On average, 1 in 30 people living in England and Wales will permanently move to a different area of the country each year, as published in a recent report by the ONS. People relocate for many different reasons including work, study and lifestyle; not taking into account that some people may just want a change of scenery.
The most popular places that people moved between in 2011 and 2012 were London and Manchester. Personally, I’ve moved six times in the past three years, so I’m a contributing number to the statistics. With openings of all kinds developing around the UK, is opportunity the only real reason to relocate?
I sought the ‘land of opportunity’ in Leicester, but it wasn’t necessarily the location that attracted me to the course I was applying for. I found the prospect of studying under one of the largest marketing faculties in the country at De Montfort University too enticing to pass up. Once I’d left my hometown, my family took the initiative to sell up and migrate; heading south to the greener pastures of Andover in Hampshire. Following that, I found myself living with friends in Hertfordshire. After successfully securing my placement at SilverDoor, I stayed in Hammersmith serviced apartments for a month and then settled in Ealing where I now live.
Moving around this much in a short space of time isn’t the norm for people, but it’s not so rare either. Temporary relocation is a massive part of day-to-day business for a lot of companies and so is short to medium-term accommodation. Serviced apartments helped me find my feet in the first few weeks of living in an area I was unfamiliar with. Prospects will always arise outside of the city you’re based in and relocation is just a part of the process. The land of opportunity can always be a place you feel comfortable in.
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Image: Andy2014 (Creative Commons Licence)
