[Realistbear]

I am giving increasingly serious thought to returning to the US as I do not like the look of post-Gordon Britain with or without a massive HPC.

I have a US permanent resident card that expires in June so I have to make my mind up relatively quickly as it is an enormous hassle to get another one!

Colorado, Vermont are at the top of the list as of today. Nice houses can be bought for around $250k in countryside that is not too bad with property taxes to match. Affordability, friendly people, a new Audi A4 2.0T for $26k after discount, no sense of being financially raped everytime you go out to dinner, most of my family emigrated there and haven't ventured back to the UK like I did 2 years or so ago,

I think I have had enough of rip-off Britain, Gordon Brown and his ilk, overpriced houses, crowded conditions and ever increasing taxes.

Anyone else at the brink and making plans to sod off somewhere? Where?

[MarkG]

A bunch of us have already gone .

[Realistbear]

MarkG, on Dec 27 2007, 06:28 PM, said:

A bunch of us have already gone .

Top 3 reasons why?

Where to?

[bomberbrown]

Realistbear, on Dec 27 2007, 06:30 PM, said:

Top 3 reasons why?

Where to?

As much as I'd like to emigrate, I'm not giving in and giving up the 'investment' I've put into this country, in terms of the tax and NI I've contributed together with the 6 years served in the Armed Forces. Why should I leave and make way for all and sundry to the UK that have not contributed a penny.

If I could 'cash in' my NI contributions, I'd be taking them over to Singapore.

[The Masked Tulip]

I am. I have some serious decisions to make in the next 6 months about where I live, what I do long-term and, to be frank, the UK is looking less and less like the option.

I have been ill with stress for several years, am now recovering thank goodness and find myself in a position where I can potentially be mortgage free and in my early 40s here by the end of 2008 or I can move somewhere else. I have no family at all anymore since my Mum passed away two Christmases ago and I find the stress of my previous profession, IT, to be miserable, forever changing and just too demanding. I am looking now to those nice big modern houses in the likes of the US, Canada, Oz and NZ that I could have in a nice quality setting... and they are tempting.

I do not like the stress, noise, dirt and over-taxation of the UK. I do not like what I have seen in the NHS and do not wish to come old here in the UK. We treat old people terribly here in the UK and, trust me, you do not wish to become old here if you have no one to fight your corner. Having said that the NHS is some kind of safety net and I worry about the US where, as I have seen with my own eyes, ill people not being treated because they have no health insurance and elderly people not getting prescriptions because they simply cannot afford them.

I have to say Canada and NZ interest me a great deal - NZ for quality of life, Canada for quality of life and a decent health system. I think the US is a place to go to when you are young and healthy to make money and get out ASAP. I have my doubts about Oz as I fear it might become one giant desert in my lifetime.

Other places I would consider are other parts of the EU such as Spain, Netherlands and perhaps the likes of Sweden.

I am fed up with the chav culture here in the UK, fed up with everything coming down to the lowest common denominator, fed up with things not working, fed up with rising crime, fed up with dirt, fed up with being taxed to the hilt, fed up with driving hours just to get to and from work, fed up with a Society where Men are basically shafted in relationships and divorce - noticed in another thread someone commenting how many on here have female partners who are not British. Most of my male friends in their 40s and 50s are the same and will not go near a British woman again for a relationship let alone marriage - fed up with feeling like an alien in my land of birth and just, well, just fed up with being powerless to do anything about it.

It is a big decision. I am scared to do it for all sorts of reasons. I am scared if I go somewhere else and something happens to me that no one will know but, in truth, that is no different from here.

A friend from London was down here in Swansea today - a former Swansea lad - and he was asking why Swansea thinks it can justify London prices for houses that are tiny and run-down. He also commented on how dirty the City is and what a mess the Council has made of developing the City centre. The wonderful Gower, Pembrokeshire and Brecon Beacons are all nearby and if it was not for them I would definitely go.

Does that help?

[RedMercury]

Where to?

Marin, just north of San Francisco.

Top 3 reasons?

Wanted to live abroad for a while, as we're still young (just turned 30 and 28).

Wasn't willing to pay extortionate prices for property in the UK. Seemed like a great time to move to the US with the exchange rate being what it is. It now seems like the pound is starting to turn, so it was a good move in that regard. Mind you, nothing can stave off inflation it seems.

I get to work for the creator of Star Wars . Every day at work is a geek's dream

[UK Debt Slave]

Realistbear, on Dec 27 2007, 06:30 PM, said:

Top 3 reasons why?

Where to?

I'm off to the USA on tuesday to see my girlfriend.

I've never visited the west coast before so this'll be pretty exciting.

If all goes according to plan, I'm gonna propose and emigrate to the USA. I'm pretty mindful that the 2008 election is pretty important this time round and getting someone into the Whitehouse who isn't just a shill for the CFR and the corporations is pretty important. I think you can guess where my support lies from my signiture.

I don't really want to end up in a fascist America but with things as they are, the options are pretty limited. I've got more faith in the American people putting up a fight. The battle is already lost in the UK and i'm desperate to get out of here.

2008 is gonna be a terrible year for the British people.....and it'll get a lot worse

[Guest_chris c-t_*]

Realistbear, on Dec 27 2007, 06:26 PM, said:

I am giving increasingly serious thought to returning to the US as I do not like the look of post-Gordon Britain with or without a massive HPC.

Colorado, Vermont are at the top of the list as of today.
Anyone else at the brink and making plans to sod off somewhere? Where?

