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Original poster

If you’re leaving the U.K. because of Brexit where are you going?

87 replies

OrangeSamphire · 20/01/2019 11:06

We’re seriously thinking about our options of where to live given the current situation in the U.K.

We both work in service industries which would be transferable. We don’t speak any other languages to a business standard though. One of our children is disabled.

I have Canadian citizenship but Canada just doesn’t excite me one bit. And the schooling prospects for my disabled child would be dire.

We have family in USA, Canada and France.

If you’ve left, or are leaving, where to and why?

OP posts:
Miljah · 20/01/2019 14:18

We're seriously considering Australia as we are in a fortunate position that all of us, me, DH and the 2 DC- have dual citizenship, mine (Oz one) through naturalisation.

We've been (for me 'back') in the UK 15 years; DH is quite an Anglophile; but we made what we now know to be 'the mistake' of not 'Aussifying' our DC having been back once in those 15 years.

Anyway, DH's job is looking shaky (French HQ company); My NHS HCP job is shite and getting shiter, I can't see a meaningful future in it, especially as the workforce is becoming increasingly 'not that well trained', shall we say (which is beyond ironic, given the anti-forriner sentiment that drove a large part of Leave...); but the fly in the ointment is the DCs, 17, about to do a foundation year, and 19, in uni. We probably need to see the second one through uni before we head off, but I worry our house will be worth tuppence by then.

They, naturally are unsure about heading off to Oz, with their UK qualifications, but I suspect their prospects in the UK post Brexit will be sufficiently rubbish that they will see emigrating as a no-brainer.

If the DC were post-education, my house would be on the market right now.

Universalcreditwoes · 20/01/2019 14:27

My dh whilst not European is from another country and he feels absolutely awful and unwanted. People have used it as an excuse to be racist. He had a successful business that employed quite a few we paid all taxes but after brexit started it effected us badly we lost staff and the business folded we are now struggling

Original poster
OrangeSamphire · 20/01/2019 14:39

Saddened to hear stories of foreign nationals feeling increasingly unwelcome here. That’s not the U.K. I want to be a part of.

Having said that I think our most likely option is to hunker down here if things do deteriorate.

With Canadian passports and a plan to get DH in if we really do ever find that leaving the U.K. becomes necessary and if going to France to be with family isn’t an option.

It’s interesting that people are really leaving as a result of what’s going on. It feels like a quiet undercurrent at the moment. I wonder if it will grow into a huge torrent.

OP posts:
Parky04 · 20/01/2019 14:41

But we don't have the right to live anywhere else in the world so we are stuck here.

Pathetic. Do you realise on how lucky you are to be able to live here? 75% of the worlds population would swap with you in an instant!!

elle1111112 · 20/01/2019 15:04

Pathetic. Do you realise on how lucky you are to be able to live here? 75% of the worlds population would swap with you in an instant

You do realise that people will want to leave if they are unable to find work here because of companies leaving due to Brexit?! So not being able to live / work anywhere else is a scary thought

Original poster
OrangeSamphire · 20/01/2019 15:08

Exactly elle. What would you have people do instead parky? Sit around and join the benefits queue while waiting for non existent social housing?

Surely those that can make more hopeful and ambitious plans than that will want to? And that might mean leaving British shores if things go really tits up.

Let’s hope it won’t come to that. But having a contingency plan, or wanting to leave now because the atmosphere is so depressing, are both completely understandable choices.

OP posts:
SmileSun · 20/01/2019 15:25

Pathetic. Do you realise on how lucky you are to be able to live here? 75% of the worlds population would swap with you in an instant!!

Maybe the people that live in the third world. Seriously, for people that live in the rest of Europe, Oz, NZ, US, the UK is not that great.

Some of the UK have delusions of how great they are.

Camomila · 20/01/2019 15:27

We're not going anywhere ATM but I am working on a back up plan of getting my Italian up to business standard and saving for driving lessons. If everything gets really bad here then I could support us all and DH could be a SAHD in Italy until his Italian improves.

Dublin also seems nice and DH would understand the language!

pointythings · 20/01/2019 16:25

I've got one DD doing A-levels and another doing GCSEs this year. We are all EU nationals, I am a single parent. I'm trying to find a balance between not disrupting DDs' education and getting out of the UK - I've been here almost 22 years but I'm fed up now. We'd probably go to Holland or Ireland.

SalrycLuxx · 20/01/2019 16:38

Friends of ours are headed for Italy.

I suspect my brother has Australia in mind if it gets too bad here.

For my family it would be Canada. Hoping it won’t come to that though.

williteverend99 · 20/01/2019 17:02

I leave for France in two weeks

Hope you have factored health insurance costs into this decision.

elle1111112 · 20/01/2019 17:06

To all the people who are moving to France / Italy / Australia do you have duel citizenship? I don't have any sadly.

sixnearlyseven · 20/01/2019 17:13

Hilarious to think that anyone apart from a tiny minority of wealthy people would just have the money to up and leave the uk, not an option for most of us. There may be some disruption but I don't think Brexit ( if it happens) will be the disaster predicted. Life will go on.

Miljah · 20/01/2019 17:26

Life will go on... but if some of us have the ability to walk away from what 'that life' could well be, we will.

