Dijita:


I left Nigeria at 29. I was working for one of the top federal parastatals and making good money. I worked many odd jobs for the first six years of my arrival before getting professional job. Even then, I never regret my decision leaving the country. Many of my former colleagues are calling me for help today.

Remember technology makes it possible to be making money in dollar while you are in Nigeria. What happen if things change in the next 10 years and you no longer have such opportunity?

I will suggest you safe your money and follow the part for legal immigration and you will not regret it.

you see that bolded line/lie, it is quite amazing how most of you japa geng on nairaland tend to use that line/lie, suggesting that y'all seem to be surrounded by people with low self esteem, or just so dim-witted that they can't manage their lives as adults. If all you guys have friends like that, na horrible bunch you dey roll with o. I brought in three cars at once sometime in 2021, and couldn't sell even one on time, so in no time I was pressed for funds, but even tho my account don red, I no get the mind to ask anyone for money, cos I am an adult with self-respect and dignity. I sold off a pair of brand new tires I had earlier bought and some other items in my store that I could let go off, as in I hauled them in my car and drove to the respective market areas where I could sell them and raised about 70k that day that kept me going till I sold one of the cars and got my millions back. Na una dey always seem to get friends wey na beggars and financial illiterates...or as you claim were doing fine but turned beggers cos they stayed in Nigeria and now una wey travel na im dey feed them.. ludicrous!

Like 15 of una don comment with this same line/lie of having hungry friends that were doing okay before but now begging you for crumbs. Def na kindergarteners be ya friends, def not adults with any common sense or wisdom bo ti wu ko kere mo! Jeez!

I don't know when you started working remotely but I have been doing that for over 6 years. I average $1k monthly. With the way the country is going, that $3k you called money..no be money and you won't be doing that job for long. What happens if your employer finds an Indian to do your job for $1500. You'll lose the job and wish you had travelled 4 years ago. To get remote jobs in Nigeria no be beans. So so t let the sweet black market you're enjoying mess your head up.

MT:


Nigerians overhype foreign passport - It is a means to an end, not the end itself.

Foreign passport does not give you job. It does not feed you. It is a traveling document, which also allow you to stay legally in that country.

Without good "value" or "skillset", foreign passport holders will be homeless, and go hungry.

You need right to work to be able to work which having a passport gives you.

tosinhtml:


You need right to work to be able to work which having a passport gives you.

I have mentioned this when I wrote it allows you live "legally", but the kind of work you will do solely depends on your "skillset".

Reason I referred to a foreign passport as a "mean to an end" and "not the end" itself.

begra8fl:


Please there is nothing you are going to do in Europe or USA, Canada if you earn $3000 monthly in Nigeria. You are already in the 20% of the society. Even if you are abroad your $3000 or even $7000 will burn out immediately. You will pay 25% - 40% taxes depending on where you find yourself. You are probably paying no taxes on your $3000 and rightfully so. Nigeria offer little incentive for the youth. You will pay $1200 - $1500 monthly for a decent rent in the western world. You can use that to rent for a year in Nigeria. You have a head start so do the following.

Save your money, buy real estate and enter in a low risk business that guarantees your ROI (Return on Investment). Replicate yourself by teaching others those skills and employ them to make more money. Buy grains and store it you will make 100% on your investment every 6 months. That will be your vacation money to anywhere in the world with a lot of comfort. You need to only go on vacation and not japa.
Make sure you give back to society by some charity or look for people to improve their lives.

I am sharing from experience. All the best

I'd rather be a restaurant cook in the Anglo-West than live in Nigeria on $3K/month...that is not a big salary in the global scheme of things but in Nigeria it ALSO comes with a big load of TROUBLE. No more than 0.05% of Nigerian workers earn that amount. That means the OP is going to be miserable from the desperate & aggressive BEGGING and attempts of FRAUD that will be directed at him everyday...worst of all from close relatives and friends. I know I've discussed this in my earlier commentary.

Middle class earners can testify to the abuse they get on Nigerian roads everyday, especially in Lagos. Ever been driving and some ruffians will just bang on your car and curse you for no reason? It happens a lot in Nigeria. It's the rage of poverty. It diminishes your quality of life.

And what kind of place can you rent for 2 million/yr in a big city in Nigeria? Again, for the same quality, you can get it cheaper in any Anglo-Saxon country!

Storing grains as an investment for ROI? Why would anyone want to dabble in all that just to assure financial stability? And INFLATION will still wipe out the gains. And you didn't say anything about the new National Commodity Board..... Hope you know government policy will be to stop excessive profits just like they did to fuel marketers with subsidy?

Then there's news just hitting the wires this morning that MONEY SUPPLY in Nigeria set an all time record in June, this past month. I hope we all know what that means for the future?

In short, Nigeria is too RISKY, the risk premium is too high. Nobody ever lost anything betting against Nigeria.

Good Luck to Nigerians!

MT:


I have mentioned this when I wrote it allows you live "legally", but the kind of work you will do solely depends on your "skillset".

Reason I referred to a foreign passport as a "mean to an end" and "not the end" itself.

There are so many people with skills who are looking for jobs and not able to get because they don't have right to work. Nigeria has a lot of skillful people. Skills has never been our problem

tosinhtml:


There are so many people with skills who are looking for jobs and not able to get because they don't have right to work. Nigeria has a lot of skillful people. Skills has never been our problem

and there are lot of people with foreign passport, including citizens born over there, who have zero skills and could not secure meaningful jobs. Some of them are homeless and jobless, living on hands out from the government.

When you have the passport, try and acquire the sought-after skills, otherwise it is a waste.

At the bolded, what you referred to as skills are not sellable abroad. We are talking of sought-after skills.

michlins:
Earn dollar and spend Naira. Guy nothing sweet pass am. Just find a very good estate and secure your apartment.

Run solar and inverter system for power,get a health insurance scheme from a very good hospital and live your best life here in Nigeria

You are wise

MT:


and there are lot of people with foreign passport, including citizens born over there, who have zero skills and could not secure meaningful jobs. Some of them are homeless and jobless, living on hands out from the government.

When you have the passport, try and acquire the sought-after skills, otherwise it is a waste.

At the bolded, what you referred to as skills are not sellable abroad. We are talking of sought-after skills.

We have sought after skills bro, a lot of Nigerians have it. Infact there is surplus of skillful people in Nigeria with no companies to hire.

tosinhtml:


We have sought after skills bro, a lot of Nigerians have it. Infact there is surplus of skillful people in Nigeria with no companies to hire.

You are kidding me. You only assume.

Our education system does not shape people to be skillful in Nigeria. I have been on a panel to recruit many times, it was such a disaster.

That is why most of Nigerians that travel abroad struggle to fit in the Universities they attend because the questions are scenario-based, which is close to real life situation. Do you know how many Nigeria students outsource their assignment to other people to solve for them.

There are skilled people in Nigeria but they are in minority, don't be deceived.

I am out of here.

MT:




You spotted the "tale by moonlight" too ?

@MT, I can see that just like me, you are an NL veteran here from the 2000s. I was actually affirming some points in his posts.

It was ONLY in the first paragraph of his post that he used some SARCASM though.

A larger part of 'Tunde's (Ed's) post is true because he is indeed based in Canada and works in the banking sector just like he stated in his post that I quoted. He actually relocated to Canada about three years ago and has lived in the UK before where he still has close relatives of his. Go through his posts and you'll get a flavor of what I'm talking about.

All the best.

Earthquakes:


Until one day you will get kidnapped or untied container fall on your head then everything you mentioned are gone.
Life is beyond just earning money, one day you will need kidney transplant like ekweremmadu what will you do?
I earn such amount when I was in Nigeria and still earn better now that I travelled with other numerous advantages. So stop comparing sleep and death

Truth is most Nigerians like to be rich in an environment where there's lots of poor & desperate people, whereas Anglo-Saxons tend to be expansive in their definition of the good life.

