stuckmojo Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 6 minutes ago, Mancunian284 said: Love this expression. Felt very safe in Singapore and it’s just so clean and organised, but I did start to feel a bit constrained. Think HK is my favourite city on that side of the world but I only ever visited. The ME has never appealed, probably because I’m female. Good point. Agree on HK. Had a blast there, but only in brief stints. Dubai/AD are fine for female. No real difference from any global city. Anywhere else, probably terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destroyah Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 11 hours ago, spyguy said: Romania. Place must be empty if my trip into town is anything to go by..... we were told in 2015 that not many of them would come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destroyah Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 hour ago, stuckmojo said: I spent 2 years in Singapore and 2 years in Dubai. Singapore was awesome. Model country for me. I know it's Disneyland with death penalty, but no crime to speak of, incredibly efficient services and plenty of work to go at. People are a bit naive and paranoid, compared to - say - Hong Kong - but it's a great place. Had the wife liked it, I'd still be there. After that, Dubai. Some good bits (the desert, the no-tax, some of the local people are great) and some bad bits (corruption, poor living standards for a lot of the immigrants, safety on the roads etc). But incredibly easy for a Brit to adapt to. Very few cultural things to do unless you like pop music or generic shit. I left due to the job and I wanted to be home and reunited with wife/friends/etc. Now back in the North East, happy enough. Dubai, I wouldn't go back unless the salary is astronomical - and that can happen. Singapore, if I could I'd go back immediately. And I'd never buy property. Who cares. Ah, I also spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia. Well, to put it politely, ****** that. i'd vote for singapore too but i would not want to live in a condo. how much would a little villa with a small garden cost there? was thinking malaysia, somewhere like langkawy but not been for a few years so not sure how it is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckmojo Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, destroyah said: i'd vote for singapore too but i would not want to live in a condo. how much would a little villa with a small garden cost there? was thinking malaysia, somewhere like langkawy but not been for a few years so not sure how it is now. A fortune. Though I lived in a condo on the Sing river, with 1,600 sq ft, pool and secure parking for two cars, barbecue area etc. I never felt the need/want for more space, which is an issue now in the UK (due to zero usable communal space and thieving scrotes for cars/bikes) Malaysia can work, but perversely you need more money than in SG to live well as the place is dirty, corrupt, unsafe and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destroyah Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 minute ago, stuckmojo said: A fortune. Though I lived in a condo on the Sing river, with 1,600 sq ft, pool and secure parking for two cars, barbecue area etc. I never felt the need/want for more space, which is an issue now in the UK (due to zero usable communal space and thieving scrotes for cars/bikes) Malaysia can work, but perversely you need more money than in SG to live well as the place is dirty, corrupt, unsafe and so on. i lived in marina bay and for a period on orchard road. if i did not have to work i would want a garden, particularly in a warm climate as i love gardening so i think sing would be out for me unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 17 minutes ago, destroyah said: we were told in 2015 that not many of them would come Almost right. Not many would stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 21 minutes ago, destroyah said: i'd vote for singapore too but i would not want to live in a condo. how much would a little villa with a small garden cost there? was thinking malaysia, somewhere like langkawy but not been for a few years so not sure how it is now. Was there last year. Langkawis cheaper tax for booze rues were under threat. The recent Governments have been far more hard core [relatively] Islamists than previous Governments. Its still a relatively open and decent feeling Islamic country - but moving towards a more 'harder' direction. Just one small example. In the 7-11 there are now signs on the fridges stating this alcohol must not be sold to Muslims. Little things like this creeping across the country. I still love the place. However would be a bit wary about making any long term plans for there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
destroyah Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 16 minutes ago, ccc said: Was there last year. Langkawis cheaper tax for booze rues were under threat. The recent Governments have been far more hard core [relatively] Islamists than previous Governments. Its still a relatively open and decent feeling Islamic country - but moving towards a more 'harder' direction. Just one small example. In the 7-11 there are now signs on the fridges stating this alcohol must not be sold to Muslims. Little things like this creeping across the country. I still love the place. However would be a bit wary about making any long term plans for there. in the mid two thousands they had this plan called malaysia my second home. if you deposited 200k dollars in the country you would get permanent residency. sounded attractive at the time but i don't know if it is still open now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 10 minutes ago, destroyah said: in the mid two thousands they had this plan called malaysia my second home. if you deposited 200k dollars in the country you would get permanent residency. sounded attractive at the time but i don't know if it is still open now. Lots of places do similar. Plenty in the Caribbean. Quite often you are required to buy a certain property from some new development as part of this. In flight magazines are usually full of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeordieAndy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) I really don't fancy buying anywhere again but will see how we feel when in mainland Europe. If I had my way we would sell the family home we bought 5 years ago before going as this time it feels like a proper crash might be on the way compared to the false start in 2008 but it's been hard enough getting the kids to go with their parents crazy idea and leaving friends, sports teams etc without also selling the only home most of them have known! Edited March 20, 2018 by GeordieAndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freki Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 For the how to do that: does anyone know a good job board to find jobs in Africa? I'm a project manager / data analyst / data scientist An equivalent of reliefweb for corporate jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentrinoDuo Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Africa, SE Asia all these "dream places" are good if you have a well-paid job that will pay for your health insurance and the international school fee for your kids. Just like my Singaporean friend told me: Singapore ... great place to live, just pray that you don't get sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Think we might be over complicating things going into some third world republic, putting ourselves in danger etc. Just move somewhere cheap in this country... * A state retirement package worth 250k * Cradle to grave welfare * A proper legal system * Mother tongue * NHS package worth £2,000 per person per year. And amongst the cheapest houses in the world if you can cope with isolation.. