Considering new life in the UK.

Great to find this site. There is lots of really amazing information to sort through.

I'm currently considering moving to the UK. I'm thinking I'll need 9-12 months-ish so to wrap some things up here. But being the spontaneous nomad that I am, who knows? If the right opportunity comes up I could get there sooner.

So anyway, I'm exploring my options. Nice to meet you all!

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your possible move to the UK?

Have you figured out which type of visa you will be able to qualify for in order to move to the UK?

Unfortunately, you can't really be spontaneous when it comes to immigration - you have to qualify for a UK visa and apply for it first, before you will be able to move to the UK.

Hi, Thanks for your response. Thankfully, I have no visa issues. I'm lucky in that, yes, I can just rock up and move in!

I'm more concerned with where I'll be moving to, driving on the other side of the road and the work situation having read some of the work threads.

Hi, Thanks for your response. Thankfully, I have no visa issues. I'm lucky in that, yes, I can just rock up and move in!

That's good - not many people are lucky enough to have dual UK/EU citizenship and so have to qualify for a visa to move.

And there are quite a few people who don't have this luxury, but think that they can just move to the UK because they want to and don't realise they have to qualify for a visa... so I was just checking that you weren't planning a move before figuring out if you can even get a visa .

I'm more concerned with where I'll be moving to, driving on the other side of the road and the work situation having read some of the work threads.

Fair enough - I saw your posts on the 'Cannot Get A Job' thread. Unfortunately, just like many other countries at the moment, there is still quite high unemployment in the UK, so it can be tricky to find jobs.

It's probably not quite as bad at the moment, compared to when the recession first hit, but it's still not that easy to get a job. I'm a UK citizen and have masters degrees in theoretical physics and geophysics, but it took me almost 2.5 years to find a graduate job between 2008 and 2010 - there was just no one hiring for my qualifications... all the jobs were either in biology, or the physics/geophysics jobs required a PhD and/or 10 years of experience... of which I had neither  .

I would guess that London might be your best bet to start looking for jobs, because of the size of the city and the opportunities there, but you could also look at some of the other larger cities as well - Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle etc. It's fairly easy to work in a city and live out in the countryside as well - I grew up in a town of about 15,000 people, just north of Bristol, and although it was only 15 miles into Bristol city centre, you could walk 5-10 minutes from my house and be in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by fields and farms .

That's good - not many people are lucky enough to have dual UK/EU citizenship and so have to qualify for a visa to move.

Yes. I'm very luck. I have three. Jus soli, Jus sanguinis and Jus marriag-is.

Fair enough - I saw your posts on the 'Cannot Get A Job' thread. Unfortunately, just like many other countries at the moment, there is still quite high unemployment in the UK, so it can be tricky to find jobs.

It's probably not quite as bad at the moment, compared to when the recession first hit, but it's still not that easy to get a job. I'm a UK citizen and have masters degrees in theoretical physics and geophysics, but it took me almost 2.5 years to find a graduate job between 2008 and 2010 - there was just no one hiring for my qualifications... all the jobs were either in biology, or the physics/geophysics jobs required a PhD and/or 10 years of experience... of which I had neither  .

I would guess that London might be your best bet to start looking for jobs, because of the size of the city and the opportunities there, but you could also look at some of the other larger cities as well - Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle etc. It's fairly easy to work in a city and live out in the countryside as well - I grew up in a town of about 15,000 people, just north of Bristol, and although it was only 15 miles into Bristol city centre, you could walk 5-10 minutes from my house and be in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by fields and farms .

London.... Not sure I can do it! I actually just came back from being quite near to you. I spent the last few years in Buenos Aires. No more big cities, please! I love my village of 700 people and 1300 cows. Yes. The local newsletter lists the number of cows, sheep and horses... lol

Bristol! Hmmm, that could be an option. It wasn't on my radar. Good call. I'm dreaming of Cornwall & Devon or anywhere on the coast close enough to an airport. But really... Your suggestion is so good. Must look into that more. Thank you!

I'm also lucky that I won't be in desperate need for a 'real' job for a bit. Even though I get less and less freelance work these days, it's still enough to live on. But I need to keep myself busy. Even something part time would be great.

Now... about the driving.... 

London.... Not sure I can do it! I actually just came back from being quite near to you.

Lol - well, I'm currently living 8,000 miles from the UK... down in the Falkland Islands for 5 months... so I'm closer to Buenos Aires than anywhere in the UK right now .

I spent the last few years in Buenos Aires. No more big cities, please! I love my village of 700 people and 1300 cows. Yes. The local newsletter lists the number of cows, sheep and horses... lol

Lol - fair enough! Sounds a bit like where I am now - where the sheep outnumber the people by many times... there are only about 3,000 people in total on the islands, with the biggest town only having 2,000 people and the next biggest settlement having only 30 people .

Bristol! Hmmm, that could be an option. It wasn't on my radar. Good call. I'm dreaming of Cornwall & Devon or anywhere on the coast close enough to an airport. But really... Your suggestion is so good. Must look into that more. Thank you!

I am quite partial to Bristol myself - mostly because I grew up in the area - although I haven't lived there for a few years now. One good thing about Bristol is that it has good transport links - the M4 and M5 motorways meet just outside the city, so you can easily go in any direction (1 hour west to Cardiff, 2 hours east to London, about 90 minutes north to Birmingham and 90 minutes south to Exeter), plus there are something like 6 international airports within 2 or 3 hours drive from the city.

I've been living in Lincoln for the last couple of years and there's just not much around anywhere and transport is expensive (and tedious) - it's actually cheaper for me to drive 3.5 hours to Bristol and get a 2.5-hour bus from Bristol to London, than it is to get a 2-hour train from Lincoln to London.

If you're interested in Devon, then you could look at the areas near Exeter or Plymouth as well... lots of small countryside villages not too far from the cities. I lived in Exeter for 3.5 years... 3 years of university and then 6 months of training for my current job (HQ are based in Exeter).... it's a lovely city .

Now... about the driving.... 

Lol - yes, the driving can be quite daunting, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!

I am quite partial to Bristol myself - mostly because I grew up in the area - although I haven't lived there for a few years now. One good thing about Bristol is that it has good transport links - the M4 and M5 motorways meet just outside the city, so you can easily go in any direction (1 hour west to Cardiff, 2 hours east to London, about 90 minutes north to Birmingham and 90 minutes south to Exeter), plus there are something like 6 international airports within 2 or 3 hours drive from the city.

Sold!

If you're interested in Devon, then you could look at the areas near Exeter or Plymouth as well... lots of small countryside villages not too far from the cities. I lived in Exeter for 3.5 years... 3 years of university and then 6 months of training for my current job (HQ are based in Exeter).... it's a lovely city .

I was looking at Plymouth, Portsmouth & Exeter... But really, I'm loving the idea of Bristol! I'll be over to have a look in the next two months or so.