Hi

Currently living in the UK, recently qualified plumber and looking to provide this sort of work for the expat community, but would consider bar work or anything to get a foot in so to speak, can anybody give me some advice or contacts.

Thanks

You sound so typical of some people living in almost any developed country today , most companies look only at the bottom line , but look at the toy industry , what goes around , comes around . I would suggest you do not move 'Just because you are fed up ' only move should you find a better oportunity that will give you satisfaction at your type of work or change to something similar to a hobby .Life is not so long in reality and you cannot take it with you when you go , look around you , how many have you seen just"'Drop off 'for no apparent reason ? You could be next my friend . The quality of the life you are living is more important than the life you 'Hope 'to live when and if you retire . I have lived a very happy life doing what i enjoyed , now i am retired on a small pension , how much money do you need to do the things that in fact you cannot do any more with the same zeal and enthusiasm ? I am living in one of the poorest countries of the world where the the people are just happy to have food on the table each day , they exude smiles and happiness because there is no rat race , the pressures of daily living to me are gone , i look at these people and feel like a millionare on a paupers pay , my god i should be so lucky . Should you feel the need to 'Just hop home for the weekend ' you are not in the least bit ready to leave your homeland .
Colin

Hi there
We are moving to L'amettla de mar in Spain its about 20 miles south of Salou we visted this area about half a dozen times before we bought our house. I think you really need to do some exploring before you decide where to go. Among other things we chose this area as it is central to a few airports our closest one is reus and we usually get our flights for 1p plus taxes through ryanair. So no problem with nipping back and forward.

Look you have to decide on 5 basic factors...cost,weather,location,language and you state of health.

I would suggest Latin America.The weather is great,its cheap for people who have Euros/Dollars and the people are wonderful.

I agree with oddball (Colin). People who move because they are 'fed up' usually find that there new residence has more things to be fed up with than the place they left. For some reason they frequently move to places that have more of the problems they are trying to get away from. The guy who moves to Thailand to teach English because he wanted to get away from what he thought were stupid rules and regulations, discovered more beaurocracy, not less. People who are upset about what they see as interference in their lives choose countries with very few civil liberties. It's very strange.

One thing you can get in the uk is cheap flights out. Whenever you can find mony and time take a short break. If you dont speak a language, you might like USA New Zeland ect, but you do have a skill which is marketable, English. Most non english speaking countries love to employ native speakers especialy european ones (there for only UK) because of visas. If you can face teaching, start with a TEFAL qualification. Private lessons are worth a fortune and schools (which often pay little) give you health care.
If you dont like the idea at all, can you do Health and Safty? Or do you have computer skills?
Use your skils

Collin,
While i aggree with a lot of what you say, you have an odd take on familly. Seriously, do the people you see every day care nothing for thier loved ones? I have chossen to live away from my home land and away from my family, so if they need me, i will go to them.
I am not an island.
Affordable flights home are important considerations when living abroad.
Never underestimate fammily ties, better to use them to give you confidence to exist in the out side world

The people i see regularly are some of the closest knit families i have ever met , these are the family and friends of my Khymer wife . I purchased tickets to go to Canada only to find my son had lost our property through large debt to the tax man , i lost a lot of money from my investment , but worst of all i lost what i had worked most for in my life , a place to call HOME .
Any more questions about being an island ? I have all the confidence i need to survive practically anywhere and the fortitude to go with it , i took survival courses in the British army . Colin

geez, you make it sound so awful. i've been there for almost a year now... and i don't find it that bad. i miss my family like crazy but i'm dealing with it. seriously dealing with it. but then, maybe in 10 years i'll be ranting too

Sorry if you thought i was insulting. What i ment was that each circumstance is different and the close knit comunity you enjoy could survive being split by distance, but distance is a negative thing when thinking of loved ones.
You survive happily and well away from home, but the fact that others (including myself) need to know we can return home if familly needs it, well this is a huge part of living away from your home country for many people. I think a survival course (my husband is usless when it comes to things like this and he served in the navy) are irrelivant for this. Try needing to go home to deal with a sick parent while staying to deal with a sick inlaw while, trying to keep your children in school, and please your boss. If you love the familly you leave, you need to know you can get home easily.
Many people go to start a knew life, and forget the old one. Many of us start a new life and join it with our old one. It is just down to cercumstance, and whanting ability to get home dosent stop you being ready to leave.