I had the opportunity to do hour-building in Florida, France, South Africa and Canada. All have their advantages and inconvenients.
Florida:
Plus: ease of flying/planning, useful services over the telephone/R/T (1-800 WX BRIEF, flight following, etc.), no landing fees, cheap fuel, lots of airports to fly to, mixing it up with the big boys, no restrictions on doing IFR approaches at night at major airports, good weather (except July with the daily T-storms), nice scenery, flight hours 50% of UK cost
Minus: a bit too flat relief-wise, a bit too easy to navigate, very hot and humid (better climb to 5000' to get a bit of fresh air) in summer, poor a/c performance due low air density, some poor airmanship from local flyers, ATC can also get cross over the R/T (not very professional IMHO), JAA licences validation by the FAA takes much longer post 09/11 (better get it started before leaving the UK now)
France:
Plus: general ease of flying and laid-back attitude to general aviation is comparable to the US, no booking out/in like in UK, landing fees very rare, lots of small airfields with very decent facilities (hard runways etc), generally good weather, good standard of ATC, flight hours cost 25% less than in Blighty
Minus: better speak a minimum of R/T aviation French if you want to go into uncontrolled airfields (or controlled airfields out of hours), lots of MIL-R areas to check for activity at planning stage, not always easy to get some services on small (and not so small) airfields between 1200-1330 (lunch break) or bank holidays, must join a club (joining fee around 200 Euros)
South Africa:
Plus: wonderful scenery (flying over the bush/highveld is unique), challenging nav, professional yet relaxed attitude to flying, English R/T, ease of converting a JAA PPL (skill test/check-out flight, aviation law written exam on a computer, then a trip to the local CAA at Pretoria with the obligatory fee and paperwork and it's done), well maintained aircraft, rare landing fees, plus... you can do long nav flights to Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, etc. (not in everybody's logbook!), costs 30% less than GB, great country experience!
Minus: aircraft perf can be on the low side, at least in summer (Jo'burg/Grand Central for instance is 5600' amsl), some areas with no radar coverage
Canada:
Plus: ease of validating JAA PPL (via internet/fax with
Transport Canada, all arranged even before leaving the UK, then a check-out on arriving and you're done), cheap costs (like the US, flight hours wet around 50% of UK cost), cheap(ish) fuel, nearly no landing fees, good aircraft performance due to dry and colder air, good facilities, possibility to mix it up with commercial traffic at major airports, excellent standard of ATC, welcoming attitude, good weather, great country, no hassle
Minus: due to the sheer size of the country, nav flights can include long stretches over featureless terrain (certainly in Manitoba and some parts of Ontario), GPS is a must due to relative lack of navaids
Bottom line: I'd recommend either South Africa or Canada.
Cheers
