Indeed. I do not plan to live in London. Work there, maybe. I can easily commute to it from Eastbourne, Brighton, or live in the northern area like Finchley, etc.

In some cases employers pay an extra thousand or two for travel expenses into London per year. Options are many, vs. options where I am at now.

With regards to the 1000 I will bring. It may be more, depends on when I come over. I am looking at early spring next year. I may not sell my belongings when I leave. My wife can do that if I get a job and they prepare to join me 8 or so months later.

Interesting. Have been here two weeks and although the petrol is, I grant you, expensive, I have been thinking how cheap things like food and drink are! I dont think I have paid anything like that much for drinks in a pub - in fact we had lunch for 4 in a pub yesterday and it was only £32 - big huge plates of excellent food plus drinks - non alcoholic - for 3. OK so it was a country pub but nevertheless I thought that was a great deal.

OP, I have had some dealings with the British embassy in Bangkok. Yes, there is an off-putting amount of paperwork and apparently difficult conditions attached to getting a visa for your wife but, hint, due to an overload of applicants these are not rigorously checked...

If you turn up in the UK with wife and kid in tow, social services will have to help you!

If you turn things around a bit, you may find things a lot easier than expected.

Just a thought!

Thanks for the info. I plan to return first and then send for them. I will register my son in the UK, so all my wife will need to do is get his passport (or I can do it) and we deal with the settlement visa.

We have been married for 3 years, together for 6. That is proof enough that we are a legit couple. And she also has a degree. Any little thing helps with those people at the embassy.

As helpful as the govt. will be to help us, I prefer to not put the family through that kind of uncertainty and thereby worries increase tenfold if we are all in the UK with no job or a roof over our heads.

As an update to the topic:
I have spoken to several recruiters and all said that me not being in the UK will be difficult to attain an interview. But one recruiter thought it would be possible. A bit of a waiting game on that.

One friend will send me a UK numbered sim card, so I have a UK number, as online cv warehouses request a UK number and not one that starts with +.

I just do not want to be a burden to the govt. But I do need a helpful push for a month or two while doing interviews, etc.

Not looking forward to a Dickens xmas without my family.

Good luck! I'm not sure I can understand leaving the nice weather though!
J.

Hello T,

Clearly you've globetrotted quite a bit and much more than I have, but I want to try and answer your post as honesty as possible. In my opinion - DON'T be tempted back to the UK. Things ARE that bad here and they're getting worse at a tremendous rate.
A few years ago the government passed a sneaky little act of parliament which largely went unnoticed, sadly. This allowed them to pass all sorts of new laws under delegated powers which in practice means that they don't have to go before parliament, and hence be debated in public. Although most people don't realise, this is in large part the origin of so many of these new "laws" that suddenly appear, apparently out of nowhere - and there are ots of them. Effectively, the UK is now a bullied society. The public (the decent majority that is, not the real criminals etc) are now bullied, threatened, fined and have ever more civil liberties removed on a regular basis by armies of bureaucrats and quangos.. Now there aren't many left.
Also, there are many more people here than the government know about or will admit to. Housing is stupidly expensive, even after recent falls and most peple are busting a gut to earn enough to suvive and pay evr-increasing taxes, lots of whic are hidden taxes.
Sorry to be negative, but this is the truth. If you can - stay awat.

All the best.

Rusty100

Hi Rusty. I agree with most everything you said. Actually, I read somewhere that a typical Brit gets videod something like 300 times a day. Yes, housing is stupidly expensive. Everytime I go, I see miserable looking faces, and a lot of complaining.

Another poster questioned why I would leave the sun.

I live in Thailand. There are a lot of Brit expats here. The majority hate the UK. These people are completely burned out with the system. And so be it. I respect their wishes and I always wish them well.

Me... I am a large person. Too hot to do anything. I need to walk more. Son is a little over 2 years old, so schooling in the near future. I am 46. The only pension I have coming will be the USA social security system which is transferable with the UK. Peanuts. I need to get in on the pensions in the UK and not be poor when I am 65ish.

