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Emigrating Abroad
- Thread starter Southern
- Start date
AustinBlue
Well-Known Member
I've lived all over the world... north of England, midlands, Belgium, London, USA, South Africa, USA, Canada, USA, Mexico, USA... and come to the conclusion that there's good and bad things about everywhere and it's a question of what kind of person is doing the emigrating. If you like adventure and making new friends and adapting to new cultures and enjoying the best of a place, then the ex pat life is really great. If you like tradition and routine and have a strong family and friend base in England, the ex pat life gets lonely and empty and you spend your time trying to recreate English traditions. It's sad to see English ex pats who never learn to make friends with locals and just hang out with each other the whole time.
Tuearts right boot
Well-Known Member
They saw the grass is greener etc etc. It might be until you get there. It's easy forming a judgement when you are on the inside but get there and you may just find that looking back at the UK from the outside it's not that bad. There are a lot of worse places. You need to get involved in a country before you can make the call, that's the difficult bit before you make the commitment. Sometimes it's a leap of faith and sometimes it pays off.
We've seen and know loads of couples go abroad only to split up some years later. If you are going because you have failed in something over here, don't use emigration as an easy way out, the act of failure wont go away, it will only magnify itself.
We've seen and know loads of couples go abroad only to split up some years later. If you are going because you have failed in something over here, don't use emigration as an easy way out, the act of failure wont go away, it will only magnify itself.
ChicagoBlue
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 10 Jan 2009
- Messages
- 18,305
Came to States for Uni, met my wife there, got married after graduation, stayed. Marriage got me the Green Card (work visa) and about 8 years later I became a citizen (dual UK-USA). Income is the big thing. Hard to enjoy living anywhere if you can't make ends meet!
After graduation, got pro soccer contract, played for three years, then used my Finance degree to get a city job, then flight school and now pilot. Third and last career! The biggest thing has been the chance to "reinvent" yourself in the States. Here, nobody says "you can't!" only "you haven't yet, so what are you waiting for?!" Not a very British sensibility....which is a good thing.
Seeing as I have been over most of the world, England is a beautiful, friendly place to return to, especially with family and City, but when I come over, I see th good and the bad. Good is the beautiful countryside, bad is the cities and growing number of scrotes and petty crime, and the need to have some decent money to enjoy anything like the life I have here in the US.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to not sever all ties to the U.K., make the move, give it a good go, and see how you like it. When I left home in '82, I would never have guessed I would still be here, but now I wouldn't leave unless it was for a nice plot in NZ or Lake District with long views of nature. In short, wherever you are, having the money to live the kind of life you want is the key to being able to stay there and enjoy it. I'm very fortunate to have been able to do that and am set for life now, wherever I choose that to be.
Good luck!
After graduation, got pro soccer contract, played for three years, then used my Finance degree to get a city job, then flight school and now pilot. Third and last career! The biggest thing has been the chance to "reinvent" yourself in the States. Here, nobody says "you can't!" only "you haven't yet, so what are you waiting for?!" Not a very British sensibility....which is a good thing.
Seeing as I have been over most of the world, England is a beautiful, friendly place to return to, especially with family and City, but when I come over, I see th good and the bad. Good is the beautiful countryside, bad is the cities and growing number of scrotes and petty crime, and the need to have some decent money to enjoy anything like the life I have here in the US.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to not sever all ties to the U.K., make the move, give it a good go, and see how you like it. When I left home in '82, I would never have guessed I would still be here, but now I wouldn't leave unless it was for a nice plot in NZ or Lake District with long views of nature. In short, wherever you are, having the money to live the kind of life you want is the key to being able to stay there and enjoy it. I'm very fortunate to have been able to do that and am set for life now, wherever I choose that to be.
Good luck!
1961_vintage
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 21 Sep 2009
- Messages
- 15,345
Came to States for Uni, met my wife there, got married after graduation, stayed. Marriage got me the Green Card (work visa) and about 8 years later I became a citizen (dual UK-USA). Income is the big thing. Hard to enjoy living anywhere if you can't make ends meet!
After graduation, got pro soccer contract, played for three years, then used my Finance degree to get a city job, then flight school and now pilot. Third and last career! The biggest thing has been the chance to "reinvent" yourself in the States. Here, nobody says "you can't!" only "you haven't yet, so what are you waiting for?!" Not a very British sensibility....which is a good thing.
Seeing as I have been over most of the world, England is a beautiful, friendly place to return to, especially with family and City, but when I come over, I see th good and the bad. Good is the beautiful countryside, bad is the cities and growing number of scrotes and petty crime, and the need to have some decent money to enjoy anything like the life I have here in the US.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to not sever all ties to the U.K., make the move, give it a good go, and see how you like it. When I left home in '82, I would never have guessed I would still be here, but now I wouldn't leave unless it was for a nice plot in NZ or Lake District with long views of nature. In short, wherever you are, having the money to live the kind of life you want is the key to being able to stay there and enjoy it. I'm very fortunate to have been able to do that and am set for life now, wherever I choose that to be.
