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

Canada and I don't know why it's one of those countries that has appealed to me for sometime badly want to go there.

Australia Sydney is expensive though.
New Zealand is beautiful but even Auckland feels very small and I know someone who worked out there and found it boring.
Have a friend who moved to Singapore and look like an amazing live have a cleaner and eating out is very cheap. She is a teacher though so gets reduced international school fees not sure what the cost are like if work aren't paying.

Canada...we really want to go to Lake Louise

How exciting for you and your family! I was living in Asia for 9 years, mostly Japan but also Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Out of those countries Japan was the best experience for me. It's an incredibly interesting country, very comfortable to live in, super clean and safe. And it's a great base for traveling around Asia. You could do weekends in Seoul or go to Okinawa or Beijing for a few days. Honestly I loved Japan. The food and culture are phenomenal. Good luck on your new journey!

I’ve spent a fair bit of time living in Canada. A large town, not far from Toronto.
Pros:

• English speaking country
• really friendly people
• generally quite cheap to live - groceries, fuel etc
• a ton of beautiful places to visit during leisure time
• Tim Hortons on every corner and drive through ATMs.

Cons:

• the wildly changing weather. When I was there, for the first 3 weeks we were in shorts and T-shirt’s on the shores of Lake Huron soaking up the sun….and a week later we woke up to 4 feet of snow.
• I found driving absolutely terrifying 😳 Not only driving on the opposite side of the road, but absolutely gigantic cars driving on equally gigantic roads. The lack of roundabouts, and instead 4-way intersections with no traffic lights, relying on the average Joe to just abide by the “right of way rules” and not plough into me in the most enormous lorry I’ve ever seen 😳
• The enormous food portions in restaurants. Almost every time we went out, I took half my food home with me. Needless to say I gained weight while there 😬

Canada, Australia, Malaysia or Singapore from the list.

I've travelled to many of the countries you've noted, I probably wouldn't bother with Europe because it's essentially "on your doorstep".

10 years ago Australia would have been an immediate yes, but too far from family now. I live in the Caribbean so already am living overseas but I can get back to UK relatively quickly. But yes absolutely (although not Sydney, I much prefer west coast).

Canada yes and would consider retiring there. Great outdoors, wildly changing weather which I like, cultural cities and a relatively stable government.

Malaysia yes, my mums from Borneo and I love it there.
Singapore also yes due to the fantastic air/land connections to other countries.

France would be my choice, can speak enough of the language, and easy enough to visit those I'd leave behind from time to time.

If it is permanent, and you plan to raise your child there, then you need to consider climate change. The world is getting warmer, so it would be crazy to move somewhere hot. I’m baffled when people emigrate to Australia. Ten or twenty years from now they could be experiencing 50 degree heatwaves. I would rule out Mexico for the same reason.

Personally, I would go for either Canada or Germany, with France in third. Unlike so many people on here, I quite like living in the U.K. I love the history and literature, and I love the way the literature and landscape are interwoven (the Yorkshire moors and the Brontes, Dorset and Thomas Hardy, Dickens and London, Jane Austen and Bath, Chaucer and the spring, etc). I also love towns like Oxford and Cambridge. The big downsides, however, are the overcrowding, horrendous traffic and tiny, overpriced houses. That’s why Canada would be my number one choice - English-speaking, high standard of living, and plenty of personal space.

i am from a hot country, singapore, and people basically spend all their time indoors (in shopping centres mainly). Homes are air conditioned. It is easier to deal with hot weather there. My DH hates it (he would rather sweat) but I am used to it. Even in England, i hardly go out, and i don't feel i need a garden as a result. Its just personal preferences.

Depends what suits. For example I know people that adore the sense of order in Japan and, conversely, are driven up the wall by Mexico.

Let’s assume that it’s a permanent move.

With a DC in year 5, I’d only consider countries where DC is already fluent in the main language.

My other priorities would be

• old age healthcare
• great universities for DC (so they don’t head to America/UK and never return).
• good attitude to expats. I’ve met 4 different couples this year who all moved back from Singapore and they all mumbled something vague about not liking how Singapore treated Westerners during the pandemic.
• what happens during climate change
• what happens geographically and in terms of compulsory service if WW3 breaks out (if not in our time then in our childrens etc).

So I’d lean towards New Zealand or Canada even though others may seem more exciting.

If it is permanent, and you plan to raise your child there, then you need to consider climate change. The world is getting warmer, so it would be crazy to move somewhere hot. I’m baffled when people emigrate to Australia. Ten or twenty years from now they could be experiencing 50 degree heatwaves. I would rule out Mexico for the same reason.

This. I'm surprised more people havent mentioned climate change. This is why I would never consider moving somewhere like Australia. 50* *degree heatwaves will cause vicious wild fires.

