I am new on nairaland and this will be my first post .Little about myself; i am a Nigerian,21 years old and presently undergoing a training in UK and in few months time,i will fully qualify as a Deck Officer.I have already secured an employment with a shipping company where am supposed to be doing 4 months on sea and 2 months off rotation.Salary is about 31,800 Pounds which translates to 2650 Pounds monthly (tax free).

I can live anywhere  i want in the world since i will be flying out to and from  my ship before and after sailing,all cost will be taken care of by my company.

I am thinking of moving back to Lagos where my salary will go far ,662K/month in Lagos isnt that bad ,moreover,i only have to stay home  4 months in a year as i will be on sea most of the time, Do you think this is a good idea?

Most of my British classmates are planning to move to places like Barbados,Thailand,malta because of the high cost of living in UK and i am beginning to consider those places too.

If you were me,where would you chose to live?i have both Nigerian and British passport.

sailor1234:

I am new on nairaland and this will be my first post .Little about myself; i am a Nigerian,21 years old and presently undergoing a training in UK and in few months time,i will fully qualify as a Deck Officer.I have already secured an employment with a shipping company where am supposed to be doing 4 months on sea and 2 months off rotation.Salary is about 31,800 Pounds which translates to 2650 Pounds monthly (tax free).

I can live anywhere  i want in the world since i will be flying out to and from  my ship before and after sailing,all cost will be taken care off by my company.

I am thinking of moving back to Lagos where my salary will go far ,662K/month in Lagos isnt that bad ,moreover,i only have to stay home  4 months in a year as i will be on sea most of the time, Do you think this is a good idea?

Most of my British classmates are planning to move to places like Barbados,Thailand,malta because of the high cost of living in UK and i am beginning to consider those places too.

If you were me,where would you chose to live?i have both Nigerian and British passport.

Perhaps to answer your question more constructively why dont you tell us more about your self; eg, where you were born/grew up, where most of your immediate family reside, etc ie more info on background. Also what and who would you want to become in the future? That should help you in deciding where to live.

Age is on your side to gather experience

snowdrops:

Perhaps to answer your question more constructively why dont you tell us more about your self; eg, where you were born/grew up, where most of your immediate family reside, etc ie more info on background. Also what and who would you want to become in the future? That should help you in deciding where to live.

Was born in UK but grew up in Nigeria,I left Nigeria for  UK when i was 17 (4 years ago) ,my parents are  in Nigeria as well as my friends.My elder sister is here  though,she works and lives here.

Right now,the most important thing for me is to gain some quality experience on my chosen career path and glory be to God,i have an employment already with a reputable shipping company.Future plan,well,i will say probably become a ship captain before i am 30 .

I have missed Naija a lot and i believe it might be the best place for me to settle down,cost of living is reasonable and i will also be close to my parents,but i also love the comfort of the west,24 hours light,safety and the quality of life but cost of living is off the roof.So you see,i am a  confused kid .

After about 2 weeks, you 'missing naija' will end. Take the job if you want, ensure you do it for a limited time, and take your experience back with you.

Sharon_f:

After about 2 weeks, you 'missing naija' will end. Take the job if you want, ensure you do it for a limited time, and take your experience back with you.

poster i say consider the areas your classmates are thinking or even stay in u.k that way you wont have to spend too much on airfare back and forth. Besides people complain on this site about the govt and convinencies which you probably will quickly miss.

dude if you need experience and you really want to explore the world with an opportunity like this forget about nigeria. just find an exotic island somewhere there and spend your 4 months there, don't even think of thailand, you will hate yourself. and save more than 75% of your salary wherever you are.

I know this may be a bitter pill.
But
You are well educated with a well paying job.
I know you will want to honor your family but just consider how many people, relatives, old friends.
Will appear saying "give me car, house, buisness loan"
With a good wage you can live anywhere

East or west as they say, home is the best. I see family ties is very important to you, and as you have lived most of your life in Nigeria, most of your friends presumably are there as well. Your may also have your girlfriend in naija as well which is a point you glossed over .
In that case go with your heart; Nothing wrong in being based in Nigeria, afterall its only 4 months in a year, and its in Lagos, not some obscure village somewhere.
People should realize that not everyone comes from a poor background; so poster may well not have close persons nagging him for money.

snowdrops:

Nothing wrong in being based in Nigeria

seem you have been away from africa's most populous nation for a while.

Thank you all for your wonderful contributions, this is  a positive community and I have gained a lot from your replies.A problem shared is a problem halved they say.

@ olas2u
You are right,gaining quality experience in my field and self-development is of paramount importance to me right now.

