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It's not the first time the thought comes to mind, and there's many reasons for it - As most of you know, I'm Portuguese, and despite the great culture, people and history we live in a shithole economy with over 40% youth unemployment according to some statistics - Minimum wage is stupidly low for the cost of living (even if the cost of living is low as well) and I basically need to work 8 hours a day 6 days a week to be able to barely survive, not to mention our successive governments have been successfully increasing prices and goods that were once considered first need are now luxury products. I'm trying to take a degree in Law, but even so most degrees are basically useless because there's too many people finishing them and most will be underemployed which is bad as well, not to mention the fact some employers don't hire bachelors/people with degrees for jobs that are lower paid (like working in a supermarket)
Oh, and most employment contracts for young people like me are temporary, meaning I need to submit myself to a shitty schedule and work for some time without knowing when I will be fired but knowing I will be and I'll be back to the same shitty hellhole.
I have some relatives and friends who work abroad as immigrants and sometimes come back home on vacation, most on France, a few on the UK and Switzerland - Those seem to be the most common destinations for Portuguese people who want to immigrant, and it works well for them - In France, many immigrants do jobs like cleaning people's houses that pay quite decently - My girlfriend's biological parents are uneducated and cant' do a lot of things, in France her mom works as a maid and her stepdad as a construction worker, they earn far better than here and have better living conditions, they even got a nice BMW truck.
I'm not a fool, and I know immigration is not a ticket to paradise or anything, but right now I'm just looking for something to change the pace and that pays off decently, just enough to live and enjoy the casual beer. The place I would most likely go is the UK because I have a friend in London and they speak English, which is a huge advantage because, without meaning offence, I've always hated learning French at school and never quite got into it - My dad lived in France for 5 years and while he integrated later he had bad experiences in the beginning because French people sometimes see Portuguese immigrants as rednecks and discriminate against them.
Brits, how is life in Britain right now, and in London if someone can fill me in? Do Brits treat Portuguese immigrants well? How much quality does a lower paying job allow people to have?
That's a brave move. More power to you! If I were you, I'd do it quickly before the Conservative government change the immigration rules or opt out of the EU. They plan to make things far more difficult for prospective immigrants.
Generally, life in the UK's not too bad. We're a tolerant nation with a broad range of immigrants from all over the world. The National Health Service is taking a hammering at the moment but is still one of the best in the world. Likewise, the education system is becoming more expensive to the user but still ranks pretty highly. 'Austerity politics' is reducing earnings in the lower-paid demographics while simultaneously driving up the cost of living. There's been a bit of a swing to the political right in recent years, largely driven by misrepresentation of immigrants (some political parties are using them as scapegoats for our financial troubles ) . As mentioned by Tubby, the cost of housing is forced up by a major shortage across the country; you'd need to make sure you secure accommodation before you move and beware of dodgy landlords. London's the most expensive place in the UK. My neck of the woods (Norwich, Norfolk) has the 2nd highest concentration of Portuguese people (~15,000), has the benefits of high employment, good wages (3rd highest average disposable income per household in the UK!), low crime, good schools/universities, friendly people, good social life but suffers from high rents (nearly as high as London), poor public transport, a detached County Council and is 2 hours from London (that's a loooong time on our trains!).
) . As mentioned by Tubby, the cost of housing is forced up by a major shortage across the country; you'd need to make sure you secure accommodation before you move and beware of dodgy landlords. London's the most expensive place in the UK. My neck of the woods (Norwich, Norfolk) has the 2nd highest concentration of Portuguese people (~15,000), has the benefits of high employment, good wages (3rd highest average disposable income per household in the UK!), low crime, good schools/universities, friendly people, good social life but suffers from high rents (nearly as high as London), poor public transport, a detached County Council and is 2 hours from London (that's a loooong time on our trains!).
