Disillusioned with life in the UK...where shall I go?

[Pinkarsedfly]

Having somewhat of an existential crisis, and spending a lot of time dreaming about pastures new.

Anyone live anywhere they think is getting it right? Good standard of living, decent values, nice scenery, a government being run by human beings?

Indulge me, please - help me plan my escape, or at least help me construct a pleasant fantasy; before I lose faith in humanity altogether.

Where do have a right to live and work?

That is the starting point.

I’ve recently found myself getting obsessed with watching random families drive round the Australian coast in van homes and watching people make tiny houses.

I’ve always felt like I have itchy feet when it comes to setting- I always moved a lot when renting, albeit in the same area but I like to move around a bit.

Sadly dh isn’t of the same feeling (and is more sensible moneywise which is probably a good thing for a family) so I often feel really hemmed in and stuck and just a feeling of dread really that we’ll be here forever.

DrBuckles I have a serious case of itchy feet.

It depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a cushy life with zero sense of responsibility it doesn’t get much better than Britain unless you are willing to brave a Nordic country with a poor climate like Finland.

I think it’s just a general malaise. Elderly parents, business failed, feel so sad for the kids I teach, Fucking Brexit, Fucking, Fucking Tories...it’s all awful.

I think I need to batten down the hatches and just potter about quietly until it passes.

And stop watching the news.

It’s what happened to my mum. She had a fall and they wouldn’t let her home even with a stairlift. (Her house was assessed.)

She was furious that she had to sell her home to pay for care. No one could take her in (we lived in the wilds, she would have been housebound, siblings overseas and one in a city flat with no room).

Within two months of moving into a self contained flat in a home she was having a better life than she’d had for years. Meals were provided in a dining room if she wanted them, she had a little kitchen area if not, her medical needs were all taken care of and their was a social life on her doorstep.

I think there is a stigma about homes that that generation feel. It was like a country house hotel to me! I wanted to move in myself.

whoops there not their

If I was forced to go abroad I'd go to new Zealand. I've been thinking of buying a plot of land in wales and sticking a log cabin on it so I can retire early and never leave the house again. I'm sick of it all.

Don't go to the Falklands! My friend (forces) was there and I asked what it was like, he said it was full of people the height of whose ambition was to live on a rock in the middle of nowhere with sheep.

I second Portugal. Love the food and the priorities Portuguese people seem to put on a social,family based lifestyle.

My mum ended up in a very nice care home for three weeks after a fall.

She bitched and moaned the whole time.

So we got her home and sorted daily carers, whom she promptly sacked.

Germany.

My ultimate fantasy is to live on the Ile de Ré.

Get an allotment. I am happily pottering around in my polytunnel setting seeds and listening to occasional rain showers all lovely and warm. I have an audiobook for entertainment.

Then learn to sail or surf if you can’t already, while you are waiting to get there. Start the dream!

There must be an international school near there.

There are international schools all over the world, all with very good pay and conditions and no Ofsted.

Your problem is though that you're dealing with a stressful situation with ageing parents. And that won't be resolved by moving to Thailand or whatever. Small steps, make the day to day more manageable and yes stop watching the news. All it does in these times is stress us all out. I recommend radio 3. They don't even have hourly headlines if they're broadcasting a concert. A lot of the time you could listen to it and never know that brexit was or wasn't happening.

GnomedePlume funny you should say that. I have one, and I love it there.

Perhaps I should declare it an independent Free state?

Costa Rica. If you own your property in uk, rent it out. Live on the proceeds and perhaps a small job there

What skills and qualifications do you have? Are they recognised internationally?

What languages do you speak?

Start from there.

madcatlady I like your log cabin idea.

First things first op, get yourself on the elderly parents thread on here

Get some support for your situation

OP if you feel that strongly about what could be the best thing to happen, I'd move anyway. They are going to moan at you no matter what - it sounds like it? - then does it make a difference?

if you haven't got to work then you have so many lovely choices.

Costa Rica is spot on and has tonnes of international schools in various locations - city, coastal etc. That's maybe for a different life stage though. I agree that your priority is getting help with the strain of your parents' welfare.

viques my dbro was out there for 6 months. I’ve always been keen to go and asked him what it was like. He described it as ‘like Dartmoor but shitter.’

I have a Swiss friend who is a teacher in Geneva. She is trying to buy a property in Ireland to live there. I think no country is perfect, everyone complains about some aspect of their homeland.

It certainly looks like shit in any photos I've seen.

I'd like to do a trip to Antarctica though. That would be cool.