Would you stay overseas if it cost you much more than Uk??

[Salbertina]

Just wondering,
Here already but sadly misinformed by DH's boss as to true cost of living plus lots of additionals here we wouldn't have in uk, namely school fees, medical fees and need to run 2 cars. All exacerbated by my loss of income brings us to a whopping £35000 down a year!!! An eye-watering amount which we can't really afford despite his healthy income! Huge uk mortgage and high costs here mean there's little left each month to comfortably afford to travel etc where we are which was the whole point of coming here!
Am not complaining, realise tricky times currently esp in Uk, j realise in many ways were lucky, just curious to know how many expats in similar position?

Oh and some places I've been, teachers get such a deal also.
Agree, it's rather unsustainable but guess companies feel they need to incentivise these staff otherwise wdnt get/keep them! Nice work if you can get it

I'm a teacher - package includes schooling, annual family flights, healthcare and housing allowance - this is standard for international schools pretty much, but the salary is way below what I imaging most oil companies etc. pay! I know that where I live the teachers live in an altogether different type of property to the students we teach - still lovely but not the private pool and maid situation that most families over here with international companies have.

What Rilla said. I am worse of by loads financially. Have no career or social life. But feel happier, healthier and safer than ever. I think it's worth it. Money isn't everything. Do miss having nice holidays though. Even though I live near a very nice resort!

Sounds good on the whole, Mrs! Agree money not everything but feel we're going under and weather etc doesn't compensate- safety is a huge issue here and not particularly happy...

Well, DPILs are here and we rent their 2nd property very cheap & they put loads of pv panels on our roof so they make more cash & we wont have electric bills (the most expensive living cost where we are) I could see us possibly going that way too if it wasn't for them. Especialy as we have our own business and due to the current climate we're owed a lot. I think of going back all the time but it cost us a fortune to move (which we still owe my DPs) and I just hate the thought of starting from scratch again. But yes, very safe here, live in small village. Never lock anything! That's not the be all and end all either though! Depends if it would be easy to go back to normal in UK in terms of jobs etc. I would have to change area though as am very fussy. I found the area I lived in the Midlands to be non-aspirational yet where I am from in the south everyone is full of materialism and self entitlement (otherwise known as Surreyittis) so I'd need to do some research to find a happy medium! But I'd like people to pay their bills so I can stay.

Yep, ikwym- SE England can be rather keeping up w the jones and rest of uk...not enough maybe! Nowhere perfect though I guess!
Sounds like u r in Spain?? bank We still own our house in uk so got that asset/tie, v high rental here. v different situation to you

Just a little correction regarding UK diplomatic staff
free housing - well up to a limit
free schooling - well only long termers and also some schools are off-limits because of the size of fees
free flights home - yes only to the UK and once a year! Not to anywhere any more, that perk has disappeared

Am in Cyprus so do have a lot of home comforts! agree, you can have a whole new set of problems anywhere you go. I've lived all over the place and never really felt settled. We still have our UK house too but had 4 failed sales on it, it's between tenants and it's in negative equity in an area neither of us could get decent jobs and with some of the worst schools in the country. So we wouldn't be going back there! I think you have to be careful though it's a tough choice to make a friend of mine has tried living here twice and gone back to the UK. I dread to think what that's cost her. Those with the packages though, even if they aren't as generous as they used to be you still have support when things go wrong don't you?

Oh shame, yes the phenomenon of the boomerang expat, v understandable! Tho v expensive! Hard to resist temptation to throw it all in if not quite right once you have been overseas & in uk

I know and that was with her pets too! They both struggled to get work here and she had a couple of business ventures that didn't do particularly well. Then her DP got a huge promotion back in UK so best for them but they can live anywhere in the UK and she's spent months researching where to settle. Just hope it works out this time! Bottom line is researching the pros and cons thouroughly is the way forward.

Indeed, we're both too impulsive, I think! Should've married someone sensible- might have actually paid something off mortgage by now! Is that or or both?!

Exactly! At least I'm more sensible than DH though. He wanted to borrow 20k so we could sell the UK house at a loss just to get rid of it even though we'd already spent 40 on it! Just to cut all ties! So so glad I won that one!

Those with the packages though, even if they aren't as generous as they used to be you still have support when things go wrong don't you?

That's true- however, the flip side tends to be that if you're on a package you're often on a fixed term contract/secondment from the home office, so you can be "beamed back up to the mother ship" at will, or have to quit and find a new job if you don;t want to go back, whereas if you're hired as a local, if they want you gone, they have to pay you out.

Also, if you're on an expat package and they're looking to make cost cuts, you tend to find that your head is sticking above the parapet.

There are pros and cons of both I think.

Pay us out? Sadly no, imagine depends on local labour laws. if we had the choice, wd go for the package every time, we have uncertainty too but w/o those perks!

Ah, ok - DH's employers policies re "leavers" tend to be fairly consistent internationally and if you transfer, even though you're employed locally,- i.e. by the local legal entity- your employment is treated as continuous, so if they made you redundant, they'd have to pay you out on all your options, give you redundancy for each yr of service etc.

Holiday, mat leave etc is determined according to local practices though.

Btw- are you working for one of the "Big" miners? I'm wondering if I used to work for your current employer.