In saying that, I am tired of the surly attitudes of the Thais. Lovely smile, but there is a reason for it. The corruption is incredible. Married to a Thai? They make it impossible to be accepted in this society. We are complete outsiders, with 0 rights. Get into a car accident? Expats are always to blame, or we get threatened if we file police complaints? File it anyway? Ok, but their cousin works in the police department and nothing will happen.

Google Thailand with murder. It has actually the highest per capita rate of murders in the world. Yes, the land of smiles and Buddhism. It is a struggle to be here. I am not a quitter. I have been here 7 years.

You want to go out to eat a local place. Great food, but double priced. Eating in peace? Well, sorta. Look up from your food and everyone stares and snares at you.

Discussions. Try getting into an intellectual conversation with them. IMPOSSIBLE. I miss that.

The UK is overly policed. I agree. But you can trust the law and you do not need to bribe everyone to get anything done. I miss the 4 seasons. Customer service is 1000 years ahead of the Thais.

Put all the negatives and positives side by side between UK and Thailand, and I tell you, the UK wins everytime. Great beaches, lots of sun, but trust me, you are not welcome here as an expat.

PS. Here is a link to what we deal with daily in lovely Thailand.
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Elderl...l#entry2135185

T

A pity this has turned into yet another country bashing thread .

Re the Thai bashing theme, you seem to be in a different Thailand than the one I live in. I don't get stared at (why do you get stared at?). I have meaningful conversations with some Thais, no problem. Restaurant prices no problems - where I go they've menus with prices. Ok I suspect my greengrocer charges less to Thai customers but, so what, I get a big bag of veg and fruits for equiv GBP 1 - so no complaints. Yes Thailand has murders same as UK - I have googled and googled and it comes up with South Africa and Colombia as highest per capita murders - I don't know where you get this from.

You say you are a large person too hot to do anything. Yes, walking during the summer is hot and sweaty and not too pleasant. Pleeeeze, if you are overweight (very overweight??) do something about it at 46. There are gyms with aircon you can go to surely? Swimming is also very good exercise and you don't get too hot in the pool.

"We are complete outsiders". No, we are Expats, there's lots of us. We will never be Thai - so what?

Clearly you want to go back to the UK and you should try it (or you'll never know) but please take off the rose-tinted glasses when you go. ALL countries have their plusses and minuses - UK has its problems too which you'll discover. On the plus side - your son's education is of importance, UK pension would be useful for you (and your wife too should benefit) but do not underestimate the crime now in the UK.

Sorry to hear you are having problems in Thailand and I can see why the UK might appear to be the answer. However, is there nowhere else that might be suitable?
I think you will find you are in for a few shocks here. For instance, you mentioned the UK pension, but this will not keep you out of poverty I can assure you, and that's if they haven't actually phased it out before you are 65. (and actually, it will be 68 now before people of our age will be able to claim it. They brought that in a few years ago - see what I mean.) The level is very low and living costs soar every year. In effect, the government is trying to phase it out in real terms.
We have just had the biggest price rise in domestic gas in history last week (up 40%). Last year it went up 22%. There might be a pension increase of 2.5% - maybe. Every year council tax (the old 'rates') goes up by a minimum of 5% and the government minsters boast about how well they are doing to keep it to this level.That happens every year. Food prices have gone up 25% in the last year. Get the picture?
That's only one aspect. There are a lot of downsides, believe me. There are very good reasons why so many Brits are leaving the UK. I didn't think I would. Now I'm very keen to.

Best wishes

Rusty100

Best wishes

Why is it that when someone has an opinion, you are labeled as a country basher or wearing tinted lenses. Seriously, accept opinions.

You can ask 250 people in this forum for their opinions on bloody oranges, and you will get 250 different opinions on it.

You weigh the pros and cons and UK is clearly number 1. Wrinkles and all: taxes, crime, jobs, rule of law, rain, human rights... it is number 1.

I seriously doubt that most of the nay sayers in this forum have lived outside of the UK for a long time. Very few have. And some have tremendous boulders on their shoulders.

I reap what I sow. If I hear an expat telling me that they hate the place, I tell them to leave. I do as I say. I must leave and so I shall.

