Reply to: Life & Work

[Lockhouse]

I live in London during the week and go home to Winchester (and the missus) at weekends. She doesn't like the smoke and Winchester's not exactly awash with Equity trading floors.

[Bob Dalek]

Currently commute from South Cambridge to Liv St - having sold up and moved out of London at the top of the market! - which works fine as my gig is only 10 mins walk from Liv St, but not looking forward to the day - inevitably - when I end up back in Canary Wharf or south of the river, that will make life a real pain in the backside.

Ideally would like to to some stints in Cambridge but the contract market doesn't seem that great around there, seem to be too many lowly perm paid startups around.

Cambridge is too flat and a bit of a dive, if the truth be known.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

And an equal charge for those residents of London trying to get out.....

Much higher

After all they are always manking on about subsidising everyone else, being the economic engine of the nation and other tulipe.

[KathyWoolfe]

LOndon

Furthermore I would like LOndon to become a seperate country with passport control at the M25. And a large charge for getting past......

And an equal charge for those residents of London trying to get out.....

[moorfield]

Currently commute from South Cambridge to Liv St - having sold up and moved out of London at the top of the market! - which works fine as my gig is only 10 mins walk from Liv St, but not looking forward to the day - inevitably - when I end up back in Canary Wharf or south of the river, that will make life a real pain in the backside.

Ideally would like to to some stints in Cambridge but the contract market doesn't seem that great around there, seem to be too many lowly perm paid startups around.

[expat]

...p.s apologies for the earlier terse post expat, didnt realise you wanted a serious discussion and I was in a bad mood

... as was properly indicated within your post

I'm sure I haven't got the question, or maybe the Poll Title, correct. Maybe what I mean is,
Do you need London? And if not, how come?

I.e. I don't like it either. In fairness I should say that when I came down from Scotland in the 70s, London was the centre of the world to me and I loved it. I think that both the city and I have changed in the meantime.

[bogeyman]

Vancouver

[chef]

main area of work for me is the M4 corridor (reading, bracknell etc.) other than that it's kind of spread out all over the country/europe and so I don't need (and specificly try and avoid) London due to the cost of living and the impact it has on profits..

plus i really dont like the fact you visit and then blow black snot out your nose for a week..

p.s apologies for the earlier terse post expat, didnt realise you wanted a serious discussion and I was in a bad mood

[VectraMan]

Totally agree - it wouldn't bother me if I never went near the tuliphole that is London ever again. Its residents certainly seem to feel they are separate so give them independence.

Sounds good to me.

I'm not convinced there are the jobs, at least not outside finance. I think the best place work wise for the likes of me might well be Cambridge.

[expat]

I'd appreciate comments as much as votes: do we just move to London because there is work there? Or do the work but commute in daily for quality of life outside? Do we want to live so far outside that we commute to London weekly, so that we can actually live "at home".

Have we succeeded in finding work in our own part of the country?

Or do we figure, like me, that if we have to do a weekly commute, then it might as well be to anywhere, we don't need London?

Finally, others: don't fit in any of these groups. Then either this question doesn't interest you, or it does but I got it wrong, in which case do please try anoter poll.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

LOndon

Furthermore I would like LOndon to become a seperate country with passport control at the M25. And a large charge for getting past......

Totally agree - it wouldn't bother me if I never went near the tuliphole that is London ever again. Its residents certainly seem to feel they are separate so give them independence.

[expat]

this is a stupid poll with too many answers and it's biased towards London..

It is meant to be biased around (not towards) London, because it seems that for most of us the question is "London, or not?". I don't live there, don't work there, don't want to.... but it is there and looms large in UK contracting (or don't you think so?)
I wanted to split it into 3 really: London, UK, abroad. I subdivided it to correspond to my own choices, I suppose: it seems to me to be different to live and work in London, or to use London reluctantly as a source of contracts, with no wish to live there. Ultimately it is the title that is wrong, probably: the questions are about a single subject, in my mind.
"It is stupid"? If that = "I don't like it", OK, that I understand.

And I am trying to do a poll, not a history: one answer per person please. I am looking at work-styles, not eliciting personal details.

-- expat, haven't worked in London since 1989, currently living in UK outside London, working in Darmstadt.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Where is the "Working from Home in London and loving it" option?

Actually, I don't like working from home. However, that should change soon.

[The Lone Gunman]

I have spent most of the last ten years doing the weekly commute to the mainland.
I do like living and working abroad, but would love to be able to work from home.

[chef]

this is a stupid poll with too many answers and it's biased towards London..

"Where do you, or would you like to, live and work?"

I currently work in Stuttgart (FYI, that's not London)
I have previously worked all over the Uk (inc. London), Europe and Asia as well as from home.

I would like to work from home and have several homes throughout the world (inc. possibly London or commutable from London)

I currently live in Manchester (i.e not London)

and there is no multiple choice options.. therefore I voted Other

<Chef in "ive just been notified of detailed project definitions & project deadlines and boy are they tight therefore i'm grumpy until this can be re-negotiated" mode>