UK citizen returning from US - where are the jobs?
Oct 1st, 2011, 07:14 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
UK citizen returning from US - where are the jobs?
I am originally from Brighton (moved to the US when I was 20 - now 44) and have been looking into the cost of living. I'm shocked that a 1-bedroom is 550 minimum plus bills and there don't seem to be many jobs either. So I'm considering returning to a town nearby instead with a more economical cost of living.
The only other place I lived was Cowes, IOW and that's too small and too far from Brighton. I'd like to be no more than 1 hour by train. Just a nice, safe town with large parks and scenery - and jobs! I'll be looking for customer service/office clerk type work. Is there anything that fits the bill or should I just return to Brighton and try to manage? Thanks
The only other place I lived was Cowes, IOW and that's too small and too far from Brighton. I'd like to be no more than 1 hour by train. Just a nice, safe town with large parks and scenery - and jobs! I'll be looking for customer service/office clerk type work. Is there anything that fits the bill or should I just return to Brighton and try to manage? Thanks
Oct 2nd, 2011, 12:40 PM
#5
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 5,056
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Brighton is uber trendy so a bit more expensive. Eastbourne (don't laugh) just up the coast is where a lot of wannabe Brightonites go now. Quite a bit cheaper, quick train to Brighton, actually a really nice little town and you've got Beachy Head for a bit of open space on your doorstep.
Oct 2nd, 2011, 12:48 PM
#6
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 12,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
All the jobs are in China
millions of willing provincial workers
with a BETTER work ethic than the west
Who think 50p/hour is a great wage...
Health professions and other service professions
and IT jobs are growing if u have skills there
Check the Fianacial Times web site.
Singapore is the new Switzerland to China
That is where the current growth is.
millions of willing provincial workers
with a BETTER work ethic than the west
Who think 50p/hour is a great wage...
Health professions and other service professions
and IT jobs are growing if u have skills there
Check the Fianacial Times web site.
Singapore is the new Switzerland to China
That is where the current growth is.
Oct 2nd, 2011, 01:00 PM
#7
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,416
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also your age is against you. Over 40s find it very difficult to get a job, either because employers think you are over-qualified or have to pay you much larger salary than someone half your age doing the same work. Your lack of recent UK experience will be another negative.
If you can find some kind of intra-company transfer, you have advantage over US staff in that you don't need a visa to work in UK. If you network among your existing contacts, something may show up. This is the best route for relocatng to UK.
Brighton has UK HQ of American Express, the new football stadium there is sponsored by them and is one of the city's largest employers.
If you can find some kind of intra-company transfer, you have advantage over US staff in that you don't need a visa to work in UK. If you network among your existing contacts, something may show up. This is the best route for relocatng to UK.
Brighton has UK HQ of American Express, the new football stadium there is sponsored by them and is one of the city's largest employers.
Oct 2nd, 2011, 07:24 PM
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks - some good suggestions except for Australia and Scotland! I haven't worked for a while so no networking/transfer opportunities. I did live just a few minutes from the Amex building in Brighton in my teenage years and was going to give them a shot. I know I have my work cut out for me - age & lack of recent work experience is most definately an issue.
Nona1 .. I always thought Eastbourne was a bit of a retirement town - am I wrong? Also, any promising towns along the Brighton-London rail line?
What's the current unemployment rate in Britain?
Nona1 .. I always thought Eastbourne was a bit of a retirement town - am I wrong? Also, any promising towns along the Brighton-London rail line?
What's the current unemployment rate in Britain?
Oct 2nd, 2011, 10:06 PM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 728
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gosh 1travelseeker I wish you luck! You are certainly returning to the UK in very troubling times with the proposed massive cuts to services due to the austerity measures etc.
As reported on The Guardian’s website - www Guardian.co.uk - today, the official UK Labour Market statistics (Sept 2011) show the unemployment rate is 7.9%
Jobless total rises to 2.51m
• Unemployment rate at 7.9%
• Public sector employment falls by 111,000
• Claimant count rises by 20,300 in August
•Youth unemployment increases to 972,000
“Public sector job cuts imposed as part of the government's austerity drive have sent unemployment back through the 2.5m barrier, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people out of work rose by 80,000 in the three months to July, reaching 2.51m, mainly due to a sharp rise in youth unemployment.