What the anti-Japa team is trying to say is that with $3K per month they can inflict a copious dose of physical & psychological sadism on other humans with whom they interact in Nigeria. That's the typical Nigerian mindset, they love to INFLICT suffering on others and watch the results. Why else is Nigeria in perpetual crisis?

Good Luck to Nigerians!

michlins:
Earn dollar and spend Naira. Guy nothing sweet pass am. Just find a very good estate and secure your apartment.

Run solar and inverter system for power,get a health insurance scheme from a very good hospital and live your best life here in Nigeria

That would be good for the retirement years of older, homesick Nigerian folks, etal currently living in the Diaspora who want to go back to the continent (Nigeria, Ghana, etc). Just leave the grown up children and grand kids behind in the U.S. or UK and communicate with them via regular facetime or video calls and more.

So na abroad con good for business?

hopey8088:
The only issue i have with this is just that if he lose this job what then happens, I agree with building your own business but omo, Naija government na discouragement, their head no dey one place and they can't be trusted.

twosquare:
wHy not try finland or other schengen countries...

Becos ano deep inside me am not ready to learn language.i dont even know how to speak my own nigerian language.

Gokoyer0:
With that salary in a place like Canada, the tax deduction will not be less than 37.5%.
Can people in USA verify tax deduction on 120k USD salary?

Op, dey play dey play. They say you can earn 10k USD/month. Ask them what will be your take home from it. How much are you going to pay for rent in place where get 10k USD/month job? Let him go to LinkedIn/Quora and ask questions from gurus in his field who are blacks/Nigerians. He comes to Nairaland to be more confused.

Japa is for strugglers! My neighbor that left for UK in 2021 has returned with his family. They sold their bungalow before they left and returned few months ago into a rented 3 bedroom apartment in another area. Many don't have the courage to do what this family just did. For instance, I learned that to renew 2.5 yrs visa for a family of 4 will spend around 15k pounds..

As I've written before, as I've explained extensively, I know people who've done unskilled labor like cook, janitor, nurse assistant, driver for 20 to 30 years in the USA, some of them are still illegal residents till this very moment. They live better lives than 99% of people in Nigeria. They all own homes in decent neighborhoods, their teenage or university age children drive and own cars. How much more people earning over $100K? Anyone earning $400K/yr has a higher income than 99% of USA citizens. That's the verified, accurate data. For your information, the MEDIAN and AVERAGE household - not individual, household - income in the USA is around $65K per year. If someone earning TWICE that amount is suffering, that means ALL of the USA is suffering.

Compare that to Nigeria where only 0.5% of workers earn over ₦‎200K. I've seen how Nigerians celebrate and dream of earning ₦‎500K per month, it's a huge salary for them...ordinary $650 and the naira is buying less and less everyday. I talk to people in Nigeria and I know what they're telling me, so anyone earning $3K is a rarity and coming from anyone on Nairaland and living in Nigeria, it's likely they're lying. It's not even as if they're using their real name. No credibility at all.

I lived in the USA for about 15 years before RETURNING to Nigeria and I know what I experienced. Nigeria is a hell hole. And I did the sane, logical and proper thing and returned to the USA where I belong. Those who thrive in cesspools can choose to live in Nigeria, good on them.

I'd like to hear from this fellow today - this is a thread from 2007

https://www.nairaland.com/33866/relocate-abroad-despite-having-bright

Lafem:
Don't do it, bro!!! Sit your butt in naija and expand your bizness within naija and beyond. Since it's that profitable, you can always afford to come abroad on holidays and even as often as you want sef. Bro, don't believe the hype. At best, 'abroad' is best suited for up and coming [relatively young] folks who still have a lot of years to spare in 'paying their dues' after they arrive here; starting from scratch, adapting/blending into the system, and then working their way up -- THAT WILL TAKE YEARS!! You sound like you've 'been there done that' already and attained an enviable measure of success there in naija, so why risk throwing all that away? IMO, don't rock the boat. Tell madam to relax and not get too excited about this going 'abroad' bizness.  You fit try pacify her with a promise of frequent shopping trips to the U.K and America.

