Why don't a lot of English people live abroad?

[Booneymil]

Hi! I was just thinking about something. I am Irish originally. I have lived and worked in around seven different countries at my age. I am 40. I love moving around and living in different places. I have been working in england now for two years.

At my large workplace, there are a lot of English people and a lot foreign people working there. So we have people from Spain, Poland, Italy, Australia, and Lithuania working there. Every one of the foreign people there have lived all over the world. I was chatting to the lithuanian woman, she has lived in Indonesia, in Sweden, Switzerland and in Italy.

I was chatting to the Spanish woman - she has lived in Italy, Spain, Germany and Norway. She told me she was from a wealthy family in spain so she had no need to move, she just had a desire to see the rest of the world. I was the same, I always wanted to see more of the world.

The English people in my workplace, there are about thirty of them.

Not one of them has ever lived abroad. A lot of them are old enough that they could have moved around the EU before Brexit happened. But they didnt.

I was thinking about it. Why? Why is it so different in England.

I work with loads of English people who have lived and worked abroad (incliding me!) But I work in an international facing industry.

Can only speak for myself: I did, all my brothers did ( one still does) my sister did and my dad did ( 2 different countries) when he was young. Maybe we are just quite a curious family!

there was an identical post a few months ago.

You seem to be missing the point that the whole reason you can talk about this to the people in your office who are living outside of their country of birth is BECAUSE THEY ARE ALREADY OUTSIDE THEIR COUNTRY OF BIRTH.
And with the same rationale you WOULDN'T be able to have that in common with English people in your English office who had moved to a different country because they are currently IN that different country so not around for you to talk to!

When you lived in all your other countries, presumably a lot of the, for example, Spanish people in your office in Spain were born and had always lived in Spain!

Basically you're extrapolating incorrectly from a self-selecting group

Loads of Brits live abroad - I’ve lived in Japan, know lots who have lived in Aus, NZ and Spain.

Youre speaking to English who still live in England and foreigners who live abroad in England. Of course you’ll be with the more homebody Brits and the adventuring non-Brits in that grouping.

I have live abroad (China and Singapore) and there were tons of brits living there. I think your sample size is small

Oh the irony of the OP criticising other people for having a narrow viewpoint. 😂

This excessively goady thread is evidence that living and working overseas doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re open minded (or have any understanding of the drivers or history behind global migration).

I suspect this is a case of last hurrah before back to school next week.

I worked abroad when I was a young adult. I think you get sucked into paying into pension schemes and trying to pay a mortgage off. I also wouldn't disrupt the dc schools unless I had to.

Lack of language skills, free healthcare? DH and I have both lived in several countries, as did his parents and my sister. I also know quite a lot of English folk living in other countries. Depends on lots of factors I guess, self confidence, employment skills, financial security, family ties ... it also takes some planning and research to move abroad successfully, and I guess some people can't be bothered or wouldn't know where to start.

Forgot to add, to live in some countries the entry requirements can be quite daunting (unlike for many people coming to the UK). Eg, for New Zealand we had to have jobs to go to, have a medical, provide proof of finances, proof that we spoke English, etc etc. Quite right too IMO, as should apply everywhere.

There are loads of British people abroad. You’ll find a lot in low tax/high wage economies tho, because otherwise what’s the point

"Thinly veiled criticism of the UK" . People are allowed to ctiticise the UK.

Though i don't think I am criticising the UK. Ii am more observing and noticing the difference.

Its interesting to me , who has lived in seven countries at age 40, to talk to a 40 year old woman in my workplace who has never left her home city.

It is such drastically different lives.

She learns from me, and i learn from her.

I personally find it quite difficult to get along with an English person who has never left their home city.
As their viewpoint is extremely narrow. We just don't have much in common

Not travelling doesn’t have to mean someone is narrow-minded. And the reverse is also true OP!😉

I wandered out in the world for years
While you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon

I think you only see a small snapshot of people from abroad. Most people don't have the means to change their lives or don't want to.

