Im thinking of moving to London, any thoughts?

I am pretty much bored with America in general. I know unless I move to LA or NY (I've been to 8 of the ten largest cities in the US), I will be pretty much bored with any place I move here stateside. I wouldn't even know where to start about moving to London. Why London you say? Why not?? It is the heart of the UK, the UK is the "mother" of our own country, and, most importantly, ALL OF THE GREATEST BANDS OF ALL TIME COME FROM ENGLAND!!! Zeppelin, Beatles, Stones, NO, DM, Cure, Bauhaus, U2 (ok I know U2 is from Ireland, but its still the freakin UK) I work in pc support and I'm sure a city as big as London has alot of big multinational co.'s with a shitload of pcs to be supported. I tried Monster.com but couldn't find too many positions doing what I do (Help Desk/Data Analyst). So whaddya think? Whats good/bad about living in the UK or London? I know thats a big question, but probably the first few things that come to your mind would be the most relevant. arent I helpful? :D

Originally posted by Grigori Rasputin our friends will tell you London is shite...I've considered doing the same thing myself...but it must not be as easy as moving to...oh...Austin...

I have thought about Austin, only because the bastards up there get the best concerts/gigs. Alot of unannounced stuff you only know about if you live there. In fact I go to Austin on the weekends for the bars and to see my cousin. I think its just America and americans in general i wouldnt mind getting away from for about a year at least. By the way, where exactly is this ice sheet you live on? Is it near Austin?

i'm american, and i lived in the UK for almost 6 years (1 1/2 of them in london). i can tell you that london's the greatest place to live in the world! i've lived in new york city, tel aviv, colorado (where i grew up), just outside boston, florida (where i am now), thailand and scotland--but i'd pick london anyday! i'm still planning on moving back to the UK sometime in the next few years (probably back to scotland) to resume my studies, but i want to eventually settle in london (after getting a teachers' qualification in the UK or a lecturing position at a university).

as for finding a job...unless you work for a company that can transfer you there, it's nearly impossible (except for the exceptions i mentioned above). if a company hires you, that company has to prove that there's no one else in the entire european union qualified to perform the job, therefore they had to hire someone from outside the EU. hence, you need to be in a very specialized field or in a field where they have a severe shortage of workers (e.g. teaching). my ex-boyfriend is a computer scientist in scotland, and he says that there's not much work going around right now in that field. right now, he spends most of his time at the office playing table football!

as for good/bad about living in london:

good--great pubs, nightlife, cultural activities, interesting neighbourhoods, decent public transport (no car needed!), access to the rest of the UK and europe

bad--very expensive place to live, riding the non-air conditioned tube during rush hour, the tourists (especially the american ones!).

p.s. i wouldn't refer to ireland as part of the UK unless you want a severe beating from an irish person! (they haven't been part of the UK since 1921)

To put this briefly on topic......"Don't do it" !

MES referred to London as the 10x town, and he's right. Vastly overrated place IMHO. Manchester's far better. Plenty to see and do, but the public transport is an expensive joke, summed up perfectly by New Order as "Slow Jam".

More "Everything's Gone On Strike" than shades of any particular colour.....

if you do manage to get a job in the UK and you're turned off by what people say about london (even though i love it there), glasgow's a pretty cool place.

London, Kentucky is a very nice town to move to if you can. Very cheap!

Reckon they take ex-workers from Chorley in Canada? Got a lot of FAC numbers.....

Go to London, Angel! London is one of the most interesting places on Earth but has three main drawbacks: firstly conmuting time: unless you live in the city centre (very expensive even for IT workers in this post dot com bubble days)you will end up devoting a sizeable chunk of your time to reading the Daily Mail at the tube. Secondly as pointed out by Jarvo it is a very expensive city and thirdly people are not as friendly there as they are in Manchester. If you can live with that London has many rewards in store for you.

Then again if what you want is a complete change of scenery come to Barcelona. The most beautiful city of the Mediterranean. Intense cultural life, excellent restaurants, good nightlife, cosmopolitan atmosphere, beautiful architecture, the famed Spanish way of life... Also if New Order ever come to Spain it will happen here, that´s for sure.

I'd love to travel to England (especially a combo JD/NO and Beatles tour of important sights) but I don't know about moving there. Of course, if anyone wants to pay my airfare.......