Okeamu1:
Dont relocate. An average american makes nearly $39,000 per year which is about half a million naira. Plus they have to pay taxes. You are making $288,461.54 per year based on what you gave. Now compared it with $39,000 and tell me which one is better. America is headache.

I have a friend who did telecoms in the UK and Masters in systems engineering in the US, he is comming to nigeria next year to work because it does not worth living here. So my brother. Stay put because nigeria is way much better.

Good Luck to Nigerians!

You dey yarn my guy. U know every.

MT:
Op, lastly consider where the advice is coming from.

Abroad is a step up for most people that have travelled; I meant Individuals that couldn't even get a visitor's visa to any country on a norm. Individuals that were roaming about in Nigeria doing nothing before they managed to squeeze through. Of course, getting to abroad, wearing leather jacket, snapping pictures with whites at the background will be the ultimate for such.

Conversely, think about individuals in the same league as you, their perspectives will be different. Their definition of success will be top notch and not premised on frivolities.

What are the qualities of those whites that some individuals mix with over there. Most of these white are not educated, not skilled or exposed. They are mostly the worst of the whites. You will see a skilled, educated Nigerian snapping pictures with such individuals, and still feeling on top of the world, simply because they are both working in a factory. You will see such pictures littering their Facebook pages.

Your skills dictate to you that you should live differently than this. You should roll with the best of the whites, which you are currently enjoying remotely.

Op, ask again, what quality of individuals are advising you. Iron should sharpeneth iron.

Enough said

qtguru:
I just want the second passport not neccessarily to Japa.

Ecuador passport is around 35k.

michlins:
Earn dollar and spend Naira. Guy nothing sweet pass am. Just find a very good estate and secure your apartment.

Run solar and inverter system for power,get a health insurance scheme from a very good hospital and live your best life here in Nigeria

You're the best counselor of the year. I know many youths would not want to hear this. We who have stayed and live in abroad will tell the stories better.Having $3000 dollars in Nigeria monthly in this era of badest economy is like living in Paradise. Do you know that you may not earn half of that money in a legally employed jobs in Britain, Germany, Belgium or Netherlands? Just know that heaven is smiling at you now and make good use of the opportunities.

tosinhtml:


There are so many people with skills who are looking for jobs and not able to get because they don't have right to work. Nigeria has a lot of skillful people. Skills has never been our problem

The MT man you are replying to worked in the oil industry in Nigeria and later relocated to the US, Texas specifically. This is someone who complained that he and his Nigerian colleagues were looked down upon when they were in Nigeria. He stated everything here on Nairaland. His eyes opened when he moved to the US. Thus, he is an American citizen. He would lie that having a second passport is not important, but will not consider that travelling even for the wealthy these days is not easy as visas get denied. That's where the passport comes from.

It is this hypocritical wickedness that I detest. The same man has this innate envy towards Ednut1, which I cannot comprehend. He lied through his fingers that Canadians and Mexicans cannot work in the US even though every bloke knows what a TN visa is for. The same man believes Ednut1 dey wash corpses in Canada. Worst of it, the same MT man campaigned and supported Tinubu during the last elections.

In my books, anyone who supported Tinubu is a wicked and terrible person considering the events before and after the elections.

cococandy:
Why y’all just lie without compunction?

No doctor or nurse earns $3k monthly in the USA. at the same time $3k is nothing. Which is it?

That tells you he is not in the US let alone Texas. These people are probably somewhere in Offa yarning nonsense. I am glad you pointed out his mendacious lines.

Fsboperator2:


Only if it's the US.

Canada and UK nah scam.

