Reply to: Working in the UK

[XLMonkey]

An ex-gf of mine who lives in S.A. carries a natty little 9mm with her.

All the time.

But that's just in case she runs into you, isn't it?

[XLMonkey]

Surely this is a typo and should be 7am!

Mailman

...maybe, had one of the scariest nights of my life in Capetown. Was working out there on a project a couple of years ago and the client and I managed to get mugged twice in the same night.

First time was walking from the V&A waterfront into town (7.45 pm), this guy pulled out a knife and liberated our wallets. Then, 20 minutes later, we're still trying to find the police station and two guys in a car pull over and try to mug us again. They would not believe that we'd already been done over once - it would have been funny except for the fact that I was concentrating too hard on not sh*tting myself.

Apart from that , it's fantastic. If you're driving it's best to keep the doors locked and treat red traffic lights as a suggestion, rather than a rule.

[Mustang]

So many....

Stockholm: Great city - the water makes it very attractive. Not for everyone since Swedish culture hard to adapt to and the loooong winters too!!

Dallas: Not everyone's cup of tea but there is plenty to do - it's just pretty spread out!

New York: Enough said about this great city already!

San Fran: Lived on the East Bay for 6 months. Great city. They have now extended the BART so you can get into downtown SF more easily. Great access to Napa valley, skiing at Lake Tahoe, sailing, beaches close by.

Syndey: great bars and nightlife, sailing, climate

Auckland: sailing, waterfront bars, restaurants.

Queenstown: bit remote but certainly plenty to do! Just admire the beauty of Lake Wakatipu!!

[TheMonkey]

Zurich - I chucked rubbish on the floor there, turned around and someone had taken it away already! Lovely place - clean air, everyone speaks english and there is a very low risk of getting shot at.

[Pondlife]

New York - best place I've ever lived or been too.
Sydney - fantastic lifestyle, but remoteness get's to you after a while

Agree entirely, would have to add Toronto and Melbourne for top cities though.

[snaw]

UK/London is a great place to make cash and plan a getaway.

Not that I mind the UK apart from the weather and the food, which just get's to me. Long term their are better options.

New York - best place I've ever lived or been too.
Sydney - fantastic lifestyle, but remoteness get's to you after a while
Amsterdam - yawn, if you've spent a weekend there you've seen it all. Plus the Dutch while being superficially nice are some of the hardest people on the planet to get to know.

Places I've spent time (not long term though) in I'd rate : Tokyo is a blast, Honk Kong is full on and would be good if you're single, San Fran would be my 2nd choice US city and Vancouver for me is absolutly fantastic (Then again I'm a snowboardng maniac and it's pretty damn close to some amazing terrain).

Worst place would have to be LA - a more souless city I've never been to.

PS. Dimprawn - on that list which country doesn't have most of those 'issues', in lot's of cases more so?

[BlasterBates]

Its 8-6 at the moment, not much in it.

....hmmm

Lets have some case studies, you know "sob stories" etc etc.

[Francko]

For comparison

Philadelphia - fantastic

Was it sarcastic? What's so good about Philadelphia apart from running up all the stairs to the Art museum shouting Adriaaaaaaaaannnnn?

[Mailman]

Capetown - great, except for the nagging fear of violence that accompanies any journey after 7pm

Surely this is a typo and should be 7am!

Mailman

[DimPrawn]

Britain is great apart from:

Rain
Drought
Crime
Blair
Brown
Taxes
Public Services
Chavs
Illegals
Nannying
Red Tape
IR35
Big Brother
Speed Cameras
Long Hours
No Sunshine
tulip Bosses
Traffic Congestion
House Prices (unless you own 1 or 2 of course )
Cost of Gas, Electricity, Water, Petrol...
Education Standards
NHS


If you ignore all that, nothing comes close.

HTH

[Francko]

Double edged sword.
Chavs, crime, IR35, piss poor transport, control freak bosses are all things I never had to contend with abroad.

On the up side I get to spend time with friends and family, I get to ride my motorbike regularly, I understand the tax system (sort of), I understand the telly and you get a good range of excellent food (come on Franko).

Definetely better than Holland. But if we only debate working conditions I think that the system is similar to the US. Too much work-oriented with hectic and stressful environments and lots of politics too (this is different from the US and probably what gives US an edge) but the money is nice.

[The Lone Gunman]

Double edged sword.
Chavs, crime, IR35, piss poor transport, control freak bosses are all things I never had to contend with abroad.

On the up side I get to spend time with friends and family, I get to ride my motorbike regularly, I understand the tax system (sort of), I understand the telly and you get a good range of excellent food (come on Franko).

[Francko]

Well Defamator has raised an interesting point, so lets settle this once an for all. For those of you who were away for several years whose really glad to be back ?

Working in UK is good but working in the Netherlands is better imho (if it wasn't for that *&*%* language they use!!!).

[XLMonkey]

of course, it depends where in the UK you live.

London - one of the worst cities I've ever lived in
Manchester - in the top half of the draw, let down by the rain
Leafy southern counties - excellent, as long as you don't have to go into London too often

For comparison

Philadelphia - fantastic
Dallas Fort Worth - awful, nearly as bad as London
Barcelona - the best city in the world. Unparalleled for culture, climate and quality of life
Rome - the close second to Barcelona, just the traffic that lets it down
Paris - the only city worse than London
Capetown - great, except for the nagging fear of violence that accompanies any journey after 7pm

[Dundeegeorge]

Tsk

Well Defamator has raised an interesting point, so lets settle this once an for all. For those of you who were away for several years whose really glad to be back ?

let's
who's
and