Other countries/islands that have a better lifestyle than the U.K.

[nellytheelephant1980]

Do these places exist?
I'm genuinely really unhappy in this country and we are looking to go elsewhere. We work to pay the bills and hardly get by. We are both professionals with no debt. Our professions could move elsewhere easily.

Is there anywhere in the world with lower costs of living and just a happier way of life? Is any country escaping these energy bills and petrol prices for example?

With our current government I would say almost every EU country has better standards of living than England....

The issue is that unless you have an EU passport (the joys of Brexit...) and speak the local language you won't be able to permanently settle in another country and find a job at the same level.

If there is a demand for your skills abroad get an employer to sponsor you and help you get a visa. It is likely to be in another English-speaking country or a country where international companies have head-quarters in big cities and where the staff need to speak English.

On a different note, I really wonder how many people who voted Brexit failed to grasp that they and there kids would no longer be able to work, live or retire in the rest of Europe...

@Whitehorsegirl If I'm being honest and I'm utterly anti Brexit , I think for a great many that voted for it those options were not that likely anyway- with the exception of some better off pensioners- it wasn't that they couldn't have the options it's just I've found it tends to be better educated , higher skilled and more adventurous people who took advantage of them

Most of the young Brits I saw doing stints in bars or acted as reps came from homes were stuff like this was the norm.

The problem is by voting for it instead of some levelling up going on- they have essentially for many people 'levelled down' what options they have. As I've said before though rich people still have options be it through 'buying property' 'not needing to work' - paying companies and mates to 'sponsor them' (yes it happens) - lots of cash always buys options!!

''@Sleepyafternoonsinthesun@Jansobieski
A colleague was about to buy a property in france until he discovered he could only stay 90 days a year (brexit related) unless he took on citizenship. Appreciate this may not be accurate but may have some influence on your decision if it is..''
''That's absolutely not the case, not sure who advised him!''

It is absolutely the case that people from the UK can't just buy a property in France and expect to be able to live there permanently or to get a job without a visa...

They would need a residence permit or long stay visa as a minimum (there are different types )and for this you need to meet the language requirements and a certain level of income is required.

@Crikeyalmighty I agree but it is also a shame that this wasn't encouraged more as it really was a great opportunity for young people who couldn't afford to swan around without working. I know lots of young Italian graduates, not rich, who are looking all over the EU for jobs whilst my British niece, who is a great linguist, now has fewer opportunities.

It is absolutely the case that people from the UK can't just buy a property in France and expect to be able to live there permanently or to get a job without a visa...

if your from the U.K. but have a European passport does the above still apply?

On a different note, I really wonder how many people who voted Brexit failed to grasp that they and there kids would no longer be able to work, live or retire in the rest of Europe...

I agree with a pp, did those who voted Brexit work/live abroad, did they expect their dc too? I would doubt it.

My mother voted Brexit despite her daughter living and working in the EU. She knew full well the impact it would have on me and my family, she just didn't give a shit. That's why we no longer have any contact.

I would suggest Mexico BUT most expats work a remote job as getting a local job is fairly difficult if you're a foreigner

@Whitehorsegirl

Re France and

They would need a residence permit or long stay visa as a minimum (there are different types )and for this you need to meet the language requirements and a certain level of income is required.

Income requirement yes, but can you clarify the language requirement?

There was certainly no language requirement involved for residence permits issued to those of us resident in France prior to the end of transition period.

That said having functional French sure as heck helped smooth the way through the process.

@TheBikiniExpert totally agree- the options were there for everyone but I think a lot of families have become really insular- particularly the not so well off. They often want their kids and grandkids to live on the doorstep and I don't think they would all be encouraging them to go off for a year to Amsterdam or Barcelona etc - to broaden their horizons- consequently I think they see living abroad as something for others or retirement- but obviously that option isn't so easy now either.

@notimagain This May be talking about citizenship rather than temporary residency- Definitely in Denmark you have language tests to get a Danish passport after quite a lot of years there- I think other countries have this too- Germany might be one- maybe France doesn't have that rule.

Why do you think so many South Africans and Indians etc have British citizenship here, ?? yet people from France and Italy and Poland do not- simple answer is because they never needed it- there was no particular point to having it- whereas if you were from a non EU country there was a big point to having it as it gave security and pathways into other countries.

One of my parents did too (perhaps both but one is denying it now). The parent who admitted it didn’t think it would have any impact on family living and working in the EU (including GC without entitlement to a British passport) because the German carmakers would surely not allow it. Repeated until recently, so still clinging on to the hope of Audi coming to the rescue…

I agree with this. Germany and in particular Bavaria is far far better than the UK in terms of lifestyle and health provision, food, cleanliness, cost of living.

What is the income requirement to live in France now? Anyone know?

France very definitely does usually have a language requirement for citizenship (there are a few exceptions, usually age related.), it certainly didn't use to have one for residency.

I think there's confusion creeping in with some posters (I hasten to add not you) giving the impression that they perhaps don't really understand the significant difference between residency, and what goes with the permission to have that, and citizenship and then we have posts conflating/confusing the two.

Citizenship - roughly speaking the country on your passport(s)

Residency - (in this context) where you can legally live and work. In the context of the EU having residency there may well give an exemption from the 90/180 rule, and may allow the purchase of a house.

