To want to move to another country?

[HowIWishYouWereHere]

Before Brexit kicks in?

I know, I know, scaremongering yada yada. And I’m not saying I want to flee whatever the cost because I’m soooo scared of what will happen after we leave the EU. Maybe it will be fine..? I think best case scenario is it will be quite hard for a bit but will get sorted out in time. So still not all that great, unless one has a good reason to stay? That’s my theory at least.

So, the thing is, I am entitled to and could easily apply for two passports other than British. One (non EU) because I was born there and also an EU country, because one of my parents was born there. I also have some family still in the EU country. I have no family in England. DH does, but we don’t see very much of them at all. It’s quite complicated, but there is a lot of favouritism towards dh’s sibling and it’s quite hurtful. DH doesn’t seem to mind tbh, but I find it really sad and am hurt on his behalf.

DH has a very good job in London, but in a precarious industry. He is a professional and has a charter ship etc so skills are theoretically transferable. I am just about to go back to work, as a low earner, but in a job I could do, pretty much anywhere. We have a fairly big mortgage. One I absolutely couldn’t pay I Dh lost his job. We also bought at almost peak price so would only get a little more than what we paid for it if we sold now. After fees we would get back about what we paid for it. If we end up in negative equity and dh has no job... well you see the problem.

The best reason to stay is that dh’s job may not even be effected by Brexit and then if I’ve encouraged him to leave it to move elsewhere and he can’t get back into his profession there, I imagine that would cause a lot of resentment.

Dh sees no reason to leave and is very calm about everything. But he can be a bit too calm sometimes.

AIBU to think we, in our specific circumstances, should move to another country? Not asking if everyone should vacate the uk or anything!

I would be concerned what would happen if ou moved and it didn’t work out - where would you go and then the disruption to the children etc etc.... that was also a concern of mine, if we went, we would have to give it a fair shot, for the kids. And if it didn’t work out we would have to move back, disrupting their lives.

Non EU country is USA
Oh right, can see your dilemma now
Seriously though, the political side of things could change in the next couple of years, or it might not, who knows but how easily can your DH get a visa for work, citizenship etc (does he even want it?) . The healthcare thing is probably a biggie too. I’ve lived in many different countries but USA isn’t one so I’m not sure how easy it is. But sounds like your future might be more certain there than in the eu.

Yes judas, definitely would need to look into dh’s eligibility to work.

shiny, disruption to dcs is definitely a concern. “Luckily” (ha!) they hardly see dh’s family and mine are overseas already. Neither are at school yet. USA is a long way away though. Not like moving to EU.

*neither child is at school yet

I don’t live in the UK nor I am British but it seems that Brexit is heralding a period of political, social and economic instability in the UK. If your DH is working in a sector that is likely to be affected that is a valid reason for relocating now. If you bought your house at inflated prices that are likely to be unrealistic soon then that is also a good reason to move now.

My choice of EU country would be Germany. They still have good education, health care and pensions and are likely to remain strong and stable, as far as that can be predicted in the current madness.

I would suggest selling your house, regardless of brexit the housing market (an economy in general) is overdue a small crash. Re brexit-what exactly does you husband do? Some proffessions stand to benefit from a major economic crash such as insolvency practitioners or lawyers.

I know a lot of people who have already, or are thinking of moving to ROI. Seems like you are eligible for an EU passport which would cover free movement to ROI no matter what.

English speaking, friendly place with opportunities in all kinds of industries, and the economy is doing very well in recovery after the crash. Can be exensive in the big cities though!

Just a thought. And apologies if I overlooked anything in your OP.

Not a lawyer. He’s science-y. His company is a massive, global plc. He thinks the fact it’s a global company might mean his job is reasonably safe..? I’m not so sure. I was made redundant from a large plc in the same industry a few years ago 🤷‍♀️. I’m “only” admin though and we were among the first to be got rid of.

Thanks keyboard.

the only reason to rush to apply for the other EU passport is if your status changes after Brexit and whether that will affect your application. Many bureaucratic processes in EU countries have different requirements / processes depending on whether the applicant is applying from another EU country OR applying from outside the EU. At the moment you are in the first group, after Brixit you’ll be in the latter.

I’m already out of the UK and living in mainland Europe. At the moment our family can basically live as the locals do (working, schools, healthcare, taxes) because we are from another EU country. Once Britain exits, we won’t be - and there is still no clarity of what status we will have.

We are leaving, a perfect opportunity arose and we said it's now or never at least a couple of years until things settle after Brexit.

BUT we are going back to my home country, to family. Staying here and hoping for the best seemed silly as I think the Brexit effect will be like the analogy of a boiling frog, we won't see it getting shit as it will be a slow decline. We've no good reason to stick it out so we won't

Moving to the US is a very big move and you can't really quantify it as simply as 'holiday entitlement, healthcare, Trump'. There's far far more to the decision.

If you do seriously consider it, come over to the Living Overseas forum and lots of us who live in the US can answer your questions. Most of what you'll get from people on AIBU is based on what they've read in the news and their holiday experiences.

If your husband is well paid then the US can be a very comfortable place to live, but don't imagine your costs of living will drop - if anything they'll rise.

Do bear in mind that with the pound being so weak, now is a bad time to sell your house and move the money abroad. OTOH it could get worse...

Thanks semster. Yes, the “work life balance, health care, Trump” comment was a little bit tongue in cheek .

It would be a huge move! Dh is (even) less keen on the idea of moving to the states than he is about moving to the EU as well. I think he would be well paid there, but that’s just based on googleing jobs over there. I’ll pop on to the Living Overseas board and see what’s what.

Will your DH’s sciencey job be affected by the loss of EU grants? Or the loss of EU research partners? Or the loss of the U.K. as an EU country and therefore a foothold in the EU for the parent company?

He thinks not boo.

Are you aware of what other countries think about EU. I moved from UK to Sweden 4 years ago. The day after the result was public holiday (midsummer) and I had people congratulating me - I was as shocked as everyone else. There is talk of a Swexit.

Salvivi (Italy) is very anti I EU and the euro and claims it is on its way out.

You are massively overreacting.

That’s quite funny you say that; I was in Italy the day it became public and everyone was saying how sorry they were for us! I didn’t know Sweden was anti-EU, but then I’ve never actually been there.

Are you sure they weren’t congratulating you for no longer living in the uk? You know, “well done for getting out before this happened” kind of thing. Not that I think that would be right, but just wondering.

FGS, yet another hysterical Brexit post.
YANBU, off you pop, bye then. See ya.

If your DH’s job is not likely to be affected then you just risk a downturn in the housing market. Are you in a strong area, e.g. London and the commuter belt? I would imagine they would be less affected.

KC225 even the Greeks think Brexit is insanity and that’s telling you something.

I’m really not hysterical, but, um...thanks?

Yes boo dh’s job is in London and he commutes there. So I guess that makes us the commuter belt.

I have left the UK but I think you should only do it if you can get jobs in the other country before you go and you all speak the language.

Yeah we all speak the language.

Jobs is another thing. As a pp (sorry, can’t remember the name) said though, that would require dh to apply for jobs now really. Unless his company just posted him somewhere else, which isn’t completely unlikely. We’ve been moved round from pillar to post within the uk and they have offices all over the world, so you never know!