Working Abroad (dubai / saudi / A N Other)

[Ross_]

Not sure if this is the correct section to be posting this in (mods feel free to move / delete as required)... but here goes anyway.

Have recently became a bit bored in my working life - i think its called the 7 year itch , who knows the real reason ...

I am looking for a bit of advice from anyone who could possibly assist , i have decided i would quite fancy working abroad , possibly in Saudi / Dubai / Singapore - well anywhere really - just fancy a change.

My background is insurance based having worked for NUD for just shy of 7 years now as an underwriter - previously also worked in a retail environment as assistant manager - so what i was mainly intrested in :- Are there jobs in these countrys in a simmilar sector (ie insurance / risk based) or am i wasting my time also if anyone has any ideas of sites who advertise decent foreign vacancies that would be very handy aswell.

Any help / experiences good or bad / advice would be greatly recieved ladies and gents.

R

[JC1984]

I couldn't offer you much information in the way of job specific opportunities in Insurance etc, but I can say that anything you do in the UK will be transferrable to another part of the world. Do a search in Google, there are many recruitment websites who can source vacancies in far flung places.
www.jobstreet.com could be a good one to start off with.

I'm in the middle of rural China for a UK mining company. I was given 6 days to move out here at the start of the year and I've loved every minute so far. You clearly have the taste to venture out, so if you can logistically up-sticks - then do it. The UK is pretty stable, it generally looks the same whenever I've come back to it, so don't hold back thinking that your missing out.

[Ross_]

JC1984 said:

I couldn't offer you much information in the way of job specific opportunities in Insurance etc, but I can say that anything you do in the UK will be transferrable to another part of the world. Do a search in Google, there are many recruitment websites who can source vacancies in far flung places.
www.jobstreet.com could be a good one to start off with.

I'm in the middle of rural China for a UK mining company. I was given 6 days to move out here at the start of the year and I've loved every minute so far. You clearly have the taste to venture out, so if you can logistically up-sticks - then do it. The UK is pretty stable, it generally looks the same whenever I've come back to it, so don't hold back thinking that your missing out.

Thank You , very helpful website and does look promising regarding the industry i am in - i would also have no issue returning to a sales based environment.

i can up sticks in theory without much of an issue , i have a house in the uk with a relatively small mortgage on it - so aslong as i was making enough to cover it - no other real issues.

How do u find working in China ? thats the one thing i am unsure on ... how much i would miss "home" so to speak

R

[JC1984]

No problem Ross.

China is great, I'm in a really rural area due to the mining, so there are only a handful of westerners in the 200,000 strong town, so it has been total immersion into culture, food and language.

It's obviously each to their own as to how much you miss home. I keep in touch with my mates on Facebook, and use Skype to keep in touch with my girlfriend and to ring home. Hopefully get my parents and brother sorted out with a laptop next time I'm home so thats even better if we can video chat for free. Little things like that make it a whole lot easier.

I'm in a similar position, I have a flat in Newcastle which I bought last year, 6 months after I finished Uni. My gf lives in there now, so she keeps that ticking over for me. The cost of living for me here is very cheap so I don't have to worry about selling up.

I would definitely recommend upping sticks then - you're obviously the type of person that fancies giving it a crack.
You may well know more than I did, but could be worth getting some advice from you bank in terms of offshore accounts and P85 filling in to inform HMRC that you are non-domiciled etc.

[fade2grey]

A couple of years ago I jumped from a job in Durham to Auckland, NZ - fantastic time, loved every minute of it. I moved with work & only stayed for a couple of years before moving back (combination of personal circumstances & work requirements) - I'd love to do it again, I dont' mind where - that's all part of the excitement.

I kept my house in durham on & rented it out as an ex-pat (tax free) - there was the odd occasion where I was earning pacific peso's & didn't have a tennant but nothing that made me worry too much.

do it

[Ross_]

Thanks for the words of encouragement gents

i could possibly relocate thru work but there offices are in india , and i dont much fancy india (dunno why nothing to base this on) but i do very much fancy the middle east ...(Again nothing specific to base this on) just like the idea of the culture etc

i have sent a few emails to agencys out there with some questions / worries / queries i have , so will wait to see what they come back with

R

[JC1984]

Have a really good look at India if you can find out where you are going to be based. The very good friend of mine that offered me work experience in Nigeria and China whilst I was still in education used to work from India and he had an amazing few years there. Its a booming place and I think there could be an amazing experience to be had there. Probably pretty reasonable cost of living I would have thought as well.

Keep us posted!