Thinking of emigrating - advice welcomed pls

bendix

In addition to the advice given about assuming it's easy to get into countries with limited skills, I'd offer another piece of advice. Make sure your reasons for emigrating are the right ones.

I've lived in NZ, Australia and Thailand for the last 18 years and have had good jobs in all of them - I'll be honest, I pretty much lived the dream. But I saw literally hundreds of people who came over to those places to 'escape' from something in the UK - poverty, poor jobs, boredom - and none of them survived long. The one thing I learnt is that you can get away from the UK, but you can't get away from your life.

The other thing I learned is that unless you have succeeded well in the UK, you're unlikely to do well overseas either, irrespective of where you choose to go.

These are general comments, and not directed at the OP.

Generali

bendix wrote: »

In addition to the advice given about assuming it's easy to get into countries with limited skills, I'd offer another piece of advice. Make sure your reasons for emigrating are the right ones.

I've lived in NZ, Australia and Thailand for the last 18 years and have had good jobs in all of them - I'll be honest, I pretty much lived the dream. But I saw literally hundreds of people who came over to those places to 'escape' from something in the UK - poverty, poor jobs, boredom - and none of them survived long. The one thing I learnt is that you can get away from the UK, but you can't get away from your life.

The other thing I learned is that unless you have succeeded well in the UK, you're unlikely to do well overseas either, irrespective of where you choose to go.

These are general comments, and not directed at the OP.

I've lived in Aus and France and also experienced a little ex-pat life in other places and I agree. Changing countries doesn't solve a thing if what you're unhappy with is yourself.

Lots of British ex-pats seem to be very heavy drinkers/alcoholics for example and they just drag that demon with them around the world.

ruggedtoast

Generally the easier the country is to get into the more grim the expats are as well. Probably because they didnt succeed enough in the UK to go somewhere harder to get into. The expat scene in Thailand is pitiful for example.

Generali

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Generally the easier the country is to get into the more grim the expats are as well. Probably because they didnt succeed enough in the UK to go somewhere harder to get into. The expat scene in Thailand is pitiful for example.

I've made a conscious decision not to get involved in the whole ex-pat thing too heavily. The idea of spending nights drinking far too much and moaning about how dreadful the locals are fills me with dread.

credit_crunch

thanks so much to everyone for their replies

when i mentioned our jobs, i didn't mean thats what we are only wanting to do if we do decide to go

i work in an estate agents, and love my job so would like to stay in this area - but would consider anything else, as long as i meet the requirements - same goes for oh, he has previously been a game keeper, and currently works at a golf club, but has a good few years experience in landscape gardening - along with a wealth of knowledge in this field! so again there are a multitude of areas he could consider - he has a hnd in wildlife management and a hnc in gamekeeping

i have looked at oz and have noticed the points system - and I think my job/experience grants me 60 points - but i know there is a lot more to it.

it may sound silly but i am unsure of my exact reasons of wanting to emigrate but the following has put the notion in my head:

• i would like to do it before i start my family/get married
• i also don't know that i want to bring my children up in the uk in general - i live in Northern Ireland and just think that i might be giving my children a better chance or something along those lines
• also - i feel limited in my job here, and where i live
• i have a few family members who have been living in oz for over 40 yrs
• i generally just feel 'fed up' with a lot of things at the minute

dont get me wrong, i am fully aware that by moving to spain or oz or wherever it won't guarantee a happy ever after life etc, or make everything perfect - it is really just a thought at this stage - i have an awful lot of research to do!

Generali

credit_crunch wrote: »

thanks so much to everyone for their replies

when i mentioned our jobs, i didn't mean thats what we are only wanting to do if we do decide to go

i work in an estate agents, and love my job so would like to stay in this area - but would consider anything else, as long as i meet the requirements - same goes for oh, he has previously been a game keeper, and currently works at a golf club, but has a good few years experience in landscape gardening - along with a wealth of knowledge in this field! so again there are a multitude of areas he could consider - he has a hnd in wildlife management and a hnc in gamekeeping

i have looked at oz and have noticed the points system - and I think my job/experience grants me 60 points - but i know there is a lot more to it.

it may sound silly but i am unsure of my exact reasons of wanting to emigrate but the following has put the notion in my head:

• i would like to do it before i start my family/get married
• i also don't know that i want to bring my children up in the uk in general - i live in Northern Ireland and just think that i might be giving my children a better chance or something along those lines
• also - i feel limited in my job here, and where i live
• i have a few family members who have been living in oz for over 40 yrs
• i generally just feel 'fed up' with a lot of things at the minute

dont get me wrong, i am fully aware that by moving to spain or oz or wherever it won't guarantee a happy ever after life etc, or make everything perfect - it is really just a thought at this stage - i have an awful lot of research to do!

If you want specific advice about Aus then PM me.

HTH.

purch

Unless you have a green card forget about the States. If you want to go for it you'll have to find a job and an employer to sponsor you. To sponsor you they'll have to prove you are doing a job it is not possible to find an American to do

And then you would need at least an undergraduate degree to get a HB-1B Visa (of which there is a 65,000 annual cap) which can lead to gaining permanent residence. No guarantee, the Visa lasts 6 years and during that time if you submit the required documents and it is approved you can get a Green Card.

The H-2B Visa for non-immigrant temporary workers is unlikely to be issued to a U.K. national.

If you have capital you can qualify for other non-immigrant Visa's. An E-2 Visa would require a minimum of $100,000 Investment in a qualifying business but cannot lead to permanent residence status. The L-1 visa is often a better route if you own a business in the U.K first, as it can lead to permanent residence, but has a 2 year window, and the USCIS has tightened up their criteria in the last 8 years.

purch

i live in Northern Ireland

If you were also born in NI you do qualify for the Diversity Lottery (Green Card Lottery) which is something that all other U.K. citizens do not.

openside

Oz or Canada

Small populations huge countries with huge natural resources

I have lots of family in Oz and to a man they say their standard of living has doubled

PS if balked by lack of points required to emigrate just go there on a visa stay, you will be surprised at how easy it is to remain

mewbie_2

Generali wrote: »

The idea of spending nights drinking far too much and moaning about how dreadful the locals are fills me with dread.

Surely you can do that perfectly well in your own country? We hate the 'locals'