What is better?
Shoot out your ideas/comments in terms of:
1-Career Opportunities
2-Money
3-Lifestyle
4-Starting your own business
Re: US or UK???
Uk is crap. Cold, wet, no jobs at all, cost of living is crazy. I am only here as I havent had a chance to move yet.
ps: I was born here, so am not an "ungreatful immigrant".
Re: US or UK???
ps: I was born here, so am not an "ungreatful immigrant".
US is hell now after 9/11
you just dont know when someone will send you to jail for no reason and they will dig up something to put you away for a long time
if you are muslim then forget about getting a good job
there are for many jobs for muslims at Gas stations or Burger king or you can always drive a Taxi
I have been living here for 16 years and I wish I can move out of here soon
Re: US or UK???
1-Plenty provided you are WILLING to work. A lot of pakis complain about lack of employment etc.. it's usually because they want their dream job after graduation. If you have the skills, ambition you can get a good career
2- Everything is fairly expensive. Having said that £25k outside london will let you do most things comfortably.
3-I dont particularly like the lifestyle. Plenty of hard work with less play. Traditional evening is out in the pub. I usually end up watching TV or something as lack of things to do, unlike Pakistan.
4- Can be done if you want. Not much bureaucracy but businessmen will always complain about the paperwork. Tax's are fairly high compared to US, PK. Compared to rest of Europe lower.
Re: US or UK???
Shoot out your ideas/comments in terms of: 1-Career Opportunities 2-Money 3-Lifestyle 4-Starting your own business
I have been to the US only once, and for me them 5 days opened up my eyes, and made me appreciate how good the UK really is! US might be a super-power, but for muslims its just kinda crap...
Percentage-wise the muslim population in UK is far greater than the US, and as such we probably are more part of the country than the muslims in US.
1) Educated young pakistani muslims are a force to be reckoned with in the UK...it's good to see us guys taking a vital role in the economy
2) Cost of living is high in London....but theres a whole lot more to the UK than just it's capital city.
3)For me the lifestyle of muslim pakis in the UK...is second to none. If you wanna make something of yourself u can do, but not at the expense of selling ur ass out to the goray!
4)Business-wise. record numbers of asian entrepreneurs!
ENOUGH SAID....
....
yeah the US might have Angelina Jolie, and so what if they got florida.....but dont forget, we got the tellytubbies and blackpool beach!
Re: US or UK???
^ don't 4get the tweenies
and alum rock road
Re: US or UK???
I went to the u.k 2 years ago to see if i can settle there since the immigration laws implemented in america after 9/11 made it difficult for me to go back there.I think u.k sucks big time.especially london,people there are rude as hell and its too goddamn expensive with not too many opportunites around to make good money.i'll take america over u.k anytime.
Re: US or UK???
nah man...america is full of pretentious gits! with the UK u get what u see....in the USA everything is sugar-coated but in reality its all bull****!
Ur mistake- that u went to London and not any of the other hundereds of british towns or cities!
London is considered the Capital of the Western world, bound to be expensive....now come on...u werent expecting a bottle of coke to be 10Rupees were u???
Re: US or UK???
^well its the second most expensive city in the world.but its not just that,my main problem was with the people,i found them to be very uptight,i've never seen people so arrogant anywhere in my life not even in pakistan.
Re: US or UK???
London is ****e I hate it. Much better up north.
Re: US or UK???
again
my advise
if you can avoid US do it
you will thank me some time
Re: US or UK???
Career- I would not mind living or working in either country. Everyone that I know who has the right qualifications and experience is doing well whichever country they are in. There are pros and cons of both, but I believe in the end it is down to preferences.
Money- depends on the field you are in. docs make a helluva lot more here than they do in UK ( too much more in my opinion which has all kinds of issues with our hralth care system but thats a whole diff issue). tax rates are high in Uk, but dont be under a false assumption that taxes in US are low, depending on how much you make you can pay a lot of tax, and hopefully u dont get hit by AMT. Also when you start looking at real estate taxes etc, you get a real idea of tax situation here as well.
Lifestyle- As a londonr I prefer the lifestyle there, but at the same time its not as big of a deal if you are living in a large city in US.
Starting own business- again I dont see a huge difference. I know ppl who have done vry well in Uk running businesses ranging from IT services to recruitment offices, and I know ppl who ahve done very well in the US. I also know ppl who have set up restaurants here and those who have done the same in UK.
Re: US or UK???
I personally would rather be in Lahore, Islamabad than London or New York regardless. Bottom line is money can not buy you happiness. Much prefer the lifestyle available in PK. Although I do understand why some people want to leave.
Re: US or UK???
Grass is always greener on the other side ... everything has its ups and downs.
The determined ones can make it where ever they are.
Re: US or UK???
Usually most articles I have read site that US regulations are easier for people who want to start their own business than anywhere in Europe. But I believe it is different state by state in the US.
As far as money goes, I have to say that US citizens get to keep more of their money than Europeans, even if they make the same. This is good for those who spend wisely and bad for those who can't.
If I could change one thing in US with a magic wand it will be the health care system.
Re: US or UK???
..or lack thereof
plus better public transport
Re: US or UK???
What ...do you live here in the US or what....? your experience is extremely surprising...
I have been here for 10 years now, no problems...Alhamdolillah...yes after 911 ppl have been injected with rubbish on the tube....but Alhamdolillah no problems with jobs, or discrimination any where...
where u getting this from ?...
I left for pakistan, came back ridiculed by fellow pakis for being a practicing muslim, and here in the US the goras gave me a job in my own engineering field again, respected my right to pray five times, gave me a day off for Friday prayers, printed my article on Ramadhan in the office newletter, brought in non-meat food for me to eat with them, defended me when some one in the facility where I work displayed something offensive and made them take it down
where as in the uk after 7/7 and even before the racism of the real goras of england is a shame.
Re: US or UK???
ahmadjee bought up a great point. Healthcare is a major issue in US. Even when you have health insurance, it does cap out very fast if you run into major health issues. And unfortunately you cannot qualify for goverment healthcare until you have sold off all your assests and have gone bankcrupt.
In comaprison to US, in UK healthcare professionals do not make lot of money. The do it for the love of profession. And even thou the UK system is overburdened it does work and provides in all circumtances. A friend of mine in UK is going through hard times and doctor and nurses have visited her at home. If the same case was in US, they would have first ask for insurance and then told you to call 911, i.e. emergency.
Re: US or UK???
Thanks everyone for your comments!
When you say that UK has high taxes, what do you mean? Can you quantify or give an example? Say your salary is between 30-50K pounds, how much would you pay in taxes? What about 50-80K pounds?
Also, while we are talking about salary, how much would you say you'd need to earn to live decently in UK (London)? (decently=not have to worry about what you buy when you go grocery shopping, and be able to have an apt in a safe and pretty area)
Are salaries in UK quoted before or after tax?
Re: US or UK???
Shaulabar,
Doing a bit of research online I found out that in UK people earning between £2,151 - £33,300 (approx $62,000) pay 22% in tax and anyone earning above that amount pay 40% income taxes.
Compared to US a single person earning less than $31K a year pay 15% Federal income tax. And the tax rate it 25% for the bracket $30k to $74k (note its higher than UK) , 28% for 74K-158K, 33% for bracket 158K - 336K and 35% on anything above 336K.
Obviously rich people want to live in US and the middle class suffers.
But please bear in mind that this is just income taxes, state taxes in US differ from state to state and then we also have Medicare & Social Security taxes that I don't know how are handled in the UK. And the broader cost of living includes sale tax, property price and tax etc.
In US all salaries are quoted pre-tax.