TIME TO MOVE BUT WHERE

Scotbot

ayupmeduck said:

MultiFuelBurner said:

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?

I think it's 10 days holiday but they have more public/bank holidays than us. You can also leave a job with one week notice. Pay is much better than here. I wouldn't say it's the best place to live though I wouldn't say no.

When you start your get 10 days paid time off but that includes sick leave. Most employers give an extra day for each year worked. The number of public holidays is more for government employees but less for the private sector as only 6 public holidays are mandatory.  It sucks

Bluebell1000

How about Ireland?

Edit: Google suggests cost of living is a bit higher, so maybe not 🤔

spoovy

Everywhere is a trade-off, and only you know what factors matter most to you.
Personally I would not approach this looking at money -- in the grand scheme of things its pretty irrelevant really.  Some of the happiest people I've ever known are Indonesians with barely a pot to p!ss in, but they're surrounded by family and friends, they have religion and meaning in their lives.

Moneyking67

spoovy said:

Everywhere is a trade-off, and only you know what factors matter most to you.
Personally I would not approach this looking at money -- in the grand scheme of things its pretty irrelevant really.  Some of the happiest people I've ever known are Indonesians with barely a pot to p!ss in, but they're surrounded by family and friends, they have religion and meaning in their lives.

So is Indonesia the place to go 

MultiFuelBurner

If you can cast aside all your creature comforts and take all your family with you then....probably not

GDB2222

Moneyking67 said:

spoovy said:

Everywhere is a trade-off, and only you know what factors matter most to you.
Personally I would not approach this looking at money -- in the grand scheme of things its pretty irrelevant really.  Some of the happiest people I've ever known are Indonesians with barely a pot to p!ss in, but they're surrounded by family and friends, they have religion and meaning in their lives.

So is Indonesia the place to go 

It’s quite warm, but I understand very humid with it. So, not sure I would want to live there. 

cymruchris

Moneyking67 said:

spoovy said:

Everywhere is a trade-off, and only you know what factors matter most to you.
Personally I would not approach this looking at money -- in the grand scheme of things its pretty irrelevant really.  Some of the happiest people I've ever known are Indonesians with barely a pot to p!ss in, but they're surrounded by family and friends, they have religion and meaning in their lives.

So is Indonesia the place to go 

Having spent 6 years in Malaysia - a broadly (slightly more developed) similar place in the grand scheme of the world - sharing almost the same language and a lot of the same culture - there are many significant differences to living in the UK. 

Some things to consider if you were to go to many parts of Asia:

* Are you planning on learning the language of whichever new country you go to? (English isn't common in many countries)

* Are you happy to give up the convenience of the kinds of goods you get in the supermarket? (Ready meals, McVities biscuits, Mr Kiplings cakes, Tesco Finest, Sainsbury's taste the difference or whatever) Food supply is quite different. Yes you can still get bits of chicken breast, eggs, flour and sugar, but many of the 'convenience' foods are lacking, and many of the 'snacks' are a lot, lot less healthy and more cheaply made. Some places 'import' British/Euro goods and sell at a premium - so your £1 packet of biscuits would cost you the equivalent of £3. 

* Do you mind having outside temperatures of the mid to high 30's daytime, and high 20's night time every single day of the year? Where you dash from air-conditioned room to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned shopping mall and back again? Without spending more than a few minutes out in the scorching heat before you dissolve into a mass of wet clothes?

* Would you be happy with being 'the foreigner' who gets ripped off with everything as you're obviously rich? When you go get your car repaired - when you go to the market - when you want to buy a new laptop or phone - there's usually a 'foreigner' price for everything unless you've made very good local connections and decent local friends. (I made good local connections, and so avoided this unofficial 'tourist' tax)

* You might think UK roads are bad - but are you ok with significantly worse traffic? Poorer roads outside of a city, tolls, millions of motorbikes zooming around you, and of course the fact that in some countries (Such as Malaysia and Indonesia) foreign made cars come with a premium tax meaning your average Honda/BMW/Mercedes/Toyota can be twice the price it is in Europe for the same vehicle? (I remember paying the equivalent of £6000 for a battered old BMW that at the time was likely worth around £1500 in the UK, but I knew the build quality/crash protection was better than the locally made cars) - You may also have to take the local driving test to get an applicable license to drive if you're staying a long time. (Would you pass another driving test in another country with different laws/signs/expectations?) Many countries also operate regular Police roadblocks - another source of 'foreigner' income for them in the way of 'bribes'.

* Aside from moving to your new country, what are you planning to do when you get there? Will you be one that tries to assimilate into society? Or will you want to live in a gated complex of other expats with guards at the door like a prison - keeping out the local riff-raff? (I saw plenty of the latter -but  I chose to live in a village outside of the city, and was the only caucasian for probably a 5 mile radius - I had Chinese neighbours to my left, Malay neighbours to my right a great Indian family across the road)

* Healthcare - again there's 'foreigner' pricing, and no NHS. Yes if you have the correct visa, you can buy healthcare insurance, but it's an added cost that you don't need in the UK. You pay for everything, doctors, dentists, pharmacies - and up-front in most cases. 

* Taxes - can be more complicated and very much manual involving lengthy visits to the local tax office. In fact - there are local government offices for most aspects of life. All involve lengthy queues - bureaucracy at it's finest. 

* Pests - can you handle spiders that bite that are the size of your foot? Cockroaches everywhere? Snakes? to name but a few?

* Public services are poorer - one year the area I was living in was cut off from running water for 19 days due to a technical issue. A whole village. No flushing toilets - no showers - when things go wrong, they can take an age to put right, and everybody just 'manages' without complaint - could you?

* Visas - you need to be able to qualify for the visa to live in your chosen country. In some cases (Like Thailand) you can 'buy' a visa for a considerable amount of money (Elite visa) - but for most countries it's not easy to get a long-term visa without a relevant job lined up (Unless you're of retirement age).

That's just a few things I've thought of in the last ten minutes - I'm sure there are more. And as mentioned - I'm speaking from experience from having done it.

It's always easy to think the 'grass is greener on the other side' - and although there are many great benefits to living in other countries, many don't consider how the different lifestyle could affect them until it's too late. What you see on a two week holiday staying in a 5 star hotel is very different to living in the same country long term. 

If you're seriously considering moving - then also seriously consider every aspect of your life and how they directly compare to the place you want to go. It's not just a case of packing a suitcase, going somewhere and everything will be rosy. Living in another country can be very rewarding, and I really enjoyed it, and will likely do it again. But you have to go in with your eyes wide open.