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10-15-2005, 11:46 AM | #1 |
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Moving from US to England to work
I'm thinking about going abroad to work before I settle down and have kids. Getting married next summer but am thinking of trying to work in Europe for a year or two doing IT.
I'd like to do it in England so I don't have to worry about language. What kind of problem is it to get a work visa for England/London? Has anyone worked in London or the surrounding areas at all? I'm curious how I would interview for the position over there, and if they'd even consider Americans for IT jobs over there. What kind of work environment is it overthere? So many questions about this...
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10-15-2005, 11:53 AM | #2 |
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Isn't London VERY expensive to live in?
Wouldn't it be a lot easier to get a company to transfer you over, rather than go there without a job to begin with?? |
10-15-2005, 11:56 AM | #3 | |
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10-15-2005, 12:07 PM | #4 | |
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This is a very impulsive idea I just came up with, but I'm excited about it. |
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10-15-2005, 12:09 PM | #5 |
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I just went to London for vacation in May and let me tell you it was pretty fun. Life over there is different, but it wasnt so bad. I really wouldn't say the atmosphere is any more different than a busy US city like NYC, aside from the fact that it seemed that people in London were generally nicer than people in NYC.
Everything over there IS expensive, when you are talking about in comparison with the US dollar. When I went, with fees, the exchange rate was more or less 2 dollars equalled 1 pound. Now, number wise everything is priced pretty much the same.. what I mean by this is, you can go to mcdonalds and get something for 5 pounds, its just that it equals about 10 U.S dollars. I imagine when you work over there though, you will be getting what we call at work a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment). Working abroad can be a GREAT way to save a ton of money depending upon who you are going there to work with. I know with the government, you get the COLA, and depending on where you live, you might get per diem, which is what you would use to pay for your food / housing. ymmv depending on who you are trying to go over there to work with |
10-15-2005, 12:13 PM | #6 |
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monster.com has European job listings which are open for foreigners, quite a few of them in London:
http://globalgateway.monster.com/ind...rope&x=43&y=11 |
10-15-2005, 12:15 PM | #7 |
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London is very expensive, it is on a par with NYC in terms of living costs. Do you know anyone over there who could put you up?
The UK is very similar to the US in some aspects of living, it has become very americanized since the 80s. Have you thought about Australia or New Zealand? I would imagine those countries would be a bigger change in life experience than the UK would be, although visas, again, may be an isssue. |
10-15-2005, 12:16 PM | #8 |
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Oh...and www.jobserve.com for UK IT jobs.
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10-15-2005, 12:17 PM | #9 |
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Great info, thanks. The salaries are about the same as I'd expect here, after conversion. Some IT jobs I'd expect to get $70k for, are getting 40,000pounds, which is about $70k. But if everything's more expensive, it may cancel the high salary. Hmm. I would like to look at other countries, but I don't speak any languages. Sweden or Denmark would be cool, but the language thing again. At least living in London you can always take the train to other countries and visit, which is what I want to do anyway.
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10-15-2005, 12:42 PM | #10 |
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Might wanna consider the Netherlands, too. Dutchies have no problems with English in my experience, Amsterdam has a fair number of jobs and you're pretty much in the middle of Europe, which would make travel easier.
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10-15-2005, 01:25 PM | #11 |
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London and even 20 - 30 miles outside is uber expensive. Its gonna be hard to get a job without a face to face interview, that being said, my wife managed to get hired as a teacher with only 2 telephone interviews and a written essay. Actually, that might be an area to consider. IT for schools. They are really struggling for teachers and the related staff.
Does it have to be London area? Other fantastic cities aswell. What about Edinburgh? Awsome place, lived there for 9 months. Probably the best time of my younger life. If history is your thing, consider Bath, Nottingham (worlds oldest pub is there, in a cave, under the castle.) I know Nottingham well, grew up a few miles from there. Best thing about Nottingham, which wont apply to you, is the 5:3 ratio of females to males I have a Lawyer youcan call, her name is Lianne oony. She is based in London and does immigration stuff. She sorted everything out for wifey and me when I moved here. She is bloody fantastic at her job, and is pretty smokin too. PM me and bug the **** out of me till I find her number. Cost of living is extrodinarily high, and you will be extremely lucky to get any cost of living adjustment. Even the locals struggle for that. Working environment is different. Legally a 39 hour week, better employment rights and a contract is the norm for any semi decent position. Much much better vacation, ie 2 weeks paid after first year, 3 on 2nd year up to about 4 or 5 weeks paid depending on how good the company is. More paid holidays per year. Not the pressure to work your balls of as it seems here. Here I'm reminded of the Japs, you put work first. Over there, its more of a secondary thing. Good luck man and dont be tempted to buy a fast car, the insurance companys will lay the smack on you big time. PM me if you want to chat, I cant type fast enough for all the gotcha's coming into my head. EDIT: Just to add, English is Europes second language - you'll be OK in almost every European country. |
10-15-2005, 02:23 PM | #12 |
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Thanks for the info. How bad are European taxes?
