Manchester

Due to my girlfriend's huge interest in the media and obsessive compulsion to work in children's television, we are looking at places to live in Salford Quays in Manchester in Media City. Thus I have been looking into Manchester-based animation companies and have found a gem. They are called Studio Distract and produce a variety of work but mainly focus on CGI. They have some really nice stylised work and have some job opportunities up for grabs. Based just a 10 minute walk from Piccadilly travel would be very easy.

Another is Studio Liddell, who have studios in both Manchester and London and produce a very wide variety of work, collaborating globally with extremely well known brands. Their work spans all platforms from broadcast to advertising and branding and is rendered to the highest quality, whether it be animation, stills or interactive content. Working somewhere like here would really increase my knowledge of working specifications for multiple platforms and enable me to boost the quality fo my work.
Admittedly the job opportunities they have right now wouldn't really suit my skills but I am going to email them with my details and show my enthusiasm and see if there is anywhere in their company for me. Because their work is fantastic and I would love to be part of such a quickly expanding and motivated company.

I think these will be the first studios that I apply for as they are more local and produce work in a style that I find inspirational.  I would prefer to be able to work in a studio straight away as opposed to working freelance, as this doesn't really appeal to me one bit. But beggars can't be choosers, I would happily work as the janitor and work my way up!