Back in the UK and fish and chips are now approaching a tenner, when I left it was just over a fiver. Fuel prices are expectantly high but second hand cars seem to be cheaper than ever. House prices considering there was a bubble burst doesn't seem to have made any difference its still about the same prices of 2007 when I left. Getting a job took the same time scale as usual thankfully back in work and just waiting for contracts, start date and my car. Food was like Christmas going into a supermarket after so much of it missing in the Philippines. But besides that everything seems pretty normal besides the 6 degrees in temperature and people complaining they are more broke than usual. How did you find the UK coming back? But also how has your partner found the UK.
Don't know which chippy you're going to but when we left in October I could get 2 haddock, 2 sausage and small chips for just under a tenner. When I went to try to sell my car (2002 Alfa 156 2.0l petrol if anyone is interested) I was told a lot of people where trying to sell their cars. No-one was looking at petrol cars, everyone want diesel. Fine if you do a lot of miles but if you do about 12000 a year I think you're better off with petrol. House prices (around me) peaked in 2007-8 and then stalled, dropped by maybe 5-10% and now slowly starting to increase. Forecast for my area is 8%pa. Nice one on the job front. There is so much I miss food and drink wise already out here. I honestly think the standard of living food and drink wise is a lot higher in the uk, even more so taking into account the exchange rate, rise in prices here in the PI. It is not the cheap option it once was and though the selection that you can now get has improved dramaticly here it is still now where near the UK. I'd always prefer to pay slightly more and have the vast choice that you have in the UK. God I feel hungry now.
Chippy is £7.80 for fish and chips in Worcester. Car wise I am normally covered by either a company vehicle or paid miles, beyond that I normally walk. Not tight but I am either working behind a desk, driving or on site so walking to the corner shop or town saves me a fiver on parking (town) as well as my 30mins exercise a day. Food and drink is miles better than the Philippines a cheap bottle of wine in the UK tasted a lot better than some of the expensive stuff I had in Cebu. I don't think it helps when they leave it in containers in heat. But also the only big cost I find in the UK is housing (rent/prices) everything else is on par with the Philippines. Although even buying in the Philippines is on par with UK except the build quality is 90% better in the UK.
I notice the price of fish and chips does indeed vary enormously around the UK. Cheap as chips in Manchester but not so in Aberdeen or here in the Isle of Man.
Matt, It looks like you missed the recession years. BTW would you care to explain why you decided to return to the UK? Please. Thanks.
Hmmm, not so sure I agree. 5 Million Pesos will buy you quite a nice place - particularly if you self-build - but I think you'd be hard pressed to be able to buy any property in the UK for the Sterling equivalent (£71,400).
Average 2 - 3 bed is £90k - £110k and its build quality will be much higher than the concrete structures in RP. If you take maintenance into account your going to need a lot less over the years than a Philippines property. A lot of it is due to access to standards e.g. Philippines doesn't seem to work to standards (even though it has them) on construction or fittings. So leaks happen more often and general repairs are pretty regular. On top of that if you took climate into account houses get battered in the Philippines which sees things fall apart more quickly.
Partly why i work in other locations than here..lol Worcester is overrated, over charging and stuck in the past. Always been the same here but can say the level of drug abuse has significantly increased year on year with a good council initiative to ignore the problem guarantees its not going to be on the road to recovery anytime soon. Not ranting about the place just that its a relatively expensive place to live considering there is nothing here become another studentville.
All this talk of fish n chips is making me hungry! (Hi all, newbie here!) I currently live in Japan, but my girlfriend is Filipina. We met whilst she was working here in Japan. She has since returned to the Philippines for family reasons (mum had a stroke) and for a Filipina who has been in Japan as long as she had, extending her visa again would be nigh-on impossible! But she does now want to move to the UK. So, am looking to return myself. I also want to apply to become a teacher. But like many things, applying for things seem to have got a lot harder since I left! And now I want fish n chips.
