To ask how you live between two countries

[splendidisolation]

Am interested in getting ideas from people who live between two countries.

A holiday home you go to for like 3 weeks in the summer doesn't count.

I mean people who are very regularly goimg back and forth between two places.

Do you own two homes? Rent? Rent/sublet one home out when you're not in it? How does tax work? Do you like living between the two, is it more hassle than it's worth?

We own a house (which we rent out), have bank accounts, savings, credit cards, mobile numbers for the UK.
I spend 2-3 months there in the summer. And 2 out if 3 Christmases there. We stay with family or do short term lets.
DH has a job elsewhere. We have a rented house, bank acount, school places here.

DHs parents spend 6 months in the UK, and 6 months in another country (not where we live). They live with their adult son in UK, and their parents in the other country. They basically have 2 lives, in 2 places, and jump on a plane with a small suitcase to switch between the 2.

I've often wondered how this works near borders. Example, you live in Geneva, work on the Swiss side but live and use all the services on the French side. I visited a border village Swedish/Finnish separated by a river. The Finnish children all walked across the river to attend primary school in Sweden. Different language, different time zone and different currency.

@SandBlue thanks for replying. So basically you pay tax in the other country - but I guess you make voluntary NI contributions?

I used to - work in one country and then two plane rides home at the weekend. It wasn't in Europe, but it was a bastard - expensive, especially as it was too expensive to rent a flat where I was working, but hotels weren't cheap. Like anything, wealth would make it much easier, I think.

Not atm. Needs looking into -but not convinced the state pension will be worth diddly squat in 700 years when we eventually hit retirement age. Only been out 2 years.

Also, I have 2 wallets. One with all my UK stamps, store cards etc, and one with my local stuff in. Its a couple of plane rides to get home, so no popping out and realising Ive got the wrong currency!