Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear scot47,

It is no more, yet it lives on:

"The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway officially ceased operations on December 31, 1996 when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

The BNSF Railway (reporting mark BNSF), formerly known as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, is an American freight railroad company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas; it is one of four remaining transcontinental railroads and one of the largest freight railroad networks in North America. Only the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary competitor for Western U.S. freight, is larger in size. The BNSF Railway moves more intermodal freight traffic than any other rail system in the world.
It was formed December 31, 1996, as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad. In 1999 BNSF and the Canadian National Railway announced their intention to merge and form a new corporation entitled the North American Railways to be headquartered in Montreal, Canada. The United States' Surface Transportation Board (STB) placed a 15-month moratorium on all rail mergers, which ended this merger. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchison,_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway#Merger_into_BNSF

"Do you hear that whistle down the line?
I figure that it's engine number forty-nine,
She's the only one that'll sound that way.
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe

See the ol' smoke risin' round the bend,
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend,
Folks around these parts get the time o' day
From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/judy+garland/on+the+atcheson+topeka+and+the+sante+fe_20284227.html

Regards,
John

[scot47]

I hasten to add that I am not now, and never have been a member of the Judy Garland Fan Club.

[johnslat]

Dear scot47,

Why not? Do the Bette Davis and Bette Midler fan clubs take up all of your spare time?

Regards,
John

[7168Riyadh]

[quote="bulgogiboy"]you might be able to pay off a nice flat within 3-5 years or so, if you saved 75% of what you earned.
quote]

I can see where you're coming from--the UK!!

Look, from what I can make out the halcyon days of TEFL in Saudi are OVER. Ditto some other places like Korea and Japan. I mean the money is simply not that great, its just tax free and the cheap living that still makes being here worthwhile. In theory, you could make enough to pay off a flat in 3-5 years, but putting theory into practice might be more than you bargained for. Multiple properties? Phew! I'm working on maybe gettting a rabbit hutch somewhere in Wallis and Futuna...Good luck.

[bulgogiboy]

Ok, multiple properties was jumping the gun, I admit. And as you say, we are talking theoretically, nothing is for certain in life.

However, I still think the theory could easily be put into practice if you applied yourself. I would be motivated by not wanting to be tied down by a 25 yr mortgage. I have saved well before in other countries, then blown it on wine, women and song, and I dont want to make that same mistake again(I dont drink anymore-prefer to have a liver)...

I think if you are a single person with no dependents and you secure a job somewhere like Bae and make 4000 pounds a month, save around 70-75% of that, and stick it out for 4 years, you will be able to buy a nice little 2 bedroom flat at least. I suppose it depends on what you consider a 'nice' property. Of course you wont be buying a penthouse in Mayfair, but there are perfectly respectable flats to be bought in Scotland for around the 90,000-100,000 mark , which also gets you a foot on the property ladder.