Hello!
So I’ve managed to land myself a 100% remote job which will allow me to escape my abusive relationship and move anywhere within the UK and start afresh.
I’ve grown up my entire life in London, and so I’m ready to explore somewhere different and move on with my life. I’ll be earning 37k per annum and prefer to live in cities with a good social element as I’ll be by myself and will have no friends or family nearby. I would also like to be close-ish to an airport. I don’t drive, so good public transport would be great also.
I would like to find an area where I would be able to afford to live by myself and not in a houseshare, preferably.
With that criteria, what would be the first place you would think of? Have you been to that place, and did you like it?
Thanks!
29 comments
Manchester, big enough to not need a car to do social stuff, commutable to Liverpool, Leeds, London.
Plenty to do for all walks of life, and has a metro system too.
Close to countryside if you want a break.
Affordable in the sense it is not London and your salary would get you by there just fine.
Brighton immediately comes to mind for me. I have largely identical requirements to you, and if I didn’t have to be able to regularly go to my office in London, I would move there in a heartbeat. Its expensive though, so living on your own might mean living further out or in a worse flat than other cheaper parts of the country.
Manchester or some of the surrounding areas, I think up north would fit your requirements and save you some money too
Lake District, for the hill walking, climbing, cycling, and peace.
What’s the best way to get a 100% remote job?
I’m more interested in the 100% remote work from anywhere in the world, more than I am about pay (as long as it’s not too low) or the actual job. Just want something in my ballpark of what I’m good at.
**Birmingham**
37k is about… £2500 take home per month is it?
Birmingham is walkable, but also has a great bus network. Even if you’re in a “suburb”, you’re not more than 10 – 20 mins by bus from the hubbub of the city centre. And the suburbs are nice!
Friendly people, heaps to do, great mix of cultures for an isnane food scene. It reminds me of London in that way.
Excellent transport links – including an airport.
You can probably get a one bed flat in a new build for £700 – £900, obviously depending how close you wanna be to the centre but the areas of Harborne, Edgbaston, Bournville are all absolutely lovely and have all amenities and of course you can pay less than that. Or.. More. Totally depends what you want.
Birmingham has so many new build mini blocks of flats.
And of course people already living there may think the prices are high but coming from London… it’s way cheaper.
Manchester! Or Edinburgh
Glasgow? It’s got quite a lot going on, and not too expensive.
I did the same thing last year and I ended up in Wales. I’d suggest Pontypridd maybe, it’s more affordable than Cardiff but close enough for the shopping and the social scene. And you’ve got the beaches nearby too.
Manchester is a small city with a big heart so I would recommend it if you are looking for somewhere with lots going on. If you want more countryside then the Ribble Valley is beautiful.
It’s wonderful to hear you’ve felt able to leave an abusive relationship. The world is now your oyster XbighugX
Norwich is lovely
I am 100% remote – I live in the north-west – benefits are:
​
* London Salary, north-west house prices
* Where I am is easy to travel to Liverpool, Manchester, Chester and the other way to the Lake District and Scotland
Manchester, Birmingham or Edinburgh!
Sheffield could be worth looking at. The city center is being developed for entertainment as meadowhall attracts all the shops and shoppers so plenty of social stuff in a small area.
The fact that not a 20 minute drive from the city center you can be in the peak district is a massive bonus.
Train links direct to london/Manchester means airports are easy to get too.
I’d think about Newcastle – there’s there’s lot going on as its the biggest city for a couple hours in any direction. Very social. Good beaches, not too expensive, and good transport connections with the airport and ECML.
It is quite cold, but coming from London you’ll appreciate that it is relatively dry in contrast to many of the NW cities being mentioned.
Places in the Caribbean and South East Asia are trying to attract remote workers if you really fancy something new.
Newcastle.
Always plenty going on.
Money will go a long way.
Metro that goes out to both the nearby airport and the beach.
Cardiff/South Wales. Inexpensive, vibrant city, only an hour to Bristol, 2 to London. 1 hour from Brecon Beacons, and 2 from West Wales which is breathtakingly gorgeous. Great place to live.
Leeds is great!
I would be looking at Bristol and Glasgow. Both pretty affordable with a fairly mixed social element
Liverpool, Manchester or Leeds would be your best bet x
Manchester is really good. Very friendly people and plenty of things to do, although can get a bit boring if you’re into the ‘big city’ lifestyle – any other place than London will get boring in that sense though. Other than that, the weather is a bit bad but I loved living there no matter what.
Bristol 100% best call
Liverpool or Manchester
What kind of weather do you want?
And what kind of places do you want nearby?
Beaches? Hills? Not bothered about outdoor stuff?
Always head North if you have the option. Further the better, as long as there’s good Internet
Cardiff. Convenient for commuting to London or Bristol. Affordable and nice people. Fairly big city center, but too big.
I’d say either Newcastle or Birmingham. I’ve lived all over and rarely found a place so nice as Newcastle: cheap, great social life, lovely people, beautiful beaches and countryside. Transport is great. Negatives, I experienced real culture shock from the cold and the accent. Took me a long time to understand some locals. And I did encounter a “you’re not from round here are you” attitude but I got used to it.
If you’re a southerner then you might find Brum less of a culture shock. It’s very walkable, lovely city, very affordable, not far from the coast or countryside, decent food, and an airport!
Best of luck getting out of your awful situation. I hope it goes ok for you. Please keep us posted.
Sheffield.
I grew up there and have a lot of friends who’ve stayed there/moved there. It’s cheaper than Manchester and Leeds, and whilst perhaps a little smaller in terms of social amenities, there’s still plenty of nice places to hang out. It also has the accolade of being the greenest city in Europe, and is full of parks and tree lined streets. It’s right on the doorstep of the Peak District, which you can get out to via bus, and just generally has a nice feel to it.
I live in London now, but should I move again it’s definitely on my list of potentials.