well that's what I was wondering...whether I would gain a lot more by doing the CPL from scratch in Europe or get the FAA and convert.
Do you have to pay and take exams and stuff to renew JAA licences?
FAA licences only require medicals (every 3 years if a third class for private flying) and bi-annual flight reviews...which is like 1 hour of flight and 1 hour of ground with an instructor if I recall correctly, and a rating counts as a BFR.
In Europe seems a lot more expensive and complicated to keep your licences...