Just caught the edit about England.
I aint sure where your from but at the time I had a chance to get the hell out of here, where I live aint the best area & I was sick of the daily issues of running the bag head / chav gauntlet. I wanted to leave the country & go live somewhere that £10 a week would give me a lifestyle far above what I have atm, drugs were cheap as chips & semi legal, hot weather, fine Thai / Laos hookers for £3 a night, you get the picture.
I had my heart set on moving to Vang Vieng in Laos & spend several years there
but that thing called "love" caught me in it's trap & I missed the chance.
One day I will make it & go live in Vang Vieng though
Vang Vieng, Laos: the world's most unlikely party town
Vang Vieng, deep in the jungle of Laos, is a backpacker paradise where there are no rules. Last year at least 27 travellers died there, and countless more were injured.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/07/vang-vieng-laos-party-town