Possibly Emigrating

Soldato
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If I'm really lucky, I may get the chance to move abroad if my missus decides to apply her skills elsewhere (which is quite likely the way things are going) in the next few years.

Has anyone done this and what did you learn?

Some background:
We are both in our mid 30's but not married (think Visa).
My kids live here in the UK. We have no plans to have any together.
She works in the Marine industry (more letters after her name than in it) for the MCA (Maritime & Coastguard Agency)
I have no qualifications apart from a crap load of experience and an ability to turn my hand to most things (seriously, my references are glowing but my ability to stay interested in a job when I know it inside out declines quickly)

The potential options at the moment are;

1. Australia (probably Sydney or Melbourne)
I spent 3 months in Sydney a fair few years ago and loved it. The language is obviously not an issue but distance from family and friends might be (She's from a big Irish family). Employment for me should be fairly easy. She would work directly for a company rather than continue to be a civil servant.

2. Lisbon (thats in Portugal)
Language barrier for both of us (I offered to start taking lessons in Brazil next week but she refused for some reason...). The closest option to home. Employment for me could be tricky unless its a Brit bar.
Her job would be via British Government

3. Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Caymans...and a few more)
Sounds amazing but I get bored after having a week off work so apart from the tourist industry, where would I work provided I could find something? Seasonal weather could screw things up too and can my gaming be guaranteed? Will I get bored of rum?
Her job would be via British Government

I think they would all be amazing and great experiences and if she was offered them all, it would be hard to choose which one.
I really after the negatives of emigration but apart from distance to home, I can't think of much.
 
Man of Honour
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With the exception of Lisbon have you checked if you can get a visa for these places? Australia particularly - and it's quite a long and involved process. They like qualifications which form quite a big part of the points scoring process.
 
Man of Honour
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There are no negatives. Do it.

There obviously are negatives (He mentions one in his post!) or many people would do it (Why have you not, for example). However whats important is that the positives outweigh those negatives which for some people they may very well do.
 
Man of Honour
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[TW]Fox;26440640 said:
With the exception of Lisbon have you checked if you can get a visa for these places? Australia particularly - and it's quite a long and involved process. They like qualifications which form quite a big part of the points scoring process.

Australia is a bit of a strange one (at the moment? dunno if its normal), not sure why, know 2-3 people who have emigrated this year - a degree in almost anything even silly subjects almost seems to = straight in the door almost no questions asked whereas a lack of qualifications you might as well be trying to get into the US.
 
Soldato
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What about NZ? Tons of work, you got the language, very safe place to live, low levels of corruption and I think it were voted the best place to live in the world this year.

Disadvantage; It's so very very far from the rest of the world
 
Soldato
OP
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She's just thrown New Zealand into the mix too.

At the moment its all just a possible option which is all subject to decisions made by under worked overpaid people in suits. These decisions have been not decided upon for the past 5 years but my understanding is that Europe wants a decision by the end of next year.
I'll be closer to 40 by the time it all happens.
 
Soldato
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Well yes, obviously, but there's a negative to anything. The positives of living abroad far outweigh the negatives that other than pro-actively tackling aren't worth worrying about and given any opportunity you should take. My dad has always worked abroad and currently lives in the UAE.

I have lived abroad as a child and it was the best time of my life by far. I now run my own business with a partner so am not in a position to relocate at the moment, but plenty of my friends have with their companies and I'm very jealous. In the future I could potentially relocate with my girlfriend (she's a midwife) and be the +1, but anything media-related (which is my industry) isn't in demand anywhere vs healthcare, finance, specialist fields etc.

My last sentence still stands; do it.
 

AGD

AGD

Soldato
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How old are the kids? If they're not young then go for it. Living abroad is a good experience to have.
 
Soldato
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Boy is 12, Girl is 10.
They don't live with us anyway and due to location I don't get to see them very often so I don't count them as a factor in the decision. Takes 10 hours to get from here to Northern Scotland anyway so flights to see them wouldn't be an issue.
Custody is a pipe dream unfortunately.
 
Caporegime
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if i got a chance to move to NZ.. well id give everything up for it tbh

makes me want to think about what im doing instead of wasting my life here
 
Caporegime
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Out of those options id say Australia. At least they speak English.

Portugal ? nope... 3rd world country soon :p
Caribbean? nope... Holiday maybe ...

I'm living in Sweden and its looking more likely ill end up here, rather than she comes to the UK.

I'll learn the language eventually. Its a lovely place, very Americanised, which is tolerable (lol) Where i live It kinda reminds me of England in the 80/early 90s before everything was budget slashed by local councils to save £££.

I used to think Britain was home, I worked abroad loads and was always glad to get back but this past year has changed that. I'm going back next week to see family, not as chuffed as i should be.
 
Caporegime
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The two things I would stress are to (1) do your research, and (2) have a really open discussion with your other half about expectations.

Sydney, for example, is so hilariously expensive - particularly for housing - that it's verging on the obscene. This may or may not be countered by your likely income which is why understanding how a country and city/towns really work is so imperative to avoid nasty surprises.

The second point is around how long you expect the whole jaunt to last. Are you going for a year to scratch an itch or is this more long term? What does that mean for citizenship (if anything) and do you care? How will you cope without family and friends being close to you? Does it matter? Are you going for the experience, the money, the improvement in future job prospects or ..? There are so many things to think about and it's better to have discussed them before you end up in a country you don't know much about with little idea of why you're there.

FWIW, I'd choose Sydney from your options. It's a really great city and I love spending time there. Having said that, it's also nice to come back here :)
 
Caporegime
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Might want to start brushing up on your Russian... *hides*

Dont go there lol.

I'm in Boden... Far North, not so far from Finland. Its got a strong Military history and probably has a Russian ICBM pointed at it right now :p.

There are so many bomb shelters and fallout shelters.. It really used to freak me out at first.

I do get to hear Gripen's buzzing around and often hear automatic gunfire echoing through the forest... from the army firing ranges, i hope.
 
Soldato
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Go for it, you won't regret it. Things like skype make the world a smaller place. Whatever you do, make friends with the locals, most people who don't last in another country hang round with other brits and start telling each other what they miss from home and then they get home sick.

I would have regretted not moving here if i stayed in Burnley.
 
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