Moving away from UK - what would you do?

[MadgeMidgerson]

DH and I are both employed as teachers and have secure jobs.

We have no family in the U.K. but have 2 dc under 12. I have been wanting to go back to my home country for ages now,especially as my parents are getting older.

There are no teaching jobs in that country to speak of - we’d be starting over with something new. We own a home and have equity in it, though lord knows what we’d get after brexit becomes reality,

Stay or go?

If you can't teach over there, what were you thinking of moving into instead and is it realistic?

I thought I could do admin/office work, and maybe retrain to be a personal support worker (1 year course at an FE college, not well paid but enough and plenty of work going)

I'm in Canada and I work for the school district! There are TONS of jobs. Move.

@sawbucks I have pm’ed you!

I've lived in my home country and abroad so have some idea what you might be up against, although everyone has a different experience. As a child I found it fun to change countries, it took a little time to adapt of course but was ultimately no problem. I think if you'd like to love if be looking at applying for jobs from here, it's what my parents did. Many potential employers will now interview via Skype or similar if a candidate lives abroad.

If your alternative is Canada, that has nothing to do with Brexit.

It can be hard to go back to somewhere you've left, especially if it's been a long time. Both you and the place have changed.

I think you need to be certain about the job situation before you go anyway. Or do you have savings that you could live on?

I would definitely go back there and of course you'll find jobs.

Don't let fear rule your life.

Crafty I think the Brexit worry was about house prices falling and not having equity to release by selling her house.

Sounds like a lovely option to have, although I appreciate not an easy decision to make. Would it be possible to secure at least one job before going? My other thoughts are could you keep and rent out your house here to give you the option of returning if it didn't work out as you had hoped? Could you stay with your parents whilst you settled? In your situation I'd be very tempted to go.

I fail to see what Brexit has to do with whether a Canadian stays or goes from the UK. But anyway, if you're a teacher, why not use one of the long vacations you have to go home to Canada and job-hunt? I can't believe that it would be that hard to find work as a teacher, or do you need to re-qualify or jump through hoops to get certified there?

brexit has meant that I am giving leaving even greater consideration- I do not believe it is being handled well, and I worry about the fallout

As an immigrant (I should say I am a U.K. citizen) the climate towards immigrants has felt increasingly hostile and that encourages me to leave too

A plunging pound and a possible housing price fall would both be linked to Brexit.
Brexit has caused a 20% devaluation in the pound v the Canadian dollar so far so it has to be part of OP's moving calculations.

yes, that too.

I can’t job search during the long holiday - I imaging employers might think I was taking the piss if I went through the recruitment process and turned around at the end and said lol I’m off back to England now

I qualified in Canada and am a member of a professional body there, so no problem with converting qualifications.

Yes, it is hard to find a post in Canada - teaching is well paid, secure, and Canadian teachers have an independence that English ones don’t - there isn’t the burnout and dropout that occurs with regularity in England.

We had 12 months in Edmonton a few years ago (2016) and the job market was up and down and volatile in that time so if you have a few months savings you'd prob be able to secure something - there was def jobs in the less desirable areas and a search for education on indeed.ca would bring up lots of non school places looking for education professionals. Also loads of cover staff posts and education assistant roles around.

I am biased OP because I would dearly love to follow lots of my ancestors and be living in Canada. Currently hanging out on the wrong side of the border, but at least I am adjusting to the winters in case I ever get to cross the lake!

Are you fucking mental?! Go. Your kids will have a much better quality of life, opportunities and thank you one day.

Write us a pros and cons list, OP. That might help clarify. I can see that when you’ve made an international move already then the possibility of going back the other way is always theoretically there. I think you need to be a bit clearer about the why factor though. Is it that you always assumed you’d move back home sometime ? Or that things generally look better over there ? Or that you’re needed by family ?

We moved to Canada 6 months ago. I believe unemployment is at a low. We moved for my husband’s job but I also found a job very quickly.

Where did you go @mrszb and what kind of job did you get?

My Canadian cousin has struggled to find a primary teaching job in Ontario following his move from China. He says it is a pretty dire job market.

Is there any need for private tutoring? Or online/any equivalent to the Open University etc?

Or could you move 'sideways' in your career, still using teaching skills – education consultant, external examiner, education writer/journalist...?

Just thinking out loud, really, so sorry if you've thought of all these ideas (or, indeed, if they're all bull!)