To ask where would be an option to move to?

Everyone is always so defensive and snarky in these MN posts when top earners are seeking ways to better their own life. Seems if you’re in 1% earner, you aren’t allowed to complain about anything. This country has zero incentives to motivate people to earn money but they’ll happily support the govt dashing money to lazy folks. OP is asking for advice for people in similar shoes, if that’s not you then jog on, no need for the silly sarcasm 🙄
I’m not in the 1% but I can relate to your post OP.
Portugal or even Denmark are nice options but high taxes. I’ve heard some people say Singapore also but I’ve never been.

@Gair You've been talking a lot of sense on this thread and I don't see any avenue for me to valuably add to your excellent detailed contributions.

It is interesting hearing about Chinese mainland and other such postings with regards to pollution, limitations on movement, and accommodation costs. I've often heard this over the years, jaw agape, but each locality has its charm, and its all part of the raw and sometimes jarring yet wonderful experience of living in APAC.

My postings have been non-Chinese mainland East Asian localities in the usual conventional hubs. Somewhat similarly to you, a desire to school my DC in the UK also brought me back. I was unable to stay away, however, and have had postings again since. There are still quite a few of my old gang out there, and as you say the food is just too good to be away from.

It's good for OP to know that whatever decision she takes, its reversible as long as she doesn't sell her house, although there is a time of readjustment required on return. Somewhat imperfect souls like me succumb to temptation and go back!

Australia is a a good place to live. I don’t think there’s an age restriction for doctors to emigrate there so it’s still a possibility if your DH is over 45.

It’s a well trodden path for medics so I’m surprised you needed to ask really. Your DH must know someone over there surely. Or a friend of a friend.

Just looking for my tiny violin!

@Gair interesting post - my H lived for 2 years in Singapore when he was 7 - dad worked for BBC and got all the perks that were common early 70’s - maid, driver, schools paid, house paid for etc - as he said his main memory was the food ( which he said was fabulous) - fabulous lively markets, plus access to quite swanky places/clubs where ex pat families went , outdoor cinema and the weather which he remembered as ‘sweaty’ - I do think it’s a very different thing doing it all off your own back somewhere with support and your life ‘created’ and funding and building it all yourself from scratch and navigating new often complex systems - you can often underestimate costs of shipping your stuff, deposits on rented homes ( 3 months rent plus the agency fee is common in many places) buying or leasing a car , deposits on kids schools etc etc

Ah sorry- missed that

@FrauPaige I agree with a lot of your points, especially regarding cost of education! I think you laid it all out very rationally and lots for the OP to consider from your helpful post. Now I'm going to wade in with anecdotes ;))

In my case, the APAC destinations I was in were definitely not easy ones for many expat families due to pollution, nature destruction, authoritarian regimes, difficulty in mastering local languages etc. (and were considered 'hardship posts' at the time - even though they had scrapped the 'hardship payment'). However, it certainly made for exciting and varied times for us as adults! I waited until I was back in Europe to have DC for those reasons. So I think it can be a very very mixed bag as far as APAC postings are concerned - some fabulous, some dreadful and a lot in between.

With regards to cars etc, I find it really odd that people feel the need to signal status in this way, but accept that I am probably the odd one out here. A lot of expat families I knew in Beijing had a driver because their company did not allow driving (insurance risk), but this may have changed in the meantime. It was also necessary for them to get from their "villas" in the suburbs. We chose to live very very centrally and used public transport/taxis/bikes, but the roads were pretty dangerous tbh. Not comparable to HK, Tokyo etc.

Accommodation for expats was also not cheap, unless you were happy to live in very poor conditions, and back then foreigners were not allowed to rent completely freely either. This has probably changed now though. The prices were shocking last time I went (2017) - friends were paying more for their apartment in Zone 2 than we were paing for a bigger city flat next to a lake in a very expensive part of Central Switzerland. Their place was not value for money at all (but normal for Beijing), but their life was a lot more exciting for sure!

Apart from a good friend who still lives in Shanghai, the thing I miss most from my days there is the food. It was fabulous and varied, and eating out was possible at all price ranges. I'm a real foodie and loved it!

OP says he’s in medical

@gairyes will be doing, I never rely on one source but your post has made me think to check - sadly not retiring yet for a good few years - I say sadly - we have a business in an interesting industry that I can ramp up/wind down as needed and flexible time- so am happy continuing

Please check the Gov.uk website for the specifics in your case, and take profesdional advice if necessary. Depending on internet randoms (like me!) for veracity of information is incredibly risky.

Hope you enjoy your retirement!

If he’s in finance look at Hong Kong or Singapore. Maybe HK preferable given comment about heat in Dubai- HK has hot summers but temperate winters. There are still opportunities in finance for westerners although fewer now due to requirements for mandarin.

Thanks for that - I was about to google and check that out , as we may well go to Netherlands or Sweden for a good few years and are 61 and 63 at moment

Yes, I read articles about people moving abroad, not realising the pension amount was frozen, and didn’t increase. It came as quite a shock to them.

The PP is correct in saying that the UK State Pension is not index linked if you live in Australia when you draw it. This has a massive negative impact over time due to inflation.

It is index linked if you emigrate to the EU or Switzerland for example.

