Is now a good time to move to London?

[surfcity]

I’ve been thinking about a move to London for a few years but with all the Brexit stuff I’m a bit worried that the job market won’t be very promising anymore. Can any Londoners tell me whether it’s still a good time to move there, or should I wait a bit to see how things go with Brexit?

[Andrew_Robert_Burges]

Here in London, the situation since the referendum has changed things somewhat - there's a definite feeling of concern about the result, and what it's going to mean. What doesn't help is the fact that the government are being quite cagey as to when or how Brexit is going to happen, which isn't helping reassure people. Some things to bear in mind:

• Once Article 50 is invoked (the declaration of the country's wish to leave the EU), the process will take 2 years until the country is actually separated from the EU. Until that point, we still benefit from membership, and have to follow the same rules as other members.
• The earliest that the government has said that Article 50 will be invoked is early next year, which will mean that it won't actually take place until early 2019.
• There's a lot of conjecture, but, for now, things seem to be remaining the same (although, that very much depends on who you talk to). It's mainly the lack of clear communication which is causing this to happen. Us Londoners (the majority of whom voted to stay in the EU) are watching the news carefully every day to see what happens next.
• There's a chance (and it's just a chance), that something might happen to overturn the decision - there are several legal battles going on, and a lot of discussion on whether or not the result is final.

Simply put, I would say that London has always been a fairly prosperous, if not expensive, place to live, full of opportunities and things to enjoy, and that won't change, at least for the next few years. There's still time to come and enjoy stuff, but we shall see how things play out once we've actually left the EU. Sorry to be vague, but that's the strange reality we find ourselves in at the moment!

[Marco_Cecconi]

The problem is that no one really knows what Brexit will look like. If you have a EU passport, this will especially depend on which of the two most likely scenarios will play out:

• soft brexit: the UK will not touch European citizens' rights and retain market access to the EU. In this case nothing much will change;

• hard brexit: the UK will limit European citizens' rights and lose some market access to the EU. In this case you could be taking a risk.

In the case of hard brexit, thus of 2 separate markets, it is very likely that some companies will move their HQ to Europe which is the largest. Also, it's not unthinkable that the pound will sink further by another 10% on top of the 10% already lost. This fundamentally means that import prices in the UK will go up, job offers will calm down a bit, and salaries will become less competitive with respect to Europe -- in fact you can already see that right now.

It seems very common to wait, right now, at least until the UK government sorts itself out and invokes Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty and starts the negotiations. In the meanwhile, both Paris and Berlin have been pushing quite hard to position themselves as the next "startup capital" of Europe.

We shall see

[eamonncarey]

It depends on what you're working on and looking for. There's a lot of relatively positive media spin around at the moment that's suggesting that Brexit isn't as big a deal as people thought it would be. I think the reality is that no-one will have a full understanding of what's going to happen until the UK triggers article 50 and properly starts the negotiations to leave the EU.

From experience - there are still a lot of jobs in the London market. There are some companies that are scaling back their hiring a bit, but from an investment point of view and from a company point of view, there's still optimism and a general belief that even if the Government fucks things up in the negotiations, the UK is only a short hop to Dublin, Berlin, Paris, Lisbon or any number of other European cities that will welcome companies in with open arms.

In short - the job market is still pretty good. If you're not in any mad rush, then I would hold off and see what happens in the new year (which is when they're apparently going to start the negotiations to leave). The people negotiating on the UK's behalf are not the sharpest tools in the box, so it could start to fall apart a little, but realistically, London is a major global city - it will remain relevant from a business and investment perspective for a while yet...

[petyapavlova]

Hi Joe!

I'd say it is a good time because right now, nothing much has changed since Brexit, so you might get in while things are pretty much business as usual. While there is absolutely no clarity coming from the Government or from the EU, many seem to say that negotiations will try to keep the status of Europeans who were here before Article 50 is triggered unchanged, meaning if you're here when/if they do formal step out of the EU it might actually help. Then again, nothing is certain, so some say it might actually not be as straightforward as that. It seems like you're in the States now, so not sure if that is relevant and what citizenship you have.

Other than that I haven't noticed opportunities decreasing or people being laid off, so at this point of time it seems to me that it is as good a time as any.

Hope this helps!

[Corin_Faife]

I think that all of the above are good points and well made. London is a great city to experience and that's unlikely to change. To hone in specifically on the specific question about job prospects, the key point is all of the uncertainty mentioned by Andrew above - when any government is unclear or uncertain about policy it translates to uncertainty in the market, which has already been seen in the depreciation of the pound, and further down the line could lead to less investment in the British economy by foreign companies.

The short answer is always going to be 'there's no sure way to tell', but I'd be tempted to hold off moving by even a year or so in the hope of getting a clearer picture.

[Matt_Owen]

Hey Joe,

I think that right now the job market is quite strong, but it depends which sector you are working in? I'm in marketing, and there's a huge amount of hiring going on, particularly in the agency sector. Likewise, startups and technical roles are in high-demand. I know there have been rumblings from some Fintechs about relocating if access to the free market is restricted once Article 50 is triggered, but it doesn't seem to have unduly affected the online marketplace. I would consider waiting if you were interested in a sector that is primarily tied to manufacturing right now. Similarly, Finance may see some effects in 2017, but otherwise I say - come and join us in lovely, London (and bring an umbrella).

[Francesco_Durante_Vi]

No easy answer to that. It depends, as usual. According to your current professional position and your expectations in terms of personal growth and kind of lifestyle, London could represent the right choice right now.
Be aware of the highest rent rates in Europe.
With some more info I could probably be more helpful.
I am not currently living there but I did for the past 3 years. Not the simplest and easiest of cities of course but the feeling of being in one of the belly buttons of the world is priceless.
The stressful daily life and its humongous size makes London a tough place. But in terms of career possibilities, it might be the right choice, depending on what field you are into.

[Antonio_Rocha-Ferrei]

Really depends on the skills. Like any other global city London has lots of jobs, but it only compensates to move if you find a decent one (40K at least, anything less dont bother) since its also one of the most expensive cities in the world. I would suggest to hit the job boards and do some proper research, adapt your CV, check with friends if you can use their address and get yourself a Uk phone.

[Carlo_Nicora]

To be fairly honest, nobody know yet. The prime minister goes on saying that "Brexit means Brexit", but the article 50 has not been triggered yet.
The reality is that nobody knows what is going to happen when the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will be triggered. Depending on where you come from, you may need a VISA that you didn't need before (if you are European).

Currently I have seen a bit of downturn in the economy, but it is not (yet) bad. If I was not already living in London now, I would not move here right now. The reason is simple: there is a lot of uncertainty in the market, and the outlook may change very rapidly to make London a stable place.

Ciao
Carlo

[Slavo_Ingilizov]

It depends on your job. I don't think anyone has felt any impact by Brexit yet. There will be some eventually, but only when there's better clarity on what Brexit means. If banks lose their passporting rights, big ones might decide to cut a lot of jobs. But no one knows.

Right now, it's all the same as it used to be before Brexit. If you are in a high-demand job, you'll be fine. Software development, product management, data science are fields where the hunger for talent is so big, that Brexit's impact will be minimal. I don't expect that to change in the next 2 years.

No serious change in prices, either. Rent is still super-expensive, transport too. No change in cost of food or basics, so I wouldn't worry about this if I was planning to move.