To be seriously considering leaving this country?

[User135644]

I've lived here all my life l, have all my family and friends here but I feel desperate to get out now.

Brexit was national self harm in itself (and has made it harder to leave) but I am done with Tory island. They have destroyed everything over the last 12 years.

Had it now. Country heading for collapse.

Because I'm a paramedic and learning a language well enough to interact with dementia patients, SEN patients and young children, who are going through a stressful situation, in their native language (and regional accent) is a level of fluency I can't imagine i'd realistically ever achieve. Also in order to make a move work financially I'd need to be at that level of fluency before moving and being able to immerse myself in the language.

If you can leave, leave. It’s a great idea.

Our daughter has moved to Scotland and we are seriously considering joining her there if it looks like Indyref 2 will succeed, particularly if Scotland rejoins the EU. The current ultra right wing government are set on making their fortunes and the devil take the hindmost. Sorry England but I'd be more than happy to leave you in the lurch

I’m a huge animal lover but if I had a four year old I would be putting their future first above any other priority.

I think sadly for Scotland (and UK as a whole if we want to rejoin), it hasnt got the economic criteria to join on its own.

pretty serious

Only if you are not serious about leaving, surely?

My dog was so distressed by his kennel induction that within an hour he defecated standing up (a sign of extreme anxiety), add to that, that his eye sight isn't perfect and as a result he doesn't like enclosed spaces, and it would be kinder killing him that putting him in a crate in the hold of a plane for 24 hours.

My DD doesn't have any siblings, or dog is a year older than her and they have grown up together, so I'm not sure how harming HER dog would improve her life.

I'd love to leave, but I couldn't do that to our families.

I'm very close to my parents who are very close to all their siblings and aging parents. We're very close to DH's family and have the only grandkid on that side who they all absolutely adore and spend regular time with.

Leaving would mean reducing time with loved ones which is one of my top priorities in life and one of the reasons I got out of managing events so I could spend more time with family and friends. Leaving the country sort of sets all that back.

It's not easy to just up and leave if you don't loads of money

I'm leaving in 6 months! 👋

We left due to Brexit. Live in Canada now. Was definitely the right move for us.

Yes thats what happened to our dog we bought back from Spain, she arrived in the UK absolutely covered in faeces and the airport/quarantine staff said she was in a terrible state of distress

I wouldnt do it again, I think in her case it was the flight rather than the crating per se but it was awful

But 15 happy years in the UK, she has passed away now.

Everywhere has its' pros and cons. At the moment the UK looks like a shit show. We lived in Portugal for 16 years but came back because there was no provision for kids with SN. I know it's not perfect here but at least I had options for DD. I know SN provision is not great here but it was worse there. The way they wanted to deal with her SN was to keep her back until she could meet the grade academically. She would probably still be in the equivalent of Reception now as a teenager.

If you do your research properly and find out what health, education and buying/renting are like in the country you want to move to then I think living in another country is a great thing to do. However as others have said there may be other issues. As an example petrol in Portugal is now more expensive than in the UK.

I totally get why people want to move and if you can afford it that's great. Don't assume however that things are always better.

Is anyone considering Canada or currently living there? I'd love to hear more about moving to Canada and life there. I have hear the cities are the places to go as everywhere else gets very rural and isolated particularly in the harsh winters. Is this true? Are the Canadians welcoming? How do jobs compare? I currently work for a Canadian company based in UK so could get a role and visa I imagine. Any advice on that? TIA from Curious in South East England x

Where would you go? France and Italy are becoming more right wing; not in a good way. And I don't fancy living anywhere that used to be USSR.

We’ve been thinking about it for a while and we’ve started putting plans in place, if all things go well enough we’re going to be moving to Sweden.

My husband is a Swedish citizenship, our daughter is currently entitled to citizenship, we’re aiming to move when my son is near the end of primary school, the two systems of course don’t completely marry up, it would mean essentially repeating year 6, which is a good thing as it can just be a settling year. Our professional qualifications are transferable, my husband obviously speaks Swedish, he now exclusively speaks it at home, so our daughter will be fluent when she starts speaking, my son is picking it up very well and I’m getting much better.

Our second choice is Canada, we feel the UK can’t offer what we want for our family longterm, but we feel both Sweden and Canada could.

I used to fantasise about moving to Italy when I was younger but I read the other day theyve had 76 governments in 70s years.

