Which country shall I emigrate to?

[Pitaramus]

Is the grass actually greener?

I’m so fed up of perpetual winter / work / our education system! Is there anywhere better than the UK or am I looking for something that doesn’t actually exist?

The only other country I’ve lived in for any meaningful amount of time is Italy and, although lovely, it’s not somewhere I think I would raise my children. Also, DH couldn’t work there because of the language barrier so that would put a spanner in the works anyway.

At the moment I am so down in the dumps about the UK. House prices are ridiculous so we’re all crammed into houses that are too small for us. We can’t make use of the beautiful outdoors for periods of the year because of Storm Dennis et al. My kids go to the local state primary which is average - the state secondary that they will be condemned to is dreadful. And we all spend our lives working and our weekends tidying and cleaning and trying to keep the kids entertained in the cold and wet.

What are the other options, if any? Or does anyone live the same life as me and love it?

Apologies for the miserable post, February half term is the worst of all the school holidays!

Just go on holiday mid winter

I live in Italy and it is lovely but for a lot of the year it is too hot to be outside all day.

Isn't the weather in Northern European countries like the Netherlands and Germany quite similar to the UK? You'll also have to tidy and clean wherever you live, that doesn't go away wherever you live.

You either have to dress appropriately for the weather, don't go mountaineering in a storm obviously or do indoor activities like swimming, bowling, climbing, gym, snowdome, soft play, trampolines etc, although obviously these can be costly.

perpetual winter? Where do you live in the UK? Didn't you notice all that heat and sun last summer?

it is February. What do you expect in the way of weather?

buy some decent clothes and get your collective arses out of the front door - British women do tend to buy crappy clothes designed for them and put appearance above sense.

I've just been for a walk up a hill, it was lovely because I had the right clothes even though there was a rain shower and a strong wind. Or just move out of London which is often the issue on these threads.

NZ has seasons too and non-heated houses, although the Kiwis have more sense and dress properly. Australia of course has super heat in places, droughts, floods etc etc, although I think Perth is quite nice climate wise. Canada will really test your weather proofing.

Not sure I'd agree that the cinema is the only option for indoor entertainment - although we only have one child, so don't have to find something that keeps lots of little people happy at the same time. But, with half term coming up and our 3yo not going to nursery we currently have plans for:

• a supermarket trip (which she actually likes, and hasn't done for about 6 weeks due to starting her 30 hours at nursery)
• a cookery class (regular weekly activity, continues over the break)
• a craft session at a local museum (as above)
• a glass decorating session at a local gallery in town (age 3+, so she qualifies this time)
• a musical play event at a museum in a nearby city.

I'm also considering a 'Frozen'-themed day at the races at our local track (the mind boggles), free taster sessions with members of our local chamber orchestra at their concert hall (plus crafts, plus kiddie discounts in the café), a day-long 'play rebellion' at a nearby art gallery. Then there's old favourites like the railway museum, model trains at a nearby national trust property and if I can find the speakers I'll have a keyboard set up so she can bash around on the 'piano'. Throw in a bit of home baking (we like making biscuits) and I think we're OK regardless of the weather. I'm not sure I'll even need to include the local theatres this time, although that's another option if we get stuck.

Pretty much all of these events are within 30 mins drive / train ride from home, so it's not impossible. And we don't exactly live in the most fashionable part of the country (if you know the region, you can probably identify most of the locations mentioned).

Without knowing where you are, it's hard to advise, but I'd strongly suggest looking up your local museums, galleries, sports centres, concert halls, national trust / eng heritage properties etc. You might be surprised at what you can find - and at what your kids will have a go at if you take them along and tell them that's the plan for the day. If I don't do this regularly, and book things accordingly, I go slowly insane to the accompaniment of Octonauts, so I'm happy to do almost anything else (save, perhaps, Frozen-themed horse racing - that could be bridge too far!).

Afaik you cant just move to the USA unless you are american or have a link thats allows you to.

The only two people ive known go there and live was 1. For two years with a work connection, then they moved elsewhere and 2.someone with enough money to buy a business and a house employ americans

I grew up in California. Fantastic weather. I rode my bike, roller skated, swam, and generally lived outside as a child. It was great.

I wouldn't recommend it now unless you are super wealthy. Housing prices are astronomical, state schools are dreadful due to lack of money, traffic is a nightmare. I don't think utopia exists. Every place has its good and bad points. Best to make the best of what you have where you are.

Could you consider just moving to another part of the UK, a fresh start? Or move to Ireland, or Isle of Wight? Admittedly, the weather will be the same, but maybe a fresh start is what you need.

Jersey is apparently one of the warmest parts of the UK.

We're in Germany. DH's German is quite basic although he's getting better. He works for an international company and doesn't really need to speak German for work.
DS is currently at a private, bilingual nursery and likely to transfer to a private, bilingual school once he's about 5.5. Costs are a fraction of those of private schools in the UK and fees are income-based.
The weather is similar to the UK, although the summer is usually hotter. I like hot weather, so it's great for me. The winter this year has been rather disappointing, though.
Generally, work is a lot more relaxed. I'm a qualified teacher and still find it hard to believe how my workload has changed from when I was teaching in the UK.
We've got a lovely garden. Well, it will be lovely once our house is sorted and the garden done. We're having an extension built, so there's no point landscaping the garden before the building work has been done.

Too-high house prices is a problem for many countries. One option is to move away from the expensive areas if you have jobs that you can move.

Friends living in Scotland are outside hiking and playing sport throughout the year, it's partly climate and partly habits and attitudes that keep people indoors.

Not to say you shouldn't move abroad, but it may be easier to change things within the UK.

The weather isn't 'abysmal' for 6 months of the year. It sounds as if you are one of those people that wherever you go, there you are, and of course, not happy.

Sorry OP you will have to count out Australia then if you have no transferable skills. One of you needs a job on the required shortage list. I guess i/ the same for NZ and Canada. I don’t know how the US works ..

we all spend our lives working and our weekends tidying and cleaning

How will it be any different wherever you go unless you've won the lottery? You will still have to work and do the housework. The only difference will be if you have to start at the bottom in your careers, you'll have no money to do all the exciting things you imagine you will be doing.

I’d much rather live in the UK than Australia. It gets way too hot here and the UV levels mean that sunscreen is needed for much of the year. Not to mention that it’s all terribly ageing for the skin . Of course then there are the heatwaves, fires and smoke. Oh, and we get floods here too!

Plus the UK has such amazing built history and is a short flight to so many destinations.

You don’t realise how many good things you have that you take for granted.

You'll sadly have a hard time of emigrating to europe now post Brexit :(

I love it here in Norway but that's not going to solve your perpetual winter issues :o

Could you perhaps see it as a long term plan instead and work on the both of you learning a new language?

Soooo let’s think about this seriously, you’re looking to move closer to the equator? English speaking? Good schools/hospitals/housing?

Get a map and start shading in the bits that aren’t attractive/possible.