it's all downhill from here...?

Where are you living?

I think i'm going to end up doing this, need few more years of software eng under belt I think and then consider it.
Moving abroad is one of the most exciting, fulfilling, life-changing things you can do. I moved to Hong Kong when I was 30, spent 3 years there, then another 6 years in Germany, before moving back to the UK for family reasons.

The only downer is you see all the problems and downsides of life in the UK that more starkly when (if) you come back. I think we'll almost certainly go abroad again in a few years.

Software engineering will get you work most places in the world. The HK job came about because someone I'd contracted with had gone out there and needed some people, I had literally one 60-minute phone call with him and his boss and I got the offer (good one too, at JPMC) and was on a flight with ludicrously heavy suitcase a few weeks later. Moving abroad can be very quick and easy if you land a job with a relocation package.
 
Moving abroad is one of the most exciting, fulfilling, life-changing things you can do. I moved to Hong Kong when I was 30, spent 3 years there, then another 6 years in Germany, before moving back to the UK for family reasons.

The only downer is you see all the problems and downsides of life in the UK that more starkly when (if) you come back. I think we'll almost certainly go abroad again in a few years.

Software engineering will get you work most places in the world. The HK job came about because someone I'd contracted with had gone out there and needed some people, I had literally one 60-minute phone call with him and his boss and I got the offer (good one too, at JPMC) and was on a flight with ludicrously heavy suitcase a few weeks later. Moving abroad can be very quick and easy if you land a job with a relocation package.
I think im going to look to jump on something like this after my second job, i've got a year under my belt took whatever I could get (which was mobile). I want to focus on getting a job more web dev oriented now which is what I was actually good at. After that I'll accrue some experience in there and then probably look at make a leap before I get too old, i'm 37 next year and I feel like I want to have this kind of life experience. No kids marriage etc so im free to do so.
 
Last edited:
I think im going to look to jump on something like this after my second job, i've got a year under my belt took whatever I could get (which was mobile). I want to focus on getting a job more web dev oriented now which is what I was actually good at. After that I'll accrue some experience in there and then probably look at make a leap before I get too old, i'm 37 next year and I feel like I want to have this kind of life experience. No kids marriage etc so im free to do so.

I moved then I was 35, now 40. Never too old to make the jump :)
 
I moved then I was 35, now 40. Never too old to make the jump :)
Well, there are some practicalities to consider, depending on the country you want to go to. Visa requirements (being older counts against you some places).

Pension. Definitely understand this one. I cashed out my HK MPF pension when I left (probably a mistake, but it was only a couple years). I was in Germany long enough to qualify for the German state pension which I'll now receive in addition to my UK one. I do have a big gap in my national insurance contributions in the UK still, but I still have time to buy back some of those years......although tbh the value is questionable as I don't expect to retire early so could be wasted money.
 
Well, there are some practicalities to consider, depending on the country you want to go to. Visa requirements (being older counts against you some places).

Yeah, I think Australia is of them but I dont think anyone is moving there for STEM jobs.

Pension. Definitely understand this one. I cashed out my HK MPF pension when I left (probably a mistake, but it was only a couple years). I was in Germany long enough to qualify for the German state pension which I'll now receive in addition to my UK one. I do have a big gap in my national insurance contributions in the UK still, but I still have time to buy back some of those years......although tbh the value is questionable as I don't expect to retire early so could be wasted money.

Thats one thing I still pay towards when I left. Thankfully I dont have a gap. But I was born in the 80's, if I ever get to retire with the UK pension. It will be a privilege not a right :(
 
Last edited:
Never thought about getting a partner and a kid?
Kid a definite no due to not passing on medical condition.
I might date for the right person but I've been single so long I'm used to it and don't particularly need or want another person around.
Crappy childhood too, so I never particularly had the desire for family to begin with.
 
Kid a definite no due to not passing on medical condition.
I might date for the right person but I've been single so long I'm used to it and don't particularly need or want another person around.
Crappy childhood too, so I never particularly had the desire for family to begin with.
Okay, totally understandable.

Would you be able to apply for genetic therapy / genetic modification for your kid if you were to have one? You might also be able to stop passing on the trauma to your next generation with good parenting. Not trying to change your mind, just curious.

If you've reached chubby FIRE or fat FIRE, perhaps you can devote to contribute to open source projects?
 
Would you be able to apply for genetic therapy / genetic modification for your kid if you were to have one?
Not applicable for my condition afaik. Very little research due to rarity and there being no money in it.

You might also be able to stop passing on the trauma to your next generation with good parenting. Not trying to change your mind, just curious.
Yeah I probably could, I have considered that, but just because I could doesn't make me want to.

If you've reached chubby FIRE or fat FIRE, perhaps you can devote to contribute to open source projects?
I can't see anyone doing those tiers in the UK. If I was in America I'd get paid double, then maybe I could have done it, but in the UK I think it's only ever normal or lean fire that are achievable. I'm just trying to get out of the rat race asap, luxury isn't really something I need anyway, I just want the stress gone.
 
I can't see anyone doing those tiers in the UK. If I was in America I'd get paid double, then maybe I could have done it, but in the UK I think it's only ever normal or lean fire that are achievable. I'm just trying to get out of the rat race asap, luxury isn't really something I need anyway, I just want the stress gone.
How about relocating to the US? The Labour Party will soon do another tax raid, maybe even more so on the autumn budget pension tax relief.

It's still not too late to catch the machine learning gold rush?

The UK has no place for hard working people.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom