Relocating: Job or house first?

pjm223

My partner and I currently live in a rented flat in London and want to relocate to a cheaper city further North. As it is far away, it would not be realistically commutable if I were to start a new job up there before finding a new home. I currently work from home due to the pandemic but may be required to go back into the office once everything has calmed down so I could technically keep my WFH job if they are okay with me permanently being remote (which could go either way). 

If the situation came up that I wasn't able to keep working for the current company, would you be more inclined to find a job first or a place first? I am in a tizz with it because I am aware either situation could take time to go through and I don't want to be left without one or the other.

Has anyone else on here been in a similar situation before? 

AdrianC

Definitely job first.

Then rent when you first get up there, while you decide where you want to live - or, even, if you want to stay.

MaryNB

I have moved to different cities three times (well once to one city and twice to another) that were well beyond a commutable distance. Each time I waited until I had a job in place and then in the time between getting the offer and starting the job I've found somewhere to live. While viewings are obviously going to be difficult if you don't live there I found it much easier to find a place to live than a job, unless you're in a high demand role that is required in most places. 

Mickey666

Job first.   
And depending on the type of job it might be worth asking if there are any relocation expenses.

thirtytoseventy

I'm sort of in the same situation but eyeing a transfer with the same employer, which makes life easier. Signing up to a property be that tenancy or buying will box you in to a specific area. 'North' is very large, although I'm sure you have an inkling as to where exactly you fancy. But in this climate I would say cast as wide a net as you can for your job search, and then go from there. Imagine uprooting and dealing with a move, even with a job, to find that you hated said job and were suddenly rather trapped? So research the local markets and narrow things down. One thing though, you might find some employers dismiss you out of hand with a CV or other indicator that you're not local. It's illegal for them to do so really, but they still will in many cases. If you can use a local address or somehow demonstrate a tie to an area, I think this will help you secure the role. Employers just don't want extra hassle and even though they know they can't say so officially, it's likely to remove you from consideration in some cases (caveat - totally depends on your industry / skills and how in demand you might be!). 

seradane

Yeah, definitely job first.

When I moved we had a two-month notice on our rental and one month notice at work, so negotiated a start date in 6 weeks time. So minor overlap with the rental, but we were happy to absorb that. Unless you're really desperate for work (which sounds like you aren't), you can take your time and find the right company who will understand and give you the flexibility. 

Then, once the job's lined up, you have plenty of time to arrange a rental. Obviously with Covid it's not quite so straightforward as usual, so it may be worth just checking the availability of rentals in the area you're thinking of, to make sure you won't just have to grab the first thing that's available, but other than that there's plenty of time.