A new report has exposed the brain drain from the north of England to London – with 310,000 graduates moving south in the last decade . Guardian readers from Cumbria, Sheffield, Manchester and Northumberland, who relocated for work, share their experiences

About 31,000 highly qualified British resident workers have left the north each year in the past decade with only 23,500 a year moving in the opposite direction.The Tory architect of George Osborne’s “northern powerhouse” strategy and leaders of Britain’s largest northern cities are demanding that the government acts to reverse a major brain drain to the south of England.

Theresa May’s government is being urged by the political leaders of Leeds,Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool – who describe themselves as a “council of the north” – to urgently prioritise the east-west rail links between the major northern cities to boost the future of the region.

We spoke to people who left the north of England to work in the south about their experiences.

‘I am starting to get frustrated at the overcrowding’

Louise, 27, associate in fund management

Moved to Kennington, south London, from Cumbria

I moved due to a lack of job opportunities – other than Edinburgh, there wasn’t really anywhere else I could work outside of London.



Cumbria offers cheaper housing and a better standard of living. In London, I feel that my generation are infantilised compared with my northern friends who drive to work, own their own homes and dogs, and have actual hobbies. I see my London friends stumbling out of bars on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, queueing up for brunch the next day, going for a walk around a park, and finishing the day off with an £18 roast in a pub that normally runs out of beef and lamb by 6pm as everyone is doing the same thing, so they end up with a nut roast. They sleep off the malbec, then it’s Monday morning and it all starts again, with a squeeze on to the Northern line and an overcrowded gym class in the evening.

But I don’t regret the move. I have been able to gain a lot of experience working in London, and enjoy all that London has to offer in the way of arts, music and most importantly food. However, after five years I am starting to get frustrated at the overcrowding. In the Lakes you can get truly lost, enjoy the peace and scenery, and realise that there is more to life than working, drinking and spending.



The great northern brain drain: 'I daydream about moving back' Read more

‘London is full of vibrancy and ideas’

Rose, 32, journalist

Moved to London from Sheffield

I had a staff job in Sheffield, but I was offered work in London and, while I’d always resisted the idea of living in the “Big Smoke”, I feel as if there is more opportunity here. I also got frustrated with the lack of investment in Sheffield city centre, and the rows that continue over plans for new buildings. Local people fight to preserve old buildings that are rundown but seen to be historic. This is to the detriment of development. Transport is really bad, too – trains to Manchester and York are slow and expensive.

The great northern brain drain: 'I daydream about moving back' Read more

I love Yorkshire and the north, and my family are there. However, I think people get set in their jobs and ways, so workplaces stagnate. I think there is so much more to do in London, and it is full of vibrancy and ideas. In the north, councils are bogged down with petty domestic arguments. People are too inward-looking, and bitter that the south attracts more investment – without doing anything to entice people to stay. I also think meeting a partner will be easier in London, as there is just a greater volume of people to choose from!

I have no regrets about moving and wish I’d done it a lot sooner, although I’m glad I saved money and established a career before I came.

‘I wouldn’t change it for anything’

Name withheld, 44, transport worker

Moved from Manchester to London

I was made redundant from my job in Manchester, and spent a year and a half trying to find something in a similar field, but there was nothing. Eventually, opportunities started to appear but only in London, so I decided to take one.

Initially, the move was a disaster, and within weeks I wanted to go back. I found myself completely unsuited to the job, suffered from depression and was bullied out of the job. I was eventually diagnosed with social anxiety, something I had suffered with since I was a teenager. I am now incredibly grateful for the experience as I have grown immeasurably, but I would never have expected things to work out this way.

Now, I am settled in my life in London. I have a good job and a great group of friends. People come to me for advice on how to give presentations, whereas before I would stutter and stumble my way through them. Now, I can’t see myself leaving London. Once, I would have said the same about Manchester, but the truth is I was stagnating there. The pace of life is faster here, money doesn’t go as far and it’s very crowded, but there is so much more scope to do things in the city. I wouldn’t change it for anything now.

‘I would have preferred to stay put’

Rys Sommefeldt, 36, senior engineering manager

Moved to Abbots Langley from Sheffield

The only opportunity for work in the field that I love is in the south, either near London or in Cambridge. I would have preferred to stay put if the same opportunities were available in the north, as I was otherwise very happy in Sheffield. But I don’t regret making the move. I’m pursuing the career that I’ve always wanted and the opportunity that the south affords is much greater than the north. I don’t feel that the industry in which I work – hardware 3D graphics – is particularly special in this regard. There are many industries where the opportunity and reward is significantly higher in this part of the country. Technical industries, in particular, naturally gravitate here, and as a result I’m not surprised to learn of the impact, especially where it concerns skilled graduates.

‘It really was sink or swim’

James Adair, 26, film director

Moved to London from Northumberland via Leeds

I joined a small film production startup with two friends after graduating in Leeds. We worked successfully in sports and corporate films for a few years, but the budgets were often tight and we lived hand to mouth. Another issue was the creative opportunities within the type of work we were offered; they felt very safe.



We were then signed to one of London’s biggest film production companies, and became “directors” overnight. But we started to realise clients were getting turned off by the geographical distance of Leeds and the fact that we couldn’t be in a meeting at the drop of a hat, so we discussed moving to London. For me, I think the main point of contention was the surprise that, in 2014, with our hyperconnected society, London remained the beating heart of all things film-related.

I moved to the capital with £1,500 in my bank account, no projected work and a three-year contract on a rented flat. It really was sink or swim.

I don’t subscribe to the rhetoric that Manchester is the “London of the north” for moving image. Beyond TV, it remains as irrelevant as everywhere else, unfortunately – and for us, that was no good. But I do regret giving up on the north. It bothers me that I drew from the state in the north, to then support the London economy.

London, however, has completely changed our lives for the better, so it’s hard to remain bitter. We’re so grateful for how our careers have panned out after moving south.

Compiled by Carmen Fishwick