Emigrating: London to BA - Econ forecasts & positive stories?

[Bond0023]

Hi - Id really welcome some advise here. My wife and are are looking to emigrate from the UK to set up a business here in BA. Fed up of the UK, the weather, the moaning, the political situation, stealth taxes etc. Does anyone have any decent links on economic (inc inflation) forecasts, tax-related items etc.
With property buying I have heard a mass of negative comments ¨dont do it, there is almost no captial growth in property ...¨ or ¨the cost of transaction, taxes and exit fees dont make it a worthwhile investment: dont bother¨ and also¨there are lots of hidden costs, derived fees, maintenance etc¨ ..... on this note, has any got any data or details to back such comments up?
Also, the majority of feedback I read here is negative: has anyone got any positive comments and success stories to share?
Thanks!

 

[bigbadwolf]

If you're in London, there's a business library near Barbican, accessible free of charge (or used to be). There you can find the The Economist country reports, which come out quarterly, and are produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit:
http://www.eiu.com/index.asp?rf=0
Phone the library first to see whether they still subscribe to these country reports. These reports are of remarkably high quality and often give insider information.Other than this -- *shrug* -- I can only recommend this site. Argentina is a tricky place, where even its rich assiduously salt their money abroad -- such little faith have they in the place. Don't blame you for wanting to leave Old Blighty, though. Just make sure you don't jump from the frying pan and into the fire. Pay the place a lengthy visit first, see if you and Argentina can get along. You'll have committed no more than some time and a few thousand pounds in travel and living expenses.

 

[Bond0023]

Thanks Wolf. I have actually been living in Buenos Aires for the past 3 months (I wonder if I can access those reports online?), I feel I need some more time to assess the risks a bit more, before making this massive decision. My wife is a much more keen to make the move.

 

[bigbadwolf]

With some diffidence, I'd recommend you speak to Paul Ghidossi. You can find his website here:
http://www.hereicomeargentina.com/
For what it's worth, I'll vouch for his integrity. He used to post on this site a while back. He knows the ins and outs of Argentina. And the people he knows are similarly reliable. He may charge for his services. But it would be money well spent. He's been useful to me in the past.

 

[Ashley]

I also moved from Blighty to BA a few years ago and certainly haven't looked back. However, I may soon be looking for pastures new.I'm no economist, but please do a lot of reading up before you make your move, especially if you're going to be investing in the country...You may have missed the boat.Rumours about another economic crisis are pretty rife at the moment and you might be wise to keep you £'s in £'s. Also, if its quality of life you're after (which prompted my move)...it reached a peak here a while ago and has been declining for way over a year and has been slumping dramatically recently: Prices are going up. I don't find supermarket shopping considerably cheaper than the UK anymore and what I'm getting for my money here (fatty meat, grotty veg and NO variety) doesn't compare with elsewhere. I'm kind of hoping that things will repair themselves but even though I absolutely adore Buenos Aires, I don't think now is the time to recommend a move over here to anyone...

 

[ronnyjob]

HiFirst off, ignore the negative comments here. Although its much more human to complain than praise its a real shame because it presents an unrepresentative picture of life here. I moved from london a month back, been planning my move here for a year. Girlfriend is joining me in another month. I have two good friends here who moved here several years ago. Both own property, and paid around $100k aounrd a year ago, and got a lot for their money. Buying can be a nightmare by all accounts - incredibly stressful and if you are looking to make money I would seriously reconsider, as its not that straightforward. I'm most likely going to be here for 2-3 years, and after much consideration and advice from realtors, friends and colleagues I elected not to buy, simply because it was going to create a world of problems finding, securing, arranging and buying a property, and I was then going to have to go through another host of problems when I wanted to leave. Unless you are committing to live here for the long term (as both my friends have done, both are settled pretty much permanently) it could be a costly mistake. I'd put a lot of thought into whether or not you need to buy a place, but have ultimately decided to rent. You can rent a beautiful apartment in a great location on a 2 year lease at a very attractive rate, furnish it and make it your home, and if in two years you decide you are going to stay you can look at buying then. Before I moved I was looking at remortgaging my home in london and taking equity out to buy somewhere, assuming it was the best plan of attack but its more complicated than I first thought. Even if you make money in a strong housing market, you may find you lose money overall due to various laws, taxes, regulatory requirements etc etc. As for inflation/quality of life etc I understand that prices have gone up considerably recently and thats made BA a lot less attractive to people who were cashing in on strong dollar/euro/pound. Prices are definitely going up. Main thing to consider is if you are going to earn enough to have the quality of life you need. Prices can be 3 times cheaper than in the UK, but then wages are much lower. Depends what currency and how much you earn.Best of luck mate, hope everything works outj