sad.

We moved to West Cumbria 12 years ago from an urban area down south and we love it.

Yes there's no John Lewis but they deliver. Plus we have an abundance of independent shops in our towns selling some fab stuff. No Waitrose but Keswick has a Booths and my town has an amazing butchers, greengrocers, fishmongers, bakers all selling good quality produce. I'm not sure what else you would need?

Cumbria has a wonderful food heritage and our local pubs and restaurants do some great grub.

It's a shame you haven't felt welcome here, that hasn't been my experience at all. I've made some wonderful friends, both from people who have always lived here and people who have moved here for work.

My kids are thriving at school. Class sizes tend to be smaller around here and the local secondary to me has a higher than average proportion of children going to Oxbridge.

We might not have the West End but local theatres do put on good shows, have you ever checked any of them out?

Plus the Lake District is on our doorstep.

OP, I think it really depends on your outlook and how you approach the move. If you're coming from the Gulf then it will be a culture shock, but my husband has recruited people from around the world and they have settled in well, I'm sure you will as well. I wish you all the best for your move.

@CaptainSamCarter

Yes I know we have a Booths , and yes my dh and I regularly visit Theatre by the Lake , we actually support them by paying monthly as well to be a ' friend '.
I haven't said I don't feel welcome , I have said it can be harder to settle because of the lack of many facilities and that can be a shock .
I sure you will agree that it is not culturally diverse , there is no way you can argue that and if you read all the posts you will see that is agreed by the majority.

With all due respect to the other points you make, there’s only one reason that Oxbridge numbers are high for your local schools and it has nothing to do with the intelligence of the children.

That is not remotely respectful or fair, @GiltEdges

This would an unkind and unwise move for your children. Consider other larger cities.

Wow talk about snobbery! You've really shown who you are there!

I mentioned one school. And it's because of a range of factors. It's a very good school, they focus on a culture of high achievement and put a lot of work into ensuring the children can reach their full potential. They get excellent results. Pretty sure A Level examination boards don't take location into account when awarding those top marks.

Of course it also helps that a significant majority of the children come from highly educated families thanks to Sellafield and associated tech companies bringing in people into the area.

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

There are areas of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset with similar levels of diversity to Cumbria yet you never hear Mumsnet dismissing them as "uncultured" etc. I'm guessing that's because they are more middle class and therefore more acceptable.

I don’t understand this comment (genuinely). What’s the reason for a higher than average Oxbridge intake then?

Are you in Whitehaven? Your post sounds like you might be in a nicer area of West Cumbria?

I wouldn’t say Whitehaven has an abundance of jobs or smaller than average class sizes.

They are suggesting that our children only get in because they are from a poor background and therefore help Oxbridge meet a quota.

It's nothing more than middle class snobbery that prevents them from being able to recognise the achievements of hard working staff and pupils from what they consider to be a backward part of the country based on outdated stereotypes.

Look at consultancies that have local offices?

Has your wife actually got a job in Whitehaven or is she planning to get one when you move there? If she doesn't have a job then consider the other larger northern cities. Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool. I don't understand why you want to move to Whitehaven. You won't get the educational and employment opportunities you're hoping for your children there. Come and visit first before you make a very big mistake uprooting your family.

There are areas of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset with similar levels of diversity to Cumbria yet you never hear Mumsnet dismissing them as "uncultured" etc. I'm guessing that's because they are more middle class and therefore more acceptable.

Now who is being snobbish? The OP didn't ask about those areas. Personally I am not familiar with Somerset, but I would have given exactly the same advice if they had suggested some areas of Devon and Cornwall. And actually I didn't think that the pp was suggesting that the higher than average entrance to Oxbridge was due to quotas - I actually read it as the fact that the school has a concentration of pupils from educated families working at Sellafield, which is exactly your own point! That said, even if one school gets pupils into great universities, that does not change the demographics, the insularity or the lack of people like themselves that the children would experience.

