If you could move to a country on the below list which one would you pick and why?

[chirpyduck]

Or if anyone has already lived and worked in these countries any advice is greatly appreciated or any advice from anyone who has relocated as well as I'm sure there are pitfalls as well as benefits!

I have one dc in year 5 and dh and I are late 30's can move to one of these countries through work. I don't want to miss the opportunity so am currently investigating which one sounds like we could make it work.

Argentina
Australia (Sydney)
Belgium
Canada
France
Germany
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico
New Zealand
Panama
Singapore
Netherlands
Thailand
Vietnam

Ooh, Canada or Germany for me.

I'd go Malaysia or Vietnam personally. Both well developed countries particularly in their big cities, amazing food, beautiful places to go and visit. Flights about 10/11 hours so pretty doable.

I wouldn't move to somewhere in Europe, just personal preference. I can visit that all the time.

I don't know what the salary/housing/terms& conditions would be in each country but all things being equal that's what I'd choose.

Wouldn't do Aus/NZ. Too far, Aus climate now way too 'interesting' for me and also very expensive. Never seen the attraction of NZ myself with I'm an outdoorsy person. Struck me as quite a parochial place but that might be unfair.

I used to live in Argentina. I loved it, I'd go back there.

Other than that, only Netherlands really appeals. Plenty of them I'd visit but not live long term.

I’d go for either Singapore or Canada.

I’ve lived in Vancouver which was amazing - schools are fantastic (and free), weather milder than other places in Canada (albeit rainy), so much to do as a family. Cost of living is expensive though.

East Canada is very different - some parts are French speaking, very cold winters (think over minus 20), lovely hot summers, can feel a lot more remote. I have family near Montreal and they have a fantastic lifestyle, but from an outsiders point of view, it looks quite insular.

My best friend lives in Singapore and they love it. Low tax, high salary, clean and safe, close to some great places for weekend breaks. Very much an expat way of life though so depends if that would be your kind of thing.

My top 3 would be:

Canada - a friend lived there for a long time and loved it, but she did say that 3 metres of snow takes some getting used to.

Germany - some of my ancestors were German, I felt an affinity with it when we went on holiday there, many people speak English as a second language.

New Zealand - never been but the scenery and nature is incredible.

Bavaria
You get snow (sometimes) in winter and sun in the summer.
I like to have seasons
Everything just WORKS, people are generally well behaved and there is a healthy outdoor lifestyle.

Why do you need to relocate if you'll be WFH?

France- cheese, wine and good weather

Germany or Netherlands.

Clean, safe, good healthcare, climate ok, good education systems, decent housing, clean water, public transport...

Canada. We have family there, and my husband grew up there. They have a much better lifestyle, everyone is so friendly and more down to earth.

I'm originally from Scotland but have lived in Germany for 8 years now. Very good quality of life here, great healthcare, free higher education, clean streets, I feel safe, good work / life balance. Many Germans speak English so you will get by language-wise (I've come across many international folk who have jobs and lives here without even speaking any German - I would however recommend you learn the language as it does of course benefit you).
Generally very happy here. I miss certain cultural aspects of Scotland / UK (friendly folk on the street, bit easier to make friends) but all in all, Germany gives us a good life.

International school fees can be a killer - if you can't pay for them and your child has to go to local school, that would be where my focus would be to whittle down.

Year 5 is 9 or 10 years old? Not impossible to start a new language but certainly a challenge and I'd look to commiting to A level - in most countries kids stay on longer than GCSE and having to switch systems for the final cycle might be very tough, depending on where you choose.

Also, working from home is hard overseas. I do it, but after years working in an office and with a local network built up via the kids' schooling. I'd look to hybrid work so you can make friends more easily.

If your company is not going to pay school fees, how much help will they give with local admin? Don't underestimate how challenging it is to try to navigate a new country's administrative system, even when you can speak the language, never mind doing it in a foreign language with a completely different culture.

Also how easily will it be to travel back "home"? Big difference between flying back from Europe or Asia, bearing in mind travel is likely to get more expensive rather than cheaper. And yes, climate change. After the last few summers even the med is too hot for me to holiday in. It's only going to get worse so that would definitely be a factor for me.

I can highly recommend France - but lots of English hate the school system here and you really do need to speak French, or make a big effort to make the most of it.

I've lived and worked in Japan and while it is an amazing country - incredible culture, nice people, very safe etc - it is very expensive. There are also a lot of laws restricting the employment of foreigners (tenure etc) so if that appeals to you, I'd check my T&Cs with your company very carefully first.

Thailand would be top of my list, especially the north in and around Chiang Mai - fab country, lots to do, very blended Thai / international community and the cost of living is more affordable.

