Another (potential) expat
 

Hi all,

I'm considering becoming an expat at some point in the future and thought that it would be a good start to come here to get some advice. At present, I'm living in Wales and am an MA student in my mid 20s. Unfortunatly, I suffer from Hydrocephalus (albeit not as acutely as others) which is making me consider my options carefully for the sake of my health. At the moment, whenever I need my shunt drained (only 3 times since the age of 5 weeks *touch wood*) I need to go to Liverpool as that's where the nearest neurology centre to me is at present. Now as well as employment, housing and generally settling in, I'd need to consider the facilities available in whichever country I decide is best suited to my needs in case I happened to need my shunt drained whilst overseas. Ideally, they'd need to be just as good if not better than the facilities in Liverpool.

As for the question of why leave Wales considering my current situation, it's, for me at least, a question of having less strain and a better quality of life than if I were to stay in Wales as I have been getting a lot of aggro since my mother passed away last year, and stress of that kind has the potential to land me in hospital, something I do not want. As a result, I'm feeling the need for a clean break.

Now I do of course realise that making this kind of move also has its own stresses, however, I have taken these into consideration whilst weighing up my options.

The countries I've been considering are Canada and New Zealand. I know that there's quite a jump from one to the other, but I've been considering factors such as my Health and safety, and this is why these 2 countries appeal. I do of course realise that it's no mean feat to move to either country as they, by and large expect potential immigrants to have skills that arent so widely available from their own citizens. I am hoping to complete a PhD following on from my MA which I've nearly completed so am seriously considering a career in academia, which is on the New Zealand LTSS.

Of course, I don't want to go into this blind and am considering the option of a WHV between finishing my MA and starting my PhD in one of the two coun tries to see how I'd cope.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated from those who have experience of Hydreocephalus and/or WHVs.

Thanks in advance. :)

Re: Another (potential) expat
 

Welcome to BE

Not sure how the Hydrocephalus will affect your application for NZ but there is no free health care over here so any medical intervention/medication you may need will have to be meet by yourself.
A friend of mine, a Kiwi, has had to move to Australia as she just cannot afford to keep the payments up for her medical care here, she requires heart medication which she is going to get subsidizes in Aus.

Pop over to the NZ
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=83
as someone there may have some personal experience

also pop over to the Canadian forum and see if people there can advise you
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=56

Re: Another (potential) expat
 

Hi and welcome to the forum :)

You sound sensible in wanting to try out a place first. Some do not consider that. Just move abroad thinking that the grass is greener....which is not always.

So....do some research on here in the Canada section. Good advice from Mrs F, and you really need to think about the costs of medical care. Private medical care is going to be costly anywhere (obviously some more costly than others).

If the research doesn't come up trumps, maybe consider moving abroad to England or Scotland :D Yep, I'm being slightly tongue in cheek, but I homed in on the above para where you are getting some aggro currently in Wales. So why not give it a shot somewhere else in the UK? And you'll get free medical care. Just a thought.

All the best with your plans. Hope something works out.

Re: Another (potential) expat
 

Thanks very much for the replies both :). The costs in both countries are something that I've considered, and not 100% sure how the Hydrocephalus would measure up re the NZ health requirements for immigration, though there are no day to day meds I need to take here, just an op to drain the shunt as and when needed. I'll certainly pop over to the NZ and Canada boards to see if anyone has any experience of dealing with Hydrocephalus and how it differs re experiences of treatment in the UK.
Haha, that's an option I hadn't considered bakedbean :D. Taking all of the advice you've both generously offered into account, I think I will pop along to the NZ and Canada forums to see if there is any advice I could get from anyone who has experience of Hydrocephalus in either country and how it differs to the UK, I was just a bit concerned about spamming more than one forum with the same question.
And even if it doesn't work out, I may just go for the WHV option anyways as a break of a year or 2 may be just what I need.
Thanks very much again to you both, very much appreciated. :)

Re: Another (potential) expat
 

Hello and a big welcome to BE.

Excellent information can be found in the BE Wiki, not forgetting the Living and Moving Abroad forum that will help you, another set of great help is the permanent threads at the TOP of each forum, they are very pertinent to that particular forum and makes sensible reading.

Moderators deal with any problems that arise such as inappropriate posts, spammers etc, you will find their names at the bottom right hand side of each forum's index in bold font.

Please contact me if I can give you any further help.

Rosemary