Why London?
Genuine question.
Why do London bankers stay in London rather trying to move to the US? Bad weather High taxes Low salaries
Only benefits are NHS, culture and annual leave?
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +205 | Who Killed Wall Street | 65 | 17h |
| +177 | Worlds Worst MDs Competition (2026 Edition) | 35 | 11h |
| +164 | As Lehman people reconvene at UBS, Barclays needs to hire (2023) | 23 | 4d |
| +121 | Lindsay Clancy - Thoughts from A2 | 22 | 1d |
| +59 | How bad did I mess up | 11 | 1d |
| +46 | NYC Wall Street Run Club | 9 | 1h |
| +43 | EB (EVR/CVP/LAZ) vs MBB (Bain/BCG) | 21 | 1d |
| +34 | Most technical groups? | 18 | 1d |
| +21 | Meritocratic IB groups / banks | 15 | 3d |
| +18 | Life After IB: Off-Track Career Ideas, Questions & Musings | 0 | 2h |
Career Resources
Because I'm not going to ditch all my family and friends for an extra chunk of comp lol
Extra UK benefits: Holidays in Europe (you can get anywhere in Europe for $150), weather isn't that bad, PL...
What’s PL?
Premier League
Moving to the US is not easy. Wouldn't you need an H1B visa first? (I.e. this means also going through the H1B lottery, so it's not guaranteed). If your Company sponsors you a US visa that's good, but that means you can't recruit anywhere else (let's say trying to move to the buyside or to a higher paying company)
Most of us would want to but getting a visa is near impossible
Objectively finance in London (or anywhere in Europe save from Switzerland probably) is a worse proposition than finance in the US. Anybody that says otherwise is coping at this point. Sad because it wasn't always the case
How is it impossible when a lot of banks sponsor L1 visas?
L1 is non immigrant so doesn’t lead to settlement
You can apply for green card after L1
Just like you could without an L1, good luck with the lottery
banks sponsor for green card after VP level. Or just marry a US citizen since would be there for 5+ years
Thank you for your contribution and insights intern, go forth and conquer America
Facts. Can already see the cope in other comments lol
As an American that took the other side of this trade after working in finance in the US pre-MBA, the main benefits to London are international projects / lifestyle vs. US projects (while in London I’ve worked on deals in 5 continents whereas in the US it’s been Phoenix, Houston, and random suburbs / office parks across the country) and vacation (when I was an analyst in the US took 1 day my first year vs. 5 weeks as an associate in London). If you stick it out in finance to the Director/SVP level, you leave a lot of money on the table being in London vs. the US so comes down to what your consumption preferences are at that point.
Don't you need an MBA to progress in the US? No one has an MBA in London.
US is way better but there is no effective skills based immigration system, it’s all a fucking lottery and a complete random system being gamed by scam Indian corporations and that’s why we stay where we are.
Tell me more about these scam Indian organizations
Multiple Indian ‘consulting’ firms will apply to enter the lottery for the same person, effectively reducing everyone else’s odds as that person has more than one entry and there’s a select number who get picked.
Because I'm from the UK, and the UK is my home. I'm not leaving my home for a bit of extra money.
Because the people that are willing to leave their family + friends for more comp and less taxes will go to dubai instead which is closer and will make more money than the US due to zero taxes
Can people come back from Dubai? I heard it’s not great for CV and career trajectory if you only want to do it for 2/3 years.
Dubai's further than NY.
And anyway, surely the earning potential is lower within Dubai? I read a bit on here that it is pretty much a 9-5 job there. Unless you move to something like PE/HF, it seems to be a net negative on your career (salary wise + career progression if you try to return to the UK).
It's NYC comp with zero taxes. More than double UK comp post tax
London is expensive but if you flatshare with a mate it is doable. Weather is fine imo. Good balance between freezing your balls off and sweating your balls off.
lmao why am I getting monkey shit? Have you been to london in winter dec/early jan. It is freezing. June July August is horrible with heat. Esp on central line and piccadily line.
Forgot the real hot tub called Victoria line, but agree winter months are fairly mild in London, given there’s little wind except for CW. If you work in the City/Mayfair weather is honestly perfectly manageable.
Guessing people could work on London for a year or two then transfer to a U.S. office afterwards
It's not that easy.
Sit error et vero sunt maxime porro voluptatibus. Aperiam et dolorem cupiditate.
Consequatur aut autem qui dignissimos blanditiis iusto. Velit numquam aut tempore quod iure. Blanditiis quos quo ut quo ut. In ut quae labore recusandae et.
Ratione mollitia suscipit sed natus et quia delectus. Alias error necessitatibus quidem velit excepturi aut. Adipisci est fugiat distinctio assumenda temporibus. Maiores et natus deleniti sunt dignissimos incidunt.
Dolorem labore libero voluptate doloremque laboriosam sapiente ullam. Optio eligendi aut ipsa et excepturi. Quia rerum qui ratione veniam dolorem sit pariatur. Qui dolorum quod et qui ad voluptates a. Odit aut quos culpa nihil consequatur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Nemo tenetur ea officia quia. Qui deleniti qui nobis voluptatem ut. Alias non rerum culpa at quas est. Minus dolorum blanditiis est modi vel ea.
Voluptate hic earum blanditiis officiis omnis. Qui et magnam facere. Dolorum nihil minima dolores nostrum tempore veniam maxime.
Nulla repellat rerum animi id. Deleniti distinctio et quibusdam at quam soluta. Voluptatem sed consequuntur laboriosam esse sed magnam amet. Consequuntur mollitia quia aspernatur iusto velit.