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63453430.html Not surprising that most of the countries mentioned, their citizens will do just about anything to live here and get a slice of our welfare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 50 minutes ago, CentrinoDuo said: Africa, SE Asia all these "dream places" are good if you have a well-paid job that will pay for your health insurance and the international school fee for your kids. Just like my Singaporean friend told me: Singapore ... great place to live, just pray that you don't get sick. Singapore's health system is one of the highest rated for outcomes. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/25/15356118/singapore-health-care-system-explained Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) 3 minutes ago, crashmonitor said: Think we might be over complicating things going into some third world republic, putting ourselves in danger etc. Just move somewhere cheap in this country... * A state retirement package worth 250k * Cradle to grave welfare * A proper legal system * Mother tongue * NHS package worth £2,000 per person per year. And amongst the cheapest houses in the world if you can cope with isolation.. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63453430.html Not surprising that most of the countries mentioned, their citizens will do just about anything to live here and get a slice of our welfare. For a compromise of cheap housing and facilities, I score Scarborough high. Now IRs are turning, there's a sh1t load of probate going to hit the market too. Edited March 20, 2018 by spyguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest_northshore Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 3 hours ago, Mancunian284 said: Add some of the North Shore in to the bubble. It’s like a different world when you head out West. The 40 plus days, probably even 35 plus days really started to get to me, it gets too hot to even go to the beach. True. Saying that, I'd happily live somewhere like Coogee or Kirribili with air con and decent transport links. But they're not representative, or probably remotely affordable now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flopsy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) We lived in Australia for 2 years. My other half was made redundant and wouldn't find any other work. We tried most major cities but gave up in the end. Due to the size of the country this was hard to do as interviews could involved long plane journeys. I was only able to find occasional contract or part time work. It wasn't like living in a UK city. Would be different if one's profession was a doctor or nurse of course. It was very much "jobs for the locals first". My other half was blatantly sacked with a days notice when a company did a mass sacking when taken over by a USA company. Laws around this are toothless. There is a tribunal system but that takes months/years. Our experience was bad. We noticed lots of sackings of non-Australian's in our experience of the tribunal system. Housing costs are a big problem in Australian and NZ cities and towns. I have nieces and nephews in both. They are largely priced out. We found the standard of living low compared to the UK. Food costs as an example were very high. Edited March 20, 2018 by Flopsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentrinoDuo Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, spyguy said: Singapore's health system is one of the highest rated for outcomes. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/25/15356118/singapore-health-care-system-explained Sure ... if you can afford it (for foreigners I meant). Edited March 20, 2018 by CentrinoDuo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 2 minutes ago, CentrinoDuo said: Sure ... if you can afford it. Its not that expensive. Esp. compared o how much the nHS swallows and what you, as a tax payer, gets for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) 27 minutes ago, spyguy said: For a compromise of cheap housing and facilities, I score Scarborough high. Now IRs are turning, there's a sh1t load of probate going to hit the market too. Indeed Belgravia with a couple of noughts knocked off. 60k and enjoy the benefits of living in the UK like free NHS and being able to speak the language. See Georgian façade 2/12. I'd be surprised if you could live cheaper anywhere else in the world. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64150225.html Edited March 20, 2018 by crashmonitor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CentrinoDuo Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 13 minutes ago, spyguy said: Its not that expensive. Esp. compared o how much the nHS swallows and what you, as a tax payer, gets for it. 4 That might be true, but this thread is about people moving abroad and some people suggested some places. What I'm saying is that these dream places that were mentioned earlier have no reciprocal health care system with the U.K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian284 Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 34 minutes ago, guest_northshore said: True. Saying that, I'd happily live somewhere like Coogee or Kirribili with air con and decent transport links. But they're not representative, or probably remotely affordable now. We lived in Kirribilli for a bit, really liked it there. Great for NYE too. Was expensive back then and we could only afford it due to the LAFHA which you don’t get anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamnumerate Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 2 hours ago, crashmonitor said: Think we might be over complicating things going into some third world republic, putting ourselves in danger etc. Just move somewhere cheap in this country... * A state retirement package worth 250k * Cradle to grave welfare * A proper legal system * Mother tongue * NHS package worth £2,000 per person per year. And amongst the cheapest houses in the world if you can cope with isolation.. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63453430.html Not surprising that most of the countries mentioned, their citizens will do just about anything to live here and get a slice of our welfare. That house does not have a garden and needs lots of modernisation, also heating might be expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dropbear Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Flopsy said: We found the standard of living low compared to the UK. Just steer clear of Sydney and life is great in Australia: The food in Australia is far better - it's mostly local produce, rather than imported in refrigerated trucks from Spain. There is much less poverty in Australia - 13% vs 20% in the UK. There are fewer social problems owing to the more homogeneous race/religious groups. The housing is much larger on average - the largest average house size in the world. You can buy a block of land and build on it with little interference. Median salary for full time work in Australia is 40% higher than UK. ...and then there's the weather. Some tat is more expensive there, but you can import things under AUD $1000 with no import duties or tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 4 hours ago, crashmonitor said: Indeed Belgravia with a couple of noughts knocked off. 60k and enjoy the benefits of living in the UK like free NHS and being able to speak the language. See Georgian façade 2/12. I'd be surprised if you could live cheaper anywhere else in the world. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64150225.html The Pink! The Pink! The Pink! Price of a crappy semi in London: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40173867.html 160k - Really nice bath-like cresent. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71889935.html Bit further from centre but nice area http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64409980.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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