Not Sydney unless you're extremely well-off. It takes $3m+++ to buy a decent house. Ditto Auckland and Vancouver.

Montreal would be fun.

Canada (but no further east than Alberta). Lived there (Calgary) for two years, best time of my life. Yes freezing in the winter but lots of bright, sunshine at the same time. Spring and summer glorious and so much for families to enjoy.

Argentina. Low cost of living, low crime, lots to see and do.

I speak French and German to get by. Max time I've spent in either country continually is a month though. Would probably be able to string a sentence together at the doctors for both languages but haven't tried speaking in medical terms yet in either. Have had to have some random conversations including one about a lost door key halfway up a mountain in German in Austria... so I manage. Don't need it for work though unless I wanted to move jobs eventually which currently I am happy and don't want to.

To clarify I would be wfh in English only, wherever I end up. I can wfh anywhere within a country as long as the visa doesn't stipulate I need to be close to the office or be present in an office, work tries to keep terms as similar as to current ones in the U.K.

. I anticipate being fairly close to an expat community initially, unless that's not possible, in order to help with getting to know 'how things work' and possibly to make friends easily if there are language barriers. I am an absolute extrovert will throw myself into things and make friends wherever I am though. Dc is similar. They are 10 next year and think they'll be fine wherever they end up.

would happily immerse myself in whatever culture I end up in if they'll have me! I'm pretty robust and don't take offence easily.

Would ideally put dc in a local school but maybe international school for senior if language becomes a barrier. They are in private school here anyway though but that works well because quite a few private schools in the U.K. have an intake in year 9 so my back up plan is to last wherever we end up to at least until that year if things don't work out the way we wanted them to. Work won't pay fees.

Cannot see why would need to regularly go back to U.K. unless work paying anyway. Don't have any family left to worry about sadly (but does mean we are free to easily move)
We've also moved away within the U.K. from our old town and only really kept in touch with friends online anyway, dh is similar I've spent time making new ones but always happy to make more, I currently work ft from home. I anticipate depending on where I move some friends may visit me more if I'm in a different country anyway...

This.
When the dc were one and three, DH was transferred to the Far East for eight years as an expat, so housing, schooling and annual trip back to home country included in the package. We lived in Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. All are fairly wealthy countries with good International schools, a thriving multi-cultural, expat community, interesting culture, good medical, home help and fab food. We used our annual leave to explore other countries in the region, and even went to New Zealand.

Today I would consider Japan, as the Yen is so low, provided pay is in sterling. I would also start dc on Mandarin lessons, regardless of which FE country is chosen.

I've also lived in two S American countries and it's very child friendly in that part of the world. Argentina was sneeringly referred to as being populated by "Italians who want to be British".😂

With your updates, personally, I'd pick Argentina or New Zealand.

France
The weather, landscape, food, wine, literature etc etc
The chance to be bilingual
If it's permanent I would want to be in the heart of Europe for ease of travel and discovering other cultures.
Dc can visit English friends/culture/life here easily.

If you're WFH full time, in English, I would either choose somewhere English speaking or with a really well established expat community e.g. Singapore, Malaysia. Unless you're particularly skilled with languages it will be difficult to learn unless you're mingling with the locals and speaking it every day. It could be quite isolating, particularly if you're an extrovert who needs a lot of human interaction.

This. Sticking to the expat community will mean your friends often end up moving onto next country for work or going back home, everything will be a faff from getting food to going to the dentist and making friends is a chore, navigating the local school system etc
when I lived abroad it you end up not inviting people as time goes by as it's tough having to translate for them constantly, especially when out with local friends.
Go somewhere you know the language, as an adult working in English, you're not going to progress much in a second language and will be stuck fairly isolated in the weird expat bubble.

@chirpyduck Australia would be a great option. The lifestyle, vast landscapes...the space. It's like no where else. I've been to many of the other countries on your original list, I would choose Australia above them all.

As you’re not fluent in any languages other then English I would say New Zealand, Canada and Australia in that order. I have a couple of friends who are Polish and despite being what I consider fluent they feel their English isn’t good enough to feel they properly belong here.

Germany is better than France is better than Belgium is better than the Netherlands.

Honestly, though, it's about finding the right cultural match for you. Do you love French food culture and can you handle the rigor in How Things Must Be? Do you like the fact that Germany is so multicentered and can you handle its utter lack of digitalisation? Are you going to enjoy the high quality of life Belgium has or will you live somewhere you get stuck in all of Brussel's problems? And so on... Singapore, for example, for all its high quality, just generally would never appeal to me. What kind of person are you?