to leave the UK to give my kids a better chance in life

[anychocswilldo]

I have 2 little dc and my dh and I are seriously talking about emigrating. This country is on its knees and this is surely only going to get worse. I'm just interested in your opinions, or if anyone has left UK, any advice. Would my kids and my dh and I have a better quality of life in a country like Canada, Australia or New Zealand or is it a grass is always greener myth that other countries offer more. Leaving my mum and other family behind would b very difficult for me, would the sacrifice be worth it?

Thanks timeforchange I'll have a look

Oh and Melbourne is famous for it's 4 seasons in one day weather which is very similar to the UK with the added advantage of the summer actually being a decent summer at the end of of a cold wet winter which you can cope with if you know there is literally light at the end of the tunnel.

My DSis has lived in Francea since she was 18 she is now nearly 40, 2 dc (11 and 7) and she would be home in a shot if the opportunity arose. Unlikely with her DC entrenched in school. She has been trying to persuade her French DH since their eldest was a baby, but isa happy enough to stay. She comes over at least every three months.

DBro emigrated to Oz 3 years ago, with his DW & DSS. He hates it, she loves it. DB misses family and longstanding friends and am whole pile of smaller things that pile up into a mountain. He'd empathise with
'same shit different bucket' . School run, work, chores at weekends. The reality of being a working parent is the same wherever you are.

Both DSis and DB agree that bringing their children up hundreds irl thousands of miles away from family detracts massively from any improved quality of life.

I always find it very odd whenever anyone considers the possibilty of moving, posters get very defensive of the old UK.

The fact is that things are tricky here right now, and set to get a darn sight trickier for our DC. Admitting that we're concerned for our DC is a good thing surely?

That said, I'm trying to bring up my DC to see their future as global and flexible, rather than seeing their future in x or y country that happens to be doing well now.

How ate your dc going to find buying a house easier in those countries tho?

YY to global & flexible wordfactory - absolutely.

There are tons of things about the uk that I dislike, and many things I loved about living overseas. But I think it's important for people to realise that there is no such place as utopia.

I echo what wordfactory said. My DC are teenagers at College & University.

They have been brought up with a different outlook on life to my generation. They hope to get qualifications that might get them employment anywhere in the world. They might not bother getting on the property ladder but rent where the work is.

You can look at it two ways. I think their future could be more rewarding with more opportunities, as the world is now a smaller place.

I would research carefully-you could just 'jump out of the frying pan'.

I spent a year in Asia and despite living in what looked like paradise I found that I missed friends, and jacket potatoes, and Sunday papers, and radio 4, and rolling hills etc... And I always wondering what my friends were up to back in the UK, what parties, gigs etc I was missing...

I'm going to guess that you haven't ever lived abroad OP...?

DP and i are moving to Canada in the next 2 years (we already have the visas). It will be for a few years 'adventure' to start - as another poster said, we wont sell our house here etc. If we like it we will stay, if not we will return.

Partly the reason is for the dc (i'm pregnant with our first now). We want them to experience a different type of upbringing than we had - more wholesome and outdoorsy i suppose. Also i think it will be great for them to have dual citizenship. We are both only children with quite dysfunctional families and have very few friends so we can't really see any reason to stay here.

We have been many times and DP has already lived there for a year. We accept that cost of living is not cheaper and the grass isn't greener in all aspects but we are excited about going. Our dream is to run a cafe/ski shop.

We applied for visas a while back and it wasn't anywhere near as strict as it is now. We went to the Canada/Aus/NZ expo last year and it was full of people who were not eligible. We wouldn't be if we applied now.

I'm not so happy about my children having Canadian accents tho

Never lived abroad no. Thanks everyone, I know there's a lot to consider.

I think you need to remember, as someone else said, it is a GLOBAL recession. I'm from Australia and have been here since I was 21, very few of my friends are left in Australia as they have moved all over the world to find work opportunities, so as far as having more opportunities there I am a bit sceptical. I don't want to put a downer on my home country but it is VEERYY expensive at the moment, especially if you are going to sell your UK house and convert your pounds to dollars, it might not go as far as you think. Watch some episodes of Wanted Down Under on BBC i player, I think it's the most realistic of the property shows.

When I was recently in Australia most economists were predicting a pretty gloomy time to come over there. If you do decide to go do realise that the school year doesn't run the same as UK, it is Feb - Dec. I am always amazed at the number of Brits that move over there and then realise that their children will either have to repeat or skip two terms!

My BIL tried to move to Australia. He hated it. Unless you are earning a decent wage you are not going to have a good standard of living. It's not much different to living here - he went from living near London to loving near Sydney. He really didn't like it and came home. Luckily his then fiance agreed to join him - she is Australia and they married and have lived here ever since.

