Optionist

Hello I'm 30 years old and I'm looking at living somewhere with a hot climate to see if my health improves.

I've got severe eczema and multiple food allergies which is making life in the uk pretty miserable for me. I have ntoiced things improve in hot climates but the water has to be clean because there's no point getting the sun and then dirty water infecting and irritating the skin.

I haven't actually travelled anywhere alone before because of the food allergies they are very severe and life threatening. I have been to America, Canada, Asia, Middle East but always with family members and I went to France as a kid with school.

I know Asians are very ignorant in relation to food allergies and I don't mean this in a racist way I'm of Asian origin myself so I know how ignorant people can be about this sort of thing in Asia. Still I haven't been to all of Asia and I would like to know if there are any places in Asia which I could consider living in on my own with the health issues I've got?

Supernoodles

If your food allergies are that severe, I would touch most of Asia ! What about Australia?

Optionist

I would prefer Australia but it's going to be more expensive. In Asia you can make your English money go a lot further that's why I'm even considering it but safety comes first.

Supernoodles

Well that can depend on what sort of lifestyle you will want to lead in that Asian country and where your income will be coming from as you can earn more in Australia compared to say Malaysia (in general).
What visa are you planning of applying for to live in these countries?

And what about California ? I just think if your allergies are of the serious kind, then it is risky with the language barrier and general ignorance afloat but it can also depend on what you are allergic to and whether you are happy to cook meals at home more often than not.

nonthaburi

why not Southern Europe , I know it's not hot all year round but it's hot or hotter for a lot of the year. These days there probably isn't much difference in price compared to a lot of places in Asia , also you will be closer to family should you wish to pop back and see someone or recieve UK healthcare.

bakedbean

What sort of visa are you thinking about?

Optionist

I'm currently working in IT and I've been searching for jobs in Australia, California and Florida but no luck so far. I'm getting increasingly fed up with my current job and state of health in the UK. I definitely don't want to be sitting around in six months still looking for a job in these places.

Places like Sydney, Miami and LA are ideal places for me. Coastal cities with a hot climate and clean water improve my condition considerably, there is no language barrier and knowlege and awareness of Anaphylaxis allergy is as good if not better than in the UK. I'm guessing that in all these places living costs will become an issue without a job and even before that immigration will become an issue without a job or am I wrong about this?

As far as Asia is concerned teaching English is an option which will take away the stress of my current career. I could quit my job tomorrow and go to Asia and survive for a couple of years even without a job but the allergy side of things is the main thing stopping me. What sort of visa would be best to apply for considering I'm 30 and want to initially go for a year or two to test the waters so to speak. I’m thinking of something along the lines of working holiday visa.

Which part of Europe do you suggest, is it really that cheap in Europe?

Optionist

okay done some more research into Australia it looks like I can get a visitors visa for a year or even three months to see what it's like. Having said this I've also done some research on Atopic allergic conditions and found that the Far East and Indian subcontinent have the lowest rates and the highest rates are in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada.

This seems to make sense because my Eczema has improved considerably when I have visited India but it's always been with family and to stay with family. I did stay there for 6 months when I was 21 but it was with family and after a while I didn't really enjoy it anymore because they were being very over protective. I can speak the native language but I'd rather go somehwere different away from extended family.

I'm thinking of somehwere like Singapour or Kuala Lumpur it seems financially feasable and still not that far away from India if I want to visit family.

Supernoodles

Optionist, at this point based on what you've said career wise, I would be narrowing it down by where you think you can get visa that allows you to work i.e. not just a tourist visa. Google gave me this list. So Oz and Singapore are options but you need to act quick as the deadline is age 30! I know from friends going to Oz on the WHV that you can sometimes get a renewal and the idea is in that time of 1-2 years, you will find yourself a decent job to sponsor your 'proper' visa or if you are lucky you'll find a lady to marry and get some sort of spousal visa

RE: KL & Singapore, I can't really remember much of KL but I quite liked Singapore and it is a place that I believe to be increasingly 'on the up' with many MNCs relocating there from HK so possibly more jobs about....but then what do I really know
Some people hate S'pore as it pretty hot & humid a lot of the year, they don't have very defined seasons and I've been told that can feel depressing after a while.
It may not be as cheap as you'd think to live there btw, it may be for a local but as a foreigner in their city it isn't the same set of 'guidelines'. English is quite widely used too, although it is 'Singlish' so I don't know how easy it would be to teach English, especially if you are not caucasian and it is very very safe and quite multi cultural which I really liked.

bakedbean

I think you'll have problems getting into Singapore frankly, but give it a go I guess.

If you can get into India easily... from what you say, I think you can? Why not go to India first. Geez.... it's such a big country... can't you settle somewhere away from your family, then gives you the option to visit them.

Is Bangalore still the big IT hub? I'm a bit clueless with India as I've never been there. Might be worth posting in the India forum. There's a good bunch of helpful folks in that forum. Best of luck.

ennysmith

Thanks for giving me information

nonthaburi

It's not that it's that cheap in Europe , it's more that it's not that cheap in parts of Asia these days . I would have thought that apart from rent which is probably going to be you main outlay , that living costs are comparable with most countries. Food seems to be pretty much the same everywhere more or less .

Supernoodles

Food costs will depend on what someone eats, if someone doesn't mind changing their diet to adapt to the local tastes then it can be cheaper.
I've found dining out is generally much cheaper in Thailand & Taiwan compared to the UK (although in this case, the guy wouldn't be dining out much but still....)
Think about it, what is the local average salary in these countries and compare to the local average salary in the UK, if the cost of food is the same then how do these people survive ?
Same with public transport, UK PT is typically either expensive or crap or both so that can be another area to save.

nonthaburi

Dining out is cheaper if you want to eat some crap food off the street that is full of MSG . Sure you can get a meal for 30-40-50 Baht . Mid-range restaurants are probably good value , by this I mean that you would be paying 2-500 a head . For a western style meal then prices are similar to the UK . Again if you are in a lower class place then drinks will be cheaper then in the UK , not much different to the retai; price in a shop in Thailand , but if you go somewhere in the city in BKK then in many cases they are no different or even more expensive than in London . 5 pounds a pint isn't uncommon for a good brand of beer .

Regarding your last point , these people survive because they spend a far higher proportion of their earnings on food and poor people in Thailand tend to eat the crap food off the street every day or they pool their resources a lot more due to the tendency of many to live with many family members .

I eat Thai food and Foreign food and it doesn't really make much difference to the price when you are cooking yourself . The actual main ingredients are more or less the same . Except for fish which is a lot cheaper in Thailand and local fruit and veg. obviously . My wife was constantly complaining , like many others about inflation in the markets .