I did my taining in 1994/5 in California, so don't know how far things will have changed regarding the conversion of licences (at the time the UK were operating under CAA; JAA licencing not yet having been introduced), and the ease of working out in the states (post 9.11).
I decided to train out in the States largely due to cost, where at the time i reckoned i needed about £25,000 to cover all my flying and living costs out there, until i could start earning money flying. I figured i needed the PPL(H), CPL(H) and Instructor rating and guessed on about 160 flight hours. While i was in the states SFAR73 came into force, meaning i had to stretch my money out to give me 200 hours before i could instruct on the R22. It took roughly 6-7 months, working Monday to friday, to get to this position. At the time, for similar experience in the UK i would have been looking at roughly £40,000 which i couldn't afford.
I got the money by saving and borrowing, having finally fully paid of my loan about 4 years ago. I realise that being able to take a year or so off to live abroad while you complete your training may not be either possible or desireable, but in the long term i think it will save you both time and money due to the continuity, and also the fact that you'll have a lot more time to spare for study. If you are interested, one option may be to see if your work will give you a sabatical for up to a year. This will give you the safety net of a job to return to if the flying side of things doesn't work out the way you plan.
It may be worthwhile contacting Bristow's (no i don't work for them.....) who have bought a flight school in Florida (formerly HAI i think) with the intention of being able to get a JAA licence while flying in the states, with the benefit of lower costs and better weather, so fewer flying days lost due to unsuitable weather. A significant amount of further costs occured when i returned to the UK with 1000 hours or so R22 time, only to find that i had to pay an additional few £1000 and sit 14 written and 3 flight exams just to get the UK CAA licence............not that i'm bitter about that or anything!
Hope that offers a bit of help, and whatever you decide to do, all the very best. I'm certainly very glad that i took the plunge and gave it a go.
Cheers, Andy
