SDM,
I have been over and over the same thoughts in my head. What I have decided is to go fulltime in Bournemouth. I will buy a caravan and park it at a nearby campground which will save me literally thousands over what a B&B would cost plus give me the flexibility of being able to stay weekends should I not want to return home. At the end of the groundschool I will then decide if I am going to continue with the CPL/IR or return to work and top up the coffers. If the latter then I can store the caravan in secure parking from a multitude of places around the country and pull it out for use again when required. This costs approx. £250 pa. When I am done I can sell the caravan for hopefully not much less than what I paid for it.
I also considered the US for the ATPL's but the hassle of finding accomodation and visas turned me off. I have only ever heard good things of NAC but the thought of being so far away from home should things go wrong didn't make me feel to easy. At least in the UK if it all goes pear shaped for whatever reason I can shift to another school.
I intend to head back to the US for some more hour building inbetween or at the end of the CPL/IR.
Good luck.