Discussion
King Herald said:
Where we live now has the second most expensive electricity in the world! For a flea bitten basket case of a third world country, how can they justify that? We pay 60-70 quid a month, and we only have lights, fans and the occasional few hours a week with a single small air-con.
Food bill is the same, or more, for a full trolley of groceries. We buy mainly imported stuff just to get decent quality.
Petrol is about 70p a litre.
Our house maid costs us 60 quid a month, for six days a week.
My Uncle has just bought a gaff in the Philippines. Food bill is the same, or more, for a full trolley of groceries. We buy mainly imported stuff just to get decent quality.
Petrol is about 70p a litre.
Our house maid costs us 60 quid a month, for six days a week.
Laguna district, or something like that. Bloody nice house.
Countdown said:
DJRC said:
Correct. I pour my money into the UK. The UK benefits considerably more from me working in Switzerland than Switzerland does. As the old saying goes, one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist, but unlike Countown I am not foolish enough to interject any kind of moral relevance into the situation. Its simply is what it is.
Based on what you've said, I don't think you would care less whether or not the UK benefitted from you working abroad. It's purely ancillary. With regards to moral relevance - just because you think it's irrelevant, doesn't mean that the rest of us should. I would rather live in a moral society than one which lives by the creed "I'm alright Jack , and f
k the rest"1. I pay my taxes fully as prescribed by the tax laws of Switzerland and the UK with *no* recourse to any kind of fiddling by an accountant.
2. I have always paid the taxes demanded of me in full...actually more than full as the IR had to give me 2 tax rebates last yr for overcharging me 4 yrs ago.
3. I bring money into the UK.
4...and mostly importantly...
My first loyalty is to my wife and family. It is beholden on me to work to provide for them to the best of my ability. In fact I largely regard that as the first duty of *every* husband. That loyalty is not to you, it is not to other random people and it is certainly not to incompetent fools in Westminster. You, nor the rest of the population nor anybody in Westminster will pay my mortgage, bills, shopping. Its on me. That simple proviso rules my working life. There is no morality to working beyond your work being legal, so long as you work to provide for your family. This means I see my wife and home invariably just every other weekend, that is the price I pay for trying to do the best for them. If everybody else in the country subscribed to that way of thinking Im firmly of the opinion that many of our problems would clear themselves up without too much trouble.
So which is it? Do you simply not want to understand that if everybody did their economic best to provide for their family the country would be substantially better off or are you too thick to understand? The country automatically and logically benefits from me ensuring I do my economic best.
TheHeretic said:
My Uncle has just bought a gaff in the Philippines.
Laguna district, or something like that. Bloody nice house.
^^^ looks lovely, how much if you dont mind me asking?Laguna district, or something like that. Bloody nice house.
bosshog said:
And those who keep harping on about 'rip off Britain' - stop it - the Uk is great value for money.
quite, if it wasn't for the UK we'd not have somewhere cheap to buy materials, sort of a local Dollar store to be fair, Britain is a beautiful place, such a variation in scenery & culture, its a shame it's over crowded & has terrible weather
the former has unfortunately bought out the very worst in people King Herald said:
Our house maid costs us 60 quid a month, for six days a week.
Given that the Filipina maids here in SG get around 250GBP / month ...what makes them stay in the Philippines for domestic work ..closer family connections?..I have actually wondered what a nice detached holiday home in the Philippines would cost - somewhere near good diving and hiking ....
alfaman said:
Given that the Filipina maids here in SG get around 250GBP / month ...what makes them stay in the Philippines for domestic work ..closer family connections?
..I have actually wondered what a nice detached holiday home in the Philippines would cost - somewhere near good diving and hiking ....
Depends how cost of living affects their take home. ..I have actually wondered what a nice detached holiday home in the Philippines would cost - somewhere near good diving and hiking ....
DJRC said:
You still dont get it do you? You genuinely absolutely dont get it. What I cant work out is whether that is because you dont want to or because you are just plain thick.
