job hunting... (Merged)

seatzie

mikey for someone who bleated on about NORTHERN IRELAND not norn iron thats a very bleak view of somewhere you appeared to take so much pride in!

mikey9863 wrote: »

I wouldn't bother moving to Northern Ireland, if I had half the chance I would be long gone...........Beautiful scenery and colourful history but cost of living is absoulutely crazy. I was born and bred in Northern Ireland and after forty years have had enough and if I could get someone to buy my house I would invest in another European country, where the rip off society does not exsist and people take pride in their existance

belfastgirl23

Oh and if you've been living in ROI then I think cost of living is probably comparable...

seatzie

OP just be sure its not a case of the grass always being greener, your best bet perhaps is to rent somewhere up here when you get a job then you always have the option of moving on. I've often thought about moving out of here but when I sit and think about it, I've a 3 year old, its relatively peaceful/safe here, schools are reasonably good etc, downsides can be that we can be a little backward at times, especially with what you can do on a Sunday - are we the only place left in the UK where shops etc can only open 5 hours on a Sunday? sometimes theres not a lot to do once you've done all the touristy bits lol!! depends what you're looking for

job wise - all the sites already mentioned and some ofthe recruitment agencies I guess, like everywhere the economy is slowing down so there may be more competition for those jobs

steveymp

Well I've been hear nearly 40 years now;) and I love it. People everywhere are good and bad, but more good than bad here:D and we will always smile at you in the street and say hello.

Like everywhere this place has its pros and cons, but you still get a free health service, clean drinking water (gonna have to pay for this soon thou) and for your kids you have the highest standard of Education throughout the UK;)

Jobs wise at present is not fantastic but if your into tele support of software or IT then there's plenty of jobs around, not too sure of the salary to be honest but should start at around 15-16K.

I love it here and my kids are happy and settled into good schools, oh and if I want to call my country NORN IRON, I bloody well will:p

leftieM

I moved to Belfast from Ireland in 1993. I'll try to list my (subjective Belfast-related) good stuff and bad stuff.

Good stuff -
Great cultural life
Easy to chat to strangers
Amazing public parks
The NHS

Bad stuff-
Segregated education system
The 11-plus
Striking social division (much more than England where I lived in the past)
Hugely expensive housing
Relatively low paid work
Weather
Sectarianism and bigotry
Rubbish politicians

If you are religious you will love NI. It's like Ireland in the 1950s. Okay, maybe not that bad. The 1970s at least.

happymummy24-7

Hi there,
i hope you dont mind me adding my thoughts!
I think Northern Ireland is a lovely place to live and raise children! I live by the sea in a quiet town with lots of green grass,a couple of (usually!)lovely beaches,the people are friendly and you can breathe fresh air when you get up in the morning......something that say,London couldnt boast about!
I suspect you would need to live quite close to a bigish town like Belfast to get a job that you want in that sector,so you dont have to comute? Well i only live 18miles from Belfast and most of my neighbours work in the city every day so that seems to work ok-nice place to live,sea views but far enough away from the noise and maddness of the city!
I would also suggest Enniskillen in Co.Fermanagh,some of the new housing developments are offering REALLY good deals as incentives to get people to buy-£175k buys you a 4bed,garden, detached brand new house in a nice area close to the town and there is an insurance call centre (that possibly need tech workers) called Quinns there,that seem very good to work for.Also they have alot of lorrys on the road from that area so possibly a driving job at one of the haulage companys?
So although i love where i live,i would move tomorrow to a nice house in Enniskillen (but i couldnt afford the size of house we'd need as i want more babies,lol). Just a thought of somewhere else to look that is lovely!
All the best.