I am from an EU country, living in the UK since 2000.

I have never thought about moving abroad until DH was headhunted. I like travelling but moving to another country, I just never saw the need.
I have 3 nieces, none of them has/had any plans. None of my cousins, all but one with university degrees and jobs which would enable them to work anywhere, moved abroad.

Most people I know who work/lived aboard either did this as part of a work transfer, so proper ex-pats for 2-3 years, or have a spouse from another country and moved for them.
I think I only know a handful of people who moved because they wanted an adventure.

The people I know who have moved, didn’t move back, plenty of UK expats in US and Australia.

It is interesting isn't it. I think it's a cultural thing that is particular to the Uk.

Because in other countries, its very common to move abroad.

I was so surprised by OP’s premise that I asked ChatGPT which says:
British people do not move abroad less than other Europeans; the UK has historically had the largest number of citizens living overseas, with a significant proportion of British emigrants, particularly in the past, heading to Spain and France.While the UK's percentage of emigrants living within the EU might be lower than other EU countries, the total number of British expatriates is higher than in any other European nation.

Key Statistics and Trends
High Numbers of British Expats:
The UK has the largest total number of citizens living abroad compared to any other European nation.

Anyway going abroad doesn’t make you a better person. There’s a lot of stability in people staying where they’re from. Two of my siblings stayed in our home town and have strong roots and happy lives there. I’ve lived abroad and travelled a lot and don’t have the same sort of life they’ve built.
Anyway, having travelled the world I love England the best overall. Not sorry I went but happy to be where I feel at home. I’m sure many feel the same about their own country.

I think it depends on the individual, not whether they are English or not. I have lived in two European countries but came back to the UK because DD has SEN and the provision where we lived was non-existent. I am actually Scottish rather than English and my paternal grandparents both lived abroad in the early 20th century and my uncle in the 50s/60s. Many on my mum's side emigrated to Canada and South Africa.

Yet despite that neither of my parents or my siblings have ever lived abroad (apart from Dad doing national service). In fact my sister has never moved from our home city. She is also an intelligent and interesting woman despite never having lived abroad.

I think you are making a sweeping generalisation and also find your attitude to those who have never lived abroad quite condescending.

Yes there may be some people who think England is the be all and end all but I have found that in the other countries I have lived in too.

Horses for courses and all that.

They’re worried the Welsh and Scots will claim it back. ;)

But @Booneymil there will be people in your home country who’ve never been abroad. Generally British people are relatively well travelled both for holidays and living abroad. The majority of every country don’t emigrate and live and work in their country of birth. All the statistics people have thrown at you have proven that Brits are no less likely to emigrate than other nationalities. So your sample of just you does not represent the world at all. And instead you’re doubling down on it being ‘a cultural thing’ which makes no sense as it’s not true?

Actually the statistics that the first poster posted DID show that British people ARE less likely to emigrate than people from other countries.

I thought you had nothing in common with such people and thought they were narrow minded a bit further up the thread. Now you talk to them and learn from them, quite a switch around.

I (a Brit) studied abroad for a year (STEM subject on ERASMUS in Germany) and went on to live and work in Japan for a number of years.

Now generalising wildly…

I think there might be something in the UK (like Japan) being something of an insular, island nation where people don’t feel any need to work abroad - in part because ‘abroad’ comes to us.

People from the continent don’t have to cross the sea to work abroad (and in the EU have freedom of movement - which makes it easier), and often (even usually?) have better language skills.

The Antipodeans (and white South Africans) (despite probably similar language constraints) have much more of a culture of travel to see the world (as they are so far away) and much more of an openness to ‘wanderlust’ / working abroad.

What does the rest of the world have that Slough doesn't?

Sorry OP, I can’t seem to find the (first?) poster and stats you mean. Could you re-link that please?

Both can be true.

I said we don't hang out together with them as we have nothing in common.

However we talk to and learn from each other at work.

I am shocked that they have never left their city, and they are shocked that i have lived all over the world. Wre learn from each other's life experiences