Jacksgranda Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 18 minutes ago, Left Back said: slippers. Maybe at my age... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effeffsee_the2nd Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 was it just me who kinda assumed that blokes who emigrate out to south east asia were OFTW? be honest? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) 36 minutes ago, effeffsee_the2nd said: was it just me who kinda assumed that blokes who emigrate out to south east asia were OFTW? be honest? I used to think so too, but after 16+ years here I'd say the vast majority of expats are here for the weather, the cheaper living costs and the prettier and younger women (but not so much younger)- there have been a few dodgy guys I've seen around but same goes for the UK. Edited August 9, 2021 by hk blues 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Just now, Dolf said: Expats? Aye, sorry, expats 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 1 hour ago, effeffsee_the2nd said: was it just me who kinda assumed that blokes who emigrate out to south east asia were OFTW? be honest? Always assumed that but it seems quite a popular retirement spot for the Swiss. Has the climate they want at that age, their pensions afford them a very comfortable standard of living, and the healthcare costs are minuscule compared to here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight minge Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 49 minutes ago, hk blues said: I used to think so too, but after 16+ years here I'd say the vast majority of expats are here for the weather, the cheaper living costs and the prettier and younger women (but not so much younger)- there have been a few dodgy guys I've seen around but same goes for the UK. A big chunk of this is narrow minded perceptions in my opinion. Considering South East Asia makes a considerable contribution to global manufacturing, has several major banking hubs as well as other ‘global’ industries. The majority of the westerners/expats are here through work (or have been for work and decided to stay on for, as you say; weather, cost, lifestyle, or commitments picked up). There are of course a few ‘dodgy characters’ kicking about but they are in the minority. The ones for the watching are the sex tourists. The guys that who save up all year to have a couple of weeks holiday here as weekend millionaires, usually spotted around certain parts of Manila and Bangkok. A close runner up are the ‘influencers’ and backpackers* who pitch up as if it is the 1970’s. *That is a small number of backpackers. Most are sound, but there is a special type amongst them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight minge Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, Ross. said: Always assumed that but it seems quite a popular retirement spot for the Swiss. Has the climate they want at that age, their pensions afford them a very comfortable standard of living, and the healthcare costs are minuscule compared to here. Yup assumption is a key word here. Countries like Philippines actually offer very attractive retirement visas that could give an average income retiree a decent life in relation to weather and lifestyle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMDP Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Some great stories on this thread, mine is nowhere near as exciting. I spent a year in Sweden straight from uni as my gf at the time was Swedish. I hadn't really thought about living abroad and wouldn't have been brave enough to do it on my own, looking back that year helped my confidence no end and I changed a lot. A few years later, I was working in a job that I hated but was settled in and paid well when my brother broke his neck. He lived near London and being the only childless person in my family at the time, I went to look after him for a few months as he slowly recovered. If he hadn't broken his neck, my life would look pretty different I reckon. When down there, I retrained as a teacher and spent 8 years in London (with a year in Italy) before moving to Spain, where I've been in Madrid for 3 years. There is a lot to love about here - a brilliant lifestyle, buzzing city with plenty of mountains, countryside, etc nearby. The neighbourhood I live in has the same sense of community mentioned in a post above - I get all my shopping individually from the barrio butcher, fishmonger, fruit and veg guy, etc. My local is run by a Venezuelan guy who couldn't be nicer (he put on the Scotland-England game with ITV commentary and got in some bottles of Innis and Gunn for me). I can't see me coming home soon but I miss it massively. The major drawback is missing people, exacerbated by COVID and it being nigh on 2 years since seeing any family, especially since my parents are getting on. As much as I love the culture here, I miss Scottish pubs, going to the Albion (sometimes I will be sitting at the Metropolitano wishing it was Forthbank), square sausage and being able to just catch up with my pals anytime. I guess you have to weigh up the positives and negatives of anything - I sometimes wish I could see my mum and dad a lot more, but these are the choices I made and I try to look on the positive side of things on the whole. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Ferguson's Hat Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Anyone under 30 with nothing tying them to home should look into getting a working holiday visa somewhere once things become more normal. UK passport holders can get year long work visas (that can be extended for a further year) for Australia and New Zealand extremely easily, two year Canada visas with some luck and a year in Taiwan or Japan with a bit more effort. As mentioned above, even if you're a really shy person, by putting yourself out there a bit you'll become far more confident in yourself. