Thinking of Relocating

[AppleCrumble]

[Stoneburg]

I would guess the median standard of living is somewhat higher than England. Less poverty, but also less filthy rich people.

Cost of living
Food is probably the same price, alcohol is a bit more expensive due to higher taxation and the gvt monopoly.

Rent is a lot cheaper and it's pretty easy to find a place to live unless you want to live in Stockholm, which I don't recommend anyway.

Since you're an EU citizen you will have no problem renting, it's easy to get a place to live.

Gambling is taxable IF the site is based outside EU. If it is inside it is a bit murky, at the moment people don't pay taxes for it. If you play on the gvt site it's tax free and the rake is only 2.5% so no reason to play anywhere else really.

Education is good and free. The common teaching methods and structure is a lot less strict than in England. No school uniforms and stuff like that. There are public schools (actually meaning public, not private) and "free schools" who are not run by the gvt and make up about 10% of the total.

[Kuso]

grab your drink of choice and prepare for a long read. I really don't see how any young internet poker player with wanderlust could not go to thailand.

here 's degen's blog with some more interesting info:

http://grindblog.blogspot.com/


iirc, $2500 per month buys you a pretty good lifestyle in Bangkok -- eating out all the time, partying often, lots of sex, 2br apt with hardwood floors in a secure building, live-in maid (yes... that's what i said... maybe she cooks, too), fast internet connection, etc.

[Molina]

This guys British, plays poker online and lives in Thailand. Very cheap. Military coups prevalent

http://sherwoodpoker.blogspot.com/

[Johnny Hughes]

[AppleCrumble]

[Stoneburg]

City: Norrköping (Sweden)

Avg wage: Unqualified lowpaying job ~£1100/month, normal job £1400-1800, qualified job £2000+

Avg rent: I pay ~£330/mont for my rented apartment. It's two rooms + kitchen, at 750 square feet. It's very centrally located in a decent area. It's about the average rent. I used to live in a studio apartment about 420 square feet, that cost ~£180/month.

Utilities: Being pretty socialist as a country, there's historically been a great focus on public transportation etc. In general, it's very well organised and safe. There are a lot of rules, regulations and standards for entrepeneurs to live up to. Everyone has access to broadband. Medicine is socialized so you only pay a small fee to see a doctor, dental care however can get expensive.

Pint of beer: Alcohol is expensive in Sweden and the gvt has a monopoly. At a reasonable bar a pint will cost £3-4, if you buy it in the gvt store you'll pay ~£0.8-1. A bottle of whiskey is about £15 in the store. On the plus side the gvt company is the largest single purchaser of alcohol in the world so their sortiment is incredible.

Avg shopping: Wtf? Eh... a good pair of brand jeans are like £50-100 if that's any indication.

[AppleCrumble]

Avg unskilled job In my town pays maybe £800
2 bed place = £600.

Crazy.

[excession]

[GodlikeRoy]

[NorthView]

[GodlikeRoy]

City: Brisbane (Australia)

Avg wage: The avg. wage? In Australia I think it's probably around $30k/year.

Avg rent: You can find a very nice, large house in safe and affluent neighbourhood for $300-$400/wk. I'm thinking 3 bedroom/2 bathroom, family room, dining room, kitchen, front and back garden, maybe a pool. If you move slightly further away from the city (say 30mins) you can probably get better places/prices.

Utilities: There's a good public transport system, you can get around pretty much anywhere. The education system is also quite good imo in both public and private schools. Having just come out of school (private) I can say we take a fairly laid back approach and the teachers teach students to think for themselves, skills outside of just what comes out of a textbook, and we have excellent extra-curricular activies (sport is huge in Australia). There's a slight water crisis atm and they have water restrictions in place but they're working to remedy this.

Pint of beer: It's a lot cheaper here than there. I don't drink much beer and I don't go out a lot, but my guess is $2-3. Spirits are usually $5-6.

Avg shopping: Yeah I dunno how to answer this. Can you be more specific?

Is gambling income taxable? Murky waters, I don't know the exact law. I *think* it's non-taxable as long as it isn't your primary source of income, but don't hold me to that. I'm going to see an accountant about this in the next few weeks so if you'd like I can get back to you.

Is it Ok/easy for foreign nationals to rent own property? I'm not sure, sorry. I don't see why it would be a problem though.

[AppleCrumble]

[NorthView]

Seriously, the obvious place for you to go is Eastern Europe. Cost of living is ultra cheap, English is a sought after language, entry is simple if you choose an EU state, and you're only a couple of hours away.

My sister lives in the Czech Republic and they're quite happy. Stay away from Oz unless you're a redneck.

[GodlikeRoy]

Actually no those prices are in $AUD. $1 USD is about $1.30 AUD I think, so it's cheaper than you thought.

The daily newspaper is $1, a chocolate bar from a grocery store is about $1.20, not sure about washing powder. I actually don't really do much shopping so i'm probably little help in that regard, just assume that it's cheaper than the UK.