I tried to resist saying that some of the replies are way out in price but here goes. My interest is I am the owner of Dutch Country Helicopters in Pennsylvania. At the moment, from scratch if you have no flying time at all, fixed wing or rotary a private will cost 40 hours x $200 or £4395. A 150 hour commercial is £16,393. If you have 100 hours fixed wing it is 50 hours only or £5464 at todays exchange rate.
If you are really serious about wanting to fly for a living some schools will employ you as a CFI if you train from scratch with them. I have certainly employed ex-students. You will probably get at least 1000 hours in 2 years.
A JAR compliant licence is of more use than either a standalone FAA or JAA licence. It will enable you to fly anywhere in the world without conversion.
I'm afraid that anyone telling you that the USA is not cheaper is dreaming. We charge £109 per flying hour for a Bell 47. Anyone in the UK beat that? No landing fees, fly 24 hours a day, no 500 foot rule. Paradise!