Guernsey

Kitty

Yay or nay to applying for jobs there?

Worth moving to for a few years?

cat_with_no_tail

I did a fair bit of work there for a few offshore banks.
It's VERY small but quite densley populated (compared to IOM anyway), not a whole lot of riding to do. House prices are VERY expensive.
If you're planning on moving, make sure you KNOW it's for you. Small island life is not for everyone, it can be great, very friendly, low crime etc, but EVERYONE knows you and everyone knows your business.
You might not be very far from family, but it can be a real pain in the backside. That small amount of sea between you makes things a lot more difficult.
If you're the sort of person that likes cities, you'll probably hate it, but maybe not.
I'd suggest going out for a month or so first before fully comitting.

cooldad

On the positive side with your extra toes you'll fit right in.

montevideoguy

Used to deal with a lot of folk from there in one of my previous banking jobs (dealt with IOM, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and offshore) and 90% of the Guernsey clients were seriously up their own arses. From what I've seen of the place it does look nice but I'd never live there. The IOM folk I dealt with were pretty much all sound and were the best of the bunch (although a famous cyclist you may or may not know always came across as a total bell end when I dealt with him)

BungleGsy

I live there! Do you know there are two housing markets? One "open" one for locals and licence holders. Open stuff costs an arm and a leg. Even a 1 bed local market flat might be 1/4 million... Think London prices. Maybe 2 grand a month to rent an open market flat.

Oh not much riding either. On the plus side 20% tax and no VAT.

Yay - if it's a job that pay squillions of pounds and you have six toes - you can tell I wasnt born here.
Nay - you ever want to own house.

Kitty

It seems I'd get a lot of help for doing the job, plus some nice bonuses. Including accommodation help.

homers_double

And seeing as you dont even ride a bike there wouldn't be an issue on that part.

Stevo_666

A mate moved to Jersey to work as a dentist a while back. Makes plenty of money but he gets a dose of cabin fever from time to time as it's a small place: Guernsey is even smaller. You'd probably spend quite a bit of your exra cash on travelling to get away from the place in your spare time.

Raymondavalon

homers double wrote:

And seeing as you dont even ride a bike there wouldn't be an issue on that part.

Meeeeeow.....

Kitty

homers double wrote:

And seeing as you dont even ride a bike there wouldn't be an issue on that part.

*Ahem* I do still have my bike, and I do actually ride it and have even found myself a riding partner for the summer so ner.

BungleGsy

Cabin fever - yes. My wife and I do travel as much as we can.

Cool on the accomodation help - they might be able to get a 5 year licence which would be nice.

There is a local MTB scene. I no longer race but there are XC and DH races spring to autumn and the local club get out weeknights and Sunday and if you get bored a day trip to Jersey with the bike is only 25 quid a and there is plenty of riding there. There's quite a lot of roadies and tri geeks around too (tri geek here!).

Gazlar

Kitty wrote:

homers double wrote:

And seeing as you dont even ride a bike there wouldn't be an issue on that part.

*Ahem* I do still have my bike, and I do actually ride it and have even found myself a riding partner for the summer so ner.

So my forum awards vote of MOST LIKE TO MEET - Kitty on a bike is starting to fall into place

And people mocked my optimism that we'd have you on two wheels

homers_double

Raymondavalon wrote:

homers double wrote:

And seeing as you dont even ride a bike there wouldn't be an issue on that part.

Meeeeeow.....

If you don't know what you're on about then STFU/ GTFO etc etc,

Kitty

Gazlar wrote:

Kitty wrote:

homers double wrote:

So my forum awards vote of MOST LIKE TO MEET - Kitty on a bike is starting to fall into place

And people mocked my optimism that we'd have you on two wheels

Believe it or not there are a few forumites who have actually seen me on a bike...

Gazlar

Kitty wrote:

Gazlar wrote:

Kitty wrote:

homers double wrote:

So my forum awards vote of MOST LIKE TO MEET - Kitty on a bike is starting to fall into place

And people mocked my optimism that we'd have you on two wheels

Believe it or not there are a few forumites who have actually seen me on a bike...

You Know the Rules POIDH!!!!

the new photo challenge, Kitty on a bike!!

Kitty

Don't think I have one, someone might have one floating around somewhere, I have a picture of HD on a BMX bike, and Alex on his bike, and Chris fixing multiple bikes...ahh sits!

MadGuern

as a local I can tell you that having 6 toes really helps cycling ! The island is small but if you like outdoor life and water sports plenty to do. To be fair some of the Guernsey residents (super rich) that are up their own ar*e came from the UK originally ;-) True Guerns don't have enough money to have a bank account, we have to spend money on special shoes !

It is a great place to live but it is a bit of a marmite place at the end of the day. Lack of VAT however is a great per, house prices as mentioned are probably in line with London.Also no NHS is worth bearing in mind as well.

Most of the UK people I know that have moved here however would not like to go back to the UK, you just have to accept that we do things differently, more laid back and like to enjoy ourselves.

And for an island with a 35 mph speed we boast two resident Motor Racing world Champions. Both of which are very handy on a road bike., and neither is up their own ar*e :-)

Hope this helps

Reckless

Hi Kitty

What sort of job do you have in mind? A professional qualification will usually result in good pay which you will need to enjoy the island - although as a nurse or teacher you might not be as well of as you might think; Cost of living is quite high - although lower tax/insurance offsets this to some degree. When the weather is good, it's a great place to be. For the other 10 months of the year, you need to make your own entertainment. The natives are pretty friendly.

Reckless

Oh and if you are interested in the biking, look here:

http://www.guernseyvelo.org.gg/default. ... arker=home

j_l

MadGuern wrote:

as a local I can tell you that having 6 toes really helps cycling ! The island is small but if you like outdoor life and water sports plenty to do. To be fair some of the Guernsey residents (super rich) that are up their own ar*e came from the UK originally ;-) True Guerns don't have enough money to have a bank account, we have to spend money on special shoes !

It is a great place to live but it is a bit of a marmite place at the end of the day. Lack of VAT however is a great per, house prices as mentioned are probably in line with London.Also no NHS is worth bearing in mind as well.

Most of the UK people I know that have moved here however would not like to go back to the UK, you just have to accept that we do things differently, more laid back and like to enjoy ourselves.

And for an island with a 35 mph speed we boast two resident Motor Racing world Champions. Both of which are very handy on a road bike., and neither is up their own ar*e :-)

Hope this helps

JB and??

cuthbertsavage

Would I be right in saying Andy Priaulx?

UncleFred

You would, Andy Priaulx and JB are mates, both competed in a 25TT last weekend and they've done a Tri as well

Plenty of riding over here, you just need to know where to look. The MTB XC racing is getting much better organised, we have 2 series of 5 races, plus a 4 race summer MTB crit series and a whole bunch of DH events.

If you like lycra there's a summer full of TT's most Thursday evenings and some Saturday mornings and there's a road race almost every weekend from now until October, Tuesday night chain gang is popular.

In the winter there's a twice weekly MTB ride, a 4 race Sportive series, plus club rides most Sundays and Turbo Sessions on Thursday nights

Aside form the cycling there's good beaches, plenty of Cliff Paths to walk on, Kayak trips, Diving, surfing, windsurfing, plenty of football, athletics, thriving hockey & softball scene. Plenty of Pubs, a couple of clubs. Easy access to the UK & France on the Ferry, good airlinks to Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton and (if you're desperate) Jersey.

There's always something going on...sometimes you have to look a little harder than you would in the uk.

Kitty

Well I got a interview for the nursing job. :shock: