I moved to the UK in 99; At the time I worked for a startup and was getting around 12000FF 'brut' (pre taxes, outside paris (Sophia)). At the time, the GBP was

I moved to the UK in 99; At the time I worked for a startup and was getting around 12000FF 'brut' (pre taxes, outside paris (Sophia)). At the time, the GBP was around 10FF (roughtly, in fact, more like 11-12). When I moved the the UK, my first salary was 44000 GBP/y, so that was bringing me around 2500 GBP a month, /post taxes/ (PAYE). I could not believe my EYES when I saw my payslip... These 12000FF were the equivalent of around 7000FF (post tax) so by crossing the channel, I multiplied my pay by easily 3.5. And I had a great time at that company, despite my pretty accented english. Of course life was generally more expensive, but /nowhere/ near 3.5 times more expensive. Of course, income might have levelled up since, but since then, I've had 15 years of working for the best companies in the industry (ie, worldwide names), increased my experience and income, and all of that with minimum red tape. I created my own LTD company with just 240 GBP almost zero bureaucracy; you can pretty much calculate your tax bills in your head too. I love it. I'd never go back, I'd never had dreamed of the stuff I have achieved here during that time, when I was still living in france. Of course, there are downsides, it's a lot closer to the US in the fact you need to handle your own pension strategy, healthcare etc, but for people who have a drive and will to do stuff, it's a LOT easier to get things done here.