Where in the EU would you live?

[PonderingWonderings]

Where in the EU would you live, and why, if:

• you and your family had EU passports
• your husband had a remote job that could be done from across the EU (salary would be adjusted to reflect local wages for his role.
• kids are mid-primary school age, 1 is dyslexic.
• currently everyone only speaks English.
• your job was remote, self-employed.
• you struggle with SAD for about half the year.

I'm under no illusions that there's some country out there that is utopia. I know bills need paid, the toilets need cleaned etc wherever you go, but I also really struggle with the constant rain (we live in a particularly wet part of the country) and I do think alternatives are available to us due to EU citizenship.

Somewhere multicultural like Paris or London

Currently living in Spain.
DH is still working, I'm not. He pays a lot of tax here.
We also have our dog with us. He is not enjoying the heat.
In order to stay here, I had to buy a whole year health insurance which was about €1800. Today I am going for some other interview which, if I fail will mean I have to leave.
I wouldn't recommend it.

Roughly which part of Spain? Did you go over as EU citizens?

Andalucia between Jerez and Seville.
DH is an EU passport holder, I solely have a UK passport.

If everyone can only speak English your kids are going to struggle hugely with schooling in another language. I wouldn't move them tbh. Maybe Malta?

Could you just move to a drier part of the country? Essex gets barely any rain, you'll be desperate for the stuff like I am 😂

I'm in Spain too (UK passport holder on a visa) and I love it. I found England incredibly depressing and hemmed in, and couldn't understand why people would spend their entire lives living in the same place (I've lived in several countries now).

I am however semi-retired which is a good age to be here. For younger people with kids it's not so easy. You'd have to put them into private school as they don't speak Spanish, which is about 1,000 € a month where I live. I have a friend with a child with SEN and dyslexia in private education, and she has to pay an extra 1,000 € a month for a 1 to 1 teacher. The people who are mostly likely to give up and head back to England are people in their late 30s and 40s with young kids I've noticed as tax wise it is not cheap living here, and housing can be an issue.

You can get a digital nomad visa in Spain, but you will pay more tax than in England, as you will usually be classified as self-employed (autonomo) and the Spanish self-employment system is horrendous. You not only pay tax, you pay for the privilege of being self employed (between 80 € and 400 € a month depending on how much you earn) and the equivalent of HMRC will come down on you like a ton of bricks if they think you haven't paid enough tax (they embargo your bank account and helps themselves).

Spain, though Italy looks attractive but I don’t know it well. We’ve had a family house in southeast Spain (near Almeria) since the 70s.
Nerja looks like a good option -lively enough without being a big city. Valencia perhaps… I know that ranks highly.
Put your kids in school and they’ll pick the lingo up quickly though it’s not easy - it will certainly be an adjustment! And you’ll definitely need to learn.

@whirlyheadsurely he won’t need a visa as EU citizens? Though the tax is different and needs to be carefully considered. Why put the kids in private school? Have them start learning Spanish before they go they will pick it up, though some schools are probably more helpful than others.
Missing family/friends and not integrating (ie, learn Spanish) is a big factor with people returning home. The Spanish are friendly but harder to actually become friends.

Cyprus?

(DH’s parents were in your position in the mid 1960s - after 3 months of solid rain in FIL’s home town they upped sticks and took jobs in Kenya).

Denmark but that doesn't go well with your SAD.

Italy and Spain may sound nice but you would really need to learn the language. Italy especially has a low English proficiency rate. I would feel isolated somewhere they dont speak much English. I also love the idea of Cycle lanes, so you can cycle everywhere, it's clean with a high standard of living.

They wouldn't need visas you are correct though she would need to get a family reunification visa. A friend of mine applied for one nearly 2 years now - still no residents card. The waits are daft.

With regards to private school, I was working off the children's ages. Very young and pre school kids are fine going into the national school system, but older ones can struggle, and a lot of Brits want their kids to follow the British curriculum as well, hence private school. There are SEN provisions in public schools so could well be fine.

Portugal would be another option with lower tax rates but the language is challenging.

Why would the kids need to go to private school? Plenty of kids just go full immersion at the local school when they move abroad (family members did in France). It’s a great opportunity for them to become bilingual!

I'd stay in the UK and holiday somewhere hot in Nov and then Jan/Feb to get me through the winter. We have a place in Spain but I wouldn't want to live in Spain full time as i don't speak the language, bureaucracy is a headache, you have to think about tax, healthcare and schooling, their rules on savings and pensions are different, interest rates on savings accounts are nil, the list just goes on and on tbh.

I have done this in the past, and do find it helpful.

It's 12 degrees with rain coming down sideways here atm in June though. I just need more sun and more ability to be outside and it to be pleasant.

Yes, I've heard self-employed is tricky in Spain. I would definitely have to do more research on that one and crunch numbers on it all.

Thanks for offering your insights.

@PonderingWonderings we moved to Spain, Costa Calida in 2020. Dh and I are both EU passport holders ( Irish by birth, moved over to the UK while I was a child, mum english. DH similar. )
We love ot, DH is retired and I work part time. Much better quality of life. Very straightforward to get residency as EU passport holders. Would absolutely recommend it.

Finland, if I could get to grips with the language

I like cooler countries

Their approach to individualism and society appeals to me

I am intrigued by their culture

I like the emphasis on outdoor living

I like long summer days and long dark winters

Language vs weather is your problem. If you didn't have kids needing to be educated, Spain or Portugal would be great. Denmark, Holland, Belgium, parts of France and Germany will have great multilingual education, and for free in some places. But northern Europe's weather isn't much better, and maybe worst in winter. Ireland is more expensive and wetter, so stay put and go on holiday more?

That's helpful, thank you.

Do you know anyone who has moved over with older kids?

I don't mind a bit of cold and dark, not at all. It's just the persistent cold and wet.

Cyprus. Absolutely love the place, the people, the climate, etc.

Yes, you've hit the nail on the head. Holidaying more is definitely an option. I just sometimes think that with EU passports and remote jobs why not go the whole way?

But the kids education and learning the language is a big concern. I would want to integrate as much as possible, but I don't doubt this would have it's challenges. Sometimes I think the initial "investment" of stress and effort in integrating would be worth it, sometimes not. It's hard to know!

The Algarve in Portugal. English is quite widely spoken there. Or Gran Canaria.

Jm well into my 50s, riddled with arthritis and how I wish I could now move to sunnier climes in the EU. Bloody Brexit!

Italy has a lot of very good international schools.
Generally good weather, and excellent food so that would be at the top of my list.

Failing that, Malta,

Given your circumstances, and that the rain seems to be your biggest problem, I would move from the west of Britain (where I assume you live) to the eastern side.