vicade, you are online you just as I am. I dont understand what you mean by you can do 'Runs' with your own cash not have to use credit. It is a weird statement and not very clever, I'm sorry.

You dont have to take credit in the UK or Europe/US - it is there to help you fund businesses especially ones where you cannot afford to have the cash. Why do you the mega-rich even in Nigeria are the most indebted? You set a business with other people's money and if it goes bust, you dont always have to fork out all the money from your personal assets.

Anyway, your point is that you can do Runs easier in Nigeria. I presume to do Runs means to pull some fast money making schemes - not often above board? You sound like you have money so of course, Nigeria is good for you. ANd I agree with the social life but if you really have money in Europe, you can enjoy yourself and do businesses on an even larger scale.

vicade:

well i prefer nigeria as a better option simply because you can do some RUNS to earn extra money and you dont need credit for anything. You pay cash down so what you have is yours and no one can take it from you if u delay payment unlike the folks abroad.

And social life of naija especially Lagos is second to none. As for utility and Infrastructure, u sort yourself out et la BRT buses and Generators

now dats personal nobody force u to take credit its an option if u feel like it. so get dat right and for the social part of it trust me its uncountable if u want to go out from Thursday to Sunday the floor is yours

Funny topic; of course Nigerians abroad are better off than their home based counterparts for one simple reason, compared to Nigerians abroad, Nigerians at home do not have the same level of support to succeed in whatever you want to do. I came here with a marketing background. I was lucky to do what needed to be done to get a job that enabled me to train as an engineer, and still pay for college to study being an info system auditor. Do you know how expensive it is to go to college here? but the government paid for everything and gave me 2k allowance per month for four years and still paid my salary. Is there any institution or programme in Naija that will do that? Apart from the fact that almost nothing works in Nigeria, the govt is guilty of one very important thing, they kill dreams. Here you can do whatever you want to do so long as it is whithin the boudaries of the law. But lets get one thing straight. There is nothing like home. I miss home like crazy. The good thing about yankee is if you are smart and stay out of trouble, you can lay a solid foundation for yourself back home. Financialy, structurally, and career wise. This place just does not have the same feel as Naija.

aysometin:

I keep saying this:

What is my definition of a 'better life'??

A better life for me is a life of comfort with basic amenities/utilities of life, electricity, water, health care, good transport systems, good education etc

A life where I have the ability to meet most of my needs and still have some to save.( it's rare to have emergencies, I can plan)

A life where I don't have to derive an heart attack from the state of the nation and the greed of it's leaders. (Different negative stories everyday)

A life where my hardwork would lead to success and not via connection 'man know man'

A life where I don't have to sleep with one eye wide awake.

A life where i dont have to worry about accidental discharge from the police

A life where I don't have to spend countless hours of my time in traffic with fear of being attacked my hoodlums and robbers.

I could go on and on

I would rather live on the little I have here with peace of mind.

Money is not everything.

I'm 1010% with u

[/quote]
i guess this post might interest you just as it does to me, but honestly i am begining to wonder if its makes any sense to travel abroad in the guise of looking for greener pasture, or if, those that have gone are truly better than we here,
well, as you all know there is a mad rush for visa, and that has been going on for a while, the visa process is rigorous, expensive cos you have to tender a statement of account and at the end of the day after getting the visa and all of that, they go for year, between 5 to 10 years, and basically nothing to show for it, that thier nigerian counterpart here cannot achieve in nigeria
while over there, they shout, bills , and bills, and they have little to send home, schooling over there is ridiculusoly expensive, most people dont even venture into it, some that do, might be lucky, to get a job, but even at that, i dont see them beating a nigerian here with a good job home,
well honestly, i feel its only people with no hopes, in nigerian that should run to another man's land, i mean, no hope, ie, no qualification, nothing, because at the end of the day, it usually tougher than they anticipated,
just my personal view share your view, your friends, family member, neighbour, that were of the same level with you, that travel, five year, 10 years later are the really better than you,
i want to here your view fellow NL 
[quote]