Watch out for that supervolcano in Wyoming!
No seriously, I lived in Germany for two years, and am glad to be back.
I missed the healthy disrespect for authority that I think is ingrained in the British psyche, and also the brown sauce and crisps! I found the atmos a bit sterile, but i did like the public transport running on time and the bars open till 4am withpout being full of bingers.
One thing I never got used to was the shops closing on saturday afternoons, and not opening until monday; I am simply unable to plan ahead for basics like milk and bread!

Nope, I'm staying put for now.

[RedMercury]

mattsta1964, on Dec 27 2007, 07:47 PM, said:

I'm off to the USA on tuesday to see my girlfriend.
If all goes according to plan, I'm gonna propose and emigrate to the USA.

Good luck!

I've read some horror stories over at the British Expats forums about people travelling to the USA, and stating their reason for entry as "Going to visit girlfriend/boyfriend" and being refused entry immediately. So be careful, and just say you're going on holiday!

[UK Debt Slave]

RedMercury, on Dec 27 2007, 06:51 PM, said:

Good luck!

I've read some horror stories over at the British Expats forums about people travelling to the USA, and stating their reason for entry as "Going to visit girlfriend/boyfriend" and being refused entry immediately. So be careful, and just say you're going on holiday!

Yep. Thanks for that advice I'm well aware of this problem

They don't stop thousands of immigrants pouring over the Mexican border though do they? Bloody ridiculous

[MarkG]

Realistbear, on Dec 27 2007, 07:30 PM, said:

Top 3 reasons why?
Where to?

Britain sucks, my girlfriend lives in Canada, and we bought a largish three-bed detached house with double garage in a fairly up-market area in Saskatchewan for the price of a two-bed flat in an ex-council terraced house in Surrey. If I'd been able to move here two years ago we'd have been able to buy a decent house in one of the most sought-after areas... if there's a recession we might even sell this one and move up-market anyway, even with the amount we'd lose on on this house we'd end up saving money over buying a fancier one this year .

Actually, this area is comparable to where I grew up in the South-West of England; a city based historically around agriculture but with a fair smattering of small manufacturing and service companies. One of my relatives recently bought an apartment (two bed, I think) in an old house in that city in the UK, and paid more for it than our house here... on the other hand, the house that was converted into apartments is a century or two old and may still be standing in another century when this house will probably have had to be rebuilt.

I thought property tax here was quite high (about 1300 pounds a year), but I just looked up council tax on the web and a similar house in that part of the UK would be paying the same or more. Either way, even after a 25% pay cut I have a substantially better standard of living here that I did in Surrey.

Quote

Canada for quality of life and a decent health system.

It's worth noting that a lot of things aren't covered 'cost free' in the Canadian system (at least, not here in Saskatchewan). You even get charged for calling out an ambulance, if you don't have extra insurance; of course most jobs do offer health insurance on top of what you get from the government.

[Wad]

I have more than seriously looked at emigration and actually been to scout out housing and schools. Nothing seems to fit the bill - getting the right combo of hosuing and schooling for still very young children is difficult.

Here is the short story of my search.

Canada - decent schools but housing very very expensive due to commodity boom - will look again in a few years when boom is over and the Canadian Dollar has collpased. I know someone from Canada who is married to an English woman - she says its great but the winter is unremiting and long - even his parents go South to Arizona for the winter.

Northern Italy - Housing seems to be limited to flats unless you live way out in the middle of the Tuscan/Umbrian countryside and Brits have bid up property prices sky high in those areas. Schools very run down.

Guernsey - housing is London prices but local schools are absolutley excellent.

USA - same housing bubble as here but ex pat schools are quite good in places like Boston/Washington. May look again when US Dollar collapses and house prices have moderated. Have a fair number of British friends in Boston/Washington.

[subsidiser]

RedMercury, on Dec 27 2007, 06:51 PM, said:

Good luck!

I've read some horror stories over at the British Expats forums about people travelling to the USA, and stating their reason for entry as "Going to visit girlfriend/boyfriend" and being refused entry immediately. So be careful, and just say you're going on holiday!

Yup the yanks have lost the plot.

Better the devil you know; for all its faults there are advantages to the UK. I've travelled enough to realise that, after a while the novelty wears off and you begin to miss all sorts of silly little things.

[gravity always wins]

top three reasons for NOT emigrating to the US


Gun proliferation
Lack of culture
and its full of Americans

Sort that out and I'd be there in a flash

This post has been edited by gravity always wins: 27 December 2007 - 07:14 PM

[nmarks]

I'll be in Singapore from mid January and no intention of returning.

Readers may be aware of my experiences in Asia, in particular how I was hoping to set up business in Singapore two years ago while building a house for my Balinese wife only to find out she was involved with a gangster there in Bali. Said gangster attempted to mudder me (Glaswegian accent) . I lost everything and went bankrupt.

Two years on I've recovered from the trauma and on Christmas Day this week who should I get a call from? It turns out said gangster has now fleeced my estranged wife of everything. No surprise there. In some ways I'm sorry for her : If there was Olympic Gold on offer for Psychopathy he'd murder the competition. No, seriously.

My plans there are, among other things, to set up production of a device I've patented that makes electric kettles energy efficient. I do genuinely expect to make money from this.

As I was trying to say in the news forum this morning, my experience of Singapore is that it goes to great lengths to make doing business easy.

For a while, out of patriotic reasons, I wanted to set up production in the UK but my experience of the DTI's ineptitude made me think otherwise. Patriotism doesn't pay the bills, but then again why show enthusiasm for a country so coldly indifferent to the outrageous social injustice of such a severely and dangerously polarised property market?

I might come back if Charlie Brooker is made President, though. That'd be a laugh.