If you could live anywhere...

[dancingqueen345]

Just day dreaming about life after lockdown, but if you could go and live somewhere, anywhere in the world for 1-2 years, where would you go?

Im 32, childless and single, not ready to settle down yet, reasonably good career that could get me a job in in most countries... I'm just wondering if I should go now, just sod it and go?

I live in a major uk city, but my other thoughts are maybe London? Or Edinburgh? I also like the thought of California, Texas, Canada, Singapore, Dubai... literally anywhere.

What would you do? Where would you go?

Thanks for so many suggestions everyone, probably made me even more confused on location though! 😂

I started having a look at jobs on LinkedIn last night, focussing on Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore and unfortunately, for the first 2, it does look like I would need to speak the language to be eligible for most roles.

I'm going to have a look at Canada more depth today!

New Zealand.
We seriously considered it when we were younger. We went there on honeymoon and travelled round, then looked into the process for moving there. I would have got a job easily enough (I am a nurse) and DH has the kind of job that can be found anywhere. In the end we bought a house here and had DC, and I would not now want to take DC away from their grandparents or sit with them on the flight to NZ! But, if I had to pick somewhere, ignoring COVID and the fact that my marriage is falling apart, I would go to Auckland as long as we could afford a reasonable standard of living.

Vancouver, Berlin, Stockholm, San Diego, Monterey for starters

Coastal Morocco. Somewhere north of Essaouira but not that far away.

@dancingqueen345
You can absolutely work here in Switzerland with only English: I work in Pharma and everything is in English. If you want to integrate into daily life however, you need to speak the local language (French, German or Italian depending on the region). You need to secure a position here before you leave the UK however.

Since Brexit, Brits wanting to come here now, no longer have freedom of movement to live and work, so it’s more difficult unfortunately.

Santa Monica or San Diego - basically California so the weather with maybe not needing to get into a car every day.

When I was younger I did stints in London, Madrid (adored Madrid ), Washington DC and Hong Kong. At this stage of my life sun and beaches , rather than big cities are more my bag

Hi! Here are my comments.

Safe and Sound
Canada’s amazingly low crime rate is the envy of the world. Violent crimes are extremely rare (last year there were 3 murders in the capital). Guns are not easy to obtain & overall gun ownership is almost 70% less than US
And Mexico. The OECD Better Life Index gave Canada a 9.7 out of 10 for safety and security.

An Accepting Tolerant Society
CANADA was the first country outside Europe to legalize same sex marriage over 14 years ago. Canada’s has a zero tolerance system when dealing with hate crimes and racial abuse. The OECD named Canada as the BEST country in the world for acceptance and tolerance of minorities.

Universal Healthcare
Need I say more? Canada’s healthcare system is one of the most accessible in the world. Medical treatment is free. Children and
Seniors also receive free dental care, & do not pay for medication. Those adults who don’t have private drug benefits can take advantage of one of the many provincial drug programs (like Trillium) and anyone can apply, regardless of their income, paying a low yearly deductible.

Rich
Canada’s ultra-stable and ever growing economy comes from the oil and gas industry, gold, copper, iron ore, uranium, farming and forestry all contribute to Canada’s very high GDP.

Canada has one of the strongest economies in the world.
Canada’s banking system is the STRONGEST, and most secure economy and has been voted the most stable in the world for the past seven years by the World Economic Forum.

Canada has the second highest standard of living of all the G20 nations.

I lived in sweden for a year and bloody hated it

@MayaMayim I love Canada and have family there but it’s bloody cold!

I think id like to spend a year or two in malta.

Once my kids have left home and I inherit off my parents I intend to buy a cottage up north in the arse end of nowhere and keep horses, goats, chickens cats and dogs.

[quote FloconDeNeige]@dancingqueen345
You can absolutely work here in Switzerland with only English: I work in Pharma and everything is in English. If you want to integrate into daily life however, you need to speak the local language (French, German or Italian depending on the region). You need to secure a position here before you leave the UK however.

