Would you move abroad?

[stella139]

If you had the chance, would you move away from the UK?
Where to and for what reasons?
Just curious :)

YABU - yes I would move
YANBU - no I like living here

My wife is from Hungary, she has a flat in Budapest, it was left to her by her grandfather, there is no mortgage, we could move there, but after 5 years my wife has given up trying to teach me Hungarian, I just cant seem the grasp it! How would I work?

Her mum lives in Austria, keeps asking us to move there, she has a massive house in the Alps, said we could live with them for free until we feel confident finding a job and speaking the language!

I'd love to do it, but too much in the UK I would miss, wouldnt be fair on my daughter, taking her away from my parents who she is very very close with!

@mbosnz

I think that perhaps if you come from people that were pioneers and immigrants, it's a different perspective than if you've always lived in the same country/county/village. It's more part of your normal, and less unfathomable. It's part of your family story.

I think this is true. The thread the other week about how far people live from their place of birth was an eye-opener for me. Can't believe so many people haven't explored further afield (unless they live in London!)

I come from a relatively grim northern town and couldn't wait to leave. School friends of mine went away to college then straight back "home". All of my family lives within a 5-mile radius, which I would find stifling.

We moved to Cape Town then Namibia when I was a teenager, then I went to California to finish high school and I went to uni there. Then travelling for a while then uk, morwnlicing for short stints in some unstable countries, back to uk, moved to france foe a couple of years when DC were tiny then back to UK. I miss Britain when I'm not here but since Brexit I like it a bit less. DP and I have dual us uk nationality so might live part there part here when my dc leave school. Might have spent wintera on the Med but that's become difficult now.

I miss Britain when I'm not here but since Brexit I like it a bit less.

Exactly the sentiment of my DH. He'd love to leave it all behind right now and I'm an EU citizen, so this would be pretty easy. It's actually me who is holding us back, simply because our DS has such a lovely relationship with his grandparents here and they'd be heartbroken if we took him away.

I understand 100%, however. It's certainly a lot easier if you've previously moved overseas and left everything behind I think. I'd like to wait until DS has left school, too. (That way he won't be burdened with exorbitant UK University fees, too . . . )

No, I wouldn't.
I lived in Australia for two years when I was younger, and although I had a great time, I knew I didn't want to stay.
It may be a cliche but there's no place like home.

I miss Britain when I'm not here but since Brexit I like it a bit less.

I wonder if people who feel this live/lived in the south of the UK - so Europe is a train ride away.

I've travelled a lot but happenstance meant that wasn't Europe - and I live 500 miles from the Channel.
Is that why I don't feel like the person in the quote.?

I'm an expat and I love it! Every day feels like a holiday or an adventure even when working, even bad days are interesting experiences/good future stories!

Not permanently, up until 4 years ago I lived here 6 months and Norway 6 months and absolutely loved that way of life. We did it over 15 years. Norway would be the only country I would live in.
But UK has amazingly beautiful places, and I actually like our weather.

SmeleanorSmellstrop
Every day feels like a holiday or an adventure even when working, even bad days are interesting experiences/good future stories!

I feel like that too- but I live in the UK.

Surely it depends on how you live your life- no matter where you live.
I have a great work/life balance, plentty time to walk in the forest, take photographs, exercise, I am self employed in a creative field, love what I do, have lots of time for adventures.
My sister emigrated to Australia, she works in a tedious job, her OH works in an industrial plant, heavy, back breaking, boring work.

It is far mmore complicated than assuming that life in the UK=dull, life abroad=exciting.

There are many ways to live your life both at home and abroad.

No chance I love it here with all its faults.

I love love love properly exploring places but the best bit about spending a few weeks/months away is coming home.

Maybe I'm particularly lucky, but I adore where we live, surrounded by forest, easy access to a great city, a couple of hours from London and a wonderfully friendly, arty community around us. And the food in the UK is varied!

I could possibly be tempted by Costa Rica though

No. I have absolutely no desire to live abroad. It's great here

Lived in 3 countries already and planning on moving in 3 years (after school is finished). So def: yes

I moved around a lot when I was younger but my DH and I have been living where we are for over 15 years and I don’t think we’ll be moving again, at least not whilst our adopted DDs of 11 and 8 are growing up. Stability for them is very important.

I guess the reason I don’t have itchy feet is because I moved around so much in the past.

We would love to live in Sweden in theory. In practice we are both worried we wouldn’t get a job. I don’t speak Swedish fluently and would need to work in a different field from the one I qualified in. I also wonder if I would fit in.

Yes and swedish people arent that friendly. Not saying they're rude but have heard from various sources that it's not their way to think "oh you're new around here, join us!"

Canada or Nantucket/Maine etc except for the politics of both countries. Same PNW too.

Norwegian/Swedish wilderness if I knew the language and necessary skills (I guess Finland too but haven't been so can't say).

I left the UK in 1995 - spent 12 years in Dublin and have been in central Portugal since 2007. Would definitely go back to Ireland but the UK? Never.

We moved to Portugal last year after two years of having a house here.
We love it

I think brexit and Covid have made people think hard about upping sticks and moving abroad ...... I have family in Australia ...l.
They were due to visit April 2020..... it’s likely to be summer 2022 or beyond when we get to be together again..... I used to think they are only 24 hours away.... but the new reality is they are 2 years away..... minimum 🙄

Have lived in Middle East and Ireland. Would go back to ME but not Ireland because I faced low level discrimination there. When kids are gone will spend retirement travelling round the world in a camper van. Bored with the UK weather and negativity.

Travelled a lot with work before dh. We then lived in in the US for a while. Moved to my home country for a few years, had DC'S then moved to dh's home country (scandi) over 10 years ago.
Have never settled here but it's not so easy or fair to move when you have kids.
I will definitely be moving once DC's are independent though.

To anywhere in Europe, yes. Are you offering me a job there? Can I pack right now? Pleeeeaase?

I’d rather be bloody French right now than stay in this overpopulated country where constantly licking arse and bumping up middle class egos, actually just being born to the right people, is more important than knowing your stuff and working hard. And where things are guaranteed to only get worse, while no one will admit that the economy was destroyed years ago. Sadly I’m too old and have no transferable skills.

I bought s holiday home in France with a view to living there half of year in retirement. Current rules now 90 days out of 180 so that would work for us.

London is my home, and where I fit. I walk down the road where my grandmother was born, and I go to work on a bus that goes passed where my great grandfather worked. I love travelling and would happily go on lots of holidays to US and Europe, but London is where my deep roots are.