Change of Career

[The Duke]

The Trafford centre is a horrid day out . It’s expensive and full of shops! It does have great food and free parking iirc.

[Drezha]

Well, we’ll be going up next Friday to see what the job is like. I’ve spoken to an old colleague who works in Manchester and he knows the firm, gets on well with them and has suggested I roll out my A game as they’re worth getting in with.

I was very taken with Leeds when I studied there so this is perhaps the wrong side of the Pennines but I think I probably prefer Manchester to London! Cold doesn’t bother me though it may bother the girlfriend. But she’s Irish (West Coast) so she’s used to rain and cold!

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett

[Richard]

I have not been back there since the 1960s and when I Google street viewed it I wondered if I had ever been there. Manchester is nothing like it was back then, the parks created out of wartime bomb damage have all gone and it was almost totally rebuilt. All that is apart from a huge campus extension that was started, then ran into a few issues. One night all the cranes blew down and then the budgets blew away. I see that it is now an open space once more with no signs it was ever anything else. I was sad I ever looked, a bit more of my past memories swept away.

I just hope you find the people as warm, down to earth and friendly as they were back then.

Richard

[Bob Williams]

I could get very annoyed thinking about the money we lost on the house we sold in Nottinghamshire, until I remenber why we sold it to move here to this beautiful Lincolnshire village, with really good neighbours and friends. For £28K, we bought a mid-terrace, 3-bed, ex-NCB estate house with no SUDG and solid fuel central heating which heated just 5 radiators. The boiler was a huge, ancient thing and I contacted a Mechanical Engineer mate, to quote me on GCHeating. Fitted that with all new rad’s in every room, my mate said that the old coal boiler could have supplied heat to 2 more houses. It used to take me 3 Collier’s shovels (huge, semi-circular pan shovels) of coal just to get the thing to heat up, there was no control over it whatsoever and it would shake, rattle and roll  all the time. Fortunately, my son was an electrician and completely rewired the house for me. Then I took out the bathroom/WC at the rear of the lounge, moved it upstairs, knocked the wall out with a new RSJ and made a lovely rounded archway into the old bathroom space, where I put up large amounts of shelving to take my books and music. Then we had SUDG installed throughout, which was the worst work done on the place. I refused to pay the guy full price, he took us to the Small Claims Court and lost. I had photographs of his crappy efforts and a report from another builder: he had nothing but References. That’s fine, said the retired magistrate, but those jobs do not apply to this one; return the money you have been paid. I used that money to get the windows ripped-out and replaced by someone who knew what he was doing.

Then, a couple of years after the pit finally closed, a Housing association began buying up the empty NCB houses. Then moving in undesirables. There were riots, drugs and burglaries in the village. We had spent an estimated £7,500 (up to 1999) on the place and disability hit me, I was out of work. We sold for a little less than we paid for it and moved to Lincolnshire.

The young couple who bought it, sold it 3 years ago. For £92,000, but we are not at all bothered. The area is still subject to the same problems and I always wonder when I go through the village now to my parents’ graves, why I waited so long to move.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Drezha]

Well, had the interview and they offered me the job (pretty much there and then – I was about 5 minutes out the door and up the road when they called me. Will amtch my current pay etc etc. Deal looks good and the company looks good. Would be a bit of a step up for me perhaps – it’s title Senior Engineer, which is what I’m currently called at my job, but perhaps it’s a Principal Engineer level (which is what my current firm call it) Basically more of a management role and I do similar at the minute. At least I try to if people actually followed the ladder – my boss ignores me and hands work out directly to my grads without informing me. ¬_¬

Job wise, it seems no reason not to move really but I need to think about it over the weekend.

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett

[PlaneMan]

Nice one, well done.  :good:

[JayCeeDee]

That all sounds good. Best of luck with your pondering.  :good:

[Richard]

Well done so far, now the serious thinking takes its turn, we all wish you the very best whatever you decide.

[Dave Rice]

Sometimes you have to move on to get on.

If your current boss is sidelining you he isn’t going to stop unless you get on his back.

[Bob Williams]

Good result Drezha, bet your current company tries to tempt you to stay. As I always told my kids and I now tell the grandkids, being at least content at work is a big part of the job. Being sidelined and taken for granted, is not.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[The Duke]

Well done Dr Chris, as Dave says , now the real thinking has to begin.

If your on the same money it’s definitely going to move you up the property ladder. Non of sissy southern house prices up the North.

As nice as money is, it’s not everything, but it hardly sound like your loving your current job. I know you started this with a change of career in mind, but maybe just a change in location is all you need. A fresh start, with a boss that doesn’t overlook you, as to me that sounds like a job , or rather boss, that isn’t going to take you far.

Think of all the lovely northen greenery you can cycle. Pennines, Snowdonia and the lakes, all on your doorstep.

I would look outside of Manchester for a home. Greater manchester is not like London. Christ Liverpool Manchester is only 36miles apart for prerpective. I’m not recommending Liverpool either. But there are some nice villages and towns , the smaller rows is where your money will stretch.

Try and find a town or village that is just the oppersite side of the upandoming houses that are close to whatever the main rd to Manchester is.

Basically pinpoint your work HQ, figure out the main or secondary road into the place and trace it out , town by town, village by village.  Youll soon find a drop off I’m price. If it’s close enough to a more expensive town that will likely rise in the next few years. If your willing to but work in, and not be in the best of area. Sun 50k is attainable , your never going to loose cash on a place like that. And she your ready to move the mortgage will be that cheap you can just rent it, and keep it for a retirement asset. That’s how I’d sell a “not so great starting point” to the wife.

20mins outside man, your money will go 3x if not more.