Since Brexit, Brits wanting to come here now, no longer have freedom of movement to live and work, so it’s more difficult unfortunately.[/quote]
I'll keep looking then. Although the more I think about this, the more I do worry about the language side for outside of work. Would be a great opportunity to learn though... arghhh god too many choices

@MayaMayim

Hi! Here are my comments.

Safe and Sound
Canada’s amazingly low crime rate is the envy of the world. Violent crimes are extremely rare (last year there were 3 murders in the capital). Guns are not easy to obtain & overall gun ownership is almost 70% less than US
And Mexico. The OECD Better Life Index gave Canada a 9.7 out of 10 for safety and security.

An Accepting Tolerant Society
CANADA was the first country outside Europe to legalize same sex marriage over 14 years ago. Canada’s has a zero tolerance system when dealing with hate crimes and racial abuse. The OECD named Canada as the BEST country in the world for acceptance and tolerance of minorities.

Universal Healthcare
Need I say more? Canada’s healthcare system is one of the most accessible in the world. Medical treatment is free. Children and
Seniors also receive free dental care, & do not pay for medication. Those adults who don’t have private drug benefits can take advantage of one of the many provincial drug programs (like Trillium) and anyone can apply, regardless of their income, paying a low yearly deductible.

Rich
Canada’s ultra-stable and ever growing economy comes from the oil and gas industry, gold, copper, iron ore, uranium, farming and forestry all contribute to Canada’s very high GDP.

Canada has one of the strongest economies in the world.
Canada’s banking system is the STRONGEST, and most secure economy and has been voted the most stable in the world for the past seven years by the World Economic Forum.

Canada has the second highest standard of living of all the G20 nations.

A rave review!! Is there a particular city you would recommend in my position?

I have lived in Oz previously and as much as I loved it (and New Zealand), it's just too far (and expensive) away.

I'm getting quite excited about Canada though...

Otautahi/Christchurch, Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I would not really want to live abroad. Me and DH lived in France for a few years but I was really homesick for the UK.

I would not mind maybe living somewhere abroad for a few months a year. Sweden I loved and I absolutely love the fact that it doesn't really get properly dark in the summer. Could never live there in the winter though as they get so little daylight.

Me and DH both love Holland and wouldn't mind living there part of the year. Leiden is our favourite city there.

In the UK I would like to live in London. We lived in London before we went to France. We stupidly sold our house and then could not afford to buy anywhere when we returned.

I would love to live in Hampstead or Covent Garden or maybe The Barbican

Berlin, Vienna or Vancouver.

Oh you lucky thing, OP.

For 1-2 years?

In the States, I'd go to Southern California, Wyoming, Virginia (Charlottesville or Richmond), Vermont, Manhattan/Brooklyn, or Maui (Hawaii).

In Europe: Lisbon, Prague, anywhere along the Amalfi coast, Poland (so many options- too many to list. It's got so much beauty), Bergen (Norway), Budapest, South of France/Provence

I'd definitely want to explore Cambodia/Vietnam or Indonesia for a year.

Israel, Oman, Botswana would be my other places.

DH and I worked in Malawi for 4 months when we were much longer and looked at staying (we both had potential opportunities for work) and I often wish we’d done it, just for a few years

Boston in Massachusetts

San Francisco

@FloconDeNeige waving at you from Pays de Gex

I love living on the border between France and Switzerland. It’s absolutely gorgeous, the lake (Leman) and the Jura mountains to the north and the stunning vistas of the Alps and Mont Blanc to the south BUT I miss the sea.

I want to live either on the Côte d’Azur or along the Italian Riviera near Rapallo or Sestri Levante.

Or Vancouver.

Thinking about it, I would prefer to live in Canada over America. A nicer quality of life etc

Orkney, beautiful scenery, masses of history and friendly people!