Germany is cool but there is the German work ethics and OCD that will drive you mad.

Avoid EU entirely because like Canada and UK, it's a tax plantation.

Australia and New Zealand are fcked beyond repair.

Thank me later

Certainly residing somewhere in Ado-Ekiti chanting that Australia and New Zealand are fvcked beyond repair.

The braggadocio and nonsense you people spew on this forum is befuddling.

abuhusna1:
Japa now cos the company you work for now might dump you and it my be difficult getting another one from naija but if you are abroad you will see numerous job opportunities

This is what most people here tend to side-step. When remote workers were sacked in Nigeria, how many quickly found jobs in Nigeria that paid almost the same salary? The Nigerian economy cannot afford OP a similar salary should he be sacked tomorrow.

Desusi:

You're the best counselor of the year. I know many youths would not want to hear this. We who have stayed and live in abroad will tell the stories better.Having $3000 dollars in Nigeria monthly in this era of badest economy is like living in Paradise. Do you know that you may not earn half of that money in a legally employed jobs in Britain, Germany, Belgium or Netherlands? Just know that heaven is smiling at you now and make good use of the opportunities.

Stop lying through your fingers. He would earn more than that as a software engineer in those countries. Which abroad did you stay and what do you do for a living?

Gerrard59:


That tells you he is not in the US let alone Texas. These people are probably somewhere in Offa yarning nonsense. I am glad you pointed out his mendacious lines.

I pity anyone taking advice from them. Because how can you give advice knowing very well that things don’t work the same for everyone? And that situations are really different.

And As general a rule, anyone making a sweeping statement about anything in America specifically; does not know what the heck they are talking about. Because the differences within each state can be enormous; much less the difference between the different states.

The last place I moved from within America is in a different time zone from where I am now also in America. And the income is like 200% different . I can’t even confidently advise someone after living here for almost a decade. It’s a whole continent for goodness’ sake! It’s like someone telling you to judge Abuja based on their experience in Senegal. I just can’t. Hopefully this person if he’s for real makes the right choice for himself. It’s not something that someone can tell you what to do

It's super worth it in all ramifications. If you have the opportunity, please japa and let somebody collect your 8k palliative relief

Klass99:


Correct me if I am wrong but are you not the one who built his own house somewhere on the island? Your moniker rings a bell but there are other similar Born2...something monikers so I can't be certain. I sha hope you don't plan on selling that house for japa purposes.

You can do an online international masters from here or better still try for a scholarship (partial or fully funded) without having to use the bulk of your money for this MBA you want. The Lagos Business School offers MBA programmes and now Jim Ovia has a newly established business school right here in Lagos and if you know anything about Jim he doesn't build anyhow enterprises.

I am all about finding the most cost effective and efficient ways to achieve goals without breaking the bank or continuosly giving this oyibo people our money. The costs involved in this japa business genuinely feels like a rip off to me, they first came to our lands to reap our resources and several years later they are still ripping us off by making us think what we have is not good enough and taking chunks of our money to let us into their countries and we don't always receive the best treatment as immigrants with black skin.

I am the one dear…..lol. I appreciate your advice. The points you raised are all valid and I have considered my options, which I am still considering.

However, I can never contemplate selling my apartments to relocate……NEVER!

GeneralPula:

You have no need to travel bro..
Find better apartment for Island and be living your life..

Anybody who takes advice from an Agbadorian is either naive or stoopid!

YorubaPrince:
If it's not worth it why are your friends based abroad telling you life is expensive abroad?

Why can't they relocate back to 9ja if life abroad is too expensive?

If you want to use this as basis for your argument then it makes your argument watery.

Let's use Nigeria as an example not even abroad.
Some people can not travel for Christmas because of financial reasons.
They have been in say Lagos for years but have nothing to show for it when they travel back to the village for celebrations.
I have uncles who fall in this category.
Most times, family members contribute t fare for theme.

