TIME TO MOVE BUT WHERE

MultiFuelBurner

spoovy said:

Moneyking67 said:

With high inflation rates, high mortgage rates ongoing increasing on a daily basis, cost of living is spiralling out of control, even rail fares are going up so with that said the UK is the most expensive place to live and with that in mind its time to jump ship and move somewhere on this planet more affordable but were

were on this expensive earth, what country would you recommend to live if given the choice to move, were is the most cheapest/affordable place to live.

  
For the best salary/cost of living/quality of life balance you can't do much better than the USA IMO, particularly one of the low/no tax states. I have colleagues in Texas who earn just shy of double what I do for doing the exact same job. They pay around 20% in federal tax (up to $250k PA IIRC!) and zero in state taxes, so less than half what I pay here in tax. They live in houses that are generally over twice the size of mine, and pay about 60% what I paid for mine (in Oxfordshire). Bills are all far cheaper and even cars are significantly less than in Europe. It's truly amazing how well off they are.

I heard holidays (vacation) were shocking maybe 1 week a year for the first year in some sectors maxing out at 10-12 days a year?

How does that factor in the work life balance?

spoovy

That's true in my experience. Whether that outweighs the many positives is down to each person I suppose.
There are plenty of other downsides too of course; I mean they're all completely insane, but that's a whole other subject 😄

elsien

Moneyking67 said:

With high inflation rates, high mortgage rates ongoing increasing on a daily basis, cost of living is spiralling out of control, even rail fares are going up so with that said the UK is the most expensive place to live and with that in mind its time to jump ship and move somewhere on this planet more affordable but were

were on this expensive earth, what country would you recommend to live if given the choice to move, were is the most cheapest/affordable place to live.

And of course, whether they would want you there in the first place. I always find it slightly incongruous that people here complain about immigration while simultaneously looking at where we can emigrate to ourselves.
not aimed at the OP who didn’t mention immigration, just a general comment

spoovy

elsien said:

Moneyking67 said:

With high inflation rates, high mortgage rates ongoing increasing on a daily basis, cost of living is spiralling out of control, even rail fares are going up so with that said the UK is the most expensive place to live and with that in mind its time to jump ship and move somewhere on this planet more affordable but were

were on this expensive earth, what country would you recommend to live if given the choice to move, were is the most cheapest/affordable place to live.

And of course, whether they would want you there in the first place. I always find it slightly incongruous that people here complain about immigration while simultaneously looking at where we can emigrate to ourselves.
not aimed at the OP who didn’t mention immigration, just a general comment

But British people are never migrants, they're "ex-pats" 😉

Alderbank

Texas is great.
It's hot, though. What you save on state taxes you will spend on water charges and power charges for aircon.
I agree they are all completely insane!
Arizona is nice and has a slightly more European feel. Texas is very different from Europe.
My favourite though is Southern California from Inland Kingdom down to San Diego.

However anywhere is USA is very difficult to move to. You will need a green card.
Canada offers almost everything that the USA does plus better healthcare and is currently very eager to welcome Brits.

cymruchris

Do you have the skills/qualifications/experience/funds to qualify for relevant visas overseas? These foreign countries don't just let anyone in you know... In most cases you can't just upsticks and wander into another country and live there.

YoungBlueEyes

https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/

Schwarzwald

Moneyking67 said:

With high inflation rates, high mortgage rates ongoing increasing on a daily basis, cost of living is spiralling out of control, even rail fares are going up so with that said the UK is the most expensive place to live and with that in mind its time to jump ship and move somewhere on this planet more affordable but were

were on this expensive earth, what country would you recommend to live if given the choice to move, were is the most cheapest/affordable place to live.

Far too generic and simplistic question.

which metric do you try to optimize?
net incomce? Quality of life? Kids / ko kids, importance of public services, time zones important to you?

Also heavily depends on your passport and visa situation, language skills and if your job can be performed remotely. As others said, ideally you earn a London salary while living in a low cost environment / low tax country.

assuming you can work remotely, and have some visa flexibility, I’d suggest:

- Italy, Portugal within Europe, esp if you can benefit from the tax schemes

- UAE if like to stay closer to Europe but want a no (income) tax country but still enjoy high quality of public services

- Mexico, Urugay if you speak Spanish and can work on time zones there

- Asia becomes really difficult with time zones IMO to make the “earn a western salary” model work

Schwarzwald

spoovy said:

Moneyking67 said:

With high inflation rates, high mortgage rates ongoing increasing on a daily basis, cost of living is spiralling out of control, even rail fares are going up so with that said the UK is the most expensive place to live and with that in mind its time to jump ship and move somewhere on this planet more affordable but were

were on this expensive earth, what country would you recommend to live if given the choice to move, were is the most cheapest/affordable place to live.

  
For the best salary/cost of living/quality of life balance you can't do much better than the USA IMO, particularly one of the low/no tax states. I have colleagues in Texas who earn just shy of double what I do for doing the exact same job. They pay around 20% in federal tax (up to $250k PA IIRC!) and zero in state taxes, so less than half what I pay here in tax. They live in houses that are generally over twice the size of mine, and pay about 60% what I paid for mine (in Oxfordshire). Bills are all far cheaper and even cars are significantly less than in Europe. It's truly amazing how well off they are.

If you are a white male / couple with no kids that might be true, but I find that the assessment quickly changes if you put kids into the mix, but also if you are non-white. Do you really want to raise you non-white kids in Texas and send them to school there and worry every day about school shootings? Not sure that ranks high on “quality of life”

MultiFuelBurner

spoovy said:

That's true in my experience. Whether that outweighs the many positives is down to each person I suppose.
There are plenty of other downsides too of course; I mean they're all completely insane, but that's a whole other subject 😄

I think I would have several bowel movements just walking around seeing all those Texan guns😳