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Living Overseas -- merged threads


Realistbear

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HOLA441
Guest tbatst2000

My friend is getting a job in the states. He already works for the american company, in london, so they are currently getting the paper work and certification needed to sponsor overseas people. He isn't that talented, and they could definitely find an american to do the job. Don't they have that rule in the U.K. it's just ignored?

My wife was recently offered a job over there, by someone who works over there after he found out they were having a wave of redundancies at her work. So it can't be that hard. Fortunately, she didn't get made redundant.

If you've been with a firm for more than a year then, as long as you and the firm meet certain criteria, they can move you on a L1 (intra-company) visa. There's no requirement for the company to show that they can't hire anyone in the US for this class of visa, so it's pretty quick and easy. If you have an L1A visa (for managers) you can then get a green card in around 18 months if your company will sponsor you, the route from L1Bs (technical) is more complex and slower. A word of warning though, on either type of visa, if you lose your job, you can't work for another employer and will have to leave the country within 2 weeks. This happened to a guy I knew who moved his family (with 3 kids) to New York from London, selling his UK house and buying one there in the process. He did a couple of months work and then the company blew up in the financial crisis and he was totally fecked.

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HOLA442
Guest tbatst2000

So if you could go, where in the eu would you go?

Why limit it to the EU? If you're only looking for a temporary move and you're under 30, you could do Canada for a year for example:

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/experience_canada_experience/index.aspx?lang=eng&menu_id=7

Aus and NZ and maybe some others have similar schemes I think.

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HOLA443

Thought Namibia was dicey security wise, like SA ?

Going by the stats, it has a very high crime rate for theft (it's one of the least equal nations on earth) although not at South African levels. But its violent crime rate is much, much lower than SA and many other African countries. Personally, I never felt unsafe in Namibia the way I did in a couple of places in South Africa. (Disclaimer: this was 10 years ago.)

What made it a winner for me was unbelievably stunning landscapes, a much happier/closer relationship between black and white people than much of Southern Africa, one of the lowest population densities in the world, working infrastructure and lots of like-minded people - plus several job offers, which always helps... As I say, completely subjective :)

Edited by sarahleyburn
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HOLA444

Europe: France / Gemany. Asia: Vietnam / China other options: Oz.

I am going on a tour of these places in December with a view to moving out. Planned to earlier but had problems getting out of the projects I'm already involved in.

I am absolutely determined not to waste another year of my life in the UK. It's not worth the pain!

Edited by gruffydd
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HOLA445
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HOLA446

Europe: France / Gemany. Asia: Vietnam / China other options: Oz.

I am going on a tour of these places in December with a view to moving out. Planned to earlier but had problems getting out of the projects I'm already involved in.

I am absolutely determined not to waste another year of my life in the UK. It's not worth the pain!

Me too. We're planning our escape to France right now. Just a question of where to live...

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HOLA447

I'm taking another trip to Germany & Austria this/next year. I hope to have two trips to the US planned for next year.

Still steaming ahead with my German learning - check out 'Deutsche Welle' - great free learning resource.

Busuu.com is another great free place to learn a language - the social network part of it means you get corrected and helped by native speakers - although you are also expected to correct English learners.

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HOLA448

My favourite places in the world are the Western Cape of South Africa, West Coast of Australia, north of the South Island of New Zealand and Southern France.

Basically anywhere that grapes grow is good with me in terms of climate and culture.

If France were suddenly to proclaim itself as English speaking I'd move there tomorrow. It really is the language issue that puts me (and particularly my wife) off. I know we'd improve, and probably be fluent in a few years but I think we'd be fairly lonely to start with.

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HOLA449

Busuu.com is another great free place to learn a language - the social network part of it means you get corrected and helped by native speakers - although you are also expected to correct English learners.

Thanks for that! I'll finish Deutsche Welle and Michel Thomas first (inforation overload) but always good to know what other free resources there are. Bit cheesy with the pics and a lot going on there, mind!

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HOLA4410

Utrecht and Amsterdam are very pricey for renters. I live in South Holland which is relatively cheap - especially as I get a tax break on my mortgage. Most companies in Holland pay for public transport costs which is a big plus if you have to commute.

A few downsides to living in Holland is that the income tax is high (52% for me), health insurance is compulsory (about 130 eur per month) and general food/consumer goods are far more expensive than in the UK.

The grass isn't always greener. I'm coming home next year.

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HOLA4411

You can't get a visa to live or work in the US. So forget it.

Not entirely true.. I believe the US hand out 65,000 work visas every year for companies who wish to employ foreign workers.

Our company did that not long ago.. I understand they sent a guy to hand in the paper work the day reset rolled over.

