# Moving from England to Northern Ireland



## Catticus (Mar 23, 2011)

Hey everyone!

I'm currently living in England and am in my last year of university. I want to move to N.I. but I have sooo many questions and I'm getting completely biased comments from my family which doesn't help!

Here are some worries/questions:

Getting a job - I can't get a job before I go because I can't fly over for interviews (it's a wasted expense with no guarantee of a job) and I only have enough money to get me through a month with no job. Do I just go and hunt for a job there, or work in England for a few months and save some?


Do I get my car now and spend extra time and money going via the ferry (I haven't even passed my test yet, so I'd be unwilling to do this), or do I get a car over there and risk being ripped off (I'm 20 and female!) and then get stuck having to pay taxi fares for the first few weeks when I most need to travel to get set up/go ot job interviews etc?

How much should I expect to pay for a removal from England to N.I? I've only got 1 bedrooms worth of stuff and the odd piece of furniture. I've had various quotes so not sure which are the most accurate or not.

So I guess what I'm ultimately asking is would it be best to wait a bit/get more money, or just go now because it's going to be tough either way?

Thanks!


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## GillianF (Mar 7, 2010)

Hi – I’m from NI so happy to encourage people to go there. 

Although you probably can’t get a job before you go, there is a lot of job research you can do beforehand that will shorten your job hunt while there and put you in a much stronger position. (companies like to hire people who show initiative) 

1. Check out the overall job position in the field you want to work. Most jobs are posted online these days so you can check out who the employers in your field are. Ensure you check local sources not just the major job boards – google’ Belfast Telegraph jobs’ (NI’s main paper) & it will bring you their job site as well as other NI ones.

2. If you see an employer you are interested in working for it may be worth setting up what is called an ‘informational interview’, i.e., an informal phone/skype conversation with a potential employer or a recruitment consultant to gather information. 

They will understand that you are not local and that you are a student (so funds are tight) and that you are looking to do some research before you make a major move – that is a sensible thing to do. Expect these to be brief (often 15 mins – after all, they are doing you a favour) but they can really help to give you some insight into how marketable your skills are and where you should look for opportunities. Recruitment consultants can be particularly helpful as they talk to a lot of employers about their needs and can give a good sense of the current job market, salaries and the skills/experience that is needed. 

Although these calls would be research for you, you will need to treat them as interviews and be prepared to answer any questions they have on you. Expect them to question your motives for moving to NI as they will be probing to see if you are really someone who will stay or whether your desire is half-hearted. Have a strong answer ready and don’t mention that your family don’t support you. 

Families often only mean to help us, but sometimes they are not as encouraging as we need them to be. Do you have friends that you can turn to for support in this move?

3. Ensure you have a good cv and that you are familiar with interview skills – maybe your uni careers service can help with these and there are a lot of great online resources. 

I would recommend getting a car when you are there – NI cars have different plate numbers to English ones and English ones stand out. Or if you have a good source in England to help you buy a good value car, you may want to change your plates when you get there at some stage. Check out off-peak ferry fares, much cheaper sometimes. 

Good luck
Gillian


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