Talking of wife, is she onboard with a northern life, does she like rain and more to the point are you both ready so say hello to strangers. We do it alot up north. London underground is the most miserable place ever. I think you get arrested for making eye contact.  :wacko:

[Ed P]

The Duke wrote:

more to the point are you both ready so say hello to strangers

Agreed – but please make sure you suss out which footie clan they belong to before making ANY comments on that subject. If you are not careful you could wind up with a “Birkenhead Kiss” —  they take their footie clans far more seriously than in the south, especially any matches between the reds and blues.

[Drezha]

God, anything football related and I’ll stay well away. Can’t stand the game. At least Manchester has a velodrome to amuse me!

The hello stuff is fine – I’m from the South West and there we used to know everyone in the village!

Girlfriend is Irish, so rain is second nature to her and as a West Coast resident, so’s the cold :p

I think over the course of the weekend I’ve come to the conclusion that’ll it’ll probably be a good move. However, to hedge my bets, I think we may look into renting a house in Manchester when we move up there for 6 months or so to find somewhere we want to live whilst my place goes on the market. It’s all subject to discussion with the bank I guess as I’m still in my fixed interest period.

In terms of living arrangements, I think the girlfriend want’s somewhere near the centre (or at least near where she’s considering working) as at the minute, she’s hating her two hour commute.

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett

[blacklion1725]

Just seen this – congratulations! Manchester is a lively old place, spots to avoid like anywhere else, but also very good social place and some very nice spots within easy travel.

I’ve heard of a Glasgow Kiss, not a Birkenhead one though – and isn’t that on Merseyside? – or is it a generic “northern nutting term!” I’ve always thought the blue and red halves of Manchester hated scousers (particularly LFC) more than they hate each other.

Anyway fair play for rocking the boat and making things happen.

[Ed P]

A ‘Birkenhead Kiss’ is just like a Glasgow one only given with feeling!

When I was talking about the blues and reds it isn’t just Manchester ‘Blues’. MU fans were totally gutted when Chelsea blues ripped them apart 4-0. It wasn’t safe to talk to MU fans in the pub that night especially as the City blues won!

[The Duke]

BL, I on the whole man city and Liverpool fans get on, and Everton and untied get on.

United pitty city, (that’s changing fast) and city hate untied.

Liverpool and Everton fans hated each other until Hillsborough, and because of the final at Wembley just after (liv v ev) they decided to not have segregation in the stands, every sat together. It’s not happened since to my knowlage. But that is where the term “friendly derby” comes from.

However there is still a hard-core bitter blue undercurrent that hate Liverpool and think if it was for Hysel, Everton would of gone on to dominate Europe and become a big club. They think liver killed their future.

They don’t like like it when you point out they couldn’t even dominate in England, as even at their best,  Liverpool was better. Then you run. Then blues are touchey about that.

My dad was a blue, as was my uncle and half my school friends. So communities are very split, and within the city, the spit about 50/50. But as Everton has little international support they like to boast they are the “peoples club” then you point out, and then liver done you a favour then stopping you go on to dominant level Europe and grow.

The bitter blue, the most miserable runs in the universe (probably).

And everyone hates Chelsea. Beaches of the money. Even though city got the money and more (I think), they still have a much harder job, first having to buy a team of misfit top players, to get them in to top 4, and then convert that team in to a winning team. Also they do so much for their community, city are a good example of a club.

While I’m at it I’ll just admit I hate arsenal, or rather Wenger made me hate arsenal. He brought in the “I didn’t see anything” culture that spread through the game over the 20 years. Lookely like him its now on its was out of football….. Slowly.

[Bob Williams]

In 1977, I was on my way into the City Ground for a game against Everton. I had my own parking spot about 500 yards from the ground, locked up and took my duffle bag out of the boot, with my sarnies, coffee flask and a Fiat 131 water pump in the bottom of the bag. I had called at a Fiat dealers for the pump on the way in, for a private job on the following day. (Garage I worked then paid peanuts, boss was an ape) I was about halfway there when two Evertonians came out of a side street. I had my scarf on, they spotted it and ran at me. Then, as now, I don’t run, I thought two to one, no bother. I took out the leader’s right kneecap and suddenly noticed the knife in the other thug’s hand. I swung the duffle bag, forgetting about the water pump, which had a big wide flange, Thump! Right upside the head. The guy collapsed without a sound, his mate limped off. I checked and the one with the head injury was breathing, had a steady pulse, no blood from the ears. I picked him up and rolled him over the wall into the park, behind a bush. Picked up the knife with a cloth from my bag, thought about it, put it back in his pocket for the police to hopefully find. Went to the match and we drew 1 – 1, but that was OK as Forest came up from Div.II that year to win the league and then two Euro cups. First game that season was away at Everton, we won 3-1.

I never heard another word about the hard-headed Blue Scouser, but the pump was OK when I fitted it. Nice little earner in fact. But my coffee flask was smashed and my sarnies tasted of coffee. 🙁

Steve, Forest fans used to moan about you lot keeping us out of Europe as well. We stopped moaning after Hillsborough: remember who were the fans at the other end. (I missed that game) I know mates in the lower rows who tried to help, police stopped them. The same lads told the police to go and help, they wouldn’t. Those lads said it was obvious that something was wrong. Sad, bad day.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Drezha]

Well, accepted the job offer – now to sort out moving up north.

Shame it’s the wrong side of the Pennines though ?

"Everything looks interesting until you do it. Then you find it’s just another job" - Terry Pratchett

[PlaneMan]

I hope it all works out well for you.  :good:

[Bob Williams]

Good luck Drezha, but:

“Shame it’s the wrong side of the Pennines though ?”

Not really, otherwise you could be in Third World Yorkshire….

Tell your GF she will be closer to Ireland via the Liverpool Ferries. :yahoo: ?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Author]

Posts