I have known of three groups who have made the move to Australia and all three have been back within a year.

We moved to NZ as a couple and are expecting our first child this week. I'm immensely grateful that our child will get to grow up here and thank my lucky stars every day that we get to live in this beautiful place.

I genuinely don't feel it's 'same shit, different bucket' here. We don't have the long commutes we had in the UK, so have more time to spend together rather than trapped in a metal box on the way to and from work; we have more distinct seasons, so can plan outdoor activities better- ski fields in the winter that are an hour drive away, beach minutes from house for summer swims, rivers, lakes, mountains all close; we get to live on a quarter acre section- something we could not have afforded in the UK; have fab health care and education systems...I could go on.

All that said, we did pay our dues it get here and settle. Immigration dept. were a bloody nightmare to deal with (and you have to be what they're looking for in terms of qualifications & experience, health etc). We also had some tough times living in awful rental accommodation and my husband had problems finding a job at first. We did have to show some mettle and the tough times were really hard, especially because it takes time to make friends, build support networks etc but there's no way I'd move back now.

Just make sure you go into things with your eyes open.

anychocswilldo Mon 05-Mar-12 18:43:01
"I think my main reason for considering it is because I worry about the kids future ie jobs, buying houses etc."

Investigate carefully how these things actually work in the country you have in mind. People who think of moving to a more economically stable country might think about it in terms of house buying etc without realising that in e.g. many European countries far fewer people expect to be able to ever become house-owners; house ownership is a very British way of measuring success. That particular aspect may not be a hurdle in e.g. NZ, but there may be other differences you haven't thought about. Find out what you might reasonably expect before you choose your country.

Lexie1970 it's not about living in London that's the problem it's living in the poor getto areas of London we live in the burbs and have hardly any issues

Of course you are not being unreasonable. Perhaps you just want a different experience. I moved to UK 12 years ago - my experience of living away from family sometimes is very tough, and no amount of skyping can make up for the fact that my dad hasn't yet held his grandchild. (We have just spent an extortionate amount of money on flights to take us to visit him although I don't have a job after having my DS)
I am preparing to move again (to Canada) and the documents have taken me 3 months to gather. (it is complicated as I am a dual citizen).
It always helps if you know people where you are going as it can help to lessen the culture shock.

Not on its knees no. Struggling but jumping a sinking ship is not good. DCs should know what tough, hard and not so comfortable is.
But if you want to jump - places you mention are not much better of. The way up and ahead is BRIC. Would you want to go?

I second BeeWi's sentiments about NZ. Although housing is still expensive and so is food. But you can't compete with the lifestyle, imo.

I don't think moving because you're worried your children won't be able to get a job/house here is entirely sensible. I'm looking at this from the point of view of an unemployed graduate btw, so I understand your concerns! Hopefully the situation will improve in time; we've seen "boom & bust" before, I'm praying thinking things will get better....eventually. If your kids are young then chances are their life chances will not be drastically different to those across the pond. They'll just be slightly paler and less likely to be able to surf.

This economic downturn is truly global, the UK isn't the only place that's feeling the squeeze. Who knows what'll happen? You could easily pack your stuff, sell your house, leave your family to go to the other side of the world, only to see something similar occur over there.

Australia is far more expensive though so maybe not a good bet

Nothing wrong with trying living elsewhere though, why not?

OP, moving overseas will not solve everything, BUT, you are not being unreasonable to do it. We left UK 9 years ago with DH's work, do not regret it at all, and have no plans to move back in the near future. I wouldn't say we "emigrated" though - that implies a specific country and no plans to return ever. We have gone wherever DH's company sent him, which is not always where you would choose, and we have had to uproot the whole family every 2 years or so since then.

I don't know your work background OP but your opportunities overseas will massively depend on this. There are still good expat packages available althouth they are getting fewer, depending on the country (we are in remote part of SE Asia). Personally I wouldn't have contemplated moving without the back-up of the package, particularly medical insurance and school fees.

I love living overseas and there are so many benefits for dcs, too many to count. I particularly love that my dcs have few expectations about what is normal, whenever we move they are excited to find out what is "normal" in the new place. I hope this will help them to move for work when they are older. I don't mind being far away from home, and over time you miss British things less and less. I would say go for it - don't think of it "escaping" from UK, just think of it as a great opportunity to see some of the world and broaden your/your dcs' minds.

My dcs do have American accents now though....

uk in recession not on it's knees
emigrate,yes
don't run away glossy eyed with unrealistic hopes
free nhs, free education, free GP appt, free dentist kids
you've never even lived abroad?do try locum or short term posts if avail to you

NarkedPuffin
I wouldn't want DCs who don't understand what football is.

Is that really, honestly a priority? Surely you could teach them yourself. How bizarre!