Forgive me, but if your wfh, why the need to move or is it because you can work anywhere you want to try somewhere? I’d go for Canada, always fancied proper seasons, I’m told it’s super clean and mostly very safe, someone told me like England in the 50s.

Nz

For a different culture yet a really easy place to live (and with a good expat community if you want it) I'd choose Malaysia.

Canada 100%. It’s home and I can’t wait to leave the U.K. and go back. A million reasons.

I lived in Germany and loved it. German is really needed to embrace life, though of course it's possible to get by without.
I would look carefully at schools before considering it though. I did not like the school system where I was and was one of the reasons I moved back to UK.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Canada!

I have family in Sydney. Or rather some of them are in the city centre (crazy $$$$) and the rest are in commuter 'burbs. My brother lived rurally for a while up country too and that very dry town looks set to be several meters under water shortly. They used to worry about lightening storms setting off the bush (not this month)!.

If you have no family ties (and the same applies to Auckland), super. I've seen friend's families break up when a Uk parent gets ill and the spouse doesn't want to up sticks.

I'll skip over Germany/Netherlands and Belgium (why not expatty Switzerland)?

If you go to SIngapore it is probably worth me noting that my local (Bath) University has a large intake from Singapore. I personally like the place, but I am happy to conform and would find the location convenient to visit family.

I like U.K. too and probably wouldn’t move with a list like op’s, but I think they want to embrace the move so in that instance I’m thinking of which.

Given it might be permanent I’d factor in climate issues too

I live in Germany, near the Black Forest. Generally love it but would be happier if I was working and we could afford to go home 2x per year. Currently we are struggling to afford to go home once a year and that is our only "holiday" which is fine for me, but disappointing for DH who is desperate to go on an actual holiday (which we have managed once in 12 years, and that was 6 years ago)

Pros:

Good school system (if your DC have fairly standard school needs)
Beautiful nature that you can access easily
So many lovely parks for children
Concept of "Vereine" - kind of a non-religious community group thing usually arranged around a hobby (gardening, music, sport, whatever is your thing there will usually be one) very welcoming to strangers and a good way to make friends.
Good expat network (this may be different in different areas)
Large houses/flats are more standard than the UK
Brilliant selection of cheap, accessible activities for children, especially things like school holiday clubs.
Cycling is very popular and accessible. Secondary pupils commonly cycle to school.
The culture of cleverness = nerd isn't really a thing here. It's not social suicide for boys to do well in school, especially in Gymnasium.
Also much less culture of binge drinking. It happens, but it's not the only social activity for teenage boys.
Independence for children, children treated with respect in terms of being considered people in their own right.
It is easy, close and cheap enough to come to the UK regularly compared to some other places, especially with only one child.
Uni very cheap (if you qualify)
Excellent public transport. Often free/reduced for school pupils.
Childcare of a high quality and well subsidised
Excellent maternity leave
Good culture for staying home from work if sick, including paid time off to look after sick DC
Dentists have availability and are mostly covered by insurance (some things aren't)
Health system works well and can usually get non-urgent appointments within 2-3 months. Health insurance is affordable (scaled to wage) treatments are generally high quality. Mental health care a bit more patchy but if you can get in, the quality is very high.
Weather is better. Real seasons. It's hot in summer with some great thunderstorms, snows in winter, spring smells incredible and is warm and pleasant. October is beautiful and colourful and misty and pleasantly chilly.
They don't seem to care about fashion Suits me because I don't feel completely out of place.
I like the directness, most of the time.
Wages are high compared to the UK. Even for menial jobs the minimum wage is about €12 an hour. There's also a nice system called mini-job which is an income limit under which you can do whatever you like - don't need to declare this income for benefits, tax, etc. That's about €520 now I think (it's just gone up) so it's great for students, mums on maternity leave, starting out as self employed etc.
I love their attitude to raising kids in general, very gentle, relaxed, but also natural, outdoorsy, healthy.
Employee rights excellent, tenant rights excellent

Cons

The supermarkets suck. I can't get used to them at all. Apparently German people go to 2-3 supermarkets per week but I HATE this and just want to go to one place. Hardly any of them deliver and the delivery services are crap compared to the UK. Limited selection of food and the quality is mediocre. Meat is always pumped full of water. Hardly any ready meals or convenience foods like pre-made jar sauces. I don't mind the rush at the checkout to pack though.

Dearth of good-quality cheap stuff like you find in the UK. Here, if it's cheap it's usually shit quality. There are exceptions like the middle aisle of Aldi stuff, and IKEA for furniture. But generally if you want something not cheaply made you have to pay more. Especially toys, clothes, books and homeware. The cheap children's clothes are just weird, like something you'd find on a market stall in 1995.