Despite ministerial hopes that the private sector will be able to compensate for the squeeze on the public sector, the ONS said the May to July period had seen the sharpest rise in unemployment in two years.”
[According to the National Bureau of Statistics for Australia, unemployment rate in Australia is 5.3% (end Aug 2011)]
As reported on The Guardian’s website - www Guardian.co.uk - today, the official UK Labour Market statistics (Sept 2011) show the unemployment rate is 7.9%
Jobless total rises to 2.51m
• Unemployment rate at 7.9%
• Public sector employment falls by 111,000
• Claimant count rises by 20,300 in August
•Youth unemployment increases to 972,000
“Public sector job cuts imposed as part of the government's austerity drive have sent unemployment back through the 2.5m barrier, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said the number of people out of work rose by 80,000 in the three months to July, reaching 2.51m, mainly due to a sharp rise in youth unemployment.
Despite ministerial hopes that the private sector will be able to compensate for the squeeze on the public sector, the ONS said the May to July period had seen the sharpest rise in unemployment in two years.”
[According to the National Bureau of Statistics for Australia, unemployment rate in Australia is 5.3% (end Aug 2011)]
Oct 2nd, 2011, 11:43 PM
#10
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,760
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ask on this forum you may get better idea of what is involved
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=61
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=61
Oct 3rd, 2011, 12:29 AM
#11
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Take a look at the train routes from Brighton. Loads of towns along the Brighton-London train route and within the hour or so from Brighton you specify - Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Crawley, Gatwick Airport, Redhill, East Croydon, Clapham Junction and London itself. Crawley and Gatwick Airport are major employers although that doesn't mean there are suitable vacancies.
Lewes and Eastbourne going East.
Worthing, Chichester and even Portsmouth going West.
Lewes and Eastbourne going East.
Worthing, Chichester and even Portsmouth going West.
Oct 4th, 2011, 12:37 PM
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I will check out that expats site. Unemployment in the US is between 9-10% so the UK at 8% is about the same. I'm aware of the towns along the Brighton-London route but I was curious if any of them might have more available jobs than Brighton. So I was really just looking for positive and helpful ideas from people already there.
As a specific reply to janisj's "You don't have professional qualifications/connections, haven't worked 'for a while', are being picky about the exact town, haven't lived there for more than 20 years, and think you'll try AMEX simply because you lived nearby as a child???
Doesn't sound at all promising. Maybe you should stay where you are since you have survived there for 24 years."
What's the judgement for? I have qualifications and previous work experience. However for about 5 years I've been recovering from a serious illness and waiting for the time that I could be self-sufficient and return home. I'm divorced and no longer have ties here so I won't take your suggestion and just stay where I am because I survived here for 24 years. I'm looking for a better quality of life than survival. Also, I'm not "being picky." The theme of my post was to find an alternate town to have a better chance of finding work as Brighton doesn't seem to have many job postings. I don't "think [I'll] try AMEX simply because [I] lived nearby as a child???" With that reasoning I would get a job at the launderette. I was just saying I knew the location of the Amex building because I'd practically lived next door and knew they employed many people. "Doesn't sound at all promising." Precisely! That's why I'm seeking out information to increase my odds.
As a specific reply to janisj's "You don't have professional qualifications/connections, haven't worked 'for a while', are being picky about the exact town, haven't lived there for more than 20 years, and think you'll try AMEX simply because you lived nearby as a child???
Doesn't sound at all promising. Maybe you should stay where you are since you have survived there for 24 years."
What's the judgement for? I have qualifications and previous work experience. However for about 5 years I've been recovering from a serious illness and waiting for the time that I could be self-sufficient and return home. I'm divorced and no longer have ties here so I won't take your suggestion and just stay where I am because I survived here for 24 years. I'm looking for a better quality of life than survival. Also, I'm not "being picky." The theme of my post was to find an alternate town to have a better chance of finding work as Brighton doesn't seem to have many job postings. I don't "think [I'll] try AMEX simply because [I] lived nearby as a child???" With that reasoning I would get a job at the launderette. I was just saying I knew the location of the Amex building because I'd practically lived next door and knew they employed many people. "Doesn't sound at all promising." Precisely! That's why I'm seeking out information to increase my odds.