This idea that Australia “traps” people after a divorce - it’s just that they actually follow The Hague Convention. It’s not some random Australian law. The idea is that a parent can’t just take their child away from their habitual place of residence on the breakdown of a relationship.

It does sometimes mean that women have to stay if their husbands don’t want them to leave with their children, but it also prevents men from
abducting their children as well.

You don't work though, so probably aren't paying any tax.

Australia sounds great, but just be sure your marriage is strong enough to take the move, as you would not be able to leave with the children if anything did go wrong.
(I know a few people stuck there after divorces)

Why don’t you take a look at Switzerland? It’s a stunning country, not too far away and you’ll find it easy to work with both speaking fluent French and German. I have no idea how difficult it would be to obtain visas to move there, but it would be my first choice were I in your position. Apologies if Switzerland has already been mentioned, I haven’t read the entire thread.

The main draw for British nationals to APAC is far superior day to day lifestyle with more variety, less time indoors, better weather, better access to varied terrains and nature, a plethora of restaurants at a low cost, manageable accommodation costs, excellent affordable public transport, no need to continuously buy flashy cars as nobody sees them as everyone gets around by public transport, and a sociable close knit expat community.

The main thing that brings them back is missing there uk social circle and family, and the Apac (esp. East Asia) education environment - which is very strict and competitive, flanked by an international school sector which is not uniformly good.

As @cityanalyst678 points out, good UK state comprehensive schools (often ex-grammars) outperform APAC international schools (as well as many UK independent and boarding schools) so should be viewed in terms of their monetary value when compared to the fee paying options - upwards of £150k per child for secondary alone. If you are able to tutor your child to pass the 11+ for a state grammar, you save £300k per child as they often outperform international schools and high performing independent fee paying day and boarding schools, which is why people wait for 11+ results before shunting their kids off to boarding.

You must also then consider UK university fees. These are cheaper if you are a local student than if you are an international student - which you will be if you child isn't in the UK for three years before starting university. You could be looking at a 2-4x uplift, so your child being a UK resident could save you another £80k.

So, £230-380k per saved per child by staying here, but you have to live in grey cloud and rain for most of the year, have a surprisingly narrow selection of restaurants, have to fly somewhere to reliably see the sun and to enjoy varied terrains and nature, wonder why people think driving a new car is so important, and have to hear the most depressing news about political agitation on a daily basis. Quite the choice!

It's often the same people that do stints in one part of APAC then another, so many of the expats in East-Asia find their way to Australia when they retire for more of the same but slower, easier, and a little more expensive.

How about putting your children in a great state school, of which there are many. Imagine all the savings you could make. England performs very well on the international standings for education, unlike many other European countries. Think about your food shopping and looking at cheaper supermarkets, don’t eat out too often. But the bottom line is your school fees.

That's not true. You pay in national insurance minimum amount (few pounds a week - more than an unemployed person pays in) and you qualify.

To be in the top 10% of salaries in the UK you need to earn over 65k GBP, the equivalent in the USA is over £155k GBP. I would go to the USA, slightly higher costs but incomes are much better.

Australia also a good shout. Salaries are falling Dubai, housing costs are rising and it's hard to get into a good school (shit schools are easy to get into but not sure that would be what you are looking for?). Abu Dhabi and Riyadh - renting and schools are trickier than Dubai.

Remember if you go you won’t get an entitlement to a full British state pension and it won’t keep up with inflation if you live abroad.

Ha - I thought the same too- also rather strange comments on the first post like ‘he is in top 1% of earners ‘ and then ‘we don’t receive benefits’ -

that kind of speaks for itself if you are in the top 1%

im rather cynical these days that there’s a lot of subliminal ‘influencing going on -

I do get that people can feel this way about moving - my H would like to move back to Europe next year having had a 2 year spell 2020 to 2022 in Denmark , but in our case reason for reconsidering is it’s due to Brexit having caused issues in our company that we can rectify quite easily if living there and our income would improve again and the fact he can’t stand the idea that a significant number of voters seem to think Farage talks sense -and he woukd rather pay his tax elsewhere too if Farage gets in - maybe it’s better if we do indeed just accept we don’t fit in with this mentality - we aren’t huge ‘lefties’ either.

if OP is genuine then I understand an underlying feeling- however I don’t understand the reasoning given - just go back to work part time or something, move to somewhere less money - we live in Bath- it’s not exactly a hell hole , great state and private schools , I dont think anywhere will be high standards, low tax that doesn’t have very particular issues and may suit OP - Switzerland maybe ? But that isn’t cheap to live , same applies to Singapore and Dubai - tax is low because it’s all added on what you use/do . I’ve known people think they would be loaded in these places and ended up spending just as much on overall living- not sure he would actually earn considerably more in Australia and it certainly isn’t cheap - you too are vulnerable OP if anything went wrong marriage wise in Aus- you can’t automatically move away and can be difficult with little support and whether you could work or not - or get work as you’ve been out the workplace a good while

I’m not saying this is a goady post designed to whip up the usual fears about Britain being a dangerous hellhole and the Labour government penalising the rich blah blah blah, but for someone who claims to be “born and bred in England” your posts do have peculiar syntax.