To ask where would be an option to move to?

I think this depends a lot on personal taste and lifestyle, but with fluent French under my belt the alps would immediately be my go-to.

People (including OP) talking about Portugal - have you looked up the tax rates and thresholds? Portugal taxes higher than the UK (sensibly), and was very badly hit by the financial crisis, as well as starting out poorer than the UK, so those higher taxes aren’t especially buying you much better public services. I’d live there in a heartbeat and think much govt policy is unusually good but it’s like the opposite of what OP says she wants. The loss of a family of such well informed global citizens will be a sorry loss for our country. Wonder if the DH is a doctor or if he’s in NHS mis-management costing society far more than he pays in taxes.

I think Dubai is your answer OP, just remember not to let teenage children have consensual premarital relationships when they’re older.

Maybe move to a safer area in the UK? It's still one of the safest countries in th world. You could easily affo d something outside of London. If your DH has to be there for a job it's easy enough to commute if you have the money. Could he get a job in another big city? If you move abroad and he still needs to be city based you will face the same problem.

A cheaper option will be to go outside more, where you'll see life is going on as normal in London and elsewhere. If you are community minded volunteers then of course you know this already. When you get home look up the crime and income inequality statistics for your area. Hopefully this will make you realise how lucky you are to live in a developed, liberal democratic country.

OP, I was in Melbourne fairly recently and, I have to say, it felt much more 'grotty' than when I was there 25 years ago. Graffiti, run down buildings, homelessness more visible. I feel like it's gone downhill more noticeably than London.

There are murders everywhere. The cost of living crisis is global.

I've never been to NZ and I'm sure it's beautiful, but everywhere is soooo far away. Chances are, your kids may move back to U.K. for uni or for work, and then you're stuck on the other side of the world.

We know a few multi-millionaire people who have gone to certain pockets if Portugal - Cascais area mainly. You need to prove you have a certain net wealth for a particular visa (if this scheme still operates). It does sound nice - quite an expat bubble though. When we went over, locals did have reservations that demand for all the expat villas etc had effectively priced them out of the villages and towns they grew up in.

Dubai would be very boring and vapid - in my view. 40 degrees in the middle of the night? You spend your life in malls and air con. No thanks.

Everywhere has its issues. Do you think there are no murders in NL?

Singapore has very low crime, if that's your priority?

You must have some clue where you could see yourself living?

Switzerland seems the obvious choice if you can get visas, can your DH work there?

I moved to Germany 8 years ago and would definitely recommend it, especially if you already speak German.
With an Irish passport you won’t have Brexit-issues either.

We pay a lot of tax but I don’t mind as I see the benefits of it. Feel free to PM me if you want more info.

We've been in Porto this week. It is a lovely city and eating and drinking is certainly cheaper than London but not startlingly so.

The weather is mild and the city beautiful but a lot of it is quite run down. It is alsp crazilycongested and there seems to be lot of petty street crime - pickpocketing, aggressive begging, low level scams. Many people we spoke to complained bitterly about blow wages and relatively high property prices - £8ook - £1M is not unusual for houses in central Porto.

While many speak good English Portuguese seems a challenging language and I assume it would be needed to work in healthcare, unless your DH plans to do private work for ex pat communities somewhere like the Algarve.

If New Zealand is your first choice - I am aware how attractive it is but also seems rather dull. So many New Zealanders try to move even temporarily to else where eg Australia! (They are also pretty much make up the back bone for crews in luxury private world wide yachting too).

Cost of living is higher in both Australia and New Zealand than it is in the UK - they’re definitely not places to go because you find the cost of living in the UK too high! They’ve always been more expensive due to massive housing shortages in the major cities, cost of importing goods to the end of the earth (neither being known for manufacturing), etc. You have to pay for things that are free in the UK such as basic healthcare (in NZ) and state education (in both). Current global price rises have hit them too but that’s on top of an already high cost of living.

Hong Kong is also fantastically expensive.

Singapore would be my first choice (spent a lot of time there) classier than Dubai or Abu Dhabi but outrageously expensive. Maybe Hong Kong - but they hate the Brits.

Canada? Fantastic people and high quality of life, I have been offered a relocation package there in the past but too close to my family/DM and my DC loves their cousins

Well my son ( a mature age) is visiting Argentina at the moment and was also in Brazil too. I.m surprised he has been v. impressed by Buenos Aires given the 'recent' financial history of the country (the debt). So the world is a big place to chose from but language may be a barrier at first.

Some awfully sour posters on this thread 🤣

Brutal but the analysis and conclusions are accurate.

Surely you’ll have to look at countries your DH can practice in? Both language and qualifications. That should narrow it down.

Realistically though countries with low taxation tend have inequality and poverty which leads to issues with crime and do you want to bring up kids in somewhere like Dubai where you have wealthy expats and enslaved Asians?

Anywhere egalitarian and pleasant for raising a family has higher taxes and higher COL eg Switzerland or Luxembourg.

You mentioned Portugal but surely your DH won’t be able to learn Portuguese in months. You don’t have savings so he’ll need to hit te ground running.

Caribbean islands could be a possibility. I know they take British doctors. But COL is very high. Housing very expensive.

I think the problem you have is thinking you can live in London and pay for expensive schooling on one salary. You say you’re in the top 1% but doctors are not the people earning the big bucks. It’s people in finance or entrepreneurs who earn enough to set up their finances so they aren’t paye. They have limited companies based off shore so aren’t in the statistics. You’re not in the top 1% of earners in the uk, just the top of PAYE. This assumption is making you think “why are we not rolling in it?”

If Dubai is your number 1, it says a lot about what you appreciate in a location

I think so. Lot of grammar errors and small i for I.

I’m wondering whereabouts in the UK the OP is based.

Yes

precisely my point!!!

She already said it would have been their first choice, if not for the heat.

Another vote for East Asia but depending on the specific locality you will have to account for language acquisition and the international school sector, which is not universally good. If you don't mind not seeing your children and adopt a boarding model, then UK boarding schools are an option while you are abroad, as are boarding schools in other localities.

Prob is your social circle doesn't go with you, so keep that in mind. We've done a lot of time in APAC over the last two decades so have the social network in place as well as the professional network, so could make a full time relocation work both financially and socially.

If Dubai is the OP’s number 1 choice, then fabulous suggestions with culture and a good human rights record… is unlikely
to appeal

Greenland is up and coming. India? Myanmar? Japan? 🤔

Exactly

We live where we do as the hospital we live by has a specialist area for the type of work he does.

You have answered your own question, or certainly your DH will be able to, more so than strangers on MN.

Start with his specialist area and hospitals.