Not true IMO. San Diego is most probably - if not most definitely - the most attractive place to live in California for most people. You can buy a 2 bed flat there, in a decent area, 15 minutes walk from the City centre for £100-150k.

Possibly, but how's your Spanish ;)

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HOLA4412

Utrecht and Amsterdam are very pricey for renters. I live in South Holland which is relatively cheap - especially as I get a tax break on my mortgage. Most companies in Holland pay for public transport costs which is a big plus if you have to commute.

A few downsides to living in Holland is that the income tax is high (52% for me), health insurance is compulsory (about 130 eur per month) and general food/consumer goods are far more expensive than in the UK.

The grass isn't always greener. I'm coming home next year.

..wow...that's interesting...does the 130 euro per month for health cover the family or just the individual....?

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HOLA4413

Utrecht and Amsterdam are very pricey for renters. I live in South Holland which is relatively cheap - especially as I get a tax break on my mortgage. Most companies in Holland pay for public transport costs which is a big plus if you have to commute.

A few downsides to living in Holland is that the income tax is high (52% for me), health insurance is compulsory (about 130 eur per month) and general food/consumer goods are far more expensive than in the UK.

The grass isn't always greener. I'm coming home next year.

Coming back due to costs or other factors?

Thought I'd post this, if just for the beautiful pictures:

http://www.smashinglists.com/10-best-places-to-live-in-2011-quality-of-living-index/

Also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_most_livable_cities

AND:

http://euroburolimited.co.uk/mortgages.htm

'They don't like high levels of borrowing as a percentage. 40% deposit minimum over 10 or 15 years is typical. ' *swoon*

Edited by guitarman001
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HOLA4414

Utrecht and Amsterdam are very pricey for renters. I live in South Holland which is relatively cheap - especially as I get a tax break on my mortgage. Most companies in Holland pay for public transport costs which is a big plus if you have to commute.

A few downsides to living in Holland is that the income tax is high (52% for me), health insurance is compulsory (about 130 eur per month) and general food/consumer goods are far more expensive than in the UK.

The grass isn't always greener. I'm coming home next year.

We came very close to moving to The Netherlands about two years ago.

Then we moved to a rural area. It's like living in a different country. In just about every respect. I've never rated any of our cities and I don't think we do urban living very well over here. We do have some stunning countryside, though.

It isn't congested. People say hello to you. You don't bitch with neighbours about parking. You can't hear the neighbour through the wall when they go to the toilet. The sky is actually dark at night. It is quiet - no traffic noise. There is community spirit. There is almost no crime. It feels safe walking around at night in pitch darkness. Neighbours look out for each other. The GP surgery is excellent. There are two superb pubs. Lots of wildlife. The nearest town is only four miles away and it's lovely.

It's expensive though. At least this bit of rural Hampshire is.

I've always loved Amsterdam and Utrecht (apart from the train station, which has a very British kind of concrete monstrosity look to it - but at least it's only one building, not the general standard!) is very pretty, Delft also.

And of all the countries in the world I've always thought the Netherlands and Germany are most similar to the UK culturally (the former being very rich in culture, never been to the latter so can't comment)

The UK and the Netherlands swapped over, so the UK is now Europe's most densely populated country. That said, NL looks "organised" or "planned" - it's obvious from the air. Most of our urban areas look like it was all dropped out of the sky and left wherever it fell.

We did the maths, and we wouldn't have been any better off in Amsterdam then, suspect it hasn't changed all that much now. Though, do be aware that the price of groceries over here is inflating by about 20% a year if our weekly shop is anything to go by.

We now have two cats so city living isn't an option (I know lots of people in Amsterdam do have cats, but our pair are very much outdoor cats) and as the UK literally falls to bits before our very eyes we've started looking at this again, more towards the south of the country.

Perhaps we might cross at the ferry terminal :)

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HOLA4415

I'm off to France to see an old flame next week, and will have an eye out for a place in the Languedoc.

Im stunned at what you can get there for the price of a chav infested hell hole in north London. This is even after their boom.

Because Languedoc is a poor region of France. Take Nîmes, the prefecture of the Gard department. It is in the bottom quartile of French towns in terms of average salary. Average household income is a mere 1900 euros per month of which the govt will take 20% social security charges.

You are not really comparing like with like. Powys or somewhere like that might be a better comparison. Your Chav infested hell hole in North London will be much like a Chav infested hell hole in North Paris, and cost much the same. Less rioting in North London though.

That doesn't invalidate what you say, quite the opposite, there are plenty of places to go in the world if you are not constrained with having to earn a crust by being physically present at a job.

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