Reply to: Emigrating ...

[expat]

Any thoughts on Qatar ? Good place to live, bad place ?

Rhubarb.

I don't mean to denigrate the people of those countries themselves, but isn't the thought of being an expat worker in an arab country just a bit limiting? What would your life be, lots of sun and good money, and nothing else.


OK, no chavs. OK, no New Labour and NHS.

OK, No British public transport. No M25.

OK, no overcrowding, dirty streets, dog crap.

OK, no high taxes, EU regs, petty smoking bans, speed cameras.

OK, OK.

[rhubarb]

Any thoughts on Qatar ? Good place to live, bad place ?

Rhubarb.

[Squatch]

USA. Although I'm put off by the short holidays they get over there.

North-west looks nice.

Americans are mostly German, Irish and Italian so if you like greasy nail-bombers with no sense of humour its perfect.

[Squatch]

Bangalore and Delhi are cleaner cities than most in England!

Except for the sh!tting in the street perhaps?

[Cyberman]

Go on then, why not?

It's too hot. If the aircon packs up you're ****ed.
Also, Jim Davidson lives there.

[Gonzo]

NZ I think. I'm mulling over whether to give it a go later this year. I'm not sure of the best approach though.

You could try what I did and marry one of them.

The jury is still out on whether it is any better though. In my first couple of months there have been gang murders and the police have shot dead an innocent man by mistake. The weather has been great though.

There are things that I miss already like interesting or funny TV shows. On the plus side, you can get a ticket for the cricket without having to apply six months in advance and keeping your fingers crossed that you are lucky in the ballot.

You will need to arrive with a load of cash. The locals will hate you for it but it is not possible to earn a decent standard of living starting from scratch here. That is the reason that the locals are leaving in droves to go to Australia, which they can freely do without immigration restrictions.

[Incognito]

Dubai's a great place to work and live as long as you realise it's not Ibiza and is a muslim country and just show the tinyest bit of respect.

[Fred Bloggs]

I wonder why not !!

Go on then, why not?

[Cyberman]

Did anyone suggest Dubai yet?

I wonder why not !!

[Grinder]

Did anyone suggest Dubai yet?

[Sysman]

Traffic is a biatch. Heat and in particular the humidity is restrictive. Leela Palace was nice though.

I'm afraid the heat and humidity would do my head in. I really do like fresh air.

[expat]

I think you've hit a bit of a nail of the head there.

The assumption by some posters that:

a) They are so wonderful that their (non-EU) country of choice will welcome them with open arms

b) They can persuade their significant other and offspring (if applicable) to up sticks and go with them.

I'm on the way to managing a) but cannot for the life of me see b) happening.

a) I don't expect welcome with open arms, but I would have been likely to have been accepted as a skilled immigrant to many places when I was younger. Now I'm too old, though ironically my sister has emigrated to NZ, OK since she is younger, but actually I will probably have to work for more years yet than she will, so actually I do have more useful working years to contribute....

b) This is an important consideration. I/we took our kids to France, where they grew up. In later years I have had belated concerns about what we did to them (and I know it was sometimes hard), but they have both recently expressed thanks for the experience and education that gave them. But it is not something to do lightly.

The same would apply at least as much to some of the more distant, albeit English-speaking, options. You can decide for yourself with a simple checklist: you can't and shouldn't decide for a family nearly so easily.

[bogeyman]

Yeah, and the USA just lets Britons walk in, take a job and settle down...work permits are a cinch.

I think you've hit a bit of a nail of the head there.

The assumption by some posters that:

a) They are so wonderful that their (non-EU) country of choice will welcome them with open arms

b) They can persuade their significant other and offspring (if applicable) to up sticks and go with them.

I'm on the way to managing a) but cannot for the life of me see b) happening.

[tim123]

Yes I know we've done this one before, but its more urgent this time. So where's the best place with :

1. Good weather
2. English speaking, reasonable economy with growth prospects in IT
3. Reasonable property costs
4. Good schools

What's you definition of Good Weather?

Some people might suggest Cyprus, but for me that would be awful weather.

tim

[DimPrawn]

As countries, NZ has a great reputation and the US is pretty stereotyped. But, remember just how vast the US is.
There MUST be places in the US where they have decent schools
There are certainly places great for IT
There are places with any climate you would like
There are probably places where everyone isn't stereotypically American

The problem is finding if anywhere in the US ticks all the boxes. Personally, I think there probably is but it might take a while to look...

Yeah, and the USA just lets Britons walk in, take a job and settle down...work permits are a cinch.