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Have you ever moved somewhere that you would consider less than ideal or even a full blow sh*thole, just because you were offered a job there?
I'm currently job hunting and I've only been offered the chance of an interview, but this is more than I've had with anything else. The problem is it would require moving somewhere (UK town, I won't mention where) that I wouldn't otherwise choose without a gun held to my head. It would mean disruption of future plans with my girlfriend, moving own my own several hundred miles from nearest friends and family, and making it much more difficult to do the things I love, climbing and mountain biking. In the past I've done something similar for a year as a university placement and found it miserable, lying in bed at the weekend wondering whether it was worth getting up at all, such was the dullness of the local area.
All these negative in one hand, and in the other, some positive cashflow into my bank balance. Not siginificantly more than I could get from a bog standard graduate scheme, and as it's in my area of study, a lot more responsibility and expectation (I am more than willing to move outside my field). But, with unemployment the way it is, I feel guilty for not taking any opportunity I can, even if it's at the expense of personal happiness.
So, have you ever had this kind of call to make? What did you decide and why? How did it work out?
I'm currently job hunting and I've only been offered the chance of an interview, but this is more than I've had with anything else. The problem is it would require moving somewhere (UK town, I won't mention where) that I wouldn't otherwise choose without a gun held to my head. It would mean disruption of future plans with my girlfriend, moving own my own several hundred miles from nearest friends and family, and making it much more difficult to do the things I love, climbing and mountain biking. In the past I've done something similar for a year as a university placement and found it miserable, lying in bed at the weekend wondering whether it was worth getting up at all, such was the dullness of the local area.
All these negative in one hand, and in the other, some positive cashflow into my bank balance. Not siginificantly more than I could get from a bog standard graduate scheme, and as it's in my area of study, a lot more responsibility and expectation (I am more than willing to move outside my field). But, with unemployment the way it is, I feel guilty for not taking any opportunity I can, even if it's at the expense of personal happiness.
So, have you ever had this kind of call to make? What did you decide and why? How did it work out?
In reply to Taurig:
I was offered the opportunity to move with my employer to Macclesfield. Nothing wrong with Macc, but in the end I decided I absolutely did not want to uproot myself for a job. In my case, however, I had a good redundancy package to help tide me over till I found another job.
I was offered the opportunity to move with my employer to Macclesfield. Nothing wrong with Macc, but in the end I decided I absolutely did not want to uproot myself for a job. In my case, however, I had a good redundancy package to help tide me over till I found another job.
In reply to Ava Adore:
yeah, right!
I got offered a job on the north coast of the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago. After much consideration over whether i could face the constant warm weather, lazing on beaches and drinking rum cocktails i decided to just go for it.
Havent looked back since
> (In reply to Taurig)
>
> Nothing wrong with Macc,
>
> Nothing wrong with Macc,
yeah, right!
I got offered a job on the north coast of the Dominican Republic a couple of years ago. After much consideration over whether i could face the constant warm weather, lazing on beaches and drinking rum cocktails i decided to just go for it.
Havent looked back since
In reply to Taurig: I know a few people who've got into the weekend commute lifestyle. Shoot off early as you can Friday and set off back to work town early monday morning, cheap lodgings during the week. Could that be a possibility?
In reply to Taurig: Doncaster?
In reply to Taurig:
You've been to Swindon too?
> Have you ever moved somewhere that you would consider less than ideal or even a full blow sh*thole, just because you were offered a job there?
>
>...In the past I've done something similar for a year as a university placement and found it miserable, lying in bed at the weekend wondering whether it was worth getting up at all, such was the dullness of the local area.>
>
You've been to Swindon too?
In reply to Taurig:
I've done it. I can't lie - I would still rather be living somewhere else, but it's not all bad. I moved much further from climbing, but my climbing became much more varied as nowhere was local anymore. I've had some great opportunities and met some great people. Before I had kids, I was very rarely in the place I moved to at weekends, taking the opportunity to get away, so the depressing nature of the place I lived in didn't become too overbearing. I really missed evening cragging in the summer though.
However, I would be much more choosy about where I move to now, due to having a family to consider as well.
I've done it. I can't lie - I would still rather be living somewhere else, but it's not all bad. I moved much further from climbing, but my climbing became much more varied as nowhere was local anymore. I've had some great opportunities and met some great people. Before I had kids, I was very rarely in the place I moved to at weekends, taking the opportunity to get away, so the depressing nature of the place I lived in didn't become too overbearing. I really missed evening cragging in the summer though.
