being involved with writing talent locally did so much more for me as a writer than writing-related courses at university did. to be honest, the sci-fi course i took at uni had an amazing professor teaching it but i still needed my own time to sort out what it all meant to me. sometimes having an overbearing influence telling you what to think and how to do things is the worst.
what i'm saying is: university-sponsored "creative writing" courses can help immensely, but there is a huge chance you are signing up to have your identity as a writer trampled upon. if you need a second opinion on that, read john garner's book 'on becoming a novelist'. in fact, read that book regardless of what you are thinking of doing.
the other thing is that writers are influenced by their environment. some thrive at home, some thrive abroad, some think they will thrive abroad but really they are longing for the simple inspirations that they remember from home. you're intending to transplate yourself into a different culture, whether it will make your writing greater or suck you into the great lakes of mediocrity is anybody's guess.
from what little i have read of your works here on BL, i can tell you have the potential to be a great writer (not that i'm a judge of great writers, but i've known a couple), but you really have to know exactly what you are intending to gain from taking creative writing courses or you do run the risk of crashing into self-doubt or serious regret when some pompous instructor thinks they have a right to tell you how you ought to write.
