What European country would you move to in a heartbeat?

[carolineofcanton]

If you had the chance to. Feel free to be more specific as some countries have wide regional disparities. I would move to Belgium.

Naples often gets a bad press but it’s my favourite Italian city, so much to do in that region. I don’t know why you came back either!!

You could go to Malta or the RoI

ROI is not that much different to the UK though.

I've lived in both.

I'm not talking about culture,which is of course different, I mean the way of life. It's pretty much the same as the UK, just smaller. And with more expensive rent!

My friend moved to Malta and she loves it

Switzerland for me. Clean, safe, well organised and jaw droppingly gorgeous.

I would choose switzerland too. It's lovely.

Norway, I think.

@superplumb and @Lampzade - yes it's great being able to speak multiple languages! It's my job - I teach French, German and Spanish. The more languages you learn, the easier it gets to add new ones! I started learning some Japanese a few years ago, but I don't have time to do it while I'm teaching ft. When I retire maybe... (if the old brain cells are still up to it!). I learned a bit of Danish last year. That was fun!

Switzerland probably round Zurich area, becausevit's got great train links.
Or northern Italy, never been, but it looks stunning...

Belgium or the Netherlands. My daughter already lives there and I speak fairly decent Dutch and spend about 3 months a year there.

@Cravingtoffeeapples probably the north, between Porto and the Minho river.

I've lived overseas in several countries, including The Netherlands, and spent a lot of time in France.

I speak fairly good Dutch and some French.

The issue I would have is that in order to live somewhere, I would want to properly integrate into local culture, and you need really good language to make good local friends. I am not sure that I could get my French or Dutch up to that level and I wouldn't want to begin again learning another language.

What I don't like about England is - if you're not fully English, I feel that English people totally leave you out. So it can be an extremely lonely place.

Are you Irish Lisa?

Where do you live?

Spain. Probably Torrevieia.
Although I could be tempted with France, in particular if it's within a half hour drive of Disneyland

Right now, somewhere south, hate winter but happy to return here in summer

Germany - no shadow of a doubt

Tempted by Iceland. Does anyone know the pros and cons of living there? Learning Icelandic would be awful for a non-linguist like me but I love the landscape and the cold.

South of France, indeed but for older relatives and Brexit, planned to move there at one point.

@Papyrophile The bureaucracy is the worst thing, just trying to get anything done. Laws change all the time and you never know if you’re 100% correct in what you’re doing.

If you ask a lawyer, an accountant, and the Finanças the same question you’ll get three different answers, and there is no comeback if you are advised wrongly.

House prices have risen astronomically in the last few years.

The weather in the north can be terrible in winter, and there is the constant risk of wildfires in summer.

In the south we have a drought situation and again, the risk of wildfires in summer.

The number of stray animals is heartbreaking. There are many animal shelters doing their best but it’s a never ending problem.

It’s quite difficult to get to know locals on anything more than a superficial level.

The language is very hard to learn, and in some areas it is vital to have a good knowledge of Portuguese.

But we’re still here 😊

Thank you very much @Costacoffeeplease for a sensible response. I don't think we really kid ourselves that we are going to make close local friends; I am good at languages but Portuguese is not easy, though I manage Spanish and a Gallego accent which is a bit of a hybrid. I rather expect to have a friend circle that's mostly people like us, but multinational. I quite like that.

I hear what you say about house prices, but compared to the UK's prices, that's not really an issue. We should be able to afford quite a nice house, but it appears likely to cost less than 60% of anything similar in the UK.

The weather is unlikely to be wetter or colder than where we already live. We have wild fires in Devon occasionally too. So on balance, it looks do-able. Who knows; we don't yet.

Actually, reflecting, I am really not that bothered about local integration. I want to be able to buy groceries politely in Portuguese, but my social life is unlikely to involve deep and meaningful philosophical debates with tractor drivers. Most expatriates will speak some Portuguese and some English, plus I speak Spanish (badly) and French quite well.

I have lived in a few different countries including EU countries and I have an EU passport, I enjoy holidays there but I'm happy living in the UK.

@carolineofcanton why Belgium? I have lived here for 20 years- I mean it's ok, but I can't really see why people would rush here 🤣 Politically and linguistically very divided. Good chips, beer and chocolate tho !!

I’d move to Madeira. I absolutely love it there.