I can't get my head into some aspects of German culture, it works for them but it just feels unbearably clunky to me. They seem to have this attitude of build something extremely well and then don't bother to touch it for 40+ years because it was so well made it works fine. Consequently great swathes of things feel like you're in a weird time warp from the 80s or 90s even though other things are modern, which is really confusing. Especially when you come back to the UK and everything has moved on rather than just weirdly-specific things that needed an update (e.g. before corona, almost everything was cash only and if they took cards, it was a Germany-specific style of debit card, hardly ever credit card. Now suddenly everything is contactless. They will probably not update this technology for another 40 years because it's done now.)

Schools - it's more complicated. If your DS is in year 5 they are equivalent to the final year of primary school here. The problem is that secondary is split into three "tiers" depending on how academic you are, which are Werkrealschule (practical, work based, not academic), Realschule (standard) or Gymnasium (similar to grammar schools). There are also Gemeinschaftchule which is where you can achieve any of the three possible school-leaving certificates but it's not quite as simple as that because this type of school has gained popularity since Werkrealschule have lost them, so most of them are converted from old Werkrealschule and the local attitudes reflect that, which tends to have a knock on effect on the pupil and staff intake. The school system is confusing TBH and hard to navigate as a foreigner. Teachers don't really have any contact with parents because they don't want to - their relationship is with the student. If your DC does not fit the standard mould (e.g. SEN) they may struggle to fit into the school system and there is not really accommodation except for severe disabilities. Home schooling is not allowed. But despite all this it DOES seem to work well if your DC doesn't have significant issues. My eldest has ADHD (no behavioural issues) and fits into school fine. However some friends have struggled with their DC who are more behaviourally challenging or socially awkward.

Language. I wanted to immerse myself and get fluent but it doesn't actually matter how fluent you are, speaking another language is exhausting

Property is insanely expensive, including renting, although this is a worldwide issue. Wasn't the case when we moved here initially.

Don't like shops being closed on Sunday. It's shit for retail work because everyone has to work Saturdays (and they all believe absolutely strongly that opening Sunday would be even worse for retail workers because they can't conceive of the idea of weekday vs weekend workers!) and it's crap for grocery shopping because you only have one day you can reasonably do it.

It's hard to get a job because everyone expects a kind of qualification for this very specific role. People tend to stay in companies a long time, but that makes it hard to break in.

There are probably more things on both sides, but this is long enough so I'll leave it here! I do love living in Germany, I just miss home as well, and find some aspects frustrating but this may be just me as I have probably not studied the language enough plus have a bit of a dodgy education history which doesn't translate well.

Indonesia for me. I've never been but studied the language and have had a few friends that lived there. They have recently changed visa requirements so much easier for foreign nationals to live there long term. It's also a Muslim country which is relevant for us but not everyone.

You don't need to speak medical German to live in Germany, because anybody educated to degree standard can speak English fluently, which includes basically all doctors, except if they emigrated to Germany from a non-English speaking country after their education. In fact most people who went to Gymnasium or Realschule can speak English. I even met a 90 year old woman the other day who spoke fluently and reminisced about her school English classes and how she had always loved it (this is rare, older people often haven't been taught English). Some people will insist that they don't and then keep apologising for "my only school English" even though it's about 20 times better than any English speaker's German is on arrival there! Some simply refuse - I find some school teachers are like this. Whether that's their own perfectionism or they just don't want to or they are tired at the end of the day, I don't know. I've never met a doctor who didn't speak English. Some nurses/midwives but they generally understood me anyway.

We will definitely stay in Germany until DS1 has left school, because it works so well for him. DS2 and 3 are much younger, so they will be early years of primary by that time, so we will have freedom to move back if we want to. This is about 5 years away and I honestly don't know which we will end up doing. I lean towards moving back but I wonder if I will always regret it.

Some good points on here. I'll get healthcare paid for. Dc already in a school with a very international cohort atm.

Many dc in their class arrive unable to speak English but by the end of the year they're speaking it. I am happy to pay fees for an English speaking school though as long as they are not ridiculously £££ compared to the cost of living.

I like to think I'd probably at least get dc to try the native language school to make sure I haven't wasted an opportunity for them. Dc is pretty robust and they are ahead in academics for the U.K. I think they'll be ok to 'fall behind' while learning the language. Don't like the idea of dc having to redo a year if they fail anywhere though!

I agree though that for me I would have to accept it being more difficult to learn a language I do have a natural aptitude and did French and German a level languages, but only really speak tourist language. I did go to France for a summer to learn but about 20 years ago so that doesn't count and won't be frequenting the bars as much these days... I'd probably sign up for language lessons asap wherever I end up if I needed to learn a language. I think I will definitely take into consideration the language barrier and start looking at English speaking places more closely though.

Thanks for that @BertieBotts that's so much detailed information. I have been to Germany a lot and know the school systems there eg the gymnasium system. I didn't realise year 5 was the final year though.

Good point about climate change as well. It has crossed my mind.