It is indeed ironic isn't it? The majority of Brits I know who left the UK did so to avoid the higher cost of living and the taxes while most of the people I know who immigrated to the UK did so for the employment opportunities.
You guys "escape" to the Philippines because your money is worth more here; we go to the UK because the pay is far, far better there (yes, even with all the taxes and cost of living) than it is here.
How much better? To give an example, my entire month's salary here would be good for a 500GB hard drive, while I can earn the same hard drive and more with about 2-2.5 days' work in the UK. And remember, we're talking about the SAME JOB with the SAME RESPONSIBILITIES and the SAME PENALTIES if you make a mistake. Simply put, I can work in the UK and feed my family, while the same work here isn't even enough to cover rent and food for a month.
Thanks for the kind words, Vitesse. It truly will be life-changing and I hope I never regret this decision when I get old.
Mace, when the employers came here, they brought with them a video to show the "accent" of the area. Though the employers were careful with their speech, it took about a few milliseconds more than usual for my brain to process their speech into something I could understand --- the video was terrible as I could barely make out what the people were saying. So I guess getting used to the accent will be a major challenge for me... not that I'm worried much since I'll be working in a relatively-isolated part of the hospital.

What's with all the fuss about fish&chips? Is that like a national dish or something?