Originally posted by Al Jarvis "When a man is bored of London, he is bored of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."- Samuel JohnsonAs for work in London, you'd walk it. Your line of work is contracted out in the main by the bigger firms so temporary jobs are a-plenty. Every other PC Support person in my bank is a non-Brit on a sabaticcal.

are these people in your bank from inside or outside the EU or the commonwealth? EU citizens can live in the UK, no problem, and commonwealth citizens can get a 2 year work visa, i believe. my ex has loads of non-brits working in PC-support at his company, too, but they're ALL from either the EU or the commonwealth! it's totally different for americans, however. i worked in the UK for 6 months after college on a special program for recent college grads (you had to have graduated within one year; maximum stay: 6 months), but other than that it's VERY hard for americans to walk into a job in britain!

while i was on the special visa program, i spent the whole time looking for a permanent job. i was also being contracted out at the time, but i could only do so under this very specific visa! eventually, i was offered a job in the UK but hit a brick wall with the IND because they told the company that wanted to hire me that they had to re-advertise my position in a european-wide newspaper (i found the job in the guardian) with my exact qualifications spelled out in the advert, to see if they could find anyone who met these qualifications within the EU. if so, i would be denied a visa. the company couldn't afford to re-advertise, so i was screwed! basically, unless you have a specialized skill and someone's willing to sponsor you, you won't get a visa. after my postgrad degree in st. andrews, i tried again to find a job in the UK and spoke to the careers services office. they told me that americans are only given work visas for the reasons mentioned in my first post.

this sucks, man! why can't we just find someone who wants to live here and make a trade!

Originally posted by Spotnick Well, you need your ombrella if you wish to go to London... :D

Brolly!! In London its a Brolly.

Bermondsey is a nice area to live, Millwall is even nicer, and Frankie Fraser will make you welcome, theres always work on his piggery out in Essex!

London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

Originally posted by flo London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

And full of DONKEYS and HORSES.....hello FLO ...how r u doin?:DStill schooling...did you hear i had a job for 7 weeks but ends next THURSDAY then off till EASTER 2003.Life is so tough at PLANET ROCKET.

Originally posted by MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY > Originally posted by flo> London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

And full of DONKEYS and HORSES.....hello FLO ...how r u doin?:DStill schooling...did you hear i had a job for 7 weeks but ends next THURSDAY then off till EASTER 2003.Life is so tough at PLANET ROCKET.

EASY RM! after 7 weeks of work, you'll need all that rest. ;) have moved to brighton and have no net access. will probably be loafing about here more regularly after xmas when the better half moves down with his mac.

Hope its not a DIRTY MAC!

Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by flo> London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

Sweeping statement!

You obviously live in the wrong part of town.

London, simply the best.

South of the river, per chance?

Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by flo> London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

Sweeping statement!

You obviously live in the wrong part of town.

South of the river, per chance?

Originally posted by Rocket Mick Hope its not a DIRTY MAC!

filthy :\pimp2:

Originally posted by Mutton Jeff Burger > Originally posted by Al Jarvis > Originally posted by flo> London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

Sweeping statement!

You obviously live in the wrong part of town.

London, simply the best.

South of the river, per chance?

Camden Town. Too busy. Vomit covered streets. Crap chips(no gravy)

Originally posted by flo > Originally posted by Mutton Jeff Burger> > > > Originally posted by Al Jarvis> > Originally posted by flo> London's a nice place to visit, but shite to live in. very over-rated. very expensive. very unfriendly. move to blackpool. cheap, friendly, greasy. sorted.

Sweeping statement!

You obviously live in the wrong part of town.

London, simply the best.

South of the river, per chance?

Camden Town. Too busy. Vomit covered streets. Crap chips(no gravy)

Er Flo how`s Mr Cap.

You per chance from North? eat babies do ya? rainbows in black and white round your way?

Canada is accepting ANYBODY, and I mean it. It has seriously changed a lot over the last 15 years..

We're having so many problems having kids here, that we NEED people like you.

Beside, there is already gazillions of Brazilians over here.. I know for sure, since one of my friends used to date one. (And they were all out on the street after winning the World Cup)

As for the job.. market is not too hot know, but it will bounce eventually.

problems having kids? even with loads of brazilians there? but they can lob seamen from yards away!