Posts like this annoy me like crazy because they are just dumb. When you compare 2 things, you have to use the same freaking BASIS
How many of the so-called well to do Nigerians send money on a weekly basis to their family members back home
You are quick to say guys abroad have no money and are always complaining. THEY WOULD HAVE SOME MONEY IF YOU STOP REQUESTING FOR WESTERN UNION EVERYTIME. SHEESH.
The same Nigerians would claim that counterparts in Nigeria own homes and shit. Blatant lie. If you have a legitimate job in Nigeria(Lagos), it would take you at least 15yr to get a "decent" home in a "decent" place. THose people that buy homes in less than 3yrs are fraudulent.
You claim people abroad have nothing to show. Its called assets. They own homes that build up in value.
Until you use the same basis to compare you have no point.
Imagine someone living in surulere or some ridiculous area in Lagos claiming he/she is better off than someone abroad because you live in a disgusting house. If on the other hand, you own a home in Ikoyi or VGC, then you can compare yourself with someone who owns a home in Sugarland, TX. Only thing is, most of you in naija can not afford to live in VGC cos it would take you 30-40 yrs to accumulate the money to pay for "land" only in these areas. On the ohter hand, your counterpart abroad can get  a mortgage and live in a comfortable house and own it after 25-30yrs. Get the point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jay bee:

Like for like comparison for a family with 2 children

Nigeria:
Salary range: 7M - 10M per annum
Tax: =>1.5M per annum
Rent: Own home. if not, rent >500K per annum
Transportation: 2 cars+fuel+driver =>500K per annum
Cost of Food: => 200K per annum
Philanthropy: =>300K per annum
Thite: =>500k per annum
Security: Living in constant fear
Healthcare cost: =>100k per annum


UK
Salary range: 30K - 40K per annum
[size=14pt]Tax + NI contribution: => 7.5K per annum[/size]
Rent: Own home. => 7.2K per annum
Transportation: running cost for 2 cars = fuel+insurance+travel card => 5K per annum
Cost of Food: => 2.5K
Philanthropy: =>0.5K per annum
Thite: =>2k per annum
Security: Priceless
Healthcare cost: Free

living in Nigeria will probably leave more money in your pocket at the end of the year but a lot of people i know (me included) will choose the quality of life over money.
Another key thing is folks in naija generally work over 60hrs a week whereas we just work the mere 37hrs a week. So if u were to do the calculation of how much earned per HR , Uk folks will earn more per hr

Hmmn, my dear you pay more than £11,000k per annum combined on tax+NI on an income of £30,000 abi you Nigerians don find a way round this one again Abeg fill me in sharp sharp

A-TOWN


A BIG THANK YOU FROM ME.

Busy_body:




Hmmn, my dear you pay more than £11,000k per annum combined on tax+NI on an income of £30,000 abi you Nigerians don find a way round this one again Abeg fill me in sharp sharp

hahaha
here u go, salary calc

Salary: £
Monthly
Overtime: @
@
Pension: %
Age: Under 65


Yearly Monthly Weekly Daily*
Gross Income £30,000.00 £2,500.00 £576.92 £115.38
Pension Deductions £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00
Taxable Income £23,525.00 £1,960.42 £452.40 £90.48
Tax £4,705.00 £392.08 £90.48 £18.10
National Insurance £2,670.80 £222.57 £51.36 £10.27
Student Loan £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00
Take Home £22,624.20 £1,885.35 £435.08 £87.02
2008 values £22,507.60 £1,875.63 £432.84 £86.57


http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

Busy_body:




Hmmn, my dear you pay more than £11,000k per annum combined on tax+NI on an income of £30,000 abi you Nigerians don find a way round this one again Abeg fill me in sharp sharp

Haba, you wan collect all the salary finish!!! The maximum tax and NI you'll pay on a salary of £30k per annum is £9K.

jay bee:

hahaha
here u go, salary calc

Salary: £
Monthly
Overtime: @
@
Pension: %
Age: Under 65


Yearly Monthly Weekly Daily*
Gross Income £30,000.00 £2,500.00 £576.92 £115.38
Pension Deductions £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00
Taxable Income £23,525.00 £1,960.42 £452.40 £90.48
Tax £4,705.00 £392.08 £90.48 £18.10
National Insurance £2,670.80 £222.57 £51.36 £10.27
Student Loan £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00
Take Home £22,624.20 £1,885.35 £435.08 £87.02
2008 values £22,507.60 £1,875.63 £432.84 £86.57


http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

tos:

Haba, you wan collect all the salary finish!!! The maximum tax and NI you'll pay on a salary of £30k per annum is £9K.

Oops, guess you guys are right Didn't know taxes have fallen so low, wetin konsain me, na part-time me I dey do now and tax credit is even paying me back more than what HRMC takes off me as tax so I no fit complain

But I paid some hefty NI contribution in my time sha and the money is unfortunately non-refundable Is it by force to save for pension/the future Is there a way I can sue the Taxman for my money back

Just tell them you are relocating back to naija and you might be able to claim back all you've paid.

hey y'all
well in terms of living good depending on what you mean, i think if you mean enjoying the basic things of life, the first world countries might be better, but in terms of easy money making as in biznes and lots of fun, no place like home. most of us living in developed countries are here either for security reasons or dont have the right connections in 9ja, been living in toronto for like 10yrs and have not even visited 9ja since, been going to school since acquiring degrees without a single job but living very ok because got my biznes running well in 9ja. cant wait to move back home but scared of the insecurity

There's nothing different between them, the ones Abroad are even worst.

mama-gee:

There's nothing different between them, the ones Abroad are even worst.

Are u writing from experience?

the problem with nigeria is infrastructure. transportation, water, electricity,schools, etc, if we had all this, most people outside including myself, would run back home.its not the things are rosy here but the things our government consider as luxuries (eg internet, phone) are considered as basics outside thats why we prefer to stay outside.

This is just absurd.
Of course Nigerians in Nigeria are not better off than Nigerians abroad. At least not generally speaking.
So long as 'abroad' is Western Europe, The Americas, some parts of the Middle East and Asia (Although that's highly debatable).

bidemi12: Funny topic; of course Nigerians abroad are better off than their home based counterparts for one simple reason, compared to Nigerians abroad, Nigerians at home do not have the same level of support to succeed in whatever you want to do. I came here with a marketing background. I was lucky to do what needed to be done to get a job that enabled me to train as an engineer, and still pay for college to study being an info system auditor. Do you know how expensive it is to go to college here? but the government paid for everything and gave me 2k allowance per month for four years and still paid my salary. Is there any institution or programme in Naija that will do that? Apart from the fact that almost nothing works in Nigeria, the govt is guilty of one very important thing, they kill dreams. Here you can do whatever you want to do so long as it is whithin the boudaries of the law. But lets get one thing straight. There is nothing like home. I miss home like crazy. The good thing about yankee is if you are smart and stay out of trouble, you can lay a solid foundation for yourself back home. Financialy, structurally, and career wise. This place just does not have the same feel as Naija.

sounds like u r living my dream. Suppose i wanted to do the same thing u did, how do i go about it? I studied English at school, i doubt there is a career for me in that over there. Still, i would really really like to work abroad.

here is my own contribution. I live in naija, finishd sch but still @ home. I graduated with 2.1 and as God is my witness, i didn't cheat to get dt cert. I have attended interview whr i ws asked my tribe aftr d process. Nvr got a call back frm dm. Well, i wouldn't mind workn at small set ups, i dnt v capital to start one myself. My point z dz, i would take living in a country where i can easily get jobs without connections, where i can maybe waitress or something while still searching for that big one, where i can attend interviews and not be passed over cos of tribe instead of qualification any day or time. Nowhere is perfect but Nigeria is still behind #Sorry for d long sentences.

justwise: lets compare Like for like,  are Nigerians studying in the Uk doing better interms of quality of education, facilities, progress etc than Nigerians studying at home? YES

Are Nigerians working ful time in the Uk, for instance, bank workers, IT, Teaching, doing better than Nigerians doing the same job back home? YES,
Remember that Nigerians here have to pay tax, insurance, TV licence, councile tax, road tax, car insurance(car owners)

In Nigeria, its not compulsory for a car owner to insure his/her car, its here. How many Nigerians pay road tax?

Nigerians here in the UK are expected to send money home(infact its crime if u don't) i don't know how many Nigerians back home that sends money to the UK on monthly or yealy bases.
The list can go on and on

What about those that have kids in private schools in the UK, or those that their kids are in the university abroad don't they send money to their kids?

ducii:

What about those that have kids in private schools in the UK, or those that their kids are in the university abroad don't they send money to their kids?

If you sent your kids to study in the UK who do you expect to pay their fees?

I look and leave fresher than my Uncles abroad, i remember one was telling me last time that he wish we could exchange place

justwise:

If you sent your kids to study in the UK who do you expect to pay their fees?

You said Nigerians in Nigeria don't send money abroad, i am just saying that some of them abroad get sent money from folks here in Nigeria, some get sent money monthly for living expenses and some send money to family members struggling to pay their rent or mortgages, so it happens maybe you have not seen but it happens.

ducii:


You said Nigerians in Nigeria don't send money abroad, i am just saying that some of them abroad get sent money folks here in Nigeria, some get sent money monthly for living expenses, some send money to family members struggling to pay their rent or mortgages, so it happens maybe you have not seen but it happens.

I'm tempted to accuse you of making that you

justwise:

I'm tempted to accuse you of making that you

Are u saying i am making that up, i didn't get what you meant there

This is why


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2S7aqZgn2E