A vote to remain was not a vote for the status quo. From the time they appointed Jean Claude Juncker as EU President it became clear that the direction of travel in the EU was for full integration. I did not want to be in the United States of Europe, for the UK to join the Euro, and to hand over all sovereignty to Brussels.
On the other hand, being in Europe but not being in the full Eurozone is a nonsense, we would have had no power or influence, no matter what assurances they gave us.
When it came down to it the person whose opinion I most trusted was Gisela Stuart, someone who had been involved in the EU machine at the very highest level, an experience which convinced her that the EU would NEVER reform itself. Voting to stay in on the grounds that we would be able to change it was just a mad delusion.
Look at how many times over the years the EU has deceived us and reneged on its assurances. They shafted Thatcher over the Single European Act, they shafted Major over Maastricht, they shafted Blair over the EU Constitution/Lisbon fiasco.
When the EU President was appointed Cameron went to Europe and begged Merkel not to back someone who was too integrationist, and she gave him the most earnest assurances that she was on his side, and he was not to worry. Then they chose Juncker the arch-federalist! What a slap in the face.
The last straw was the re-negotiation. Cameron went to them for some concessions, to take back to the UK and present to the electorate. They gave him vitually nothing, and before he even landed back at Heathrow, Tusk was announcing that it was all hot air anyway, and that to be activated it needed the agreement of all members, which would never happen. They treated Cameron, and by extension us, with contempt.
The Euro crisis has still not been resolved, and can blow up at any time. There is also widespread discontent with an increasingly undemocratic Eurocracy across several other countries in Europe, the UK is by no means the only naughty child in the nursery.
Am I jubilant at Brexit? No, not really. In many ways I think it might have been better to have waited another 5-10 years when the whole thing collapses anyway, and that way we would not have been blamed for bringing the whole thing down. But Cameron insisted on having a referendum, and here we are.
I think we are in for a bumpy time during the next few years, but we have survived worse, and it would be a mistake to assume that it would all be plain sailing if we stayed in either.
It will be interesting to see what happens in France next year at the presidential election!