Finally settling in

I've settled to life in London, no more feeling like a tourist and wanting to explore every weekend, every evening.

Work is repetitive but not monotonous. Work is challenging but not scary and stressful. When I put my sports shoes on and go to work, I feel energised and ready. I also feel blessed that I can afford to have balance in life.

Workmates are passionate but not never angry. People here are polite, work smartly and with purpose. I really like it. It's been a dream environment for me compared to my last place. And having had that experience serves as constant reminders of how lucky I am to be in my situation.

Of course money wise my salary is not flash. If I had stayed steady in law, banking or anything else for that matter in Australia from the time of gradution till now, I'd be making much more money. But I know I wouldn't be happy in Australia. There was just no game breaker there. Nothing there that could change your life. I may have continued living in a dark hole for the rest of my life. For that I'm so glad I ventured outwards, though often directionless, all these years. And I'm really appreciative of mum and dad for allowing me.

Not that I don't care about money, nor my personal finances. Just a pity that I've only started to take some serious interest now. In the UK, there is a new government policy intended to inentivise savings, called the ISA (Investment Savings Acount). This is a cap of 7200 pounds per year where any income made off it (capital gains or interest) is completely tax free!

So I've really deicided to take advantage and save the full amount this year. In an ISA, you can choose between savings or investment accounts. There is a cap of 3600 for a savings account, which is a no brainer so i've stashed that away already with someone. The interesting part is picking an investment account, basically ivnestment funds that invests on your behalf in bonds, corporate bonds, gilts, equities, property, and host of other financial instruments. This is the setor that's made the UK so strong these years. They've been the hub for rich people from all over the world to put their money and to place their global bets.

Having researched the world of ISA, I really can't work out what's the catch. The clear play are the emerging market funds, which seems like an absolute no-brainer.

http://www.moneyspider.com/Best-ISA-Funds.asp

Can't for the life of me see any sense in the conventional wisdom that UK funds are more stable than the emerging market funds. I don't see the UK economy bouncing back this year. And something fundamentally something needs to change in the structure of the economy to make it move again. Apart from the English language and the established financial structure (which has collapsed), I can't see any areas in the UK with distinct international advantages. Not in technology, education, science, manufacturing, creativity, or services.

In saying that, London will forever be one of the biggest hub cities in the world to live and do business. It's amazing what's just around the corner when you live in London. Just having watched the Manchester v Arsenal game with some friends last Sunday, we bumped into Matt Damon on the red carpet for his new movie Invidus. He was literally 3 feet away from me, a God-like Hollywood star alive and standing in front of me. He seemed so normal, like any guy off the street, but he's the man that's been on my screens for countless movies since I was a teenager. It was amazing, and only in London would Matt Damon suddenly show up in front of me, instead of the other way around!