Originally Posted by
rudestuff
If you want to get a PPL so you can fly privately around the UK, you could go either way but to be honest you're better off training in the UK.
If however, you want to be a commercial pilot then yes, it will be much cheaper and quicker in the States. You need an ICAO PPL - and if you're training in the States you should definitely get an FAA private certificate. There's no point doing EASA in the US in that case - FAA is cheaper (way more schools), easier (only one exam) and comes with night privileges so you won't have to do a night rating. You can get an FAA IR practically for free (substitute it for hour building) and if you do it right, you're also exempted from the EASA IR course.
Google will show you countless schools, and if you take your £20k and borrow another £15k you've got enough to get an EASA CPL/MEIR
How much time would this involve in the US do you think? Not sure how much unpaid leave I could get off work.. 6 weeks I think will be fine but several months might be a problem. The thought of reaching CPL/MEIR with £35k sounds like a dream.