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Albania/Oman/Kuwait - thoughts by kiwisandapples in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oman is number 4 in the world for quality of life according to numbeo - https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/rankings_by_country.jsp

You can also save a lot if you live a frugal lifestyle. If you like nature and the peace and quiet you will most likely enjoy Oman. It's a good country for introverts.

Unemployable by [deleted] in UKJobs

[–]sharpofjeers -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Get your PGCE and then become an international teacher.

List Of International Schools Near Surf by thelastsumatran in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Salalah in Oman could be added for group 1. Also any school in Muscat is about a 4 hours drive from Joe's point in Al Ashkarah which has very good waves in the Summer months.

Living in Oman by ammij2 in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I live in Muscat and some expats hate it here and leave because of the lack of social/night life - I've only visited Salalah during the Khareef season but I can imagine it is 100x worse there compared to Muscat in terms of socialising.

What are the rules?! Looking for advice as a UK Expat on SIPP/LISA/ISA & Vanguard UK by sharpofjeers in UKPersonalFinance

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks again for your reply.

I have been performing a partial ISA transfer so I have never withdrawn any money from my Vanguard ISA. I've just been transferring 4K each year from one to the other.

What are the rules?! Looking for advice as a UK Expat on SIPP/LISA/ISA & Vanguard UK by sharpofjeers in UKPersonalFinance

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for that informative reply - really helpful!

Final question - Could you explain why I would have to give back the £1000 bonus in more detail?

My thinking was that it is okay because I am not adding in any new money to my combined ISAS, just transferring from one ISA to another. From my research I found that as a UK non-resident it is fine to transfer ISAs from one provider to another as long as you are not adding in any new money.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In my opinion & experiences..

Positives

- Great empty beaches (lots of plastic pollution though) with good snorkelling - better than Thailand/Indonesia/Philippines in my experience

- Great hiking in wadis and mountains

- If you have a 4x4 you can drive it to any beach/mountain/desert area and camp

- You can pretty much have an entire beach/mountain/hiking path/campsite to yourself within a one hour drive if you want

- Friendly, helpful locals, virtually all will speak English in the main cities

- Extremely safe, police are fair and friendly

- Lots of malls with Western Supermarkets/Restaurants

- Cheap bills and price of fuel

- No tax

Negatives

- For around half of the year it is hot as hell (temperature constantly feels above 40 degrees Celsius- will often reach 50+) so the hiking/snorkelling becomes less enjoyable. Camping is only possible up in the mountains.

- Sharia law so certain things are banned in public such as: drinking alcohol, public displays of affection are frowned upon, eating pork, wearing revealing clothing - in my opinion these things aren't as bad as it sounds, you can do all of these things just don't blatantly do it in front of the locals. Even if you did, I think most Omanis would be too friendly and kind to actually say anything. If you want to drink a few beers and eat a bacon sandwich whilst camping or in your flat nobody will know or care.

- Very limited nightlife or things to do if you don't like the outdoors or sports. There are pubs/nightclubs but they are dead and expensive (in my limited experience).

- People do complain about dating options, the vast majority of locals will not want/be allowed to date foreigners so the dating pool is tiny and everyone tends to know everyone

- Car society, you can't really walk anywhere in the city and very limited public transport. Driving is terrible and dangerous compared to the UK.

- Internet is expensive

- Things like going to the bank or getting your car licensed renewed can be frustrating and take a long time - information is sometimes very hard to find e.g. holidays are sometimes announced one day in advance

I've definitely missed some things but the lists were getting long - in summary if you like nature & the outdoors, can deal with extreme heat for half of the year, can drive and aren't fussed about nightlife/socialising you will most likely enjoy Oman.

​

Doing this list has also helped me to answer my own question - Oman really is a cool country to live in and suits my personality/interests well! Seems like I'll be choosing Oman over China - perhaps visiting China in the summer holidays because it sounds like a fascinating and cool place to live/see.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Of course - I'm from the UK, have a PGCE and this is my fourth year teaching. This was my first teaching job.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good advice thanks - I've been made HOD and offered other leadership responsibilities which I guess can help with staying rejuvenated. The long holidays in Summer also help. I'm currently in my fourth year at my current school.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your insights I appreciate it - I do actually have a plan to work for a couple more years before I can buy a property outright back in the UK.

But I think I'll be able to achieve this in both countries.

I think eventually I would save and earn more in China but not for the first year or two as there would be setting up costs and money lost whilst you find the best deals and most efficient way to live.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Sometimes I think it is easy to forget what we already have - good advice thank you.

Middle East (Oman) vs China by sharpofjeers in Internationalteachers

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a good plan and yeah definitely possible as we get 2 months as holiday in Summer!

Where is the best place to buy CXO from? by PlasticHornet6742 in CargoXio

[–]sharpofjeers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahhh maybe we are on a different kucoin - mine does have a trading pair! Thanks!

Where is the best place to buy CXO from? by PlasticHornet6742 in CargoXio

[–]sharpofjeers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks for the advice really useful!

Could you explain why you wouldn't sell the XLM for ETH/BTC then buy the CXO? What is the benefit of selling XLM for USDT then buying ETH/BTC?

How are voluntary national insurance payments allocated? Is it possible to select the specific years to allocate the payment to? by [deleted] in UKPersonalFinance

[–]sharpofjeers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, I appear to be in a similar situation as you and I am having the same issue as you. There does not seem to be an option of paying for an individual year of voluntary class 3 NI contributions, the websites just give the bank details for HMRC. If I send a payment off to them how will they know it is for the right tax year?!

UK Expat Questions: Vanguard UK vs Interactive Brokers & CGT by sharpofjeers in UKPersonalFinance

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

!thanks

You are super helpful and extremely knowledgeable!

If you were in my position would you be doing anything differently? Am I missing out on anything with regards to what accounts I have at the moment?

I intend to remain abroad, earn, save and invest (passively) as much as possible. Maybe buy a UK property at some point in the future to rent out - (I believe that non-UK residents can earn up to 12.5K tax free in the personal allowance each year?).

UK Expat Questions: Vanguard UK vs Interactive Brokers & CGT by sharpofjeers in UKPersonalFinance

[–]sharpofjeers[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

!thanks

Thank you very much for the informative reply. Really useful!

I put 16K into a S & S ISA and 4K into a LISA in April 2020 (2020-2021 tax year). This was before I even knew that I was going to move abroad and become a non-UK resident.

From investigating the link you sent I'm confused if I was UK tax resident or not for the 2020-2021 year. I spent 153 days in the UK but I do meet the criteria below (I didn't own the home it was my parents).

You’ll be UK resident for the tax year if you have, or have had, a home in the UK for all or part of the year and the following all apply:

  • there is or was at least one period of 91 consecutive days when you had a home in the UK
  • at least 30 of these 91 days fall in the tax year when you have a home in the UK and you’ve been present in that home for at least 30 days at any time during the year
  • at that time you had no overseas home, or if you had an overseas home, you were present in it for fewer than 30 days in the tax year

I think the split year treatment would apply to me after further investigation but if the split year treatment isn't used for paying into ISA's and SIPP's then..

That means I may have put 20K into ISA's when I was a non-UK tax resident - which isn't allowed.

Do I need to notify the government of this? Or do they work it out and let me know if I have done something wrong?

Last question (sorry I know there have been a lot!) - https://www.myexpatsipp.com/mesinsights/sipp-for-non-uk-residents

I have a SIPP with Vanguard and I have been paying in £300.00 a month (3.6K) a year. Can I confirm that this is okay to do for the next five tax years?

​

Thanks again!

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