There are many factors that determine the perfect place to base yourself, including employment opportunities, transport links and overall quality of life. These aren’t just choices that are faced by those of us working at a desk though; they also face people in the entertainment industry. In our latest expert interview, comedian Jo Caulfield tells us about her own decision to relocate from London to Edinburgh, how this has impacted her career and her life in general.
When did you move to Edinburgh and how does it compare with the quality of life in London?
I moved four and a half years ago. I’d lived in London since I was 17 and I loved it – I still love it but I just don’t want to live there anymore. Edinburgh seems the perfect size for city living. I love the fact that you can be in John Lewis but look out and get a view of mountains and the sea. That’s how I like my countryside; near a department store.
We couldn’t have afforded to live so close to the centre of London but in Edinburgh I am a 15-minute walk from Waverley Station. We have much more property for our money. In London we would be a 40 minute tube ride from the centre of town if we were in a similar sized property.
I actually find I get more done because it’s so easy to get around. I can run for 10 minutes and be up in the Blackford Hills with its stunning views over the Pentland Hills, the city and the sea. Then I can get changed, go into town for a meeting, walk home, do some writing and then still have an easy walk to meet friends in town for a drink. The architecture in Edinburgh is so unique and beautiful, I never tire of it because it’s always different depending on the light. Although I know I bore locals by going on about ‘the beautiful light’!
Have you found it possible to use Edinburgh as a commuting base for the rest of the UK?
75% of my work is in the rest of the UK but I have found no problem in getting around the country. The only downside is that I have to be away for a couple of days at a time. If I am working in London one night and Birmingham the next I can’t get home to Edinburgh in between.
Edinburgh airport has great links to all regional airports; I can zip down to Bristol, Birmingham, Exeter or Southampton. I love the flights to London City Airport. It’s all do-able; I just have to look at a map and be more organised. It’s also opened up new areas. When I was in London, the Lake District and Northumbria were very far away and I hardly ever ventured up there. Now I love doing shows there as it means I can drive home. And what beautiful countryside to drive through!
Can you tell us about your route into comedy, did you have ‘normal’ jobs along the way too?
The best route into comedy is to stumble into it accidentally and also to have no skills to fall back on, so you keep at it. I never intended to be a comedian, I think I’d been doing it for about 5 years before I realised that I was a comedian. I finally had to give up my waitressing job and was earning my living from comedy, that’s when I thought ” Oh ….I’m a comedian“.
I had been a Rockabilly for about 7 years, I was in a band and I sold Rockabilly and Vintage clothes. I was starting to get bored with that and started waitressing and working in pubs. A friend of mine went to do an open Mic spot at The Comedy Store. Mark Lamar, Jack Dee and Sean Meo were on the bill. I thought they were the funniest people I’d ever seen but more importantly they seemed like me, just like normal people talking. I was hooked. It seemed unbelievable that the route was, and still is, very simple. You contact comedy clubs and ask to do 5 minutes for nothing. You keep working on that 5 minutes and then ten minutes and then 15 minutes and eventually – they pay you. There are no exams, no fees, no people you have to know; it’s just you and the audience working out how you can be funnier.
What advice would you offer to anybody trying to break into the comedy world?
If you go to my website you’ll see there’s a whole section called “Things I’ve Learned as a Comedian”. It’s full of practical, not so practical and sometimes ridiculous advice for would-be comics. Lots of other comics have contributed to it, like Sarah Millican, and the main piece of advice is to get on stage at least 4 times a week in different comedy clubs. This may mean buying a car and moving to another city. If you want to be a comic, do it.
And what advice would you give to anybody who may be considering relocating to Scotland?
It’s a cliché but if you’re looking for ‘quality of life’ I highly recommend Edinburgh.
I also found it easy to get done things going locally. I run an evening at The Scottish Storytelling Centre on The Royal Mile called Jo Caulfield’s Speakeasy. It’ s a great melting pot of creative people in Scotland. We’ve had writers like Ian Rankin and Alan Bissett, established comedians like Janey Godley and Phill Jupitus, as well as promising newcomers. It’s modern story telling via any medium; it could be dance, rap music, comedy or a short film. It was amazing to me that such a great and historic venue as John Knox House was available and that the directors and staff weren’t stuffy and precious but keen to get the night going. We also got a series commissioned by Radio 4 that we recorded at The Storytelling Centre.
Moving to Edinburgh certainly doesn’t seem to have made you any less busy, can you tell us what you have coming up?
A holiday!
Well not quite yet. On the 20th of December you can hear me on Radio 5’s Fighting Talk and from December 27th to January 1st I’ll be at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh. These Hogmanay shows are great fun and I get to walk home afterwards. In the new year I’ll be guesting regularly as a panellist on The Football’s On, a funny football show on BT Sport, Friday nights. I start a new tour called Uninformed Opinions from February, so I’ll be a regular at Edinburgh Airport again. Our first Speakeasy show of the new year is on January the 13th and the show runs once a month.
Thank you to Jo for taking some time out of that hectic schedule to speak to us! We’re delighted that she’s experiencing all of the positive benefits that choosing to live in Scotland can have, both for career and lifestyle. The lifestyle in Scotland is, of course, what you make it but when it comes to careers in Scotland we’re here and ready to help you find the right opportunity.
Photograph supplied by interviewee.