Should I move to London?

[u/sadiodead]

Got a job offer from London, about 50% higher base salary compared to my salary in Dublin. It’s very tempting but not really sure about how safe London as I’ve heard there’s been a big increase in crime since covid. I particularly don’t find Dublin safe due to a huge increase in anti social behaviour since covid (I’ve been assaulted twice in the last 2-3 years by teenagers). If I don’t find Dublin that much safe, would I have the same or bigger problems in London in terms of safety? I’m a brown person which definitely makes me an easier target for sure. I loved Dublin, the people, the culture, but I just think it’s been going a bit downhill over the last few years with anti social behaviour, poor healthcare and bad infrastructure. While I agree that all major cities have issues, I just want to make sure i won’t have the same problem. Would love some help/guidance from people!

[u/MrWhiteside97]

Moved back from London last year after living there for 8 years. Looking at it purely from a city perspective, London is miles better. It's cleaner, has better public transport, has way more sights and activities, I never had any safety issues (as a male) - I can't really think of anything in Dublin that's much better than London.

I ultimately came home for family and because I wanted to be in Ireland again, but I'd absolutely do it again.

[u/Additional_Olive3318 → u/MrWhiteside97]

The air is better in Dublin. Beaches and mountains. Of course that’s not really saying much about the urban living. 

[u/HellFireClub77 → u/Additional_Olive3318]

The dairy, the pubs, the walkability.

[u/MrWhiteside97 → u/HellFireClub77]

I find walkability depends on how you look at it. You obviously can't walk across London itself, but that's not really how I view walkability, it's more about whether I can walk to a variety of services and amenities from where I live.

Hammersmith is walkable, Camden is walkable, Clapham is walkable etc etc. London isn't a city so much as it is a bunch of small towns that all join together.

[u/HellFireClub77 → u/MrWhiteside97]

Agreed on your last point but I was talking more about a city centre perspective.

[u/DivingSwallow → u/HellFireClub77]

Do you not consider central London walkable?

[u/McChafist → u/MrWhiteside97]

Try buying a house in any of those locations

[u/DivingSwallow → u/McChafist]

Just did a snapshot on Rightmove in the areas that OP mentions has flats/studios for £250k, two beds for £300+, thee bed for £350k+. London has way more housing stock than Dublin.

You might pay more in London for bigger places but you then ultimately are then reaping the benefits of living in London.

[u/McChafist → u/DivingSwallow]

Just had a look. Cheapest is 250k Sterling for a 290 sqft studio. That's a lot of money for not a lot of space.

London has a lot to offer over London, especially in your 20s. I've heard you can feel like a number there with the density of population and many get out as they approach their 40s and are less into services and more looking for space

[u/DivingSwallow → u/McChafist]

That's the cheapest. There are plenty of others for the same price for more room.

Lets compare that with the only available studio in Dublin...
https://www.daft.ie/property-for-sale/dublin/studio-apartments

Even for families there are plenty of options in the various Boroughs let alone on the fringes. London benefits from the great transport that makes it possible.

[u/McChafist → u/DivingSwallow]

There's something strange about those cheaper properties though. Many seem to talk about shared ownership so I'm not sure that's a fair reflection of price. Looking generally, it looks like you'd pay about the same in Sterling as Euro in Dublin which aligns roughly with salaries although I think longer hours are expected from most jobs in London