Best bet would be to find an American company to transfer me over there, but that's going to be hard to find. |
10-15-2005, 02:29 PM | #13 | |
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10% on first £2,090 22% (20% for savings income) on next £30,310 40% on income over £32,400 On top of that, there is National Insurance, which pays for social security and health care. if you earn above £94 a week (the 'earnings threshold') and up to £630 per week you pay 11 per cent of this amount as 'Class 1' NICs you also pay one per cent of earnings above £630 a week as Class 1 NICs Then there's the 17.5% VAT on everything you buy (sales tax equivalent) and the price of a gallon of gas is about 85% tax, too. |
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10-15-2005, 02:31 PM | #14 |
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Oh ... and if anyone wonders why I left the UK ... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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10-15-2005, 02:42 PM | #15 |
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So basically it's not even worth it.
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10-15-2005, 02:47 PM | #16 | |
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Depends on what you consider worth it... If you are moving there to make money, no. If you are moving there for the experience, sure why not? |
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10-15-2005, 02:52 PM | #17 |
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This is great because I've been wondering how to get a job in England myself.I lived there for 3 years when my dad was stationed there,and I've wanted to go back and live ever since.I have read a few books about the subject,and they all say it is very hard to be able to live there unless you get transferred or have a skill which is in great need (teachers,etc).
I am looking to start schooling for something that would enable me to move and live there and make a decent living.I had the time of my life in London. |
10-15-2005, 03:52 PM | #18 |
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As I understand it, any company in the U.K. has to demonstrate an inability to fill a position with a non-foreigner before sponsoring you for a job. I think it's pretty difficult to get high paying position over there unless you work for a global company and can be transferred.
The cost of living is *ridiculous*. It makes the New York look like Middle America. $10 for a pint of Guiness. ~$60,000 for an STi!! I'm interesteted in moving to Europe as well, so my strategy is to (hopefully, will know in a few months) go to London Business School and make the connections there. |
10-17-2005, 02:48 PM | #19 |
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How do I even get started? Do I just apply for jobs on European job sites? Will they even consider me if I'm an American? What if I get a job and my wife goes over with me? How hard would it be for her to get a job? Same situation?
How do I find American companies that will send me to Europe right off the bat? |
10-17-2005, 03:09 PM | #20 |
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Any ideas?
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10-17-2005, 03:17 PM | #21 | |
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Didnt know you were an ex pat. |
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10-17-2005, 03:19 PM | #22 | |
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You got into London School Of Economics??!! Dude congratulations!! I had heard that was incredibly hard to do. |
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10-17-2005, 03:26 PM | #23 |
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Doesn't have to be England, but interested in working in Europe. England would just be the easiest. I'm relying on OTs' worldliness here, because searching google has done very little for me.
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10-17-2005, 03:26 PM | #24 |
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CWB - What exactly do you do within IT? What are your qualifications? What kind of responsibilty do you want and where other than London would you consider living? Try calling The Boots Company. One of the big pharmacutical companies. Ford? They are in Luton which is near London. Finance/insurance companies. Call them up see if they have a foreign hiring policy.
Britian is 5 hours ahead of EST. I found/called Lianne Cooney, she no longer does personal immigation law. She was hired by a company and does inter-company global immigration or something. |
10-17-2005, 03:29 PM | #25 |
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I do systems administration, but just got my CCA (citrix) and am working on CCEA and CCIA. I know Citrix is big in Europe, so I figured between now and next summer I can be an expert in Citrix and be a desirable candidate. I am an MCSE: Security now.
By next summer, I will have 5 years of experience, 3 of which is consulting and systems administration with Microsoft, Cisco, CA, Veritas, Citrix. I'd actually like to avoid London if possible due to cost. I never wanted to live in NYC, and therefore would not want to live in London. I will go anywhere that language is not a serious issue, I speak English obviously. |
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