doom n gloom,,maybe time for a move

briona

deano72 wrote: »

what with another pooh summer,,the credit crunch,cost of living go through the roof,job loses,where would you say to live abroad for a bit which has reasonably plenty of jobs good value for money...cant be any worse than here surely!!!! where would you go??

The credit crunch isn't just happening in the UK! The US, France, Germany, Spain and Iceland among others have all reported on rising unemployment, increased cost of living etc. Due to a reliance on global trading, a country's economy is linked with the economies of those it trades with, so it would be pretty foolish to assume you can simply leave Britain and the problems it faces behind. Jump too soon and you may find it's a case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire". :rolleyes:

An interesting read on the Eurozone and its impending recession below. http://www.euro-area.org/blog/?p=152

lynzpower

I am angling for a few weeks in the states and 8 months ish on a voluntary working contract somewhere hot, remote, tropical. Like VSO only shorter. We both have a lot to offer, and we think we'd really benefit from a change of pace, lifestyle, priorities....

But still wondering whether its the right thing to do Ive got a sort of tied accomodation deal with my ( secure, very) job. It means that I save over 65% of my wages every month. OH temps, but is resiliant and has only been out of work for a week in his whole life...

Can we really stop earning?? HELP !

bazzais

Come live here in pembrokeshire house prices have never got over bloated so they are not going down (unless in second home villages) - your only problem is the job bit though.

Seriously the whole 'capitalist' world is going through the same 'recession' your better off staying where ever you can earn a living at the moment, there is no magic route to prosperity.

lynzpower

I dont really want prosperity, I ust want me & My OH to enjoy our lives. London is tough at the moment, although we are in a good position. I just feel like the 50 hour weeks lose thier appeal after a while and we both feel that running on this hamster wheel is not quite as attractive as it once was, possibly because we are more financially comfortable.

Sigh I dunno

Davesnave

bazzais wrote: »

Come live here in pembrokeshire house prices have never got over bloated so they are not going down (unless in second home villages) - your only problem is the job bit though.

Seriously the whole 'capitalist' world is going through the same 'recession' your better off staying where ever you can earn a living at the moment, there is no magic route to prosperity.

Houses in Pembs may not be going down, (though they are according to my data!) but they are not selling. I could show you plenty that have been on the market for + a year, and some much longer.

I can wait! Certainly on my list.

Davesnave

lynzpower wrote: »

I dont really want prosperity, I ust want me & My OH to enjoy our lives. London is tough at the moment, although we are in a good position. I just feel like the 50 hour weeks lose thier appeal after a while and we both feel that running on this hamster wheel is not quite as attractive as it once was, possibly because we are more financially comfortable.

Sigh I dunno

I thought the hamster wheel was OK when it was my wheel. When the government started interfering and made me get on their wheel I began to lose enthusiasm. When they stuck a motor on it and told me not to think too much, just keep up, I decided to get off!

lynzpower

Good POint Dave

Out of interest, how have you got off the wheel? Do you intend to "stay off it"

We have about 40k in savings, so can afford not to work for a while, but wondering whether we should just spend it on living overseas for a while ( many decent vol posts you dont pay for but have to pay own food/ accom etc One place weve been looking at gives us the rental on a flat/ small country house at about 100 quid a month, so we have the money for that and the living/ insurances/ food/ fags etc.

im just wondering whether stopping earning at this point in the cycle ( and saving over 750pcm easily) is a good idea right now? Im not sure its moneysaving!?!!? well obv its not) but if its not moneysaving is it the right thing to do?

jackieb

My brother and his family applied to go to Australia. My brother even went down there for a week to try and sort it out but they wouldn't let them move there as he was over 45 and his son is autistic. He has a skilled job but they were quite rude regarding his son. My brother says they were concerned about who was going to pay for his care. He's not severely autistic.

deano72_2

yep i know its the same sort of mess in lot of other countries as it here,,it was just a food for thought Q really.but not sure if i could do a 3rd crap summer in a row,,also now mite be a good time to shoot of for a bit.could rent house out which would cover the morgage,also got fairbit in savings,so it would be more about the exsperinace rather than getting rich..im lucky that iv got reasonable life style here & lucky enough to travel round the world,,which also makes u relise the grass is not allways greener....

Davesnave

lynzpower wrote: »

Good POint Dave

Out of interest, how have you got off the wheel? Do you intend to "stay off it"

We have about 40k in savings, so can afford not to work for a while, but wondering whether we should just spend it on living overseas for a while ( many decent vol posts you dont pay for but have to pay own food/ accom etc One place weve been looking at gives us the rental on a flat/ small country house at about 100 quid a month, so we have the money for that and the living/ insurances/ food/ fags etc.

im just wondering whether stopping earning at this point in the cycle ( and saving over 750pcm easily) is a good idea right now? Im not sure its moneysaving!?!!? well obv its not) but if its not moneysaving is it the right thing to do?

Ha, I got off because I was old enough to see a decent pension tucked away. My Dad became positively ancient though, so as his carer, I attempted to make our part time business full time by moving and taking him with us to new premises. It seemed possible, but then the property we'd hoped to buy fell through when the owners had second thoughts, we dithered over a second one and lost that, and then Dad's dementia really kicked-in. It was easier to stay where we were then, juggling the business, a bit of part time each and the caring/carer bit too. Sounds awful and it was, but in truth we were lucky to have that flexibility and we enjoyed the business work.

After Dad died, we were able to pay off the mortgage and live on comparatively little, just using the business and all the wonderful little perks that come with that.

However my story is not so relevant to you as that of my colleague, who really couldn't stand our boss any longer. At the age of 58 she joined VSO, went out to Malawi and did much good work there for 4 years. I think she felt that the posting had really made her life meaningful again; back home she is still organising and raising funds for a couple of projects.

I don't think VSO lets you do much choosing about where you go, how long etc so, although my colleague found them OK you may get a better deal elsewhere. She had the 'luxury' of being able to rent out her house here, creating an income stream while she was away.

I can't really give any sensible advice, except to say that there would seem to be a period of opportunity now when taking a year or two 'out of the loop' might not harm your long term goals too much, compared with how things were a world ago.....like last year!