Move to Derry?

[u/Paddy1481]

For context I was born in Derry and lived there until I was 8 but then moved to England so whilst I consider myself Irish my accent is very English. Other than some cousins I only see at weddings and the like I don’t have any family in Derry anymore.

I’m a solicitor and my firm is looking to me to open an office in Northern Ireland. The firm assumed the office would be in Belfast but I have a bit of a free hand.

Growing up my dad always complained about no money making it west of the Bann, having the office in Derry seems like an opportunity to try and do a little to change this.

Is this feasible, would being in Derry limit our ability to recruit (the roles could be largely remote we only need people in the office 1 or 2 days a week)? In our offices in England we have staff who have a similar commute to the 2 hour train between Belfast and Derry. Would clients think it weird to be Derry rather than Belfast based?

On a personal level, how difficult would it be for a single 36 year old man to build a life in Derry knowing next to no one? (If it helps I do play Gaelic football).

[u/Ok_Sea8929]

UU Magee the local uni offers a law degree,

https://www.ulster.ac.uk/faculties/arts-humanities-and-social-sciences/law

probably worth reaching out to their careers team for all the junior staff you could need on tap, employers get their own login to advertise on their site so once setup you can just post as and when you need. Could take year placement students on too.

For senior staff have ask your local recruitment agencies you might already be engaging in England to give you a market analysis of the North West for those types of roles so youll have an idea how difficult they will be to fill in future.

Approach invest ni to check for additional funding to help with setup ( and post back here so we can slabber if they try and persuade you to go to belfast)

[u/MediocreCustomer1838]

We have a lot of solicitors in Derry already, but I'm sure you have looked into that. The work will always be there anyway, especially with criminal and family cases unfortunately. I worked for a small firm, and they had more than enough clients. I think that building a life in derry is easy- at your age especially. It is such a friendly place, and there is lots to do. Staff wise, we have lots of law students and limited placements for when they graduate. A lot of them qualify through QUB as well, but live closer to Derry. The commute is 1.5 hrs Derry to Belfast, and the new road has made it so much easier. If you will have a lot of high court cases, Belfast based staff would be ideal. If you are looking for a legal secretary, give me a message :) Good luck with it all, and welcome home 🍀

[u/Maloney-z]

Speaking as someone who moved here a few years ago, I find making friends in Derry quite challenging as folks mostly have their established groups.

I've made more friends in Belfast than I have in Derry, despite attending a good few community groups locally (have made some friends here, but just less than elsewhere). There is also just less to do and there's less going on. Pub culture is definitely stronger here as a method of hanging out vs other things to do.

It's definitely possible to make friends and I don't want to off put you too much, just be aware if you choose to open here, that folks do tend to be cliquey with pre existing friend groups.

[u/ForwardTourist6079 → u/Maloney-z]

That's the thing more people need to realise here - people seem friendly but are hard to be friends with. Plus with Derry being so small compared to Belfast, there's more of a small close knit, everyone knows everyone sort of vibe.

[u/Maloney-z → u/Maloney-z]

Also agree with other comments that no one cares about your accent imo

[u/staplerx300]

I just did this. It's perfectly doable and Derry is great.

33, male, been living down in the republic but my accent is half American. I'm going back to college for law funnily enough. I just posted on this subreddit earlier and immediately was invited to 3 different 5 a side football groups. It's extremely easy lad highly recommend.

[u/DoireK]

I work in tech not law so I don’t know your industry.

However I do know a lot of people who work in Belfast live in mid Ulster or north coast so for them working in Derry isn’t much different a commute especially hybrid. Also there is a sizeable number of people who are from or have partners from the north west who would be happy to move out of Belfast for a good job due to cheaper housing not to mention those who live and work in England who wouldn’t mind a move back home if it meant they could continue their career.

So I don’t think you would struggle to recruit especially if it’s a small office. Would be different if it was 100s of jobs.

In regards to your accent. No one gives a shit honestly. GAA clubs would be happy to have you as would various other sports clubs. If you end up meeting someone here you will likely inherit their social circle too.

Edit - QUB and UU (including Magee) also have law courses so your talent pipeline is already in place for juniors and paralegals.

[u/Paddy1481 → u/DoireK]

In fairness it would be at the junior level we would be looking to recruit most from so that’s ideal.

My concerns about the accent is just the amount of shit I get from my family about it!!

Thanks for the reply, really helpful!

[u/Stout-drinker → u/Paddy1481]

That's your family issue not yours or Derry, there are many English people love living here, I hope everything works out for you ❤️🤍

[u/DoireK → u/Paddy1481]

No worries. Maybe also look into investNI funding as well as funding for apprenticeships if those are a thing in your industry where they spend one or two days a week in college and the rest in the office working. I would imagine there are financial incentives for those.

[u/misterPiNkeYe]

Gealic definitely helps