Good luck!
Great post.
better dead than red
Well-Known Member
I'm an American though my wife is German. Her father came here many years ago with not a lot but ended up starting his own business and made a good living. He retired and sold his business and makes some good money from rent for the land the business sits on. Oddly enough, he spends 4-5 months a year in the Philippines now.
I work with a number of men and women who are immigrants, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Haiti. Some came to the States with almost nothing. Many still return home for visits (my Salvadoran friend won't. He says it is too dangerous) but they are all happy to be here and have no regrets.
If you want the West Coast you have so many options for climate and scenery. My parents live in the Phoenix area. The desert is incredibly beautiful. Yes. It is amazingly hot in the summer but people limit outdoor time during the hottest hours. From Phoenix it is four hours driving to San Diego and the beach and four hours driving to Las Vegas.
My sister lived in Portland. The scenery is pretty. It does rain/mist often but rarely gets terribly cold. She moved however because housing prices are very high for what you get in return. Not only size wise but the homes are often not well cared for. She and her husband had good jobs there but still struggled to find an area affordable to raise children.
There is a terrible homeless problem there. Unfortunately, finding used condoms and drug needles on and around her children's school ground was a regular occurrence.
There are lots of options and many opportunities. The economy is expanding. I've changed careers and don't have as compelling of a story as ChicagoBlue but I've lived all over the U.S. and have found opportunities are out here.
Good luck
I work with a number of men and women who are immigrants, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Haiti. Some came to the States with almost nothing. Many still return home for visits (my Salvadoran friend won't. He says it is too dangerous) but they are all happy to be here and have no regrets.
If you want the West Coast you have so many options for climate and scenery. My parents live in the Phoenix area. The desert is incredibly beautiful. Yes. It is amazingly hot in the summer but people limit outdoor time during the hottest hours. From Phoenix it is four hours driving to San Diego and the beach and four hours driving to Las Vegas.
My sister lived in Portland. The scenery is pretty. It does rain/mist often but rarely gets terribly cold. She moved however because housing prices are very high for what you get in return. Not only size wise but the homes are often not well cared for. She and her husband had good jobs there but still struggled to find an area affordable to raise children.
There is a terrible homeless problem there. Unfortunately, finding used condoms and drug needles on and around her children's school ground was a regular occurrence.
There are lots of options and many opportunities. The economy is expanding. I've changed careers and don't have as compelling of a story as ChicagoBlue but I've lived all over the U.S. and have found opportunities are out here.
Good luck
Innsbruckblue
Well-Known Member
I left the UK 15 years ago after graduation. I had already made up my mind during my Erasmus year in Spain and Germany that I was going to leave as soon as I could. It helped a lot that I made many contacts during that year and was even offered teaching work. Straight after graduation, I packed my rucksack and flew to Leipzig with what little money I had, and hoped for the best. The first few months were hard - not enough work, different tax system, and experiencing the culture as an immigrant and not a student. But it eventually came together and my work situation took off, leading me to Austria just over 3 years ago. I've constantly made an effort to integrate - joined football teams, theatre groups and have my own radio show. I love the continental lifestyle and the proximity to so many different cultures, and I have no intention of ever moving back to the UK.
You can only try it, and if it works out for you, then great. Just be aware that if you have no regular income, it can be quite depressing and lonely.
You can only try it, and if it works out for you, then great. Just be aware that if you have no regular income, it can be quite depressing and lonely.
ive been in aus 8 years on wednesday. i havent look back since. looking now from the outside at the uk, it appears to be (apologies) a right fucking shithole. seems to have gone right downhill rapidly. or it could have always been that way but you arent aware of it as youve surrounded yourself in it.
You're not wrong pal it's worse now than ever, with the UK deteriorating at an alarming rate. You only have to walk around your local town to see the streets littered with Spice Heads, Scrotes and the more undesirable immigrants, who are here for the hand outs. Boarded up shop premises, with pound shops, vaping emporiums, bookies and shitty fast food outlets taking over the high street. Residential areas are becoming more and more down trodden and over run by the terminally bone idle. At the rate it's going decent people who work hard and pay their way will become the minority as the fifth and sixth generation of benefit scroungers increase in numbers and feed of their taxes, sucking the life even further out of the country.
dronefromsector7G
Well-Known Member
Maybe a tad over the top hereYou're not wrong pal it's worse now than ever, with the UK deteriorating at an alarming rate. You only have to walk around your local town to see the streets littered with Spice Heads, Scrotes and the more undesirable immigrants, who are here for the hand outs. Boarded up shop premises, with pound shops, vaping emporiums, bookies and shitty fast food outlets taking over the high street. Residential areas are becoming more and more down trodden and over run by the terminally bone idle. At the rate it's going decent people who work hard and pay their way will become the minority as the fifth and sixth generation of benefit scroungers increase in numbers and feed of their taxes, sucking the life even further out of the country.
Maybe a tad over the top here
Only slightly