Why is everyone who is planning to leave doing it in 4 years?

Our daughter has moved to Scotland and we are seriously considering joining her there if it looks like Indyref 2 will succeed, particularly if Scotland rejoins the EU
I've lived in Scotland for 50 years and love it, but its finances mean it will never get back into the EU.
I am pretty sure the Indyref ship has sailed (and sunk , fatally holed by the SNP). Since Brexit, N Ireland is really highlighting and demonstrating all the pitfalls Scottish separation would bring to England and both countries.

I buggered off to teach in the ME in 2015, & have not regretted it in the slightest. Great salary/package, good education for my kids, amazing quality of life.

When I visit the UK now, it feels...tired. & I'm visiting my parents in a pleasant, leafy area in a perfectly nice city, which frequently comes up in surveys as a lovely place to live.

Eldest dc is currently gap year-ing in the Far East, & applying to European Unis. Younger two are setting their sights on mainland Europe & America respectively.

Sorry, UK, but as a family, we stuck a fork in you & decided you're done. Strictly visits to keep up with the older generation now, I'm afraid.

@AchatAVendre Scotland is even worse. It feels like the Scottish Government's mission is to restrict or license almost every activity you might actually do for enjoyment or endeavour, <...> Its also noticeable that you now have to pay for parking absolutely everywhere, in the middle of the countryside even,

???????? I must be living in a different Scotland on some other planet.

That’s the great thing about the world though isn’t it- that you can try places (in theory!) yes there is red tape but it’s definitely possible.

We have lived abroad in a few places in Asia and Sweden. I’ve loved the experience but always come back. The UK is home and I love it- we are lucky enough to live in a nice area with good schools and lots of friends so feel very settled. I enjoyed living abroad but the expat life can be a challenge- I really struggled in Sweden with it, less so in Asia with loads of other expats.

Obviously it’s easier if you’re in the EU (I was a remainer through and through) but it’s possible if you have a transferable career. We work in healthcare and engineering so have had lots of job opportunities abroad. Rather than bemoaning the lack of EU passport I’m aiming to encourage the DC to do those jobs that historically have been very in demand (engineering etc) to get those opportunities.

Just be aware that politics are like the tide- constantly changing and turning. Nowhere is perfect (the UK definitely isn’t) but having family and long term friends close by is priceless.

Yes - do it! I've lived in several counties and it's a great experience. Different culture, different food, learning the language. Where are you thinking you may settle?

Do it OP!

I left 15 years ago and am so happy I made the move.

@User135644 no doubt lots of people feeling the same way and saying they would like to leave but my guess is that few will actually carry it through. Brexit was a failure of democracy - when the democracy is too lazy and stupid to research or make an effort to understand anything - Cameron was wrong to put the decision to a public vote. Anyway - we are where we are. I was forced to retire last November - not something I had envisaged - I was self employed - COVID meant to face to face contact so I couldn't continue with my work. We have friends where we have lived for 21 years but no family nearby - my kids live 2hrs drive away and have their own busy lives (good for them!) - I love where we live but would have no problem in moving somewhere else either in the UK or abroad -we bought a campervan and have been exploring places with a view to moving to somewhere we like - it could be Scotland - we're still in a process of weighing up what we want from the rest of our lives but I am appalled by the Brexit vote and the economics of life in the UK atm - business first, people second. If Scotland votes for independence then it would strengthen my feelings about moving there particularly if they elected to join the EU. Actually I have friends in Scotland who seriously doubt this will happen after the rallying cry for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to vote for independence last time failed but we are travelling around Scotland as much as we can to weigh up a move there - it's not a simple decision. My sister has lived in France for 20+ years and we have friends in the Netherlands of over 30 years - we like the country and people. We also have long standing German friends and I speak Spanish -so these are places that are also under consideration. I love this country but I'm not dumb enough to waste the rest of my precious life living here if there are better options - it is the problem at the top of our priority list - we've been talking about it since Brexit and since last November in particular. This country seems so stuck in the past politically - I have friends of over 15 years in Finland who think very differently about politics - I'd consider a move there if it wasn't so dark and cold!

All those complaining of the NHS. I had a heart attack 6 weeks ago and the care was brilliant.

I don't deny there are problems but the care I've received was in good time (ambulance) and the subsequent care great from the consuls to the cleaners.

The system may be creaking but it's still functioning.