Looking to move to a larger city; suggestions?

[Seigi]

Ok, so myself and my partner are looking to move to a larger city, we're quite bored of where we currently live as it is very tiny and opportunities are pretty much non existent, we've looked at a few places such as: Newcastle (As it's like 60 miles away), Manchester, and obviously London, we're just wondering how we would go about doing this and if you have any recommendations of which city would be good to live in (Not necessarily from the above).

I know it seems a little spontaneous, and obviously planning would have to be made but we're just trying to brainstorm a bit of potential cities/areas and the cost of these areas also comes into play. So, has anyone had the experience of moving from somewhere small to somewhere big? How'd it go? Obviously it's a bit frightening, I'd be a liar if I said it wasn't, but it's something I've always wanted to do - To move to somewhere larger with better facilities and more opportunities.

Thanks guys, appreciate it.

 

[asterix]

I moved from somewhere small to London. The first thing I learned is that you don't have to say good morning to everyone.

I've been to Carlisle a few times and TBH didn't rate it that much. If I didn't live in York, I'd quite like to try Bristol.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Come to Glasgow or Edinburgh and join in in the CC Eccosse runs!
Seriously though, I'd imagine that most of the opportunities would be in London, but I imagine that it would be fairly expensive.

Just one bit of advice - don't go to St Davids

 

[asterix]

..of course a lot depends on your personal circumstances and you haven't given much away on that score.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Yes, I mean, what sort of work are you looking to do?

 

[striker]

simple, Sheffield.

Great cycling round there.

 

[Archie_tect]

If I had freedom to go anywhere I'd try completely new and unknown... Hereford, Salisbury.
Of all places I know best it would be Edinburgh, except it always seems cold and windy when I visit

[Paris or Dijon would be fantastique! Alons mes braves!

]

 

[scots_lass]

As you don't seem to fussed about what city, I would check the national press for job opportunities first and then pick a city.

 

[Seigi]

Thanks for the responses guys -

I've just finished a Level 3 IT course at college (Came out with DDM, Disinction x2, Merit x1), my partner is studying catering, obviously we'd both like jobs in their respective areas. Originally I was planning on going onto the Foundation Degree, but part of me is getting pretty tired of education and really fancied trying to get into the job market (Considering I've been in education for near 15 years), and I don't know if I can cope with Carlisle for another two years, feels almost like Groundhog Day. I don't know if this seems too ambitious, but I always have been an ambitious person.

My partner on the other hand is trying to find a placement in Carlisle to continue her catering course (She seemed to explain it sort of like an apprenticeship - You work in a restaurant/hotel restaurant, gain your skills through that way and they pay to get your qualification, along with a small wage (or something of the like)), obviously Carlisle being the place it is has pretty much nothing offering this sort of thing.

Other things are, we have a small amount of money saved and I can borrow money from my great grandfather and pay back in time (As he seems to have too much expendable money), he has lent money to other members of the family in the past to help with expenses. Travel from wherever we were to live to work I should hope would be pretty easy (Obviously I'm intending to commute by bike), and my partner has a car since she hasn't quite mastered the fine art of cycling any more than leisurely.

 

[TVC]

Living in Leicester I have to say this through clenched teeth - Nottingham

Nice open city, plenty to do, job ops with the Inland Revenue and Boots, close to the Peak District and central for everywhere.

 

[mcshroom]

We tend to think of Carlisle as the big city out here

Best advice is probably look for the jobs first and pick the city that way. IMHO Manchester and Sheffield are pretty good (then again I'm from South Yorkshire so I'm a little biased).

Another thing you could try is catching a train down to another city and spending a day there to see what it feels like. If you book the tickets in advance the tickets can be pretty cheap.

 

[Ludwig]

I would go for Cardiff having worked their for many years. You have superb countyside very close such as the Brecon Beacons, magnificent coast and everything a capital city has to offer in the way of culture, entertainment, shopping and property is still relatively cheap compared to London.

 

[Brains]

Sydney

 

[ASC1951]

Leeds. Decent job market, lots going on, housing much cheaper than York/Bristol, small enough to walk/cycle around, great countryside within easy reach.

Over the years I've lived in the West Midlands, then Cambridge, Southampton, Bath and Wakefield. Leeds definitely gets my vote.

 

[TVC]

Sydney

You win.

Trouble is not many could afford it these days.