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Jaffazoid
Joined: 04 Dec 2011
Location: Ulsan
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 Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| The UK keeps making it easier and easier for me to consider living here long term. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| 3DR wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| Parts of the country are comparable to Eastern Europe. High unemployment, violent crimes, lack of education, no life chances, almost no social mobility, racial tension, drug and alcohol problems, teenage pregnancy etc. I read an article comparing Glasgow to the former Soviet Bloc states and there are many parallels. |
But...but...I thought the UK was nothing like the USA! A paradise even! |
Nope. It's absolute shite. Just the thought of going back for more than a week depresses me. The only reason I ever go is because my family are there. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't ever return.
I'm just being a grouch. The UK isn't all bad, but there are so many factors that make life uncomfortable and sometimes unbearable.
That article was in the Guardian, I think, so I will try to find it. |
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aq8knyus
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:39 am Post subject: |
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Of course the UK is crap why do you think we went around invading and colonising country after country.
That being said I come from a pleasant market town in the country and frankly I have yet to find a nicer place on earth. Far too boring for a young person, but a great place to bring up kids and retire. I also lived in central London during Uni and again it is a wonderful place, although way too expensive.
I have met many Brits in Korea and a lot of them have had northern accents or were scottish, so I can only imagine how difficult life would be for them in the UK. |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:46 am Post subject: |
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I grew up in a quiet village in South Wales. Nice for the most part but completely boring. Head the 5 miles to Newport and it's a real shithole and the people are generally shitty too.
We're thinking of heading to the UK in a year but the new requirements mean that me and my wife would have to be apart and paying rent on 2 places at once for about 4 months. Whole situation sucks frankly but I'm not sure I can stand another year teaching non-stop. |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:04 am Post subject: |
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Well, having read quite a bit about the views on this thread, I thought I would add my 5 cents (or pence) to this. I lived in Korea for 3 years, returned to the UK for 4 and am returning to Korea for the long term with my wife and son. My wife is Korean (and holds a Korean and UK passport) and we are keen to get back to more permanent work.
We are keen to get back to Korea from the high cost of living. Who would really appreciate a free health care if you are left to on your own and the only drinking water is that from the vases in the hospital? Why would you want to live in a country where they don't know the difference between horse and beef? Why would you want to live in a country where they have literally opened the borders to Romanians and Bulgarians with no get out clause? I have been in the UK most of my life but I am shocked at how bad the country is starting to fold. The economy is in a terrible state, the Government are borrowing more than they get, the jobs market is in tatters and the people are running riot (quite literally).
I would be so happy to get back to a country (which is no means perfect itself) but offers permanent employment for those with the qualifications, able to earn some serious money and able to enjoy good quality of life. You may be able to earn �50,000 in the UK but are you gonna enjoy your life? I doubt it.
I am counting down the months till I get back to Korea in September this year. |
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cam83
Joined: 27 Jan 2013
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:51 am Post subject: |
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| aq8knyus wrote: |
Of course the UK is crap why do you think we went around invading and colonising country after country.
That being said I come from a pleasant market town in the country and frankly I have yet to find a nicer place on earth. Far too boring for a young person, but a great place to bring up kids and retire. I also lived in central London during Uni and again it is a wonderful place, although way too expensive.
I have met many Brits in Korea and a lot of them have had northern accents or were scottish, so I can only imagine how difficult life would be for them in the UK. |
I agree, this has a lot to do with it - I'm from London and it is by far the best city I have lived in (I lived in NYC for a few years before moving to Seoul). Every person I have met in Korea, who is from the UK are either from up north or just a pretty dull place for a 20-something year old. It's not like the UK suddenly became a s***hole, but student life often clouds peoples perspective. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 6:33 pm Post subject: |
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| The Floating World wrote: |
| American working class people even would dream of having the lives England's poor have, trust me. |
There are opportunities for Americans if they are willing/able to move where the jobs are.
Williston has a jobless rate of just 0.3%, thought to be the lowest in the nation.
Signs everywhere in the Oil Patch proclaim: "Now Hiring".
With no college degree and little experience, it's possible to land a job with a six-figure salary as a wildcatter, living in a "man camp".
Walmart, for example, is paying shelf stackers $19.28 (£12) an hour - more than double its average national wage.
So, easy to get a job there and the pay is huge (sometimes including free housing), but the life there might not be good. But it is a way to bank a hell of a lot of savings. Those without a criminal record/ DUI on their driving record could make a lot of money as a truck driver/other driver in that area, too. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
| The Floating World wrote: |
| American working class people even would dream of having the lives England's poor have, trust me. |
There are opportunities for Americans if they are willing/able to move where the jobs are.
Williston has a jobless rate of just 0.3%, thought to be the lowest in the nation.
Signs everywhere in the Oil Patch proclaim: "Now Hiring".
With no college degree and little experience, it's possible to land a job with a six-figure salary as a wildcatter, living in a "man camp".
Walmart, for example, is paying shelf stackers $19.28 (£12) an hour - more than double its average national wage.