  @Sharon_f
I have thought about that as well,probably ‘my missing Naija’ is because i've not been to Nigeria in 4 years.Maybe I should spend few weeks or even months in Naija first before deciding if it will be the best option for me.

@ omega25red
Good point,yes I will definitely miss the conveniencies of the west if I move back home.

@ dell_net
Probably this is what I should do, move to some exotic island. Saving 75% of my salary shouldn’t be a problem because while on board, feeding and boarding will be free therefore i can save everything I make during those periods. But why do you think Thailand isn’t any good? My classmates told me I can rent a lovely house with maid with my salary with a lot to save,I know few sailors living there, though they are all white.

@ worry246
Hmm…Food for thought.

@snowdrops
Thanks a lot, you are right, my considering moving to Nigeria is mainly because of my family/friends back home after all, a place is only as good as the people you know in it but as people also say: “Home is Where You Make It”meaning your home is anywhere you feel comfortable calling home  .
At the moment,I don’t have any girlfriend .

dell_net:

seem you have been away from Africa's most populous nation for a while.

not really. i appreciate all the difficulties that follow life in Nigeria, personally i believe Nigeria remains the best place to live provided you have the means ie, nice house in good location, and other goodies to go with it. you don't have to keep looking over your shoulders as would happen in most politically correct and xenophobic western nations. its easier to start and run a business if you are so inclined. i know people may disagree but hey that's just my opinion.

sailor1234:

@ dell_net
Probably this is what I should do, move to some exotic island. Saving 75% of my salary shouldn’t be a problem because while on board, feeding and boarding will be free therefore i can save everything I make during those periods. But why do you think Thailand isn’t any good? My classmates told me I can rent a lovely house with maid with my salary with a lot to save,I know few sailors living there, though they are all white.

As I write this I am currently in Thailand. I had the same idea as you somewhere in 2007 to leave the western world and operate from a cheap place with infrastructure and facilities. I will tell you a short story here.
I have been on and off this place since 2008 sometimes I stay up to 6 months in a period of one year. I confided in Thais and to the point I leave all my important documents with them. I did not know that the sign of trust and confidence given to me was just to drain me of what I have brought. In 2009 I had to leave Thailand for a very long time when I came back I met the locks to where I stayed changed, my documents were held and I was asked to pay $5000 to get it back. I used police to get it back without paying that much. This is just the beginning and was done by someone I slept with every night I was there, infact my first contact. I decided to repatriate what I invested. All along the line I have been coming across criminals, prostitutes, scavengers and the like.

I will just cut down and tell you this, yes it is very cheap I ran at 100th of the cost of operation i.e. I spend $1 to get $100. Socially it is miserable, you will probably end up with a prostitute from a bar claiming to be a decent girl and when you are gone others will be humping her and don't think she did it because she is lonely she did it because it is her nature and she is with you to milk you. There is a look here on all thai girls with foreigners that they are out to milk foreigners. English is not spoken or wirtten here, you can barely find someone that speaks English I am talking about taxis, malls, groceries, customer service etc. You see Thailand to me is like a satans world where thieves, prostitutes, evil doers, transvestites and all sort of downgraded being you can think of, exist. They have this smiling face but deep down they are up to no good. I promise myself once I recover what I have put down here I am shutting down all operations here. The lesson I have learned here is, is better to be in an expensive society where I will be socially and morally justified than to be in a cheap society where I can't socially or morally justify myself. So dude find a place where you can be educated and upgrade yourself, where the people of the society are positive and intellectual, don't let cheap harm you like it did harm me.

snowdrops:

not really. i appreciate all the difficulties that follow life in Nigeria, personally i believe Nigeria remains the best place to live provided you have the means ie, nice house in good location, and other goodies to go with it. you don't have to keep looking over your shoulders as would happen in most politically correct and xenophobic western nations. its easier to start and run a business if you are so inclined. i know people may disagree but hey that's just my opinion.

I was in Nigeria last Christmas and I traveled extensively while there, if you live in the towns the settings is messed up. The rich guys don't come out from their houses, life in general is unsafe. To me Nigeria is like a stab in the back, you have to source for even the basic by yourself. I only like the traditional village and fresh air thing. The towns are chaotic.

Great posts Dell net very insightfull. Thailand seems like a very awefull place . . Did you have any fun there at all?

your young u can stil stay age wise gather experience move back in your 30s

Where ever you choose, you will only be there for 2-4 months total in a year so you are not really living there per se

Somewhere central Like the Mediterranean
or Just rent a small discrete place Next to your grandma as your holiday home 

pleep:

Great posts Dell net very insightfull. Thailand seems like a very awefull place . . Did you have any fun there at all?