brandyslad

We are in Fermanagh, Enniskillen is nice, it is one of the nicest towns in the North. And there are some real deals to be had house wise at the moment. Lots of new developments and nobody buying, if you can get a mortgage you would get a real bargain. There is a Quinns call centre in Enniskillen and also in Cavan town, there is also a BT Call Centre, the wage in there is about £7 with an agency, you have to be in to apply for a BT contract. However there are lots of people vying for the jobs so not as much choice as the big cities.
Some estate agents:

www.smythleslie.com

www.watterspropertysales.co.uk

www.montgomeryfinlay.com

www.seamuscox.com

www.seamusmcgovern.com

www.mccaffreybros.com

There is a good choice of schools here, an integrated primary school in Enniskillen and Fivemiletown (South Tyrone) and an integrated high school in Enniskillen plus all the normal segrated high school/grammar schools. The 11 plus is being down away with soon and children can opt out of doing it anyway. West Fermanagh/South Tyrone is nice, you get country living but are that bit nearer to Belfast/airports etc and our connection to Dublin is great now with the new roads.

Pretani

steveymp wrote: »

Like everywhere this place has its pros and cons, but you still get a free health service, clean drinking water (gonna have to pay for this soon thou) and for your kids you have the highest standard of Education throughout the UK;)

I tend to agree. Even although the 11+ is being updated, there will still be an acedemic selection process, but maybe targeted at 14 year olds. The 11+ consistantly produced the best talent in the UK and with more focus placed on those who failed the test, we should continue to be the best within the UK. Our education system is one of the reasons parents from all over the UK and Republic want to start life in N.Ireland.

jammin_2

Thanks everybody for all your valuable replies. I really do appreciate it.

So, just to answer some questions: Why am I fed up with Waterford? Well, the company I work for (I've been here for 2 and a half years), I started at the bottom with the intention of working my way up the ladder. Never happened. General consensus in this place is that promotions go to the brothers / sisters / cousins / nieces / nephews (etc etc..), of those in high places. Didn't believe that this was possible, in today's times. But it's starting to appear very true.

Waterford's a small place, and I'm sorry to generalise, but it really seems like everyone at least knows everyone else through someone else or another, if not actually related in some way. The other thing is, apart from the company I work for, there really isn't anywhere else I could work.

For example, I'd love to work in a bank. But, as with so many other jobs here, I'm not Irish, so I might as well forget it (short of working in Lidl or Aldi).

What's worse, I'm English. And sadly, the "anti-English" mindset is still very present in Waterford. Not that the locals would want to admit it aloud, it's still very much within them. My friend's little boy (they're Malaysian, living here), came back from school once, and he told me about his history lesson that he had that day. The kids were told that, as they listen to the story being read, they were to "boo" every time the words England or English were mentioned. The little boy is only 9 years old, and I don't see any reason he'd have to make this up.

So, you can see why I've pretty much no future in Waterford, and why I don't want my son being brought up hating the English.

I'm hoping that a move North of the border would alleviate these issues. Would I be right? Incidentally, don't get me wrong, I'm no raving patriotic Brit. But at the same time, I don't want my little boy to grow up having this anti-English crap being drummed into him.

Short of West Belfast (hope I'm not offending anyone there), would there be any other areas that particularly might not be too welcoming, to a mixed English / Singaporean family of mum, dad and baby, with pretty much no political views?

I don't want much. All I want is to live in a nice, quiet, low-crime area, where people are friendly and not judgmental because I speak with an English accent. Where I can get a job based on my experience and qualifications, and not dismissed even the chance of an interview, again, because I speak with an English accent.

Thanks again for your view, guys. :beer:

brandyslad

The integrated schools would be very neutral. However, one thing about Fermanagh, 80 to 90 % of people are related or know each other. If you go somewhere and meet new people they always ask who you know and who your family is, but in a friendly way. however having an english accent will extend you the luxury of not having to go through these questions! There are lots of english accents here now, we actually were remarking on it, a few years age there were no english people round here. Enniskillen is an easy place to live without worrying about religion, lots of mixed marriages and people from other nationalities. I love meeting people from other countries and you will be made feel welcome in Fermanagh. But as I said there is still the culture of everyone knows everyone else but not in a hostile way.