.

@Crikeyalmighty no idea about Denmark rules as that wasnt one of the countries the two people i know moved to so you could well be right that it is very complex therr, but spain was one of the places. You need to take out the private medical insurance for a year which was £700. The person i am talking about has been in spain for for longer than a year. They didnt need to renew the insurance and can now access free medical care going forwards. They have no desire for a Spanish passport and will stick with british passport and residency. It really was a simple process.

Sorry to bang on about this again, especially as it's not really that relevant to the OP's post, but your friend almost certainly does not have Spanish citizenship if he/she moved to Spain after Brexit, is not married to a Spanish person/born to Spanish parents, and is not a refugee. Spain doesn't allow dual nationality for non EU people (so there would be no question of keeping a British passport except in certain special situations) and you have to have lived there 10 years. Your friend most likely had/has a temporary residence permit (private health insurance is a typical initial requirement for this) and as a Spanish resident can now access public health services.
Sorry if any of the above is not totally accurate - I'm not an expert in Spain but I live in Germany and many of the requirements are similar.
Anyway in the OP's case citizenship requirements don't matter so much as typically this is something to be considered after 5+ years in a country. The question is whether it is simple to get a residency permit that allows employment and whether it is actually possible to find work as an immigrant without fluency in the local language. Citizenship doesn't help you much if you can't find a job..

This is all extremely vague.

You're unhappy why? Remember the expression 'wherever you go, there you are'. Are you sure that the idea of greener fields is just a distraction from deeper problems which would follow you anywhere in the world?

And when you say "Our professions could move elsewhere easily" do you mean WFH for your British employers, earning a British salary which go further there? Sounds great, but many employers insist you be resident in GB for tax, legal and other reasons. If you mean to work locally, then chances are you'd need to speak the language fluently, get your credentials recognised, have the legal right to work there and so on.

Also, you speak of lower costs of living. well, many countries are cheaper than Britain, but salaries tend to be correspondingly lower too. And higher energy prices is a global thing, not a British thing, though you might not realise that to read MN.

As for 'happier way of life', again my point above that moving somewhere else might not magically make you happier. Plus, what is it that makes you happy? Happiness is in the eye of the beholder.

NZ has the highest proportion of its citizens living abroad of any developed nation.

Can't be all that great.

This is my experience too. We know quite a few NZ expats who have absolutely intention of going back.

They find it quite insular.

Yes they will have residency, not citizenship and if they went 'post' the withdrawal agreement will have to keep renewing it . Citizenship requires you having been there for a lot of years - not sure if Spain has the language test too. A non lucrative visa with rule on income is the most common way in - you can't work for a Spanish company for a year (indeed technically aren't meant to work at all) and have to have private health for a year.

It is doable- but not unless you don't need to work or have a portable job or a remote job that doesn't need you back in uk very regularly .

The other option is they went before end of withdrawal period and so none of this applies- hence why they are fine.

Good news though is Spanish are bringing in a digital nomad visa(with proven income levels) for 1 year that you can extend to 3. Not much use if you have kids and want stability at schools but good for me!!!

Going back to people not realising what they were voting for and being insular, I think a lot of these people still had aspirations to retire to Spain. That wasn't unattainable for them. I remember this article and this bit

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55617849

Meanwhile, Eric Anderson is stuck in the UK. The 71-year-old former shipyard worker from Newcastle is one of thousands of so called "swallows" - people with second homes in Spain who spend winter in the sun and return to Britain in the summer.

Spanish Covid rules preventing non-essential travel mean that Eric can't fly out at the moment. When he can, his time will be limited under the new post-Brexit system.

"I feel badly let down. We paid a mortgage for 20 years to have a holiday home and a retirement bolt-hole for the winter. We're limited to just 90 days now, and that's not just for Spain, but anywhere we go in Europe on holiday. Say we cross from Newcastle to the Netherlands, that's counted.

"So you're already being restricted by time to come back into the UK. There's a lot of average working guys that have done exactly what I've done and it's just not going to be possible now. I don't think anyone expected the rug to be pulled from under them so quickly."

Many do go abroad from NZ, mainly for increased work opportunities. And of course to enjoy other countries, cultures and to broaden our horizons.

I don't know what health care is like in NZ at the moment, during covid (apart from under immense pressure, as it is everywhere), but I don't think I've ever heard tell of 12 hour waits in the ambulance, and have never seen a hospital as run down as I have here.

Like everywhere, it ain't no utopia, and it does have its problems. It doesn't suit everyone.

Personally I'd go back in a heart beat, and definitely hope to do so one day.

OP your DH could get a job teaching in an international school.

Your qualification is a little more tricky as you would be unlikely to find a place where you could work in an international environment. So you'd need to be in an English speaking country. Then look at whether they'd accept your qualifications - or what you'd need to do for equivalency.

And in that case your DH may find it harder to find a job as native English speaking countries usually don't have English speaking international schools! But maybe there are some private schools that don't require local qualifications.

Then you need to look at how to get work visas for those countries.

That's where you need to start and then work back from. Just looking at countries you fancy won't bring you the info you need: it's not a holiday, it's to live and that's very different.

And also keep in mind any elderly relatives or commitments you have now.