How far would you go to progress in your career? Here's how UK professionals feel about relocating for work

Welcome to the inaugural edition of LinkedIn's Workforce Insights UK. This newsletter will be your regular source for stories and conversations about the world of work, with unique, data-driven insights on how UK professionals are feeling. Subscribe here to stay updated.

In this first issue, senior editor Siobhan Morrin looks at relocation – would you be more likely to move for career progression or quality of life?

Relocating is always a big decision but one that many choose to make to progress their career, often when they're starting out. As the world of work has changed in recent years, many have weighed quality of life and the cost of living alongside the question of career progress.

According to LinkedIn's latest Workforce Confidence Index survey, just over half of UK professionals say they live less than an hour from friends and family, showing the significance of having a nearby network. Among the generations, millennials were least likely to live near friends and family at 50%, and gen Z were the most likely to at 55%.

The data also shows only a third of UK professionals say they've moved more than an hour away from friends and family to progress in their own career – and people are twice as likely to have moved for their own career progress than that of their partner.

Stability and community are important driving factors of people's behaviour, across the generations. While younger people are more likely to move away from home for work, ONS data suggests the pandemic and higher inflation have contributed to a slowdown in those moves.

Younger workers are still closer to home

Though more than half of respondents in LinkedIn's data live close to family and friends, many people have built these networks as they've moved around in their careers. A large chunk of respondents (40%) have moved at least three hours away from where they grew up, rising to 46% among millennials and 42% among baby boomers. Younger workers are most likely to live near where they grew up: 54% of gen Zs live less than an hour from their hometown. Notably, gen X workers are also more likely to live near their hometown, with 45% living less than an hour away and 36% living over three hours away.

Building networks where you relocate is something Milly Tamati , founder of tech startup Generalist World, says is central to her work. Her move from New Zealand, via multiple countries, to a tiny Scottish island has enabled her to create a new community and home. "In terms of my business, the core product is community. A lot of the lessons I've learned from living in a community of 180 people, I can apply to it – it feels like an unfair advantage."

While she didn't initially leave New Zealand for purely career reasons, Tamati says it also built a resilience that led her to starting her own business. "Travelling and working in my 20s meant I got to figure out so much. If I hadn't put myself in this situation where I was like, 'I don't know what I'm doing for the next few years', I don't know if I would have fallen into that startup world that led me to entrepreneurship."

Mid-career, but further from home

When it comes to why millennials are more likely to live further from where they grew up than gen Z and gen X, there are a range of factors at play. UK stats from 2020 show more than half of those who moved away from home had a degree and were likely to earn more than those who stayed. Millennials are more likely to have a degree than the previous generation, and often moved away from home to study.

Anthony William Catt is one millennial who did that, moving from Basingstoke to Birmingham for university – and says he partly chose his degree for the year abroad. While his career started in the UK, he now works in South Africa after setting up his own firm, Ventures 54, which supports investment in Africa's tech ecosystem. He says the decision to move was career driven. "I was working in venture capital and getting into emerging markets, particularly in Africa, and was suddenly at a point where I had no ties – rent, no mortgage, nothing. My decision was that if I'm going to take my career seriously and do the work I'm doing, I should be on the ground."

While gen Z are still going into higher education of various forms, research suggests that the impact of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis mean more are staying closer to home to do so. However, younger workers are still prepared to move to find a new role – 40% say they have moved at least an hour away to progress their career, and 37% of millennials say the same. As people gain experience, it's likely to open opportunities, often further afield. Recruiter Alejandro Bello Pérez says in his experience, he tends to see people in their early to mid-30s who are more open to moving, particularly those with qualifications and prospects of earning more. "It's when people get to their late 30s or 40 that people think about moving home. The trend I see is when people have kids – they get more settled, whether it's their own country or where they've moved to," he says.

Balancing career and quality of life

These trends likely account in part for why gen Z and millennials are most likely to move to advance their careers. But both Bello-Perez and Tamati highlight how important the internet is to considerations about where to work. Both have been able to relocate, living far from their hometowns, thanks to being able to do their jobs remotely. While Tamati says there are sacrifices she makes in being so remote – for instance, the long travels to speaking gigs and events – the quality of life makes up for it. "If I have a stressful day, I just close the laptop and I step outside and there are sea eagles and otters. I can go hiking and camping – it's my version of paradise in the summer."

For Bello-Perez, economics – personal and professional – were a factor in his move from London to the Canary Islands. "It feels like London has become about survival, not thriving," he says. The prospect of owning his own home felt slim and, for his company, working in European recruiting as a UK company after Brexit had its frictions, with client expectations and hiring among the factors pushing them away.

But work-life balance and quality of life were also important considerations, and he has seen that in his work too – when people can be closer to a community and have the standard of life they want, they often take it. For him, it's about, "the weather, the lifestyle, the cost of living. I can finish at 5pm and be on the beach in minutes".

Have you relocated for work? What would tempt you into moving for a job? Share your thoughts in the comments.