Want to move out of London- job hunt tips; IT project manager.

[Led921900]

Hi all, I want to leave London to head back to the Wirral in the north west where my family are. I’m a technology senior project manager and a bit of jack of all trades; infrastructure, virtualization, networks and bit of software development/launches.

My current job wants me in London 2 days a week so if I move back I can’t afford it 2 train tickets z
Could I have tips on north west jobs? Remote jobs? Or hybrid jobs where I only need to be in London one day a week?
The complication is I am very well paid and the main bread winner in our household so job needs to be £80k+.

Any ideas?

Could you find a cheap hotel one night a week in London?

No I’ve looked cheapest was £70.
possible air bnb arrangement but no one I know has a spare room. Also not keen on staying away from home one night a week at the moment as my daughters are only little, youngest is 15 months.

Why do you need to maintain an £80k salary in the NW? Housing should be cheaper along with lots of other things? Should be plenty of work in Manchester in your field but you might have to compromise on salary.

I have three kids, two of which are not school age yet. So our childcare costs are high, Wirral nurseries £60 a day.
My husbands job doesn’t pay well. The Wirral is where my family are and not a cheap area (well not west Wirral anyway).

So if you factor in mortgage, car, bills, holidays (we don’t do expensive ones) and possibly a commute to another city including London once a week then that’s the salary.
I actually earn a bit more down South I can’t really drop more than 10-15% otherwise the move compromises our financial security too much.

Fair enough.

I know you don't want to be away two days a week [overnight for one] but is your husband prepared to step up and do two days of solo parenting? If you are desperate to go, the obvious thing to do is to make the move, and look for a new job in the area long term. The alternative is to
a) move half way - have you got more opportunities in the midlands ?
b) stay put until you land the right job. In the area or simply fully remote.

Does he want to move up there though? Does his job give decent working hours so he can juggle the kids when you go away.

I would be wary of making the move if the local market is very limited. What happens if your office policy changes on presenteeism?

I’ve looked at train tickets to London from Liverpool and the price you can get seems really variable unless you’re on it and getting the saver fares as soon as released so I’m a bit worried about making the move with my existing job. The commute could be £800 a month and my current commuting costs are about £100!

My husbands office permanently closed and he full time works from home now so me not being home would be ok from a childcare perspective though probably not overnight at first.

The best type of arrangement would be a remote job or at least one where I could expense travel. I just had a quick look and couldn’t find much or salaries aren’t advertised. I couldn’t go contracting either as again would risk our financial security.

Just seems a shame to be stuck in London when I don’t have family nearby. It wasn’t really an issue until I had my own but now I can’t get out and about in London I just want more peaceful neighbourhood with family nearby!
I could possibly ask my current role to be relocated to Leeds but that’s still a crazy commute, and I don’t think they’d actually say yes as none of my colleagues are there, just current company has an office there!