Edinburgh vs London: Which Is the Best Place for IT Professionals?

Being the capital of the UK, London is a lovely city to call home. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is comparable to London in many ways but differs slightly. Working professionals consider factors other than a city’s attractiveness when choosing where to live. Let us see what these two cities have to offer IT specialists so that we can determine which is the best location for a techie to settle.

What’s it like to be an IT professional in London?

1. Job prospects — 97,000 new jobs have been created in London over the last six years. There will be a need for a number of IT positions in upcoming years due to the industry’s continued growth. Some of the biggest names in IT, including IBM, Google, Cognizant, Apple, Microsoft, and Capgemini, have their offices in London. The London IT sector is booming faster than the national economy.

2. Salaries — The median annual IT salary in London is £70,000 in 2022, which leads all of Europe. Over the past year, IT salaries have increased 30% in the city.

3. Transport Connectivity — One can choose from a wide range of transportation alternatives, including local trains, buses, trams, taxis, the underground rail system, and more. These are accessible to everyone. You won’t ever be late for work in London thanks to a good variety of transportation options and convenient access to transportation.

Everyone wants to enjoy themselves or have a fantastic weekend. In this case, London will not let you down.

4. Night life — The city is highly recognised for its exclusive nightclubs, colourful nightlife, and enjoyable live music. Comedy events, theatres, exciting nightclubs and crowded bars are just a few options that London nightlife offers. Shoreditch, Camden Town, Brixton, and Soho are popular places for people to hang out. You can always have a wonderful time in clubs like Color Factory, Fabric, Printworks, Koko etc.

5. Eating out — The city is home to several outstanding restaurants if satisfying your palette is your idea of fun. You can find delicious delights in pleasant settings at places like Piccolino, Aqua Nueva, Coal Office, Bubala, Wong Kei, and Tendril, among others.

6. Dating — If you’re looking for friendship, the city also has that. Clubs are a great place to meet new people and make friends. Escorts for dating in London are also available, so if you would like, you can take them into consideration.

Cons:

1. Renting a property — Renting a flat in London might consume a significant portion of your income, making relocation exceedingly expensive. London is the costliest city to rent in, with average monthly rents of £1,450, according to the Office for National Statistics.

2. Cost of living — Living costs are high in London. London might cost up to 58% more to maintain an acceptable standard of living than other British cities. Living expenses in London are 33% more than in Edinburgh.

3. Lengthy commuting times — The commute times are longer despite the city having a well-developed transportation system.

4. Digital connectivity — Strong digital connectivity is lacking in London. Particularly in the central and eastern parts of London, there is a dearth of access to high-speed internet. The city doesn’t have enough fiber connections, which results in poor internet availability. When it comes to internet availability, upload and download speeds, and digital connectivity, even the smaller British cities are light years ahead of London. Additionally, the city’s connectivity is not distributed equally.

Check out what Edinburgh has in store for IT workers.

1. Job prospects — Edinburgh is a hotspot for tech and gaming businesses. The fastest-growing industry in Edinburgh is digital technology, which employs thousands of people annually at organizations including Freeagent, FanDuel, Firefinch Software, Zudu and the gaming giant Northstar North.

Edinburgh actually has the fifth-highest number of IT job openings in the entire United Kingdom. Within a year, the number of IT employees has grown by 40,300.

2. Salaries — With an annual median wage of around £58,711 in 2022, Edinburgh is the only location outside of the UK capital that offers the highest IT salary. With swift pay increases, it will soon be able to compete with London’s IT salary norms.

3. Transport connectivity- Just like London, the city’s transportation system is efficient. It offers rental bikes, trams, taxis, and public buses that run often and continuously. The best way to get around Edinburgh is via public bus, which is frequently the only option to get from the suburbs into the city.

Edinburgh is a small city. Therefore, you may always move around on foot. In fact, it takes less than an hour to walk across the city from end to end.

4. Digital connectivity — People in Edinburgh can take advantage of free WiFi in public open spaces around the city centre. Still, in terms of digital and physical connectivity, the city ranked just tenth — based on fibre availability, capacity, and performance, mobile network capabilities, and proximity to data centres. According to plans, systems throughout the city will be connected using data and cloud-powered technology.

Edinburgh ranked 16th out of 20 countries in a recent Ookla research regarding internet speed.

Let’s now have a look at Edinburgh’s recreational opportunities.

5. Night life — Nightlife in Edinburgh is not only one of the best in the world, but the city is also very affordable. Some of the tourist favourites include OX184, Beer & Skittles, Frankenstein, The Three Sisters, The Hive Nightclub & Venue, and The Hanging Bat.

The biggest feature of Edinburgh’s nightlife is seeing live performances of any kind of art. Enjoying live classical performances, stand-up comedians, or music bands can be a lot of fun. Whether a working adult or a young student, Edinburgh never fails to entertain.

If you are more of a culture vulture, the “West End” won’t let you down. It takes pride in being the city’s cultural hub and is the location of renowned art spaces like the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Traverse Theatre, and The Usher Hall.

6. Eating out — Although Edinburgh is more well-known for its history and culture, there are plenty of dining alternatives in the city. Some of the amazing restaurants include Bread Street Kitchen and Bar, Aurora, Aizle, and Timberyard. You can also have a fabulous experience of dining at Condita, Restaurant Martin Wishart, The Kitchin, and The Glenturret Lalique, the city’s four “Michelin-starred restaurants”.

Edinburgh has the highest restaurant density in the UK, as per a 2018 survey by Local Data Company (LDC).

7. Dating — Singles looking for dating partners in Edinburgh frequently hang out in The Queen’s Arms, Paradise Palms, and The Milkman, among other places. Just like London, escort services are also available for people who desire them.

Cons -

1. Cost of living — The cost of living in Edinburgh is relatively high. By UK standards, it is still an expensive city to live in, even though it is not as expensive as London. Edinburgh’s cost of living is 25% less than London’s but it is 9% more expensive than Glasgow.

2. Renting a property — With a median rent of £1,214, Edinburgh has the most expensive rentals in Scotland, more than even the Bexley area, the cheapest in London.

Final Thoughts

Although Edinburgh is a superior choice for an IT worker, London is still larger in every way. It would be accurate to conclude that it is a better location than London for an IT professional due to the comparably lower cost of living, lower rents, and rapidly expanding technical industry.