Hoping to ask for opinions / advice / experience on this as right now, I'm completely stuck between two places.
I've name changed as this will likely have lots of identifying details.
I'm from Scotland, DH is German. 2 children (3 years old and 6 months), live in the south of Germany. I've been across there permanently now for the last 7 years and I love lots about it. Never thought I'd contemplate moving back to the UK but here I am, one week into a 4 week stay visiting my family and wanting to move back. Why? Some reasons...
- I miss the people. How friendly everyone is over here. Chatting to you at the shop, helping on the flight when my toddler threw up, generally friendliness.
- I miss the weather. I don't like the heat. I love the cold. I'm in my element right now with 16 degrees after coming from 34.
- big one: I miss my family and friends, which was never really a big deal as I came back a lot but now with two kids/COVID lockdowns, I'm not back as much and I miss them. I'm realising I'm lonely in Germany (I've never had an issue making friends but at the moment, I'm having so much trouble just meeting people / making friends). My family dote on my boys too and it would be nice for them to grow up with family around (my mum, my dad, stepmum, my auntie, my sister and my brother all do their best to be involved as they can long distance and when we visit). It's already been mentally lifting being around them again.
- I have a master's in history and would have a better chance at getting a good job here or use it as an avenue to go somewhere else - journalism or law. (history degrees are basically useless in Germany).
Why not?
- German lifestyle - we live not far from the Alps and it's such a lovely area to go hiking and get outside. I love how outdoorsy Germans are and it rubs off on me. I'm a healthier person in Germany in terms of food / exercise, not as many ready meals / processed food there. It's different in terms of food.
- higher quality of life (e.g. kids have a paediatrician who they see the same day we call them up, you can self refer to specialist doctors and be seen pretty quickly, streets very clean, education fantastic and higher education is free)
- brexit. Getting DH over even with 2 degrees and 7 years experience in his field would be difficult and expensive.
Basically, I love both countries and wish I could mix and match 😅
Has anyone else felt stuck like this? What did you do? How did it turn out?
If you've never found yourself in this position, hypothetically what would you do?
I managed to get German citizenship with the brexit nonsense (I'm a dual citizen now)so I'd always be able to go back.
Thanks all