Relocating From London to The Regions - What Could It Look Like For You?

In this article, Bygott Biggs Director Catherine Boyle looks at the opportunities available in some of the Country’s more regionalised areas, placing an emphasis on financial savings, improved work-life balance and quality work satisfaction.

The last 5 years have presented us all with a number of difficulties and circumstances that we’d never have even considered a possibility some time ago. The global pandemic of COVID-19 thrust the world economy, and all of us wrapped up in it into a state of disorder and volatility that we are still feeling the effects of today; and are likely to continue to for some time yet. Our sense of normality and the regular pattern of life that we had all become so accustomed to, was suspended in favour of a “new normal”; one which saw us all self-isolating, social-distancing and living in a constant state of uncertainty. From these roots our lives were flipped upside down, and many of us were forced to confront or reassess what was most important to us in both our personal and professional lives.

Even now, as we approach the end of 2023 and look forward to 2024, some four years on from the beginning of the pandemic, many are still struggling to ratify with this changed landscape. Cost of living rates have soared and the sense of freedom and liberty many were longing to experience at the conclusion of the pandemic, has had to be tempered by a sense that the pennies need to be counted and saved.  

And nowhere is this more readily felt than in the Nation’s capital, where cost of living metrics sit at staggeringly high rates compared to other major UK cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham.  

With this in mind, we thought it would be a good opportunity for us to give a sense of how life might look beyond the Capital, and the opportunities and experiences available in the many regions we operate in beyond it…

As referenced above, perhaps the biggest contributing factor in a desire to change scene or location as of right stems from a palpable sense of financial anxiety, and not without good reason, with inflation costs across the country currently rising at a 30 year high of 5.4% year-on-year.

If we cast greater focus onto London, we see rental prices sitting at approximately 118% higher for a one-bedroom flat in the City Centre compared to Manchester, and 167% higher compared to Leeds, with the value for money and quality of residence here being observably different too.

Further figures show that estimates across these three cities for a single individual’s monthly living costs without incorporating these rental costs works out at £1102p/m in London, £799p/m in Manchester and £756p/m in Leeds.

And it’s not just the money going out on these services that sees a disparity with the rest of the country. In 2019, before the height of the pandemic had even begun to take its toll, the median weekly pay for employee jobs in London existed at 5.9% below its 2010 levels, while for the rest of the UK that gap was just 0.9%. All of this, while baseline prices and costs in London tend to be around 7% higher in London than the UK average. Seemingly, Londoners are increasingly are paying more and earning less.

Evidence of London’s economy struggling to get itself moving after the upturn of the pandemic can be further found with employment levels recovering at an alarmingly slow rate, leaving the capital with the second highest unemployment rate in the country.

Therefore, it’s no wonder those living in the capital have been feeling the pinch of financial restraint more than most.

But what could life really look like for you and your career beyond the scope of the UK’s most marquee city?

Well, we believe rather different, and in our view altogether much better…

One of the biggest discrepancies we find hearing from those who work in our surrounding regions is the freedom that is afforded to be able to enjoy a healthy and comfortable work-life balance. We want people to enjoy their work just as much as they enjoy the leisure time that is given to them outside of it, without the former ever impacting on the latter.

Living permanently in a city or urban environment at times can feel oppressive and repetitive. When your weekend rituals or social events take place in the same environment as your 5 working days, then it can be hard to compartmentalise and separate one from the other, and to feel that there is ever really a moment where you are truly “switching off.”

However, aforementioned cities such as Leeds and Manchester offer the same opportunities for beautiful fine-dining, trendy bars and cafés, art shows and exhibitions and world famous sports teams as you’d get from London, whilst also being just a stone’s throw away from some of the most scenic and stunning walking locations in the country, either to immerse yourself in with friends, family or in personal solitude and offering the perfect chance to detox and unwind from the stress of a working week.

It is also these environments that we know from our own personal experiences that are so amazing to raise a family in. We love the idea of being able to provide placements and work opportunities that allow parents to give their children experiences they would otherwise be closed off from living in a large urban hub - particularly with growing evidence suggesting living in a city or urban environment as opposed to a rural location, can be linked to a greater chance of mental health complications such as depression and anxiety.

Additional studies have even found that simply being exposed to the colour green in surrounding environments can be linked as a negating factor against these complications, and a source of overall improved mental well-being, and where better to find a source of this than with a Sunday walk in The Peaks, The Moors or The Dales!

And if you’re feeling conscious of leaving behind friends and family situated further down South, then worry not as Northern operating train routes can take you from somewhere such as York to London in little over 2 hours.

We also often find speaking to many of our placed candidates, or those we are familiar with through our own networks who have previously worked in the capital, that one of the biggest differences between the legal firms we work with and those within London is the opportunities afforded to really get to build familiar and long-lasting relationships with clients and fellow firms, working closer to the heart of cases and being able to observe their successes from a tighter perspective. As a result of this, your Monday to Friday working week won’t feel a slog with purely results oriented goals, but instead will give you the opportunity to step out and take on high-profile work with impactful results, clear career progression opportunities and rewarding measurements of success. As social creatures, one of our wants as humans is to socialise and connect. The suspension of this aspect of our lives during the pandemic was a difficult one for many to adjust to, and at its summation as our world has turned back to something more akin to “normal”, this value for connection has been reinforced and re-evaluated. Therefore, we’d urge anyone that wherever possible, to step into an employment situation that values them as an individual and fulfils these connective and social needs whilst also providing clear pathways of individual career growth and success.

We not only see this as having major benefits in terms of work satisfaction and enjoyment, but also offering opportunities to create networks and relationships that could lead to further career development opportunities. How many times do we hear, “it’s not what you know but who you know”, and in this case it is no different!

In summary, it’s safe to say we take an enormous amount of pride in the areas and locations we represent, and the firms we collaborate with within them. Being able to find people exceptional and exciting work opportunities, whilst also knowing that we are placing them in situ where they can appreciate not only a healthy work-life balance, but also take a hold of their financial security and potentially raise a family in perfect surroundings, is just one of the many reasons we do what we do and why we believe so passionately in our work.

So, if you find yourself in a position where you feel you are labouring in your career, wanting to take some time back for yourself and your family, or are feeling the burden of financial pressure, and are on the lookout for a challenging and refreshing work opportunity, then we would love to hear from you!

Catherine Boyle - Regional Director