Would you rather: live in the UK or live in a developing country and retire early wt large savings and a cushion for the DC

[emilyinpanic]

Namechanged for this as I do not want to be outed.

Given the collapse of global economies, would you rather:

(1) live in the UK and not save v much, work till 60 or later, small house, but have the green spaces, safety for women, museums/culture, travel to Europe and so on..

(2)move back to your v cheap home developing country in Asia, retire early ( at 55) with considerable savings, a large house and a cushion for DC in case they can't find jobs in the future. But few green spaces, few museums/ theatre, awful public transport and so on... Possibly a trip to the UK every year to 'decompress'.

Good question. What about healthcare? In the developing country do you have insurance that provides access to quality healthcare? (Assuming there isn't an NHS equivalent.)

Option 2 doesn't sound very appealing apart from the £. What do you think your overall quality of life would be like?

There would be good healthcare. And a lot of good, cheap food and affordable house help. So a luxurious life by British standards.

But not that feeling of walking on Hampstead Heath on a crisp autumn day. :)

Do you have a lot of family in Asia? (I mean are they still alive)

Anywhere but the uk or usa for me.

My dad retired at 55. He's now 76. My parents have had 20 years of knocking around the house getting bored. I would rather keep working (on my own terms hopefully) rather than hang around somewhere I didn't really like counting my money without even doing my own cleaning and gardening. I'd rather downsize to an affordable house in the UK.

I know that's a bit of a simplification but there's such a thing as quality of life and it's not just financial.

live in the UK and not save v much, work till 60 or later, small house
I have a feeling that you are describing life in London. Not the UK.

@lovelyupnorth

Anywhere but the uk or usa for me.

Really? Saudi Arabia? Democratic republic of the Congo? Somalia?

You could also look for cheaper part of UK?
I wouldn't leave UK, but I don't have any friends or family, or any connections to another country.

Overseas definitely..... yes the lack of seasons, greenery etc can get to you but presumably you'd have enough for some decent holidays to break up the possible monotony. Escape is definitely needed sometimes but then its the same for being in the UK, we often find we need to escape to somewhere warmer. Go for it.

1, or what's the point in life?

Safety, museums, green space - I'd be very miserable without these,

Thank you for the replies. Sorry for the utter vagueness and being mysterious. Covid + Brexit has just made me question all my decisions and worry about the future.

@Janewaysbun not really. or none that I care v much about except elderly mother.

@NotMeNoNo mostly agree. but current jobs v stressful and long hours. May not properly retire, but consult or teach, now that location has become so irrelevant.

@senua you are right. I should have said London. Freudian slip! Tho DH's job can only be done here, so can't really move out.

@GrimDamnFanjo you may be right. But am getting the feeling that economics may not recover for a long time and that my children may need my financial help to survive in this terrible new world.

Economies. Not economics.

I'd choose to stay in the UK. But I was raised in London and I couldn't imagine living without all the amenities and convenience here. Luckily our income allows us to have a decent quality of life here.

I also don't think I could ever live in the sort of country where we'd be the wealthy expats and have lots of staff, the majority of the country was much poorer and we'd never really know the local people. Might be different if it's your home country though.

If the only reason you’re considering this is down to money there is no way I’d make the sacrifices of leaving people, leaving amenities you enjoy to go and live somewhere you’re not sounding at all enthused about.

Seriously considering but I'm concerned about if we need in home assistance younger eg early onset dementia. The country I'm considering has decent private healthcare but complex surgery eg heart bypass means going elsewhere, not sure about stents and stroke care ... a minefield. Also the costs aren't as low as we would have thought when I looked if we want to live in good neighbourhood where friends live, it's still £200k for a 4 bed house!

It depends, my OH is from a similar sounding country, and I could definitely spend a lot of time there. It sounds similar to where you are describing, however, I love the lifestyle in India (that we would be able to afford if we lived there), it sounds a bit like you don’t like the lifestyle you would have there and there are a lot of negatives in your post. I would be tempted to move somewhere cheaper and spend money travelling etc. As well as day to day living. However, unless you have family/friends in the other country it could be difficult to reintegrate, as there will be many changes and often expats have more of a “culture shock” when they return to their home country after a long term secondment, so I would imagine if we were to move there after 40 years in the U.K. things would be very different to how it was when he left and when we’ve visited for short trips.

My ILs are struggling with the same decision atm (In Asia as well). Not helped by the fact MIL would prefer to stay (she has two GC) and FIL would prefer to go.

Are your DC already grown up? I think (from an outsiders perspective) PILs are wary to go in case 'the boys' need them. The 'boys' are DH (32) and BIL (25).

You said a developing country in Asia, otherwise I would have argued that a country with a mass killer in charge and over a million using food banks barely qualifies as developed.

I work with people from all over the world and none of them have any intention or plans to return.

You see, for me, a walk on Hampstead Heath on a crisp autumn day is everything.

I have traveled a lot for work and nothing so far comes close to UK for me. I love the diversity, tolerance, low corruption, rule of law, free press, fair elections, culture l, creativity, humour and lack of reverence.

The NHS has its issues but my experience has been mostly great.

I love seasons, weather, the landscapes - mountains and lakes to seaside and fens. Nothing could induce me to leave.

It helps that I like work and don't mind living in a smallish house though. Also only one DC.

You mention kids. Do you need schooling? What's the standard of that?
How easy would your location be to get to a different country for weekends away for culture etc?
What's the holiday allowance like? Will it ge enough to come back to the UK to catch up with people, and maybe stock up on things you miss PLUS a family holiday somewhere? Returning to the uk every year doesnt become much of a decompress, as everyone wants to see you.

Not to a home country, but we went abroad for a few years. Paid off the mortgage, and had me as a SAHM for 5 years to get kids through bulk of primary.

Personally, I don’t even enjoy developing countries on holidays as the surrounding poverty gets me down so I’d prefer to stay in the U.K. or Europe.
I also like what @sabrinaq has listed as the plus points of this country.

If you live near Hampstead Heath, then it’s a silly expensive area so it’d be easy to move somewhere cheaper to have a nicer lifestyle. Home help isn’t that expensive either if you stick to a weekly cleaner/gardener. Personally, I wouldn’t want a daily housekeeper as like a bit of privacy at home.

Where are you planning to retire?

What is the climate like and does the country experience many natural disasters?