Now back to those abroad, I have a friend in Sweden.
This guy hides nothing from me.
He lost a great work opportunity due to a wrong step he took to beat the system and was sanctioned. so now all he does is cleaning job. What he earns is just enough to pay his rent and feed.
Low key my friend is full of regrets.
Yes he hypes the infrastructure he has access to but no be infrastructure he go chop oh.

OP, hear from the horse's own mouth.

https://www.reddit.com/r/eupersonalfinance/comments/159dsbe/why_is_it_difficult_to_get_rich_in_the_eu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=2

Sir,wat do u mean by residential house and rented apartment. And why are they a waste of profit?

franchasofficia:
with $3,000 monthly salary in Nigeria, you don't need to Japa for now.


What you should do starting today?


1.) make it compulsory to save $2,000 every month in your domiciliary account. Don't save less.

Manage $1,000 monthly no matter the pressure to spend more as a high income earner, avoid any urge to spend more.


2.) At the end of every year, find a reputable real estate company or agent and buy land in an estate with full papers with a budget of $5,000 to $10,000 in the biggest city where you originally came from in Nigeria.


If you are Igbo, buy it in any of these cities:

Owerri
Onitsha
Asaba
Enugu
Avoid Lagos for now, Lagos state government new land laws coming will be harsh to none Yorubas.



3.) Don't start any business now, don't ever try it. Focus on your job and saving money.


4.) Keep improving on your skills through more internationally recognized trainings, invest in this.


5.) Reduce how you travel outside the state you live. Avoid night outs. You can enjoy at day time, avoid night movements at all cost.

You can enjoy in your house since u are single.



6.) Plan a vacation to EU countries like; Estonia, Lithuania, Malta, etc and when you get there use your schenghen visa to tour Europe by train to widen your international exposure.


7.) If you must marry now, plan it well, don't marry a liability, don't marry a lady without saleable skill or career thinking u are rich or have arrived. Marry a lady that will help you solidify your financial growth and even grow more.


If you must marry, marry wisely. Avoid instagram, tiktok queens and co. Avoid any lady that is a social media freak, most of them are empty. Quality ladies are never social media freaks. I speak from experience. I have plenty married friends with quality wives, and I have single female friends, I know the quality ones and how they use social media.



DON'T START ANY BUSINESS NOW PLS, AVOID IT FOR NOW!

Instead of starting business, invest in buying lands not building any house. Just buy empty lands in secured estates. Building house doesn't worth it for you at your age. You need empty lands more than house now. Avoid any advice to build a residential house, it's a financial waste for you at your age. Instead buy more empty lands with government papers in secured estates!


Na only mumu young people de build residential house or even rented apartment, none of them is profitable. I speak from experience, learn from me

Love800:
Sir,wat do u mean by residential house and rented apartment. And why are they a waste of profit?

Residential house is a house you built for you and your family to live.


Rented apartment is a house you built for rent to tenants to be collecting annual rent (Nigerian style).


Why is building a residential house at the age of 45yrs below a waste?


Imagine you buy a plot of land for 15million, and spend like 30million to build a 4 bedroom duplex on it.

It means every year, you and your wife and kids spend 30million (I subtracted the 15million used to purchase the land) on rent. Whereas you can use 1million to rent a decent flat in a nice environment annually. While your land appreciates. Empty lands appreciate faster than built land.


Imagine if you use that 30million to buy 2 more lands.

In 10 years, they will be worth nothing less than 100million if you decide to sell them. So in 10 years you have 100million savings from the 30million and 10million spent on rent, if you do the calculation, you saved 60million in 10 years.


But if you built a residential house with the 30million, in 10 years, highest you will sell the house and land you built the duplex on is 60million.


Same applies to rentable apartment.


They are for civil servants who don't want to invest in business that can incur loss, as a retirement plan not for active young people to tie their saved capital down instead of investing it on a more profitable business that will generate more returns or using it to buy many lands with full govt papers in secure environments