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.

As I suffer SAD probably the Canary Islands I like Gran Canaria but the north of island or mountains away from the touristy areas

Depends on which work realky.

I know a couple who moved to Spain mainly for the weather. Always banging on about winter weather in the UK and they must have 24/7 sun sun sun. Now they want to come home. Droughts and floods have made their decision. They miss English winters - I cannot believe it! But have wished them well in their move home.

For me, I would feel more at home in a Northern Europe country such as Denmark or Sweden. Austria is a possibility.

Pros:
Very safe
Children have high levels of freedom and independence
Relaxed and informal society
Good work life balance in many sectors (not all)
Beautiful landscapes
Amazing natural phenomena
Wonderful birdlife
Light summers
Unlimited hot water
Beautiful language
It's never too hot!

Cons:
Political cronyism
Dark stormy winters (the cold is fine, the dark and the storms are hard)
Generally poorer selection in supermarkets
High cost of living

There's probably more that doesn't come to mind immediately. But I wouldn't advise anyone to move here unless they're serious about learning the language properly. You can live here without Icelandic but you'd be cutting yourself off from so much.

Thanks very much, @Puffinshop

Oh dear, languages are not my thing. I'm staying in the Netherlands for a few more years yet anyway as my children aren't grown up yet. But there's so much to love about Iceland.

How difficult is it to make friends in Iceland if you do learn the language? The Netherlands can be rather hard to make friends in if you're shy - it's not just me, a LOT of the non-natives find it difficult.

@Papyrophile Don’t speak Spanish to the Portuguese, you’d be better speaking in English!
Will you have private health care?

I live in mallorca which is lovely and we have lots of Germans, Scandinavians, Romanians, Aussies, Americans, fins… you name it they are here. Mainly for the weather - the Finnish and Swedish hate their winters which are dark and miserable. Lots of brits here too obviously!

Spain.

But I'm disabled and the cold makes me do much worse.

I plan to try to visit most European countries over the next t few years. In reality I'll never retire to one (family and Brexit)

Also considered Morrocco.

I speak French fairly well and am learning Arabic.

May I ask why?

It's probably similar. There's only one city in Iceland and most people live in the Reykjavík area so most people are in their 'home town' and already have friends they grew up with.

Once you make friends with one Icelander you can join a group, though. Icelanders are easy to get on with and have a similar sense of humour to the British - also often similarly reserved.

I'm not sure it's that easy for immigrants anywhere to make friends with native citizens, especially if you're shy (I'm not exactly a social butterfly myself).

@cheapskatemum @SunnyHappyPeople

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 😊

@SunnyHappyPeople As @Costacoffeeplease I’d also add the schooling system for my dd, it’s been a big disappointment for me, but we can’t afford private, International school at the moment.
Wages are extremely low, cost of living getting higher each day, rents ridiculous (luckily we have a mortgage, we wouldn’t be able to rent now)
Portugal is fantastic if you have money and nothing in your life goes wrong.
It’s a lot more secure in the uk and I prefer the Early years/primary sector in the uk, much more advanced, hence why I want to move back, it’s just convincing dh!
Ideally we’d keep the house and rent it out and return for holidays in the summer

*Said

@DucklingSwimmingInstructress Friends of mine lived in Iceland for three years on a posting for work. They loved it. They made a lot of friends, who they’re still in touch with years later. They’re both very outgoing though, and met a lot of local people through work, which no doubt helped.

@Cravingtoffeeapples I promise I shan't speak Spanish to anyone Portuguese.... that would be shockingly rude. We were amazed at how well almost everyone under middle age spoke English when we were there last year. Schools have clearly prioritised it. DH is no linguist but is very communicative.

I am learning Spanish, simply because there isn't a Portuguese class nearby. However, assuming we go no certainty about it then one of the first things I do will be to find a teacher and a class.

And yes, we shall have full health insurance. We're old, and this is planned as an adventure for a year or two in our retirement, at least to start with.

It's a cross between the Netherlands and France. It's also rather well-known for my line of work.

Thank you @Puffinshop and @VenusClapTrap !

Western France (Bayonne/Biarritz area) -- lovely cities, better weather than in the UK. Lots of French and Basque culture. Huge beaches. Probably quite expensive to rent or buy, though.
Or Southern Spain, Cadiz area. The light is wonderful with at least two hours more daylight in January than the UK, and very temperate winter weather.
I know the Mediterranean coastal areas of Spain can have terrible winters, flooding and even snow in Valencia in the past few years but on the Atlantic side (just past the Straits of Gibraltar anyway) it seems warmer and drier.

It doesn't seem to have quite as much tourism as the traditional Costas do, except when the huge cruise ships are in Cadiz port, but i don't go into the city until the evening then, until they have safely returned to the ship. It's a great city with a real outdoor living vibe, even in winter.
I admit that in summer I would have to have aircon, or travel to northern Europe, perhaps!

Property is expensive in Naples though. Not quite London levels but mid-hundreds of thousands of Euros for an apartment in a posh location, eg Mergellina and Vomero. And millions for a house in Posillipo.

I've learned much interesting information from this thread - will try to reply individually to some

It’s fine because I’m marrying a hot rich Italian when I get there 😍

@Costacoffeeplease thank you, that's interesting. Coincidentally, DH was saying this morning that he's gone off the idea. Sounds like it would be better to go for a month in spring & again in autumn when we've retired, instead.

I think that’s a good idea and saves any visa issues, unless you have an eu passport

For those saying Italy. I live here and it’s thr same as someone described about Portuga, above - wonderful in so many ways, but frustrating and annoying also…

I still feel I have a nicer live than I had in the uk though.

Denmark - I am desperate to live there. Stockholm / Uppsala region of Sweden as a second