However, I would be much more choosy about where I move to now, due to having a family to consider as well.
I took a job in Stoke when my wife got her first job in Derby. We live mid-way in a lovely rural area (about 25 mile for each). I wouldn't choose to live near my work, although there are nice parts to Stoke and the area around.
Check out the transport options close to the job. I can do the 25 miles to work in under 30 minutes as the factory is quite conveniently located to a main road.
Check out the transport options close to the job. I can do the 25 miles to work in under 30 minutes as the factory is quite conveniently located to a main road.
In reply to Taurig:
I moved with work from the north west to Milton Keynes. It was very hard to settle in (unlike uni there is no pre-packaged social life and many of my colleagues were far older and lived a good way away) but 12 years later I quite like the place, have bought a house and plan to stay unless something significant happens to cause me to do otherwise.
That said, if you have a big reason to want it to be temporary (e.g. your girlfriend) you'll probably find you hate it and don't want to put the effort into settling.
Neil
I moved with work from the north west to Milton Keynes. It was very hard to settle in (unlike uni there is no pre-packaged social life and many of my colleagues were far older and lived a good way away) but 12 years later I quite like the place, have bought a house and plan to stay unless something significant happens to cause me to do otherwise.
That said, if you have a big reason to want it to be temporary (e.g. your girlfriend) you'll probably find you hate it and don't want to put the effort into settling.
Neil
In reply to Papillon:
"I know a few people who've got into the weekend commute lifestyle. Shoot off early as you can Friday and set off back to work town early monday morning, cheap lodgings during the week. Could that be a possibility?"
I do this for work, it involves a 4am start on a Monday and late arrival back on a Thurs, and I work from home Fri. I do have a bit of leverage because it's temporary and not my base location.
Mon-Fri was positively grim, it took only one cancelled or delayed flight to screw up my weekend, and I felt like I was never at home, while Monday mornings aren't fun at all. I do like the experience of getting to work in another country/city, though, which is why I'm generally happy to take those contracts, though I tend to alternate them with more local ones.
I generally wouldn't recommend it for more than a year or two, which is all my contracts tend to be. Definitely not for a permanent job; I would relocate for that.
Neil
"I know a few people who've got into the weekend commute lifestyle. Shoot off early as you can Friday and set off back to work town early monday morning, cheap lodgings during the week. Could that be a possibility?"
I do this for work, it involves a 4am start on a Monday and late arrival back on a Thurs, and I work from home Fri. I do have a bit of leverage because it's temporary and not my base location.
Mon-Fri was positively grim, it took only one cancelled or delayed flight to screw up my weekend, and I felt like I was never at home, while Monday mornings aren't fun at all. I do like the experience of getting to work in another country/city, though, which is why I'm generally happy to take those contracts, though I tend to alternate them with more local ones.
I generally wouldn't recommend it for more than a year or two, which is all my contracts tend to be. Definitely not for a permanent job; I would relocate for that.
Neil
In reply to Monk:
"However, I would be much more choosy about where I move to now, due to having a family to consider as well."
I should add that, unless the only other choice was my family being destitute therefore making it the lesser of the two evils, I wouldn't consider a weekly commute if I had a family with children. I couldn't cope with the idea of just being Daddy at the end of the phone, as it were. I'd even think twice if I had a girlfriend, TBH (I'm single at the moment).
Neil
"However, I would be much more choosy about where I move to now, due to having a family to consider as well."
I should add that, unless the only other choice was my family being destitute therefore making it the lesser of the two evils, I wouldn't consider a weekly commute if I had a family with children. I couldn't cope with the idea of just being Daddy at the end of the phone, as it were. I'd even think twice if I had a girlfriend, TBH (I'm single at the moment).
Neil
In reply to Taurig:
Worth checking out whether it's really such a shithole and if so whether you can commute from the nicer place down the road. Also worth thinking about exactly how much it'll hose you from a climbing and biking point of view relative to where you are now. A lot of places turn out to be nicer than their reputation, and there's relatively little of the UK where active climbers and bikers can't get plenty done with a bit of commitment.
On the other hand if living there really would make your life miserable then I wouldn't feel obliged to take the job unless you can't see any realistic prospect of getting a job somewhere you actually want to live.
Moving away from friends and family is something that does happen in life and you'll probably deal with, but having to run a long distance relationship can be pretty grim, so imo it'd be fair enough to turn down a job because it'd prevent you from living anywhere near your girlfriend.
Worth checking out whether it's really such a shithole and if so whether you can commute from the nicer place down the road. Also worth thinking about exactly how much it'll hose you from a climbing and biking point of view relative to where you are now. A lot of places turn out to be nicer than their reputation, and there's relatively little of the UK where active climbers and bikers can't get plenty done with a bit of commitment.
On the other hand if living there really would make your life miserable then I wouldn't feel obliged to take the job unless you can't see any realistic prospect of getting a job somewhere you actually want to live.
Moving away from friends and family is something that does happen in life and you'll probably deal with, but having to run a long distance relationship can be pretty grim, so imo it'd be fair enough to turn down a job because it'd prevent you from living anywhere near your girlfriend.
In reply to Taurig: I would probably take the job unless something else is going to come up. You say bog standard grad scheme, just to check what do you mean as most grad schemes are upward of 25k which in the current climate isn't a bad idea (depending on your degree and skill expertise). There are other schemes which too often tend to be called grad schemes just to limit application numbers.... anyway back to topic....
I have done the live away during the week and come home at weekends before, and will have to do it again for 6 months in the new year. It is not ideal but its a job with good transferable skills and a good salary (great if you consider my degree and the climate, according to the stats people). I looked at it in the following way.
How often do I spend quality time with my GF during the week and can this be moved to weekends?
How often do I see my friends during the week? (Rarely was my answer)
Am I able to continue my sporting interests (insert any interests)
How is the commute every weekend? Aberdeen to Cornwall would have been brutal for me, however a 2 hour drive up the M6, though not fun is manageable with ease.
Best case scenario, you make some new friends, have some cash, job prospects improve for future applications (due to the increase of responsibility) and you continue with most of the good stuff at home at the weekends, where you can really get away from work.
I have done the live away during the week and come home at weekends before, and will have to do it again for 6 months in the new year. It is not ideal but its a job with good transferable skills and a good salary (great if you consider my degree and the climate, according to the stats people). I looked at it in the following way.
How often do I spend quality time with my GF during the week and can this be moved to weekends?
How often do I see my friends during the week? (Rarely was my answer)
Am I able to continue my sporting interests (insert any interests)
How is the commute every weekend? Aberdeen to Cornwall would have been brutal for me, however a 2 hour drive up the M6, though not fun is manageable with ease.
Best case scenario, you make some new friends, have some cash, job prospects improve for future applications (due to the increase of responsibility) and you continue with most of the good stuff at home at the weekends, where you can really get away from work.
In reply to IMA: Ps my distances: Wirral and Paris and later will be Wirral - Lancaster
In reply to Taurig:
having a car, or riding a pushbike means you rarely have to live in a dump just because you happen to work in a dump.
i cannot think of anywhere in the UK that is more than 30 minutes drive from somewhere where it would be better to be unemployed and skint in your 'hometown' than be employed and have cash in - even some right hellholes like Hull, or Immingham, or Blackpool, or Shettleston, or Weston-Super-Mare are only a 30 minute cycle ride from reasonably nice places to spend your evenings, and the cash in your pockets means you can spend your weekends wherever you like...
having a car, or riding a pushbike means you rarely have to live in a dump just because you happen to work in a dump.
i cannot think of anywhere in the UK that is more than 30 minutes drive from somewhere where it would be better to be unemployed and skint in your 'hometown' than be employed and have cash in - even some right hellholes like Hull, or Immingham, or Blackpool, or Shettleston, or Weston-Super-Mare are only a 30 minute cycle ride from reasonably nice places to spend your evenings, and the cash in your pockets means you can spend your weekends wherever you like...
In reply to Taurig:
Depends whether you already have a job, whether your chances of getting another job are good or bad - if the latter, then in the current climate it might be worth considering (assuming it's a good job), if only for a few years until the job market improves.
Whilst location has mattered to me in the past, getting the right job used to be my priority, because if you have a good job with a good salary, then travelling to get to the crags and other things you like are not such a problem, particularly if the salary enables you to run a decent car / fly or train in your leisure time.
Depends whether you already have a job, whether your chances of getting another job are good or bad - if the latter, then in the current climate it might be worth considering (assuming it's a good job), if only for a few years until the job market improves.
Whilst location has mattered to me in the past, getting the right job used to be my priority, because if you have a good job with a good salary, then travelling to get to the crags and other things you like are not such a problem, particularly if the salary enables you to run a decent car / fly or train in your leisure time.
In reply to Taurig: almost everyone's opinions of towns far away from where they live are based on ignorance and prejudice (I know mine are) and, more significantly the ignorance and prejudice of their peers. So I'd say go for the interview, if it works out make a life for yourself in your new home and f**k your peers.
(Where is it then?)
(Where is it then?)
In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:
26 years ago, that's where I moved to for work. I escaped...
...but Swindon isn't as bad as its reputation paints it. It is close enough to the motorway network and is within day-trip distance of Swanage, Avon, Cheddar, the Wye Valley, the Gower, Pembroke and the Peak District and easy weekend distance of West Penwith and Snowdonia; the Lakes might be hard going on a busy Friday night, not that it stopped me when I was living there mind. And Swindon had then, and I believe still has, a friendly and active mountaineering club.
But if the OP sees weekends as being tied up with seeing his other half, then that's all by-the-by, whichever town he might end up in. My advice would be to make the move and view it as a short period to be paid to gather new skills and experience that will make him more attractive to those offering jobs in a part of the country he'd prefer to be in. When I was looking for work in my early twenties as a fresh graduate, my only hard and fast rule was that I wouldn't move to London or somewhere close; although I did also turn down a job in Norwich. If they'd offered me the job I'd gone for rather than a more junior post at a very low wage I would have taken it though.
T.
> You've been to Swindon too?
26 years ago, that's where I moved to for work. I escaped...
...but Swindon isn't as bad as its reputation paints it. It is close enough to the motorway network and is within day-trip distance of Swanage, Avon, Cheddar, the Wye Valley, the Gower, Pembroke and the Peak District and easy weekend distance of West Penwith and Snowdonia; the Lakes might be hard going on a busy Friday night, not that it stopped me when I was living there mind. And Swindon had then, and I believe still has, a friendly and active mountaineering club.
But if the OP sees weekends as being tied up with seeing his other half, then that's all by-the-by, whichever town he might end up in. My advice would be to make the move and view it as a short period to be paid to gather new skills and experience that will make him more attractive to those offering jobs in a part of the country he'd prefer to be in. When I was looking for work in my early twenties as a fresh graduate, my only hard and fast rule was that I wouldn't move to London or somewhere close; although I did also turn down a job in Norwich. If they'd offered me the job I'd gone for rather than a more junior post at a very low wage I would have taken it though.
T.
Thanks for all the replies so far. Can't reply to them all but some general thoughts:
When I was on my placement, I used to commute up by train every fortnight to escape the tedium. It was an expensive ballache and forged within me a deep hatred for the British railway system, but if I hadn't done that, I could seriously have seen myself getting depressed. This job is substantially closer (just over 150 miles) and I would end up buying a car so do-able, so something to think about. However, my other half is a doctor and regularly works weekends; if she was on nights at the weekend I wouldn't see her at all. I also see my mates several times a week for indoor climbing and biking, although that is less of an issue as I'm sure I could find others to play with.
The job itself, well the offer would be around £26k and I will have, in a few weeks, a PhD in the area of work. As mentioned above, a lot of graduate schemes go at about £25k with, so I'm told, less responsibility than I would have, and a far greater likelihood of getting something closer to home. As I said, I am willing to move into other areas and am not set on a career in my area. I definitely have a work to live mentality, and as long as I can pay the bills and have enough cash left over for a few bits of outdoor kit, I don't mind. Life is to short to spend chasing money.
When I was on my placement, I used to commute up by train every fortnight to escape the tedium. It was an expensive ballache and forged within me a deep hatred for the British railway system, but if I hadn't done that, I could seriously have seen myself getting depressed. This job is substantially closer (just over 150 miles) and I would end up buying a car so do-able, so something to think about. However, my other half is a doctor and regularly works weekends; if she was on nights at the weekend I wouldn't see her at all. I also see my mates several times a week for indoor climbing and biking, although that is less of an issue as I'm sure I could find others to play with.
The job itself, well the offer would be around £26k and I will have, in a few weeks, a PhD in the area of work. As mentioned above, a lot of graduate schemes go at about £25k with, so I'm told, less responsibility than I would have, and a far greater likelihood of getting something closer to home. As I said, I am willing to move into other areas and am not set on a career in my area. I definitely have a work to live mentality, and as long as I can pay the bills and have enough cash left over for a few bits of outdoor kit, I don't mind. Life is to short to spend chasing money.
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