Go West and get tech: This is why firms should ditch London for Bristol and Bath

You do not need to move to London to get your dream tech job. In fact, not doing so is going to make your life a lot easier.

 

Too many people feel they have to move somewhere like the capital and put up with expensive, cramped living conditions to get their foot on the career ladder. They tolerate long, uncomfortable commutes and tiny offices to get experience working with major firms.

 

But this simply isn't necessary anymore – you no longer need to serve time in a major metropolis to achieve great things. 

 

The Bristol and Bath region has become a major base for many large, often multinational, technology companies and it is attracting more all the time. Huawei, Cray, Just Eat and Somo are just some of the companies that have located (or relocated) here in the last 12 months.

 

The number of people working in high-performance computing, silicon-chip design, aerospace, television and embedded-software creation is also sky-rocketing. So much so that McKinsey recently listed Bristol and Bath as the only internationally significant and fast-growing high-tech sector in the UK.

There are hundreds of startups and established companies here, experimenting with technologies ranging from robotics and 3D-printing to drones and green tech. These aren't closed, overly-competitive communities – they are filled with people who love to share and talk about their ideas and the possibilities they present.

 

It’s easy to learn from the talents of those already here and to use these opportunities to work in fields of tech you love, while still living in idyllic surroundings, walking or cycling to work and enjoying some of the best food and drink available in the UK.

A concern among some considering moving from London to the West of England is that they'll miss out on cultural opportunities, but this is far from being true. Whether it’s Bristol’s incredible music scene or Bath’s coffee shop culture, there is no shortage of things to do.

 

If you ask people who have already made the move whether they miss London at all, you're likely to get one response: a big, fat no. Ask them if they should have moved here earlier, and it’ll almost certainly be a yes.