Yes, in every new thing there is always that chivalry but then when I got to realize the norms, habits and perception of thais it was not fun any more. For example you as a foreigner there is a special charge for you in some services. They have this special way of conning you to settle in but then again it is all going to be hell. They don't have this "one mind one heart thing", you may be having a normal conversation with someone and the next minute the person will go mentally crazy. This place is for low life cheap scums looking for cheap tourist destination or life, if you are evil you will perfectly fit in here.

^^ you didnt know about the place before?? ??

Thai is like the child sex tourist number one destination, sex, drug, killing etc
I'm sure there are some comparable cities in asia with probably similar cost advantages and a bit more 'cleaned up'

or even turkey/egypt- at least they'll speak English cold warm weather, broadband

Dis Guy:

^^ you didnt know about the place before?? ??

I don't think if you go to any embassy they will tell you the bad side of their country.

I am new on nairaland and this will be my first post Smiley.Little about myself; i am a Nigerian,21 years old and presently undergoing a training in UK and in few months time,i will fully qualify as a Deck Officer.I have already secured an employment with a shipping company where am supposed to be doing 4 months on sea and 2 months off rotation.Salary is about 31,800 Pounds which translates to 2650 Pounds monthly (tax free).

I can live anywhere  i want in the world since i will be flying out to and from  my ship before and after sailing,all cost will be taken care off by my company.

I am thinking of moving back to Lagos where my salary will go far Smiley,662K/month in Lagos isnt that bad Smiley,moreover,i only have to stay home  4 months in a year as i will be on sea most of the time, Do you think this is a good idea?

Most of my British classmates are planning to move to places like Barbados,Thailand,malta because of the high cost of living in UK and i am beginning to consider those places too.

If you were me,where would you chose to live?i have both Nigerian and British passport.

As a Nigerian and at the same time as a person in the shipping industry in Nigeria, I will advise you to consider places where your friends are considering. I work with a shipping company in Nigeria and I know much about working onboard vessels trading the coast of Africa. If you are coming to Nigeria to work onboard a foreign vessel, yes I will advise you to come over here but if you are coming down to naija to work onboard Nigeria vessels then I can bet with you that you will regret coming back to naija. Nigerian vessels are worst than you can ever imagine. Your safety is not guaranteed. There is loss of cargo onboard Nigeria vessels every now and then, even if you are not involved, you will be implicated by other crew onboard. There are difference cases in Nigeria court today which has to do with loss of cargo btw cargo owner, ship owner, agent service provider and crew onboard which even involve NIMASA itself.

Considering salary, the first shipping company I worked with which serve as ship owner is Fleet Coordinators Limited (www.fleetcoordinatorsltd.com) and I know roughly how much crew members onboard are being paid. Your position onboard will determine your salary: MASTER, CHIEF OFFICER, 2ND OFFICER, 3RD OFFICER, CHIEF ENGINEER, 2ND ENGINEER, 3RD ENGINEER, 4TH ENGINEER, CHIEF ELECTRICIAN, BOSUN, PUMPMAN, CHIEF COOK, WELDER, AB, OILER etc. If you fall btw Master and Chief officer onboard a foreign vessels trading the coast of Africa then you can earn that amount or a bit above it but anything below chief officer onboard both foreign and Nigeria vessels forget it, you can't earn up to that except you get a job with Government company like NNPC or some company like Total Nig Plc, Sahara Energy, NLNG etc and then you will have to work in the office maybe as superintendent  or chief Engineer.

Anything aside this, my brother don't even think of coming back here. As an onboard officer, since you are not gonna work a full year onboard vessel offshore then you can still be close to your pple in naija. You will see your pple whenever you sign off and disembarked after completion of your work during onboard in btw 4month interval.

That is just the truth.

Gbammmmmmmm over and out.

dell_net:

I don't think if you go to any embassy they will tell you the bad side of their country.

Thought you moved from the west. . . who gets relocation information from the embassy?

Thailand is Gary Glitters

Dis Guy:

who gets relocation information from the embassy?

Sounds you don't know much about what an embassy is.

. . . .certainly not a place I'd go to for objective advise regarding business and relocation

Dis Guy:

. . . .certainly not a place I'd go to for objective advise regarding business and relocation

I see what you mean, I think one should just ignore cheap and pay the heavy taxes, life will be better this way.

You are better off in Malasyia than in Thailand. Thailand is filled with Perverts! From Banghok to Phuket!

^^^ haha Phuket sounds like "f[i]uck[/i] it" which is what most ppl go there to do