Bored US trucker wants to go drive in England

Owner operator in the states, been on the road for five years, seen it all at this point and ready for change of scenery. I love my job and I love truckng, but I'm starting to miss that feeling I had in the first year when all the roads and places were new and exciting and it felt like being a tourist while making money.

Went to England last fall just randomly because I saw a $350 round trip flight, and really liked it, even the driving. Drove all over the place in a rental.
Chatted with some lorry drivers in Straener in Scotland, and their stories of driving all the way to places like Italy really got me thinking - maybe after my current truck craps out, instead of getting into another $100k loan, I'll take a break for a couple of years and go work for a long haul company in England?

So I guess my questions are:
How is the Long Haul driver job market in Great Britain? Is it pretty easy to get a job? Would they consider sponsoring an experienced driver with a clean record for a work visa? I wouldn't mind running team to start with just to learn all the specifics.

How easy would it be to convert a United States CDL to a British hgv license? Is there a process or would I have to start all over?

Would I need to rent a apartment just to have an address? Or can I get away with a PO Box? I'm planning on mostly just living in the truck, the way I do now.

And is this just a bad idea in general? Feel free to talk me out of it.

 

No, I don't have anything like that. I'm just a regular US citizen. I do know that some jobs will sponsor one for a work permit, but not sure if truck driving is such a level of job. And they probably have lots of drivers from places like Poland already willing to work for a lot less than I would be willing to.

Maybe I should wait until they finish their silly brexit, or maybe try Australia instead. That could be a fun place to drive trucks...

 

I don't think the random Scottish truckers knew the specifics of getting a work permit and converting CDL to British version thereof. They did have interesting stories and advice about general driving though. Very strict e logs there, and long waiting at different Ferry terminals, but on the other hand you get to go to actual different countries all the time which is pretty cool.

 

The Scottish guys told me that they do make like 800 to 1000 pounds a week for a long run into Europe and back, which is comparable to driving for a semi decent company in the states. But they also probably had experience and raises and stuff. I'm sure that to start with it's less.

But yeah, if I'm going to be only making $700 a week, I might as well just stay in the states and make good money and take long vacations to Europe and other places instead.

 

Canadian border is no big deal, I'm usually through there in like 5 minutes. Here's my US passport, here's my Ace manifest, no, I don't have guns and money, and I'm on my way to eat poutine.

But yeah, just driving up and down England will get boring quick. Considering it's going to be shady Birmingham and places like that most of the time, and not the Scottish Highlands. That's why I want to do to whole europe based from UK