And katonkaren, no, we live in the same country. Only I chose not to bury my head in the beach sand. And thanks for the advice.

Well, there's no need to get your bowels in an uproar ol' chap. You wanted opinions and you're certainly getting some esp from Rusty.

I'm afraid you do contradict just a wee bit though. You're now saying that UK is number 1, based on what? Your first post stated that you were in UK in 2000 and you "actually left disgusted". Now it is number 1

I'm also very confused by some of your Thailand comments. You say there are Royal Family problems. I've not heard of this. Please clarify what you mean.

BTW I experienced the UK from 1955 to 2005 (and had biz trips back in 2006, 2007) and most definitely prefer Thailand thank you. But the grass is always greener..... Just hope that your Thai wife and son share your enthusiasm.

I do not view my wife as Thai, just simply: My wife. Yes, she shares my enthusiasm. Whether or not she can aclamate herself to that new life, only time will tell.

Prefer not to discuss the royal issue. Why? Well, another example of you not really knowing what you are talking about. The internet here is heavily sensored, and all site requests, emails and other traffic is bottlenecked via Bangkok. I do not wish police coming to my home.

Once I leave, I will be happy to elaborate (about October, I hope). Lese Majeste laws here, in case you did not know, are draconian. Anyone can take you, yes, you, to the police and claim insult to the monarchy. Please don't ask such dangerous questions.

I have already explained my views on why Uk is numero uno. Please re read the post. And I left the UK in disgust in 2001 due to the ageism issue. Now, I will have to face it. I am working with a few recruiters and we are getting interviews lined up, dusting the old cv and overall the wheels are moving forward.

Hi
just a quick reply. I grew up in the states, came back as a 50 year old. Tough first few months but stuck it out, found a job, as did hubby. Kids settled as well. Its gorgeous. It has bad bits but so does everywhere. Some posters rant on about things you probably already know, So I am just giving you an honest bit of advice. Its up to you, only you know what you want. It can be done. To be honest, unless you are away for a long time, I dont think you appreciate how good it is here. Its home and its wonderful. Oh, by the way, we earn decent but still get help for youngest son. He is in last year of six form and we collect 85 a month child benefit because he is still in school and 40 a month child tax credit. We work hard for our money and contribute so dont feel bad about a little help to help him with school expenses. Its a lovely country, very beautiful and lovely people, so good luck returning home.

Hi Callé. Thanks for the post. I am a bit stressed at the moment and I need positive reinforcement. I am not asking folks here to bs me, nor give me a Mary Poppins tale of England. I read alot about the UK and I am fully versed on the ups and downs.

It is a trip that I must make. Therefore, since I must make it, that is why I joined the forum. I have no choice.

In saying that, this email came yesterday from one my most positive recruiters (disregard the paragraphing; this is how the email was written):
"Firstly, may I thank you very much for your recent application.

I have now had the opportunity to study your Curriculum Vitae. Currently the majority of opportunities being handled by Berkeley Scott are located in the UK, and although we certainly recruit from outside of the UK success depends not only on experience but the applicant's location and proximity to the UK. Before we can consider you for any positions we would need to meet you first, as we cannot arrange interviews for positions at this level on the merit of a telephone interview. Our clients also require candidates to be available for face to face interviews at short notice, and as I am sure you will appreciate, it would not be feasible for us to ask you to fly over just to attend an interview. Our clients pay substantial fees for our services and generally require candidates with recent experience of the UK market, therefore as a recruitment company we would struggle to help you as you have had no UK experience. I would suggest you may have more success if you apply to companies direct as this does not involve an agency fee."

Uphill battle, seems like it...
Cheers

I am rather surprised that YOU made that comment about the Royal Family (not I). I happen to think that they do a very job (and UK Royal Family too for that matter).

I have also noted the email address that you have put for show on this forum (for everyone in Bangkok to see too?) so we can all see where your allegiance is. Well done!! - oh dear oh dear oh dear.


My friend, I wish you and your family the very best of luck in the UK - I hope you find what you are looking for.