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Five Top UK Cities to Move to
In an average month, around 100,000 households will move into a new home somewhere in the UK, and three-quarters of these are relocating from one part of the country to another. UK house removals experts Hamiltons Removals have many years of experience in helping people relocate to all parts of the country and overseas. Here we look at five of the most popular cities people are choosing to move to.
Bristol
If high-tech is what you are after, then Bristol is a good place to live. It was recently named as the UK’s leading smart city by tech giant Huawei. It has a state-of-the-art operations centre with a digital traffic management system, ensuring there are very few traffic jams, plus integrated telecare services to look after vulnerable people. The mobile 4G coverage is excellent as well.
Bristol also has plenty of job opportunities, a high employment rate and there are plenty of other attractions too. The waterfront area is being developed with lots of high-end flats, restaurants and clubs, and it’s not far from the sandy beaches of North Cornwall, either.
Edinburgh
A recent study by Royal Mail rated the Scottish capital as the most attractive UK city, thanks to factors such as its excellent education service and its large number of green spaces, which make up more than a quarter of the city’s total area. There are also sound economic reasons for moving here, as it is one of the top places for business start-ups. Office space here costs around half of what it would in London.
The city has plenty of nooks and crannies to explore, as parts of it date back to the 17th century. History buffs will love looking round Edinburgh Castle (above) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The city also has more restaurants per head than anywhere else in the UK, while the Edinburgh Fringe Arts Festival is famous the world over.
London
Yes, the cost of living here is high, but there are still plenty of good reasons why London is one of the best cities in the UK to move to. It has one of the most comprehensive public transport networks in the world, with almost half of all Londoners commuting to work by train, Tube, boat, bus or even cable car.
Removals to London would also mean all its famous landmarks are within easy reach – Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament to name just a few. Add in renowned restaurants serving all manner of food, fun-filled festivals and West End theatre productions, and you can see why London is still a big draw for many people. Figures show that for every 200,000 people who move from somewhere else in the UK to the capital, only 25,000 go the opposite way.
Oxford
This university city is a good place to move to for economic reasons and a good work-life balance, according to recent surveys from PwC and Demos. Getting around isn’t difficult, as it’s not the biggest of places, and most residents are more than happy to get on their bike – the city has one of the highest percentages of people cycling to work.
The city has more than 20 galleries and museums, including the Ashmolean and the University Museum of Natural History. You can relax by punting on either of the two rivers which flow through the city, the Cherwell and the Isis. And Oxford’s central location means all other parts of the country are within easy reach too.
Belfast
The Office for National Statistics has found that the Northern Irish are among the happiest people in the UK – and the people of Belfast are no exception. Northern Ireland’s capital is fast becoming a modern, metropolitan city.
Major tourist attractions include the Titanic Museum – the vessel was built in the city’s Harland and Wolff shipyard – and the Ulster Museum, which tells the story of the whole country. If you want to enjoy some great views across the city, as well as get some exercise, then climb up the nearby mountains in the heart of the Belfast Hills.
UK House Removals with Hamiltons
At Hamiltons Removals we can help you with UK house removals to all towns and cities, including Bristol, Oxford, London, Belfast and Edinburgh. As well as transporting your items to your new home, we can pack and unpack them for you, even if they include large, fragile or unusual items.
To give you an idea of how much the whole process will cost, we provide free online moving quotes, which you can access by following this link. One of our surveyors will then visit your home to find out more about your individual requirements to ensure that your move is as stress-free as possible. Follow the link above to learn more about our UK removals services.
Five Top Countries to Move to For Work Reasons
Starting a new job is one of the main reasons for moving abroad – as well as exposing you to a whole new culture, it can also enhance your career and teach you new skills which will be invaluable in the fast-paced world of business.
Hamiltons Removals are experts in commercial removals to Europe and worldwide. Here we identify five countries which offer the best opportunities for starting a new career.
Switzerland
A highly skilled labour force, a large percentage of which has been drawn from the rest of Europe, means that the Swiss economy is thriving, so there are plenty of job opportunities. The country’s political structure helps as well. It is divided up into 26 separate districts or ‘cantons’, which can set their own economic policies to the benefit the local economy. Swiss workers’ salaries are very high, but you should bear in mind that the country’s cost of living is also extremely high.
Switzerland is one of the easiest places in the world to do business, according to a Global Exchange Index of countries created by Forbes Insights and OFX. As well as its world-famous financial sector, its chemical and pharmaceutical industries are also major employers.
Denmark
This is the easiest place to do business in Europe, according to a 2019 World Bank report. A strong public sector helps, as this means doing trade across borders, acquiring construction permits and signing contracts are all much simpler. Foreign investors and expats on high salaries have both been offered a lower tax rate, and the average working week is under 40 hours, well below the international average.
The country generates more than a quarter of its energy through wind power, and it is one of the world’s leading exporters of turbines. Other important sectors include the pharmaceutical industry, shipbuilding, textiles, and furniture manufacture.
Norway
Denmark’s Scandinavian neighbour Norway is also an attractive place to move to for work reasons. Although its population is only around 5.1 million, its wealth is very evenly distributed, so most people enjoy a high standard of living. Industry and research and development hubs are well integrated, and there is a highly skilled labour force, with many people fluent in English, French and German as well as Norwegian.
The country’s most important industries are gas and petroleum – Norway is the world’s 10th largest oil exporter – as well as shipping, fishing, mining and food processing.
The Netherlands
This country has a long reputation as a trading nation. It is well known for making foreigners feel welcome, and nine out of every 10 people speak English. Members of the international business community also find it is an effective ‘gateway’ to the rest of Europe.
Major employers are the metal and engineering industries, the construction sector and agroindustries – the Netherlands is the world’s leading exporter of flowers, responsible for more than 40 per cent of the market.
New Zealand
This country tops the 2019 World Bank report as the easiest place in the world to do business, thanks to a lack of bureaucracy and red tape. As in the UK, the Government is making its tax arrangements digital, simplifying the whole process, and it is also very easy to launch a new start-up here as well.
Agriculture and horticulture, forestry, mining and fishing are the country’s major industries, although the service sector also makes a vital contribution to the economy.
Commercial Removals with Hamiltons
Hamiltons can help you with domestic and commercial moves to many different destinations in Europe, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, as well as countries across the world, including Canada and New Zealand. As well as moving all your office furniture and IT equipment, we can also take care of your employees at the same time, as we can arrange house moves as part of the same package.
As an experienced removals firm based in East Anglia, we take all the stress out of the whole process. With commercial moves, we pack and unpack all your items as part of our office moving service, then reassemble it once it has reached its new destination. You will have your own liaison manager, so you have a single point of contact for the duration of the move. If you can’t decide on what items you need to take, we can store your some or all of them on either a short- or a long-term basis.
If you would like to know more about our commercial removals service, follow this link.