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpar Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 On 07/08/2021 at 07:42, Bonksy+HisChristianParade said: I had the same when I was working in Canada. The reasoning given to me was that ‘they’ sent all their money home and didn’t keep it in the local economy. Pretty common practice amongst some communities, where in Canada did you work? On 07/08/2021 at 14:18, Barry Ferguson's Hat said: Conversely, possibly the best pint of Tennents I've ever had was in The Caledonian, also in Toronto. It truly is a lottery out there. Great bar, I was going to say the Tennents there is pretty decent and good haggis too, it's actually run by a Scot at least. As mentioned by others, the Tennents they sell in The Beer Store and LCBO is the Export pish, I used to buy Harp lager instead as I thought it tasted similar to real Tennents. Should have added to my dislikes the alcohol selling laws in Ontario, it's slowly changing but for the most part you have two government run stores to choose from to buy beer and on Sundays they are only open 12pm-5pm 1 hour ago, hk blues said: Aye, sorry, expats Immigrants 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theroadlesstravelled Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 6 hours ago, effeffsee_the2nd said: was it just me who kinda assumed that blokes who emigrate out to south east asia were OFTW? be honest? Gary Glitter likes this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arab_joe Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 On 05/08/2021 at 17:29, Torpar said: What brought you to your current country? What’s the best and worst thing about it? What do you miss about Scotland and what do you not miss? What took me to the UAE - my work had an opening for a 6-month stint in the UAE in March 2013, but there was only about two weeks between the date of the role being confirmed and the date on which you had to fly - so I was one of the few who had no ties (i.e. no house, pet, spouse etc.) and could thus just drop everything and go. When my 6-months was up, I just couldn't get excited to be back in Edinburgh - I had just been on a couple of good dates with a girl in Dubai, and Edinburgh suddenly felt really small, monocultural, cold etc. and I was doing the same job but getting paid less than half of what my Dubai based colleagues were getting paid, so I decided that I would give it a try for a couple of years - and flew out in June 2014. 7 years down the line, and that girl is my wife and mother of my child, and I am still here. Best thing - it sounds crass, but the salary that I get out here affords me a great lifestyle. Before COVID, I would be on holiday at least 3 or 4 times a year, and lots of short trips in the region - Oman, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, Tanzania etc. Also, the weather from November-April is amazing (and you can play golf 12 months of the year if you get up early enough) - but definitely getting hotter/summers getting longer. I also love that this place is incredibly diverse - at work I speak to probably 20 different nationalities each day. Worst thing - the inequality is jarring. It is a cultural void, with almost nothing to do that is of any interest to me whatsoever (weekends in my 20s were spent either working or drinking so I was content enough - but those days are in the past and I just crave a park or a hill or a museum or anything interesting, really). And having a child (especially during COVID) has made me miss home and my parents and siblings more than I ever thought possible - I have applied (unsuccessfully) to two jobs in Europe in the last year, so hopefully won't be in the UAE too much longer. Missed in Scotland - family more than anything else, but also really miss friends (I have approximately 0 proper friends out here), rain, greenery, wearing jeans and, genuinely, Tannadice/DUFC. I have been back 5 or 6 times, but was out of Scotland for 18 months due to my wife's pregnancy then COVID and I hope that's the longest I am ever away. On 06/08/2021 at 15:54, Michael W said: I still get caught out on occasion by Sunday trading hours, which I continue to despise. Gets me very single time I'm in London (where my wife is from) - just last week I walked to Sainsbury's at 7pm on Sunday to find the door shut. On 07/08/2021 at 17:37, die hard doonhamer said: I fancy moving abroad at some point, but so far I haven't even built the nerve to leave the village I've lived in since I was 10. This is a wonderful thread, though, and it certainly evokes a bit of wanderlust. Do it. Worst case scenario - you don't like it and move back. On 08/08/2021 at 13:29, DiegoDiego said: [Scotland is] the only place that will ever truly be home to me. I feel that way, too. 15 hours ago, Mon_The_Fife said: I appreciated home a lot more coming back as a visitor than when I actually lived there and wish I had traveled a bit more. Scotland is a beautiful country and my advice to people is to experience your own country first before moving abroad. A very good point - embarrassingly, my first trip to Loch Ness came on a trip back to Scotland! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 17 hours ago, Torpar said: Immigrants Yep...I've reported myself for racism! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlipperyP Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 2 minutes ago, hk blues said: Yep...I've reported myself for racism! I'm classed as an alien. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 18 hours ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said: Yup assumption is a key word here. Countries like Philippines actually offer very attractive retirement visas that could give an average income retiree a decent life in relation to weather and lifestyle. Yes, the SRRV in the Philippines is popular as it's inexpensive BUT you do need to squirrel away 20K USD in a local bank OR buy an apartment as houses cannot be foreign-owned. It will be getting even more popular now as the Tourist Visa loophole is probably getting closed soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, SlipperyP said: I'm classed as an alien. Likewise Slippery, an alien resident I think is the term used here 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genuine Hibs Fan Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Great stories to read here. I've been back in Scotland a couple of years now but spent a year in Colombia after university in a place called Villavicencio, 6 months or so in the countryside in Spain and about 2 years in Barcelona. Loved staying in them all, although Barcelona was a bit trickier. The massive population of young expats living there all working in similar jobs as well as getting mistaken for the hated tourists meant it was really hard to integrate at all, which was pretty easy in a Colombian city or a village with about 400 folk in it in Spain. That being said I did have a great time and don't regret it at all. I'd be keen to live in Barcelona or another Spanish city it again sometime but only when I have some formal qualifications to work in Spanish/Catalan. My fiance's from the States - we actually first met in Colombia - so I think there's always a possibility we'll move there at some point, and if by some miracle we can retire early we both like the idea of living somewhere warm in the countryside in Europe. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight minge Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 1 hour ago, hk blues said: Yes, the SRRV in the Philippines is popular as it's inexpensive BUT you do need to squirrel away 20K USD in a local bank OR buy an apartment as houses cannot be foreign-owned. It will be getting even more popular now as the Tourist Visa loophole is probably getting closed soon. 20k USD I would guess would be reasonable for many retirees to get access to a pretty open visa. I think most countries out here are starting to review their visa offerings and processes and tightening up on things so they can get rid of non desirables and attract more desirable foreigners, like retirees. I know there has been a fair bit going on in Bali as it became a bit of an ‘influencers’ paradise who were taking advantage of the lax immigration laws. Due to some high profile idiocity, the government are clamping down and deporting people. In Batam and Johor, not quite the same, but they have been developing a great deal to attract people away from Singapore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hk blues Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 5 minutes ago, Tight John McVeigh is a tit said: 20k USD I would guess would be reasonable for many retirees to get access to a pretty open visa. I think most countries out here are starting to review their visa offerings and processes and tightening up on things so they can get rid of non desirables and attract more desirable foreigners, like retirees. I know there has been a fair bit going on in Bali as it became a bit of an ‘influencers’ paradise who were taking advantage of the lax immigration laws. Due to some high profile idiocity, the government are clamping down and deporting people. In Batam and Johor, not quite the same, but they have been developing a great deal to attract people away from Singapore. For ex-American military guys the 20K is waived and it's something like a few thousand dollars only, very manageable for most. The tourist visa here has always been very loose - enter, renew every 3-6 months, after 3 years take the night flight to Hong Kong, return the next day and start the process again for another 3 years. A bill is moving through govt. to put a stop to this - a fair few guys have been using the tourist system for years so they will need to look at other options such as the retirement visa, or marriage! The BIR (tax) authority are also clamping down on the foreigners based here who are working but not paying tax, including social media influencers. We'll see how serious they are about it in due course... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight minge Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 22 minutes ago, hk blues said: For ex-American military guys the 20K is waived and it's something like a few thousand dollars only, very manageable for most. The tourist visa here has always been very loose - enter, renew every 3-6 months, after 3 years take the night flight to Hong Kong, return the next day and start the process again for another 3 years. A bill is moving through govt. to put a stop to this - a fair few guys have been using the tourist system for years so they will need to look at other options such as the retirement visa, or marriage! The BIR (tax) authority are also clamping down on the foreigners based here who are working but not paying tax, including social media influencers. We'll see how serious they are about it in due course... Yes the influencers and tax avoiders are the ones under scrutiny in Indonesia, partly brought on by their own stupidity. One ‘influencer’ in Bali wrote an ebook for sale on how to beat the system in Bali and live a comfortable life there and promoted it online. Was shocked and complained when she got arrested, fined and deported. Indonesia is cheap but hefty on tax. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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