I get everything perfectly well, but thanks for asking. You are looking out for number 1 and you plainly couldn’t give a toss about anything else. Fine, that’s your prerogative, you’ve already explained that, as far as you’re concerned there’s no moral aspect to this. That’s your choice. Not everybody takes the same view.DJRC said:
OK, Ill make this simple enough that even Spongebob Squarepants can follow:
1. I pay my taxes fully as prescribed by the tax laws of Switzerland and the UK with *no* recourse to any kind of fiddling by an accountant.
Have I suggested anywhere that you are fiddling your taxes? And what direct taxes do you pay in the UK?1. I pay my taxes fully as prescribed by the tax laws of Switzerland and the UK with *no* recourse to any kind of fiddling by an accountant.
DJRC said:
2. I have always paid the taxes demanded of me in full...actually more than full as the IR had to give me 2 tax rebates last yr for overcharging me 4 yrs ago.
Perhaps you need a better Accountant.DJRC said:
3. I bring money into the UK.
Whoop-fking-do. You do it because that benefits YOU, not for any greater reason. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but let’s be clear about this.DJRC said:
4...and mostly importantly...
My first loyalty is to my wife and family. It is beholden on me to work to provide for them to the best of my ability. In fact I largely regard that as the first duty of *every* husband.
Bless. Truly noble. And the rest of us don’t care about our families. Again where have I suggested that isn’t a person’s first duty.My first loyalty is to my wife and family. It is beholden on me to work to provide for them to the best of my ability. In fact I largely regard that as the first duty of *every* husband.
DJRC said:
That loyalty is not to you, it is not to other random people and it is certainly not to incompetent fools in Westminster. You, nor the rest of the population nor anybody in Westminster will pay my mortgage, bills, shopping. Its on me. That simple proviso rules my working life. There is no morality to working beyond your work being legal, so long as you work to provide for your family. This means I see my wife and home invariably just every other weekend, that is the price I pay for trying to do the best for them. If everybody else in the country subscribed to that way of thinking Im firmly of the opinion that many of our problems would clear themselves up without too much trouble.
If everybody ascribed to the theory that “Im all right jack and fk the rest” then I’m firmly of the opinion that Society as a whole would be worse off.DJRC said:
So which is it? Do you simply not want to understand that if everybody did their economic best to provide for their family the country would be substantially better off or are you too thick to understand? The country automatically and logically benefits from me ensuring I do my economic best.
Let me try to explain it so even a moron like you can fking understand. If a person moves abroad to specifically to minimise the amount of tax they pay in the UK and then moves back to the UK at a later date specifically to make use of their public services then THEY will be better off and the rest of the UK tax-paying public will be worse off. 
Chill guys.bosshog said:
I'm similar (ish) that I have spent around 16 years of my adult life living abroad (now 40) and I totally agree. Every place has negatives and positives. I would say on the whole the Uk is a great place to live aside from the crappy weather.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/relief-sight-killer-heat-...So perhaps it is not quite so bad as painted.
Derek Smith said:
Well, it's been 38 here in the past few weeks, and will be 35/36 the next few days... Big pansy yanks. 
TheHeretic said:
Oh, in Mr Serious mode are you. OK then.
Not really. But it is a bit tough out there at the moment. I've a friend in Seattle who has been invaded by two of her kids and their families from the east coast. The grandchildren are suffering. There's problems with drop in current as well evidently.Derek Smith said:
TheHeretic said:
Well, it's been 38 here in the past few weeks, and will be 35/36 the next few days... Big pansy yanks.
Even the dead ones?
(Except for the poor kids left in cars by their feckwit parents, porr little buggers!
)Derek Smith said:
Not really. But it is a bit tough out there at the moment. I've a friend in Seattle who has been invaded by two of her kids and their families from the east coast. The grandchildren are suffering. There's problems with drop in current as well evidently.
