Praise: Being an Expat

missile

doubleJackD wrote: »

y....
but the middle east is better than the UK in a lot of ways, there is very little crime and they're few loony left wingers........

in many ways i think the middle east is an example to the UK.

Rioting in many parts of the middle east, civil unrest and more than a few loony right wingers.

You are not the first to think that, but he was a little crazy :rotfl: >

Grandmama

I lived for 7 years in a Tax free Middle East country. Lovely at the time. Stashed some money in Offshore Accounts and travelled Far East. When I eventually came home to the UK I realised I needed to 'Pay-up' my NI contributions to get a State Pension. Because I had been out of the UK so long I had to wait 6 months before I could register back with a UK Doctor, although British born and bred and paid NI for years prior to going abroad. You cannot claim any benefits in that time or Job seeKers! You may think also that The UK Taxman would not know about your Offshore accoounts, he knows it all and will tax you on any interest you get on them. The only way around it is to reside where your offshore accounts are outside of UK Tax systems but then you lose any UK benefits for all time until you return and start again.
Enjoy you're time away as I did but please beware of pitfalls on return.

John_Jizzle

angelil wrote: »

Certainly the OP's experience is not typical of most expats. If you live in a civilised country (as I do) then you've simply traded one set of pros and cons for another: you still have to go to work, pay taxes etc. At least in France (perhaps unlike in somewhere like Oman!) we have access to a decent healthcare system and legal system...

Oman has all these

angelil

meer53 wrote: »

And what happens when you are old and need healthcare and you're not employed ? Will you be coming back to this country you like to knock so much for care on the NHS ?

I do hope you were referring to the OP and not to me there! I ask as your post is directly under mine...!

OP: Believe it or not paying taxes is a 'pro'! I don't know how you expect to get a decent pension, decent roads, decent schools to send your kids to etc...if you don't pay them. I'm still not convinced you enjoy all the benefits in Oman that we enjoy in France, but I wish you luck nonetheless.

meer53

angelil wrote: »

I do hope you were referring to the OP and not to me there! I ask as your post is directly under mine...!

OP: Believe it or not paying taxes is a 'pro'! I don't know how you expect to get a decent pension, decent roads, decent schools to send your kids to etc...if you don't pay them. I'm still not convinced you enjoy all the benefits in Oman that we enjoy in France, but I wish you luck nonetheless.

I was referring to the OP