Work Location: Which is the Best One?

[from_india]

Hi All-

Me back with one more question - a question, answer of which is so important for me!

I have got a job in UK, and I have a choice to make about my work location. The company has offices in London, Woking, and Aston (Birmingham). I could choose any of these locations. While choosing the location, I want to take the following into consideration:

1. Cost (House Rent + Cost of Living)
2. Safety (I will be coming to UK with my family - wife and a two year old son)
3. Climate (warmer the better)

Following are my findings:

1. London: I can get a decent 2 bedroom flat in 800GBP. Not in central london but in WEMBLEY or Harrow. The problem is I will have to spend 45 minutes to commute to the office.
2. Woking: I can get a decent 2 bedroom flat in 800GBP. I can be located at around 10 minutes from the office (a huge plus). Safety of my family? I dont know! Weather would be similar to London.
3. Aston (Birmingham): I can get a decent 2 bedroom flad in 600 GBP (a huge plus). I can be located around 10 minutes from my office (a huge plus). Safety to may family? I dont know! Is it colder as compared to London? How much differene would it make?

Please advise on whether my findings are accurate. Any other comments/suggestions/advise will be highly appreciated. I am inclined towards Aston due to the cost; but does the weather and safety fair bad when compared to London/Woking?

Thanks!

[from_india]

Somebody, advise please!

[neoseal]

Is the salary same for every city? If so then go for the cheapest expense one. If not then compare proportionately the difference in salary and living expense.
One more reason to consider is, if you are outgoing person and like hectic city life then London, if you are outgoing and like peaceful quiet life with all the facilities then other two locations.
The living quality may differ at places, like you may get better furnished house in Aston and Woking then in London for the same price.
Sometimes going to remote places helps in career promotion which you might want to consider.
Good Luck

[from_india]

Neoseal, Thanks for your reply!

Yeah, the salary is same for all cities. Is the Aston climate considerably colder than London? Should that be a factor? I am already kind of scared knowing that London gets to 2 degree Celcius and if the Auston (being further north) is worse than that, then I would better stick to London/Woking. What say?!

[John]

The climate here in Birmingham is about the same as in London .... on average ... very little in it .... certainly nothing to make you decide upon one location or another.

I suspect that you would probably not want to live in Aston itself, but somewhere within easy travelling distance of there. Aston is of course just a suburb of Birmingham, and Birmingham does tend to be quite well served by public transport. So if, for example, when you say Aston you actually mean Aston Science Park, that is very well placed and easy to get to from much of this part of Birmingham, or indeed from the city centre.

Housing costs are noticeably cheaper here than in London or somewhere like Woking. And whilst you mention a 2-bed flat for £600 per month, you could actually get say this property, a 2-bed house for £550, ranging through to this 4-bed detached house for £775 per month.

Both places about a 5-minute walk away from a very frequent "Showcase" bus route and about a 10-15 minute bus ride to Aston Science Park. But lots of other possibilities.

[from_india]

John,

This is what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot for your precise answer. Happy New Year!!!

[anil_jain]

Hi

I would suggest you look at one more factor besides climate, safety etc. i.e. ability to socialise. If you are from another country, it might take longer to settle in the social circles in a smaller town rather than a place like London. It can get pretty lonely and boring unless one has figured out a way of keeping himself occupied.

Cheers

[John]

anil_jain, Birmingham is also a big city ..... about one million people ... the UK's second biggest city. And it is very multi-cultural.

And looking forward to the latest Birmingham v London battle ... in the form of the Aston Villa v Chelsea Premiership football match this evening. Maybe it is wishful thinking to expect Villa to get any points tonight, but then, who knows?

[first2last4]

John, Sorry to say but considering the transportation system
10 x birmingham is still < 1 x London
similar to
10 x Delhi is still < 1 x Mumbai (Bombay) In India.

[John]

I can't possible comment upon Delhi and Mumbai, but as regards Birmingham and London, you jest surely? Or just failing to take into account that Birmingham, whilst a large city, is that much smaller than London. So clearly does not need the likes of an underground train system.

And use of car, apart from the peak of the rush hour, we live about 5 miles from the city centre, and by driving we can be in the city centre in about 10 minutes. Would that be possible in the London area .... 5 miles out from say Trafalgar Square ... drive to Trafalgar Square ... quite a bit longer than 10 minutes I would suggest.

Finally, I was born in the London area and lived there for merely 20 years .... but now I would never consider moving back to the London area.

[anil_jain]

John,

Pardon my ignorance; I didnt know either the size or the multi cultural nature of Aston Birmingham.

Regarding the debate of Birmigham vs London, I live in Muscat Oman which I would say sounds similar to Birmingham - no public transportation but very easy to go around and everything is within 10 min. But I wouldnt call this city a 'happening city'; limited options in terms of restaurants, movies, plays, pubs, discos etc. I dont know how Birmingham compares with London on that front. Of course the stress levels in this city are also much lower than what would expect in a thickly populated metropolis....

[John]

I live in Muscat Oman which I would say sounds similar to Birmingham - no public transportation but very easy to go around

No public transportation here? Indeed just the opposite .... good bus and train services ... and even a tram line, and more to come of those in the future.

But as well as a well-developed public transport system it is also easy to drive around ... well certainly easier than London.

Football result tonight ... just been watching the game on TV .... Aston Villa 0 Chelsea 0 .

[vin123]

Surprise to know that there are companies around that allows prospective new starters to 'choose' their location of work. Of course, I'm assuming that you are joining as a normal staff member.

Re: London/Living cost, generally speaking, Aston employees would not be given a "city allowance" when compared to their London office staff on the same grade.
This is what is typically done by most of the companies to effectively negate the cost of living differences between small towns and big cities.

[John]

This is what is typically done by most of the companies to effectively negate the cost of living differences between small towns and big cities.

In the context of this topic, which "small town" are you talking about?

Now if you are saying that those working in Birmingham will not get London Weighting ... well of course not. But then the cost of living here is very much less than in the London area.

[vin123]

It's easy explaining the other way, London being the "big town" , gets weightage in the form of a city allowance when compared to Woking or Aston.

For e.g, if the company had only 2 offices - one in Aston and the other in Inverness, then of course Astoner's will get the weightage if the company gives a city allowance when moving offices.

Each company does things differently, but more or less - the principles remain the same.

In the context of this topic, which "small town" are you talking about?

[first2last4]

Well I give much importance to the transporation system like that of Tube/Trains in both London and Mumbai (British Legacy). Millions of people use Tubes and trains for commuting. so massive thier coverage is that the day Tube/Train is shut the city (like London/Mumbai) itself goes to sleep....