And my sister, and 3 nieces are on the East coast. I used to live there and have many friends there. But still. I lived in both Dubai for 1.5 years and Abu Dhabi for 3 years before returning to Scotland last July. I have mixed feelings about the UAE - List of good and bad points below.
Good points
1. Tax free salary!
2. Relatively low cost of living.
3. Cheap petrol.
4. Very safe.
5. Clean.
6. Respect for other people and their property.
7. Laws are enforced.
8. Weather in the winter.
9. Excellent shops and cinemas.
10. Almost everyone speaks English.
11. Home to people from all over the world.
12. Excellent work prospects for people in the construction industry.
13. Wide range of food available in both restaurants and supermarkets.
14. Decent IT infrastructure and TV.
15. Good range of events (concerts, F1, red bull air race, etc).
16. Good golf courses and racing circuits (Dubai Autodrome and YAS Marina).
17. Good transport links with the rest of the world.
Bad points.
1. Summer weather.
2. Lack of seasons (it’s either warm, hot or boiling). Never thought I would say this but I missed the rain!
3. Standard of driving. I still think it’s pretty bad even after all this time. Inappropriate use of speed, tailgating, no lane discipline, most cars have broken indicators.
4. Boring roads.
5. Boring scenery.
6. Very little culture or history. The vast majority of the UAE has been built in the last 50 years.
7. Never felt like home. A very transient place. A lot of it feels false and contrived.
8. 65 hour working weeks.
9. No decent bacon rolls!
10. In the construction industry procedures and standards put in place by statutory bodies and government agencies appear to change regularly and are often unclear.
I think I would have stayed longer if I had more time available to socialise. Whilst I enjoyed my job in the UAE by the time I got to Friday I was exhausted.
In summary I would say that the UAE is a good place to live for a while if you are looking to save some money and can achieve a decent work / life balance. I would question its appeal in the longer term for the reasons highlighted above.
Good points
1. Tax free salary!
2. Relatively low cost of living.
3. Cheap petrol.
4. Very safe.
5. Clean.
6. Respect for other people and their property.
7. Laws are enforced.
8. Weather in the winter.
9. Excellent shops and cinemas.
10. Almost everyone speaks English.
11. Home to people from all over the world.
12. Excellent work prospects for people in the construction industry.
13. Wide range of food available in both restaurants and supermarkets.
14. Decent IT infrastructure and TV.
15. Good range of events (concerts, F1, red bull air race, etc).
16. Good golf courses and racing circuits (Dubai Autodrome and YAS Marina).
17. Good transport links with the rest of the world.
Bad points.
1. Summer weather.
2. Lack of seasons (it’s either warm, hot or boiling). Never thought I would say this but I missed the rain!
3. Standard of driving. I still think it’s pretty bad even after all this time. Inappropriate use of speed, tailgating, no lane discipline, most cars have broken indicators.
4. Boring roads.
5. Boring scenery.
6. Very little culture or history. The vast majority of the UAE has been built in the last 50 years.
7. Never felt like home. A very transient place. A lot of it feels false and contrived.
8. 65 hour working weeks.
9. No decent bacon rolls!
10. In the construction industry procedures and standards put in place by statutory bodies and government agencies appear to change regularly and are often unclear.
I think I would have stayed longer if I had more time available to socialise. Whilst I enjoyed my job in the UAE by the time I got to Friday I was exhausted.
In summary I would say that the UAE is a good place to live for a while if you are looking to save some money and can achieve a decent work / life balance. I would question its appeal in the longer term for the reasons highlighted above.
alfaman said:
Given that the Filipina maids here in SG get around 250GBP / month ...what makes them stay in the Philippines for domestic work ..closer family connections?
..I have actually wondered what a nice detached holiday home in the Philippines would cost - somewhere near good diving and hiking ....
We built our own, albeit nowhere near diving or hiking.... Total cost with the land and garage and pool and all is about $120,000..I have actually wondered what a nice detached holiday home in the Philippines would cost - somewhere near good diving and hiking ....
http://pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff