Should I stay (in Ireland) or Should I Go (back to UK)?

[stek]

Offered a role local to my UK residence, more money, 2 days WFH, love Dublin but it's costing me £2k a month extra in tax and accommodation and nothing claimable here. Should I?

No brainer I think. Lesson learned? Unless you have some urge for wanderlust or cultural home or prefer the experience over money, NEVER, EVER, EVER contract abroad, even in EU.

It's just too much effort, and 9 times out 10 even with HMRC and IR35 and God knows whats next, the UK is still the best place to contract, tax at it's worst is better than most, lifestyle/stuff to do is eons better, market for contractors is still viable if shrinking - its in the mindset tho whereas everywhere else I've been it's been a bit of a bolt-on, sort of glorified temping.

My wandering days are over, time to settle down in the house I bought two years ago but lived in for about 6 weeks, get some red brake callipers for my Maserati, upgrade the telly in my bedroom to 4k, relax in front of some serious porn.

[madame SasGuru]

so you get more money and save £24k in tax / accommodation costs - yes it's a no brainer....

And yep I've learnt the same from the past 15 months of jetset travelling. Only upside is that I now know exactly what I'm doing next - and it won't be a contract...

[shaunbhoy]

.

It's just to much effort, and 9 times out 10 even with HMRC and IR35 and God knows whats next, the UK is still the best place to contract, tax at it's worst is better than most, lifestyle/stuff to do is eons better, market for contractors is still viable if shrinking

Careful! That kind of upbeat, dewy-eyed rambling could get you lynched by maudlin zombies in certain sub-forums near here.

[jamesbrown]

the UK is still the best place to contract

It's one of relatively few places in the world that ever had a market for contracting, at least in the sense that we mean contracting (and that applies if you're dealing with foreign clients too). Contracting is, relatively speaking, a UK-niche. A lot of jurisdictions simply don't like one-person service companies (the UK too, I might add, but it's still going strong for now) or have any history of contracting or depth of flexibility in their labour-markets.

[northernladuk]

Bearing in mind home is Bolton it's a bit of no brainer surely

[Wilmslow]

Offered a role local to my UK residence, more money, 2 days WFH, love Dublin but it's costing me £2k a month extra in tax and accommodation and nothing claimable here. Should I?

No brainer I think. Lesson learned? Unless you have some urge for wanderlust or cultural home or prefer the experience over money, NEVER, EVER, EVER contract abroad, even in EU.

It's just too much effort, and 9 times out 10 even with HMRC and IR35 and God knows whats next, the UK is still the best place to contract, tax at it's worst is better than most, lifestyle/stuff to do is eons better, market for contractors is still viable if shrinking - its in the mindset tho whereas everywhere else I've been it's been a bit of a bolt-on, sort of glorified temping.

My wandering days are over, time to settle down in the house I bought two years ago but lived in for about 6 weeks, get some red brake callipers for my Maserati, upgrade the telly in my bedroom to 4k, relax in front of some serious porn.

I hear you brother.... I left a good local contract for travel - Also regret it, but I guess it is something we need to get out of our system!

[Antman]

I think it's wrong to compare the experience against a monetary value. Imagine retiring and thinking I wonder what it would have been like to work over there.

I don't regret travelling, probably should have come back sooner though.

[ladymuck]

I'd like to do some working/travelling but not sure I'd permanently/semi-permanently relocate unless I turned up somewhere and it just felt right.

I haven't gone for overseas contracts because I CBA to faff with all the various tax implications. Would prefer a UK gig that just periodically sends me places. The OH of a friend of mine has a job like that - has done USA, Oz, South America and goodness knows where else. Tacks on a holiday or a long weekend whenever possible and makes the most of it.

[m0n1k3r]

It's one of relatively few places in the world that ever had a market for contracting, at least in the sense that we mean contracting (and that applies if you're dealing with foreign clients too). Contracting is, relatively speaking, a UK-niche. A lot of jurisdictions simply don't like one-person service companies (the UK too, I might add, but it's still going strong for now) or have any history of contracting or depth of flexibility in their labour-markets.

True. One-man contracting through limited companies is only commonplace in the UK and Ireland. Other countries view self-employment as the preferred vehicle for one-man contracting. Most countries have special tax breaks for doing so that are not available to limited companies. For as long as the UK is in the EU, one can register as self-employed in the UK to work elsewhere in the EU quite easily.

[darmstadt]

I'd like to do some working/travelling but not sure I'd permanently/semi-permanently relocate unless I turned up somewhere and it just felt right.

I haven't gone for overseas contracts because I CBA to faff with all the various tax implications. Would prefer a UK gig that just periodically sends me places. The OH of a friend of mine has a job like that - has done USA, Oz, South America and goodness knows where else. Tacks on a holiday or a long weekend whenever possible and makes the most of it.

I've got an overseas project coming up very soon, 20-30 days in the UK