Welcome back

Me - I think the DM sometimes has a rather good 'Money' supplement: the rest of it I keep as emergency toilet paper, or for starting fires on the stove - or to wrap the fish and chips someone mentioned earlier (not necessarily all at once)

I'm not sure I would want to soil fish and chips with it to be honest.

Indeed.

At the end of the day, the 'Nay Sayers' (from the Daily Mail, or anywhere else) play their part in providing market research which could help folks decide which country they want to live in (along with more optimistic assessments).

I agree with others here that the state of the economy wouldn't dissuade me from returning to the UK.

Interesting though that Britain's deregulated US-style economy - whatever material benefits it brings - doesn't seem to be delivering the goods in terms of well-being or happiness

Much of what ails the Uk relates back to:

1. Its former position as a major colonial power and the "responsibilities" that this created for it when its former colonies ended up in the hands of blood-thirsty dictators or whatever and
   
2. The fact that just about everything (so they said) was at one time manufactured in cities like Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. In school we learned of the importance of the Manchester Ship Canal.

1. Contributed to the creation of a permanent underclass and the loss of 2. meant that some were destined to be unemployed for generations particularly when the government said that all industry should stand on its own two feet.

These were the beginnings of the broken society.

Deregulation just helped create the boom and bust cycles which permeate the economy plus the fact that large sections of the financial services industry actually contribute zero to the economy as a whole aside from employment for the traders.

This of course is subjective and depends upon how you intend to put bread on the table. IF you are expecting to live on a state pension plus US SS or the like and the numbers added up before then the state of the economy (aside from inflation) is of no particular importance.

If you are going to have to make the money to subsist on through investing/property/savings then the state of the economy is going to have a huge impact upon whether or not you in fact end up going backwards financially.

If you are returning to work, one would think that your approach to seeking out the optimum locations which offer the best opportunities for your particular field of work in this altered and difficult economy are critical to success in job hunting BEFORE even considering where to put down accommodation roots.

I saw a post yesterday for a couple in their 50s looking to return to the UK to work. I noticed that at the time of my viewing, nobody had responded to their cry for help. The state of the UK economy does NOT look good for their prospects in any shape or form unless they reinvent the wheel and create a new line of work for themselves.

Some of us might be more impacted than others by the multi-faceted social discord that has supposedly permeated UK society but one can usually buy one's way out of this issue by living in areas so far untouched by this ailment though this costs precious money and time on research, including renting first to test the water.

You do have a rather odd way of looking at things

One of our friends brought a copy over with him as a joke. I wasn't sure what to do with it, but then I needed something to put under the cats' litter tray in case they miss. Finally a good use!

I disagree with this. We've seen quite a few returnees in their 50s get jobs within just a few months. There are lots of vacancies in the UK right now. Yes, competition is tougher than before and it might take a little longer than it would have in the 90s, but let's not act like jobs just don't exist.

If a person writes an excellent CV and conducts a smart, proactive job search including networking, building relationships with agencies, creating a strong online presence on sites like LinkedIn, and direct mailing his or her targeted companies, he/she will find a job. Yes, even at the advanced age of 50

The specifics - In teaching and social work?

The former where councils are cutting back and the latter where competition is with qualified low cost workers from Eastern Europe at minimum wage plus councils cutting back.

Private tuition? - possibly but many recent graduates are now already pushing into that area for want of anything else to do.

Private schooling? - maybe but these are also under huge pressure unless they have a very good reputation.

Languages and English as a second language? - maybe.

Jobs that can sustain how many family members?

Not trying to be funny as this is not a laughing matter.

If you are in a technical area - IT, Telecommunications, Engineering, Mechanical Eng, Aerospace, Energy for example then fine for a family sustainable salary. Media now seems under pressure.

Even jobs in Accountancy are for newly and part qualified these days so age can be a big issue in spite of laws that are supposed to say otherwise.

The growth area is Care but the pay appears to be dreadful and large businesses in this field are on the verge of collapse.

Try telling that to jobseekers and young people in particular:

More than a million young people are now unemployed, the highest number since the Conservatives were last in power, government figures to be published this week are expected to reveal.

The figures have been swollen by the number of graduates and school-leavers who have failed to find work after joining the jobs market this summer. Unemployment rose by 80,000 to reach 2.51 million in the three months to July, 77,000 of whom were 18- to-24-year-olds, lifting the youth joblessness total to 973,000.

Some experts expect the number out of work to increase further over the next three months and into next year. Madhur Jha, a global economist at HSBC, said: "We expect unemployment to continue to rise over the latter months of 2011 and the first half of 2012. We believe that the fundamental trend for the UK labour market has been one of renewed weakness."

Of course things are soooo much better elsewhere:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...-no-job-growth

"No new jobs were added to the US workforce in August, fuelling fears that the world's largest economy is heading back into recession"

The rate of unemployment among the young is around 20% here in Australia so roughly the same as the UK. Not like Returnee to be posting bad news.

I'm not saying other countries are any better, but the focus of this thread is on why Britain is an unhappy place to be. Unemployment and financial problems are a contributing factor. So, anyone contemplating returning to Britain may find themselves jumping out of a frying pan into a fire, especially this coming winter, which may be a very severe period for many people, what with the huge increases in fuel charges etc. For many it will be a question of Heat or Eat.