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.

7 years maximum for us until we can go. Seems forever. But we’re not staying. UK has become a vile, small-minded little nation, now with an internationally embarrassing economy. I actually think we’ve gone worse than the US with Trump.

Cannot wait to leave.

I think people need money to leave, its not an option for the majority of us

Ta-ra then. Don't let the door hit your arse on the way out!

It's up to you op. But if you hate it here then you should look at what other options are available to you.

I think new people coming in without this hatred will be good. Will see what happens

tbf people irl around me are happy.. then on mn it’s this

Have you ever lived anywhere else? Properly lived there, not just a long holiday?

I've lived in Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium and now France, and they are all IMHO far, far superior to the increasingly state controlled, high tax but low public services country that Scotland has turned into. IMHO its the worst country in western Europe right now. And the constant lecturing online everywhere by the party faithful/Scottish obsessives makes it even more boak-inducing. Opinions may also vary outwith the central belt, which is all the cult of Nicola seems to be concerned with.

And no, "free prescriptions, baby boxes and university fees" are not worth it. You can get all the prescriptions you want in the rest of the UK for a £108 pre-payment certificate Baby boxes are questionable with regards to their cost/benefits analysis and free university fees are only relevant if you are within the increasingly small minority who has a child at a Scottish university. That particular sector is in a mess and constantly riven by strikes, in case you hadn't noticed.

We moved to Vancouver.

I earn a much higher salary for similar work here, but that’s offset to a significant degree by London-esque housing prices. Canadians generally get less time off work than Brits too.

An extremely beautiful part of the world, and great if you’re outdoorsy.

Towns are spaced far further apart here, as a rule, so some small towns are extremely isolated, others less so. For the weather, it really depends where you are. Some areas rarely see snow or sub zero temperatures, others are snow covered for 6 months of the year with temperatures around -40 degrees.

It’s hard to make sweeping generalizations because it is a very vast and quite a culturally diverse country.

Oh, and of course Canada is also a post self-ID hellscape (apparently; it’s never affected my day to day life).

Yes. In my world, people are generally lovely - kind and generous with a real sense of community. I don't recognise the bitterness and hatred being spewed on here daily

Left 12 years ago in my mid 30s for a non-EU, non-English-speaking country in which I had studied and already had friend; applied for a job here, got the job and moved.

I'm very happy overall with the move. Many things here are better than the UK: healthcare (I can easily see a doctor the same day if I need to, no long waiting lists); public transport (costs like 12 quid for a return 1.5 hour train trip at any time of day, including buses in both the origin and destination cities); people here are much more open and sociable.

However, there are also minuses. I spoke the language pretty well before coming and I still make mistakes and will never speak and read like a native speaker, and it makes a lot of my work really challenging to do so I haven't progressed as much as I would have if everything is in English. It's hard arriving as an adult in a new country as people already have established friendship groups and even though I'm fluent in the local language I still find myself making many Anglo expat friends both because of shared culture and because immigrants are less likely to have extended family around so have more space to make "family" with friends. And the more I am here, the more I notice cultural differences. It's hard to fit in.

And there are some things that just don't change: politics is at least as crap here as in the UK...

I’d be off tomorrow if I didn’t have 2DDs who need to see their Dad.

YANBU

We are planning to move to Aus next year, I have got a promotion at work and can decide which market I'm based in

Yes I left around Brexit time - it was lovely to leave behind all the festering hatred which seems to have come along in the last few years. When I go back to visit now, the vibe feels awful, and nothing seems to work properly any more.

I'd strongly recommend Austria or Germany - wonderful countries with excellent health, education and societal set ups. In major cities you'll get away with English, and you'll pick up enough to get by. I can't remember the last time I felt stressed or angry from day to day problems.
Ex-pats find it bizarre how the British media make other countries sound like hell-holes when the reality is usually the complete opposite.

Brexit makes things pointlessly more difficult (but at least it tends to keep the knuckle draggers away) - still as a Brit you'll stand a decent chance of starting a life compared to many other countries.
You'll need to compromise and make sacrifices at first, unless you happen to have a skill/trade in hot demand or get sponsored by a company.
Alternatively if you look around you can get a super cheap apartment to rent and start spending some months in your country of choice to figure out a new existence before giving up your UK residence.
Go for it!!

When you come back where do you visit?

Are you talking central London type stuff or other

"doffs cap, tugs forelock"

We left 10 years ago - with the intention of enjoying an adventure but of returning 'home' after a couple of years. We now can't see anything worth returning for and call our new country 'home instead.

What makes you think that thousands of low-paid immigrants from around the world won't have hatred? Have you not been paying attention to what's happening globally and what's happening in Leicester?

I already moved, and I’m so glad I did. I moved to Australia.

Are the people around you rich by any chance?

I see so many people talking about getting irish passports. Is that just for access to Europe? Or to come and live in the Republic? If its the latter then uk citizens can live and work in the Republic of Ireland without being irish. Both countries have a free movement agreement that predated the eu and was kept intact after brexit. Ireland isn't much better at the moment though.

Is that just for access to Europe? Or to come and live in the Republic?

The former (for me). But I could by persuaded by the latter.

I think about it. DP and I have four passports and three languages between us. Obvious options are: Ireland, France, Belgium or Poland. Maybe Germany (I’d be up for learning German). I’m lucky my current company is fairly flexible on location, unlucky because DP won’t live outside Europe and somewhere I’d really like to try is Canada.

I definitively agree re: Sweden, having lived there for a while.
Beautiful country, very friendly people - but it’s so hard to find actual friends!
Someone said to me once that many Swedes carry their childhood friendships into the adulthood, they have their circle and aren’t really interested in becoming friends with new people.
That’s definitely what it felt like for me and several other expats I’ve met over there.
I can well imagine Norway and Denmark being similar.

No I’d say mixed. So you get people here for decades, then newer people with higher income jobs joining as house prices have increased. People like the state schools though and move for them and there’s a strong community. It’s the community part I think that helps

I’m so glad I grew up in the 70s and 80s. Life was so much more simple then. No Internet, no social media, no waiting in phone queues - ringing your GP, or anyone really, got you straight through. No tinder or Match.com, just old fashioned going to the pub and meeting ‘the one’. Just all in our happy little bubbles getting on with life. There were some issues, but no-where near the level of crap we have currently. I feel so sorry for kids being born now - I just can’t see life being good for them.