So I’m a bit late to this but here we go.
(I’ll be honest, I half read the thread and skimmed the rest)

Im from Whitehaven. Born and bread. Educated in local schools and work in the area. I’m going to be brutally honest about the area. It’s not a nice read.

Jobs in Whitehaven area

• Sellafield
• LLWR (pretty much Sellafield)
• Atkins
• NNL
• Jacobs
• Trades (electricians, plumbers ect)
• The hospital
• Tesco/B&M/Aldi/Argos
• Halifax
• Schools
• The garage/petrol station

Jobs in west Cumbria area commutable to places such as Workington, cockermouth, maryport and Keswick (using your own car, no such thing as public transport and assuming you’re willing to travel that far)

• See list above
• Hospitality industry
• Cleaning

If you have kids
Whitehaven has some good primary schools and some rubbish ones. Compared to the national average (for P8/results) the best ones are just average
Whitehaven has 2 secondary school, one is catholic and a bit rubbish from what I’m hearing from parents/friends with kids. The other has been in special measures but is now out and possibly going in the right direction.
Noticed a previous poster talking about a ‘naice’ school. Yeah, those don’t exist in west Cumbria. You do get them in Keswick and the southern lakes though.

The town
We don’t have a high street any more - it’s just charity shops and boarded up buildings. If you want decent shopping it’s 2.5 hours to Newcastle/Glasgow/Edinburgh/Manchester (assuming you have a car, like I said, no public transport)

The old “it’s near the lakes”
Yeah, forget it. In the winter it’s freezing and too cold/snowy/flooded to get up the fells. In the summer it’s full of tourists and you can’t get near the fells.

The culture
Despite some very open minded people who don’t really care who you are or anything about your background/gender/sexuality/race/whatever, there are a LOT of people who will.
Prepare for open racism. Yes, people can be very openly racist in the streets and no one will stop them. Some people have a real hatred of ‘outsiders’ especially those of a different race. I’ve witnessed some pretty nasty incidents.
Its a very insulated place. Everyone knows everyone’s business, you can’t hide anything and people will talk about it and ask you about it around other people even when you want to keep it to yourself. Well tough. You can’t.
Its a very deprived area and wages are generally very low. Despite what others have said, Sellafield wages aren’t that much better these days for people on the new terms and conditions. Yes, on the old terms and conditions they are good. But you won’t get those.
Most people who move to the area leave with 12 months - FACT!

Are there any good things?
Yes, Whitehaven is what you make of it. If you have tough skin and integrate with the locals, get involved with the community and are a generally nice person people will welcome you (there will still be some to say won’t). If you can cope with the deprivation and the fact we don’t exist on a map as far as London concerned, you will cope. If you want to make Cumbria your home and can find a job you like and can live with the low wages you will find that it’s a lovely part of the world. Yes, it’s difficult to get to the lakes. But the lakes isn’t the whole of Cumbria. Once integrated into the community you will learn about wonderful parts of the county only know to locals, you will be part of a community that is so unique that doesn’t exist anywhere else, where people still sit in the street on deckchairs and talk to each other, where kids can go out and play in the street at the age of 4 and the community will keep and eye on them. A place that time forgot and people learned to live without help from anyone but the community. It’s the communities that make Whitehaven, not the lakes or the jobs or the non existent facilities or the broken government promises.

It will be a culture shock. It is what you make of it. But try and integrate and it’ll be fine.

Finally, would I move to Whitehaven if I wasn’t from here - No.
(I did try escaping once, but the culture shock to civilisation was too much and I ran straight back home)

On and I forgot to mention.

Phone signal and the internet!

We have a signal booster in our house because we don’t get phone signal. We also don’t know what 5G is.

WiFi - I have no hope working from home, a lot of people can’t, the WiFi can’t even cope with Skype or teams. And forgot streaming anything.

So WFH might not be a viable option for you.

@Quadri what did you decide? Are you moving to Whitehaven which doesn't sound suitable for your family at all. You're better off staying where you are.

There's a private school on the east side of Carlisle.
Nearer to Carlisle you are handier for station and motorway.