[Akwesi]

On housing costs in Scandinavia: they may be significantly lower in a couple of years as there are indications that the real estate bubble is about to burst in both Sweden and Norway (and especially Stockholm/Oslo). At least currency traders are very bearish on both countries, apparently for this reason.

[NapoleonDynamighty]

Thankss all!

So going by your suggestions if I look at the british Isles outside of London which city would be most interesting in terms of rent/salary and also creative and big enough to find some work shooting some events or music videos with smaller artists? I know Manchester springs to mind for its music scene or Dublin maybe?. Any one with first hand experience?

[JWLZG]

(12-26-2017 06:09 PM)sonderho Wrote:  

(12-25-2017 02:51 PM)The Catalyst Wrote:  

(12-25-2017 07:06 AM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

I also realised how good I had it travelling around continental Europe where birds flocked towards me and found me exotic as opposed to loud, chavy trashy below average birds with attitudes in UK.

Please don't come to Aus/NZ.

Seconded

I'm going to go against the grain here and actually say that Australia might work for you with the following conditions:
1) You're a (presumably extroverted, above-average-looking) English dude of colour. The stereotype is true. Australian girls are prey for English accents. Especially coming from minority dudes. That novelty will go far here.
2) You're going to use bar work to set yourself up. Dead easy to make friends in that line of work, local ones too.

Our cities vary wildly though; my hometown, Melbourne, has a very thriving creative arts scene — with probably a similar level of pretentiousness as Berlin — if you're cool with the shite weather, aren't a beach person, and can plough through Olympic-level attitude. It's also extremely international, so your exotic factor will only go so far, compared to somewhere like Hobart where you'll probably turn heads every couple hundred metres.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a habit with all those "Where should I go?" threads, but are you necessarily limited to these four countries? I'm in much the same situation as you (same age, even), and have cast a far wider net location-wise, but I've found that it hasn't really helped with choosing a destination.

[NapoleonDynamighty]

@JWLZG - Thanks for an objective POV.

I have not limited myself to those countries specifically but I am not 22 anymore so going to a country without speaking the language and taking up cleaning jobs while learning the language is going to be hard to adapt. I took a long hard look at the world map but language, visa and money making opportunities narrows down the selection immensely.

For an English speaker I can find odd jobs easily in Canada and OZ/NZ. But I can't move to Amsterdam or Stockholm expecting the same, their locals speak English perfect and also the local language. Why should they hire a Bartender or a service industry guy who don't speak their language and for whom it's going to take atleast 3 years to be perfectly fluent with the lingo. Same goes for every other country outside of the Anglosphere.

Australia's visa policies are strict and one must do 3 months of farm work just to be able to stay 2 years on a working holiday and one must not work for more than 6 months with one employer. That's major restrictions. So Canada is the only realistic option out there where with a commonwealth passport one can get a 2 year work permit no restrictions and thereafter plenty possibilities to extend the stay and get a permanent residency.

My only other choice is to use my field of skill and expertise (video+editing) to find a job within Europe where I wouldn't need a Visa and my skill would compensate for the language. I have been pursuing that route and maybe something can pop up in one of the Western European countries while I wait for my Canadian working holiday visa.

I would dearly love to be in a country with better weather than Canada but again taking a look at the atlas countries with good weather do not have money (outside of the Middle East and who wants to go there) and countries with money do not have great weather.

Which explains why majority of the forum members are location independent where they can have the highest quality of life, weather, poosay and flexibility. I would look to make progress, savings and savvy investments in the next 5/6 years so that hopefully in my mid to late 30s I can achieve the best of both worlds and maybe that's when I'd need it most.

[seaofp]

(12-28-2017 12:09 PM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

Thankss all!

So going by your suggestions if I look at the british Isles outside of London which city would be most interesting in terms of rent/salary and also creative and big enough to find some work shooting some events or music videos with smaller artists? I know Manchester springs to mind for its music scene or Dublin maybe?. Any one with first hand experience?

Bristol?

[JWLZG]

(01-14-2018 01:59 PM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

For an English speaker I can find odd jobs easily in Canada and OZ/NZ. But I can't move to Amsterdam or Stockholm expecting the same, their locals speak English perfect and also the local language. Why should they hire a Bartender or a service industry guy who don't speak their language and for whom it's going to take atleast 3 years to be perfectly fluent with the lingo. Same goes for every other country outside of the Anglosphere.

As I've had a large invested interest in moving to that region, I'd come to the conclusion that language immersion in Scandinavia — less so the Netherlands as I've found them to be less proficient in it — is going to be an extremely uphill battle owing to the fact that practically every Scandinavian under 60 speaks fluent English. Unlike day-to-day local interaction in 2nd + tier cities in any other European country — even Germany. I'm not speaking from experience though and I could be utterly wrong.

FWIW, someone posted in my hometown's bartender recruitment FB group looking for bar staff in Bergen, and he wasn't requiring Norwegian language proficiency. PM me and I can send you the link.

Doing bar work at a European party island over the summer is something I'd have done at 23, but at my age, I'd be concerned about the pay.

(01-14-2018 01:59 PM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

Australia's visa policies are strict and one must do 3 months of farm work just to be able to stay 2 years on a working holiday and one must not work for more than 6 months with one employer. That's major restrictions. So Canada is the only realistic option out there where with a commonwealth passport one can get a 2 year work permit no restrictions and thereafter plenty possibilities to extend the stay and get a permanent residency.

I know about the farm work requirement. Farmers in Australia are very well aware of this and I reckon if not for backpackers, the farming industry would've died in the arse long ago lol. That and the 6-month employer restriction theoretically makes local employees a more eligible but fields like hospitality (where 80% of backpackers end up working in) have such high turnover that it really doesn't turn them. Not trying to paint it all rosily but our visa restrictions aren't as brutal as they seem.

I'd recommend thinking outside the box and looking for bar work and such outside the capitals. Those sorts of regional towns tend to have trouble with retention and I've seen them repeatedly pop up on Gumtree and FB. PM me for details.

(01-14-2018 01:59 PM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

My only other choice is to use my field of skill and expertise (video+editing) to find a job within Europe where I wouldn't need a Visa and my skill would compensate for the language. I have been pursuing that route and maybe something can pop up in one of the Western European countries while I wait for my Canadian working holiday visa.

Classmate of mine from uni recently did something like that over in Amsterdam as a foot in the door to working in Europe. Doesn't speak a lick of Dutch as far as I know.

(01-14-2018 01:59 PM)NapoleonDynamighty Wrote:  

I would dearly love to be in a country with better weather than Canada but again taking a look at the atlas countries with good weather do not have money (outside of the Middle East and who wants to go there) and countries with money do not have great weather.

A country with a strong minimum wage would be your best bet, which pretty much leaves Australia, Switzerland, and Norway. New Zealand is an option but there's a reason why so many Kiwis come to to Oz haha