Moving to the UK

I need some help

[WildAngel]

Hi guys

I was hoping some of you could help me with a bit of information. Im gonna be moving to the uk at the end of march…but my main concern at the moment has to do with the market for what I do…so I was wondering if any of you could give me an idea of what the market is like over there for internet marketing/design/SEO positions etc?

I know the uk is huge that is why I didn’t put any specific regions down…im actually trying to decide where about im gonna be. That is why I posted this thread to find out where the biggest market is:)

Thanks guys

Angel

[Mike12345]

Try Sunny old York :)

[olias]

I'm not sure any of us would even be sure where the biggest market is, but there certainly is a market. The traditionally good areas are likely to be around London, the south east and to the west about as far as Bristol (which is obviously the best place to be ;) ). Trouble is the cost of living is very high in these areas and there is no guarantee they are the best areas for SEO work.

[ppg]

I'm not freelance so I don't know about that end of the market, but I would guess London/the South East is going to be your best bet.

York is much prettier though :)

[hayluke]

I'm from Brighton (South Coast, below London) and the market seems pretty good here. Same problems with the cost of living though. We've also got one and a half piers..

[Marketing Guy]

Go to Scotland.

Its cold, but there are a lot of businesses in the Central Belt - Edinburgh to Glasgow.

Ive got an article written by an IT recruitment consultant that details a bit of info about working in the different regions of the UK and what each has to offer.

Sticky me if you want the link (got info on work permits, etc too).

MG

[andreasfriedrich]

I really like Leeds. It is a great city. Sheffield has a great university and great schools. Hiking in the Peek District is great. Quite a few people commute from Sheffield to London.

I even got to vote in the local elections in Sheffield ;).

Andreas

[edited by: andreasfriedrich at 1:05 pm (utc) on Feb. 3, 2003]

[hayluke]

hey do eat deep fried mars bars in scotland though ;)

[Marketing Guy]

Gah...deep fried mars bars :(

But do go to chippy's (fish n chip shop's)....they're great....I miss them :(

MG

[aek]

If your looking for jobs in the fields mentioned then without doubt London will have the most opportunities. But as mentioned living costs are v.high.

Moving to London can be daunting, so you might have a look at Cambridge which is much smaller but has a very strong IT industry.

I've lived in both Manchester and London, and London gets my vote, there's something different to do every day of the year.

[georgeek]

WildAngel

Are you a family man with kids or a free spirit?
Do you prefer Town or Country?
Do you have any contacts or family already in the UK?
Any particular sports, hobbies or activities?
Is it for 6 months, 1 year or more?
Have you visited the UK before?

Answers to these would make a big difference in making a recommendation.

[nicebloke]

I was brought up in York and I have to say i think it's crap. OK for tourists but don't expect any exciting social escapades.

Leeds is much much better. More work there too.

The council in York shut down most of the decent nightclubs a while back. Salaries in York are generally lower too.

[chris_f]

I'm down in London but I regularly make trips up nothing. Scotland, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool has a HUGH Internet Services market at the moment. I'd definitly start up north. London it very competitive as there are lots of companies down here playing at the same game. Also, uni students. They'll do something for nothing if it can go in the portfolio.

North ... North ... Definitly North

Chris

[Marketing Guy]

I can vouch for Edinburgh - wonderful city!

2nd largest finance city in UK, behind london.

You will never see another city like this one! :)

MG

[Triple_H]

try Manchester...

you'll be seeing Manchester United and Manchester City, and of course, spice girls.

if you'd like rural places, definitely scotland.

most of people are warm and nice, especially the scots. but beware of british drunkards who will go crazy after soccer games, they are very TOUGH!

good luck:)

[Mike12345]

Nicebloke, when were you last in york, OK fair enough york has more dossers and scallies than anywhere else in the UK, but nightclubs are OK, Juts cos the arts centre got cxlosed down, everyone moans about lack of night life yada yada yada, but you got Ikon, ziggys nexus, merlins macmillans all opened last couple of years :) Sorry way off topic.

[WildAngel]

Thanks guys for all your replies i really appreciate it...its interesting to see the different opinions on places to be...iv taken all of yours into consideration..

Georgeek you asked a few questions:

<Are you a family man with kids or a free spirit?> Im a 19yr old woman with no kids nothing holding me down or back.

<Do you prefer Town or Country?> im used to mountains and sea but ill adapt if i have to...id prefer country though if possible but at the moment i really dont mind.