So, easy to get a job there and the pay is huge (sometimes including free housing), but the life there might not be good. But it is a way to bank a hell of a lot of savings. Those without a criminal record/ DUI on their driving record could make a lot of money as a truck driver/other driver in that area, too. |
Totally ignoring the fact that the cost of living is insanely high there: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/north-dakota-oil-boom-brings-blight-with-growth-as-costs-soar.html. $20/hour isn't much if you have to outlay at least $1,000/month in rent, that's essentially New York. In fact, it's more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/average-rent-williston-n-tops-costs-nyc-article-1.1617187. $2,394/month for a 700 square foot one bedroom. There are jobs, but it's also not as lucrative as it's often made out to be, and I've read multiple stories of people who haven't ended up making nearly what they originally expected. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 8:04 pm Post subject: |
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I'm pretty sure people aren't moving there for the $20 an hour shelf stocking Walmart jobs. Those are for teens/people new to workforce who grew up in the area/people with criminal records. The real money is in driving truck or working on the oil fields. Many of the oil rig workers get free housing (meaning those costs are a non-issue for them). It's not just menial labor available, too. There are higher paid supervisory positions as well. But even those just doing regular general labor are often making more than $100,000 a year. Same with truck drivers.
| Okie from Muskogee wrote: |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| Okie from Muskogee wrote: |
| he's been raking in big $$$$$ and saving a little over $9000 after taxes and expenses. |
He's saving $9,000+ a month? (!_!) My God, that is good money. What is it he does exactly? |
He's something like tools inspection crew for a oil company. I don't know the details of his job description, but he's working in a totally non-related field of his studies , that's for sure. 
He's willing to line me up with his supervisor if and when I decide to head to ND. |
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aq8knyus
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Location: London
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 9:15 am Post subject: |
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Not to get in the way of discussions about wages for truck drivers in America, but if any Brits are still interested in taking their spouse back to the UK there have been some new developments.
As of January the 1st 2014 the UK government has tried to cut off the 'Surinder Singh Route' by adding a new ‘centre of life’ criteria for couples.
There is a great info graphic that describes the route here, but basically as both a UK and EU citizen a Brit can move to another EU country with their spouse, get a job, get an apartment and after three months go to the UK without having to fulfil the new financial requirement. Also during those three months the non-EU spouse doesn't have to work, but he/she must get an EU residency card within three months.
https://www.facebook.com/surindersinghroute/photos/a.183437608517318.1073741828.181252818735797/183437611850651/?type=1&theater
The new UK regs have once again been poorly written and have caused a new set of headaches. Fortunately though a new test case has reaffirmed that home country rules cannot be more strict than that of another EU state.
http://www.freemovement.org.uk/surinder-singh-immigration-route/
If you go to another EU state it is still not perfectly clear what constitutes moving the centre of family life, but obviously working, renting and to a certain extent speaking the lingo of the country in question would help. For that reason Spain and Ireland are still the most popular destinations.
Below is a really fantastic thread to follow and p15 onwards deals with the specifics of the new regulations.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=818211
Also here is another fantastic site for getting detailed info about the SS Route in Ireland and it has been revised for 2014.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/195904323/Surinder-Singh-for-Newbies-2014-Ireland-David-B
I would also suggest joining this facebook group for up to the minute info.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/650212281695959/ |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 11:07 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| The Floating World wrote: |
| American working class people even would dream of having the lives England's poor have, trust me. |
There are opportunities for Americans if they are willing/able to move where the jobs are.
Williston has a jobless rate of just 0.3%, thought to be the lowest in the nation.
Signs everywhere in the Oil Patch proclaim: "Now Hiring".
With no college degree and little experience, it's possible to land a job with a six-figure salary as a wildcatter, living in a "man camp".
Walmart, for example, is paying shelf stackers $19.28 (£12) an hour - more than double its average national wage.
So, easy to get a job there and the pay is huge (sometimes including free housing), but the life there might not be good. But it is a way to bank a hell of a lot of savings. Those without a criminal record/ DUI on their driving record could make a lot of money as a truck driver/other driver in that area, too. |
Totally ignoring the fact that the cost of living is insanely high there: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/north-dakota-oil-boom-brings-blight-with-growth-as-costs-soar.html. $20/hour isn't much if you have to outlay at least $1,000/month in rent, that's essentially New York. In fact, it's more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/average-rent-williston-n-tops-costs-nyc-article-1.1617187. $2,394/month for a 700 square foot one bedroom. There are jobs, but it's also not as lucrative as it's often made out to be, and I've read multiple stories of people who haven't ended up making nearly what they originally expected. |
I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject.
1. Cost of living is high, free housing is exceedingly rare. Many companies that had offered housing are closing their Williston offices and relocating elsewhere.
2. You can make an amazing amount of money there, but you're not going to be working 40 hours per week. Consider 60 hours minimum and up to 80 or even 100 hours per week.
3. You will do extensive travel. If you have a family, you will spend days or even weeks without seeing them.
4. Crime is insane in the area. (Policemen aren't paid enough to live in the housing available.)
5. Roads are extremely dangerous. Too many inexperienced truck drivers, too many bad drivers in general, and that particular recipe yields a disproportionate number of fatal accidents.
6. Many of the entry level jobs (rig hand, for example) are DANGEROUS.
With that said, for those people who do have housing, the only people who don't have jobs are those who don't want them. |
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Okie from Muskogee
Joined: 30 Jan 2014
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| The Floating World wrote: |
| American working class people even would dream of having the lives England's poor have, trust me. |
There are opportunities for Americans if they are willing/able to move where the jobs are.
Williston has a jobless rate of just 0.3%, thought to be the lowest in the nation.
Signs everywhere in the Oil Patch proclaim: "Now Hiring".
With no college degree and little experience, it's possible to land a job with a six-figure salary as a wildcatter, living in a "man camp".
Walmart, for example, is paying shelf stackers $19.28 (£12) an hour - more than double its average national wage.
So, easy to get a job there and the pay is huge (sometimes including free housing), but the life there might not be good. But it is a way to bank a hell of a lot of savings. Those without a criminal record/ DUI on their driving record could make a lot of money as a truck driver/other driver in that area, too. |
Totally ignoring the fact that the cost of living is insanely high there: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/north-dakota-oil-boom-brings-blight-with-growth-as-costs-soar.html. $20/hour isn't much if you have to outlay at least $1,000/month in rent, that's essentially New York. In fact, it's more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/average-rent-williston-n-tops-costs-nyc-article-1.1617187. $2,394/month for a 700 square foot one bedroom. There are jobs, but it's also not as lucrative as it's often made out to be, and I've read multiple stories of people who haven't ended up making nearly what they originally expected. |
I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject.
1. Cost of living is high, free housing is exceedingly rare. Many companies that had offered housing are closing their Williston offices and relocating elsewhere.
2. You can make an amazing amount of money there, but you're not going to be working 40 hours per week. Consider 60 hours minimum and up to 80 or even 100 hours per week.
3. You will do extensive travel. If you have a family, you will spend days or even weeks without seeing them.
4. Crime is insane in the area. (Policemen aren't paid enough to live in the housing available.)
5. Roads are extremely dangerous. Too many inexperienced truck drivers, too many bad drivers in general, and that particular recipe yields a disproportionate number of fatal accidents.
6. Many of the entry level jobs (rig hand, for example) are DANGEROUS.
With that said, for those people who do have housing, the only people who don't have jobs are those who don't want them. |
Just wondering if you have experience working in ND. All of your points are mostly true, but as said before if you're willing and able to bust your arse and accept a little inconvenience for a few years, you'll come out ahead of the game. Isn't most young American English teachers in Asia doing that anyway? |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Okie from Muskogee wrote: |
| Adam Carolla wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| World Traveler wrote: |
| The Floating World wrote: |
| American working class people even would dream of having the lives England's poor have, trust me. |
There are opportunities for Americans if they are willing/able to move where the jobs are.
Williston has a jobless rate of just 0.3%, thought to be the lowest in the nation.
Signs everywhere in the Oil Patch proclaim: "Now Hiring".
With no college degree and little experience, it's possible to land a job with a six-figure salary as a wildcatter, living in a "man camp".
Walmart, for example, is paying shelf stackers $19.28 (£12) an hour - more than double its average national wage.
So, easy to get a job there and the pay is huge (sometimes including free housing), but the life there might not be good. But it is a way to bank a hell of a lot of savings. Those without a criminal record/ DUI on their driving record could make a lot of money as a truck driver/other driver in that area, too. |
Totally ignoring the fact that the cost of living is insanely high there: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/north-dakota-oil-boom-brings-blight-with-growth-as-costs-soar.html. $20/hour isn't much if you have to outlay at least $1,000/month in rent, that's essentially New York. In fact, it's more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/average-rent-williston-n-tops-costs-nyc-article-1.1617187. $2,394/month for a 700 square foot one bedroom. There are jobs, but it's also not as lucrative as it's often made out to be, and I've read multiple stories of people who haven't ended up making nearly what they originally expected. |
I consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject.
1. Cost of living is high, free housing is exceedingly rare. Many companies that had offered housing are closing their Williston offices and relocating elsewhere.
2. You can make an amazing amount of money there, but you're not going to be working 40 hours per week. Consider 60 hours minimum and up to 80 or even 100 hours per week.
3. You will do extensive travel. If you have a family, you will spend days or even weeks without seeing them.
4. Crime is insane in the area. (Policemen aren't paid enough to live in the housing available.)
5. Roads are extremely dangerous. Too many inexperienced truck drivers, too many bad drivers in general, and that particular recipe yields a disproportionate number of fatal accidents.
6. Many of the entry level jobs (rig hand, for example) are DANGEROUS.
With that said, for those people who do have housing, the only people who don't have jobs are those who don't want them. |
Just wondering if you have experience working in ND. |
You might say that. |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Can you elaborate on that? |
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Adam Carolla
Joined: 26 Feb 2010
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| World Traveler wrote: |
| Can you elaborate on that? |
I have experience working in ND. |
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