Rationing and shortages is 'a life' but not one I particularly want for me, or mine. Or yours, unless you're a Brexiteer, in which case, fill your boots with unicorn bounty.

You might be surprised at how many people might find themselves an 'out' possibly by holding or being entitled to another passport or permanent residence.

Fortunately, for you, you only foresee 'some disruption', so it doesn't matter if you don't have 'an escape route', does it? You'll just need to 'all pull together' to 'make a success of Brexit', to 'Make Britain Great, again', hey?.... Wink

elle1111112 · 20/01/2019 17:39

Hilarious to think that anyone apart from a tiny minority of wealthy people would just have the money to up and leave the uk

Really?? Surely it's easier for people who rent to apply for jobs online, up and leave than for wealthy people with a mortgage?

PostNotInHaste · 20/01/2019 17:57

Yes life will go on but can some people really not understand how for many families who are mixed nationality life has already changed hugely and will continue to do so whilst people readjust. I don’t think people can be so stupid as to not realise this so can only assume we’re seeing yet another influx of Brexit trolls on here again.

My DD will now be emigrating as her partner from an EU country has come over but doesn’t want to stay. He’s prepare ed stick it till after her degree but then they are off. And sadly I am frequently grateful my EU born Mum is no longer here as would be having to sort papers for her and goodness knows what would be happening if PILs who had emigrated to Europe were still alive. Life has changed for so many people already and this is all causing huge amounts of stress for a fair few people.

We’ve had to bloody stockpile insulin for family member on advice of friend who is Lead Diabetes Nurse in a hospital. It never used to cross our minds we’d need to do this. We’re tied here for now as DS doing exams but will see where DD ends up and what DS wants to do so staying for now but may be off in a few years, would be Germany or Holland.

SalrycLuxx · 20/01/2019 18:16

Hilarious to think that anyone apart from a tiny minority of wealthy people would just have the money to up and leave the uk

Actually many people would find that are in high demand abroad. Plumbers, sparkies, builders, joiners and truckers are sought after and would find it fairly easy to obtain visas.

williteverend99 · 20/01/2019 18:25

Actually many people would find that are in high demand abroad. Plumbers, sparkies, builders, joiners and truckers are sought after and would find it fairly easy to obtain visas.

iIf you are talking about UK nationals, in a no deal Brexit scenario, there will be issues around mutual recognition of qualifications. So not as easy as many think.

PurpleCrowbar · 20/01/2019 18:51

I moved to teach in the ME a year or so before the vote.

Everything I've seen since then has convinced me that I will never live in the U.K. again.

My dc are at an excellent international school, & their focus is on getting in to good non-U.K. universities & acquiring highly portable qualifications.

Seeing our home country fall apart so frighteningly has been a pointed lesson in the value of having the CV equivalent of an Oh Fuck Rucksack Confused

sixnearlyseven · 20/01/2019 19:17

I voted remain, just saying that financially many people especially those with families won't be able to leave. I certainly couldnt, we rent and DH is a teacher. It would require savings which we and many others just don't have.Nobody really knows what will happen at this point and I appreciate it will bring very different issues if you are living in the UK from an EU country.

MissMooMoo · 20/01/2019 20:27

DS and I are both dual UK/Canadian citizens so it would be Canada.
Canada has no income requirements to sponsor a spouse and its all very straight forward so I know it will be an automatic approval for DH to become a PR

tentative3 · 20/01/2019 21:02

We are fortunate that I hold an EU citizenship plus one from elsewhere in the world, and have previously lived overseas. It would be tricky jobs wise now, particularly for me, but we are child free and have started from nothing before so could do it again. We have a house and a mortgage here though, so not sure what would happen there...

I feel truly, truly lucky that we have escape routes and ones that are genuinely viable at that.

RollerJed · 20/01/2019 21:02

I'm Australian, dh is Irish. We thought about moving to Ireland but I think it will be bad there also so we've moved back to Aus.

We knew it was either sell our house last summer or wait it out and we werent happy to do that.

So far no regrets, but I envision we'll head back to Ireland some day when it's all settled.

I'm done with the UK now which is sad as both dd were born there and I applied for my citizenship on the 22 June 2016.

KentishMama · 20/01/2019 22:52

I am an EU citizen, married to a Brit and mother to a dual national child who's due to start school in 2019. I've lived here for 12 years - and contributed an insane amount of tax while not taking anything out other than the occasional GP appointment.

We've discussed leaving for the last 2.5 years. Won't make a decision until all how for a second referendum / art 50 withdrawal is gone completely.

But there are days - lots of them recently! - where I wish I had the guts to say, "Screw this, we're off." What's holding us back is purely practical stuff. Selling the house. Moving with a small child & a pair of middle aged cats. The hassle. The bureaucracy.

But I'm feeling very very unwanted here now. Three years ago, I would have described the UK as home. Now? I'm homeless.

watt36 · 21/01/2019 00:17

Come to Australia.

Good healthcare. Jobs are well paid. Great weather. Not a fan of our current Prime Minister, but he's not Trump.

Good social system.

We've been in a housing bubble but that's all changing.