<Do you have any contacts or family already in the UK?> i have family in london and in ireland.

<Any particular sports, hobbies or activities?> i surf thats about it...oh but i love watching foot ball;) go leeds! (why do i see a debate coming along)lol

<Is it for 6 months, 1 year or more?> its probably for good..im not in any rush to get back.

<Have you visited the UK before?> nope never, this will be my first:)

<Answers to these would make a big difference in making a recommendation.>

hope that helps...

[olias]

im used to mountains and sea

Well for that you'd have to be looking at Scotland!

i surf thats about it

and for that you'll probably want Cornwall, Newquay maybe. Not sure what the Cornish market is like but bound to be some opportunities.

oh but i love watching foot ball go leeds!

For the best football it does have to be the Yorkshire/Lancashire area anyway. I'm not getting into the football debate - i don't have a leg to stand on with my team ;)

Hmmm, so we are trying to find you somewhere with easy access to Cornwall and Scotland whilst being centrally based!

Another thing you might want to consider is weather, it does vary a fair bit. If you want to see much snow don't come to the South West!

[Marketing Guy]

>go leeds!

Hehe down to the first division by the looks of it! ;)

MG

[hayluke]

Well you can surf in brighton and the weather's pretty good. We're a bit short of mountains though..

[georgeek]

WildAngel

Your answers make the recommendation easy :) thank you!

There is no contest - London is the place for you start out. It has everything in abundance that you will need. You can explore the other great cities that have been mentioned here later on.

One of the drawbacks of any big city is that new arrivals often find it difficult to make new friends. I have a suggestion for you though.

You could call London based SEOs of WebmasterWorld to a pub meet one evening after your arrival. This would help you get a feel for the jobs market and introduce you to some nice locals who are not backward in giving their advice!

[Glacai]

I second Hayluke, I'm also from Brighton and I'm sure you would love it WildAngel especially being 19 Brighton's a very young town (edit: sorry city now) and probably the most liberal in England.

[makemetop]

Don't forget Northern Ireland - still part of the UK :)

We've had no problem getting work here! Want a job?

[Crazy_Fool]

>>We've also got one and a half piers..

errrr....... you've only got 2 half piers now .... someone set fire to palace pier last night .....

[Crazy_Fool]

wildangel - london and south east is traditionally the "more affluent" part of britain. plenty of work round here.

i agree with georgeek about big places and that you could find it difficult to make friends. australians and kiwis have the same problem, but they have some sort of organisation that helps them meet other aussies and kiwis in london, helps them find cheap accommodation with other kaussies and kiwis etc etc etc. they also have their own newspaper - southern star? i don't know if there's an equivalent for US, but i'll look out for one and if i find one, i'll post it here.

oh, and anywhere north of watford smells.

[WildAngel]

Hi guys

wow i cant believe how many different places there are in the UK to go to! I have been thinking about London and York alot....but im still not sure. There are so many places to choose from!

<You could call London based SEOs of WebmasterWorld to a pub meet one evening after your arrival.> i must admit that the idea of moving somewhere new where i wont really know anyone is really scary and having friends does make it so much easier....so yeah ill definitely be doing that. It would be so cool to meet you guys:)

<WildAngel especially being 19 Brighton's a very young town> ill definitely give this some thought...id love to stay somewhere young especially because im gonna be meeting new people and im gonna want to party:) wow now im getting so excited to go:) cant wait:)

Angel

[ukgimp]

WA

Your profile says you like guys. Well a tongue in cheek word of advice in response to the thought of Brighton. Brighton is not known for its abundance of guys that like girls. That said is it nice down there and it would be a good place to live.

York is a good on and Cambridge is considered the silicon valley of the UK.

Give a thought to the cost of living, so that really rules out the south. Can be pricey.

[hayluke]

If you're thinking about spending time in London it's less than an hours train ride from Brighton (when the trains are running!).

And as for Brighton not being known for 'guys that like girls' I can only assume that that was meant to be VERY toungue in cheek, and I'm sure you won't have a problem..

Shame about the palace pier though :(

[ukgimp]

Luke

VERY

So much so I toyed with the idea of a quick edit but that would look even worse :(

Saw the peir bit last night on the news, bit of bad luck especially after the other one partially collapsed recently. Do you reckon they will repair it?

[hayluke]

apparently ther's no real structural damage so it should be ok. I don't think many people will be going on the rides down the end of it for a while though ;)