To be worried about emigration

You’re not concerned about the resulting increased social instability with tearing up the social contract?

other countries are not in the same position and the lack of investment started long, long before then. The UK made very different decisions and here we are.

This

after 08?

What I don't understand is why everyone seems so blindsided by the current situation. If everything is shut down as it was in 2020, that has absolutely massive, decades long fallout.

Things were not good before covid though What was the peak 08?

I would leave tomorrow if I could and I’ve lived here all my adult life since we emigrated from our home country after graduating. Never thought I’d say that as until about five years ago I loved it here, always said I’d never move ‘back’. DH would struggle to get work in our home country as the industry he works in is so much smaller there as is mine, but I could remote work more easily. But I think we’d have a better quality of life. DS would likely get a better education and more opportunities for the future. It’s very sad.

I don’t agree that we were blindsided by what happened in 2020, other countries are not in the same position and the lack of investment started long, long before then. The UK made very different decisions and here we are.

It's interesting as I have friends who have emigrated here from Aus and Canada to get away from their issues and friends who have emigrated to these places to get away from ours.
Nowhere is perfect. The middle east sounds good with no tax and glamour but as soon as theres an issue or someone loses a job it becomes a risky place to be.
Lots of Europe are also struggling with cost of living and far right politics.
We arent perfect at all but everywhere has pros and cons and at least as a British citizen there is a safety net if needed.

God how I hate it when certain phrases like 'terminal decline' come into fashion and people just start using them without any thought as to what they actually mean. It's great for the fearmongers - others do the work for them by repeating these things over and over often enough that even sensible people start to think 'gosh I've heard that a lot, there must be something in it.'

'Terminal decline' in the context of a country makes no sense. A country is not a person. There are peaks and troughs in a country's fortunes, things may change beyond recognition, but the country will still exist, it won't suddenly fall out of existence.

What I don't understand is why everyone seems so blindsided by the current situation. If everything is shut down as it was in 2020, that has absolutely massive, decades long fallout. We're experiencing that at the moment. It was 100% predictable and plenty of people warned about it at the time. If you were in favour of things being shut, then you were in favour of whatever suffering is being visited on the country at the moment, because logically it was inevitable.

Spending needs to be cut drastically. I'd start with the untouchables of welfare, pension triple lock and NHS.

The triple lock needs to be paused, it's madness & the winter fuel reversal was stupid but a lot of the public don't want it.

You are right to be concerned OP. For us, bringing pensions into IHT was the final nail in the coffin. We are a family of five tax paying professionals and by Christmas only one will still be in the UK.

As a younger person including pensions in IHT makes more sense to me than further income tax rises. We need to encourage spending money not hoarding it to pass on.

worried

As a higher earner I worries before labour was in power but maybe it's an age thing

Labour is creating uncertainty for middle and higher earners and generally making, or threatening to make, their lives worse, so it is tempting to leave if you have the opportunity.

Covid and Ukraine have had a big impact on cost of living in lots of countries so not many places are having a marvellous time at the moment.

You are right to be concerned OP. For us, bringing pensions into IHT was the final nail in the coffin. We are a family of five tax paying professionals and by Christmas only one will still be in the UK.

Well yes, because she ramped up spending at the same time. Madness. Spending needs to be cut drastically. I'd start with the untouchables of welfare, pension triple lock and NHS.

Sorry I meant to say wage stagnation not inflation lol

What is mind blowing is that 52k today is the equivalent of 28k in the early 00s.

Even child benefit hasn't kept up with inflation & it was universal at one point.

Im EU citizen/british husband/kids born in the UK and we are taking steps to move due to harassment and hate incidents myself and our kids are targeted with,nearly every other week.

There are lots of factors at play.
One of them being the constant doom and gloom perpetuated by the media. They prefer to focus on immigration rather than discuss the idea of taxing privately owned companies which other countries have nationalised. Examples include water companies. They should be nationalised. How on earth you can justify a water company being privately owned, whereby customers have no choice whatsoever as to who they buy their water from is mind boggling. At least with say a bank, I can chose to stop using them and chose another provider, I am well and truly stuck with the water company.
We live in a society which is neither one thing nor the other. We have private completion yet people demand high levels of state intervention such as benefits. This current government tried to clamp down on free hand outs, such as the winter fuel allowance, yet were shouted down. His oats for these free hand outs? The working population.
Places such as Dubai encourage fit, young people to go and work there and they reward them well. They do not however support them when they become old and need state help.

I’m definitely encouraging my kids to think of university options in Europe.

I think we’ve had a period of profound uncertainty about Brexit then the Tories burned through PMs. It feels like everyone is burned out, tired, and angry.

We made consumerism quite central to our society compared to other places. We’re lacking a strong social fabric to fall on when times are tougher.

We have a lot of doctors as neighbours and one couple has said they’re moving back to Singapore once they’ve completed their training.

I don’t blame him. Given these idiots putting flags up all over the place! It’s absolutely shameful.

I agree with all of this. Everything just seems so shabby and yet overpriced/overtaxed. And don’t get me started on wage inflation for those of us on “average” wages. I am leaving the UK to another European country early next year.

And that's the issue but low interest rates masked a lot of it, nowhere to hide anymore.

We really have never recovered from 08, we had a ‘false’ growth post Covid for 2021 and some of 2022. It was catch up.

Yes I agree my cousins in their 20s not a single one has chosen to set up their life here. 1 has gone to work in Canada (EV mechanic gone to Tesla), 2 (GPs) gone to Australia, 2 have moved to Dubai (IT and another in Sales)..if I look at my wider circle the list goes on. I have several lawyer friends who go out to Dubai/Doha to earn tax free for several years then some do return but bring their wealth buying property here/rental properties.

I’d say it’s well known in the groups I mix in that you won’t make your fortune here, if you want to live here you need to go generally to the Middle East and bring your wealth back. With Canada and Australia I’ve found people seem to permanently leave but they do return from the Middle East.