To be fed up of living in the U.K. but have no other options?

[Cuppasoupmonster]

☹️

Anyone else?

I hate that retrain is always presented as an option on threads like this. Retraining is pretty damn expensive and not everyone has thousands stashed in bank accounts to pay for it. Then there’s no guarantee of getting a decent paying job at the end of it anyway.

If everything is so much better in other countries surely getting a better paying job is a given and worth the investment of retraining?

We’re currently abroad - it’s no better. Everything is astronomically expensive and no-one has any staff.
stop complaining.

If you're in poverty then you'll never find out if it's worth the investment as you can't afford it regardless?!

I feel the same OP and no one wants us, we have checked.

Abroad is not all the same. I'm abroad and loving it. 😀

I feel the same. Very disillusioned with this country, no optimism for the future here. We're on a slow decline.

We will be moving to Asia in the medium term. It's not for everyone but we'll be far better off there on UK incomes, the standard of education is better as is the weather and we love the food. Our jobs mean we can work anywhere.

Where are you?

@Amboseli Asia is a massive continent and most countries have a significantly higher divide between rich and poor (or are communist).

All I'll say is after travelling around countries like India you really do appreciate how good we have got it in this country. There are a lot of things wrong in this country at the moment but we do have it a lot better off than most countries.

@1990s
I would like to do this but I am struggling to find something that other countries want to retrain as that wouldn’t mean going back to GCSE level again (ie biology to then become a nurse)

Any suggestions?

Roofing plumber. In very short supply in Australia and would probably get a sponsored position.

Perth, West Australia. I emigrated in 2013, no regrets at all.

Sorry that was in response to @underneaththeash

So many countries are complaining of a shortage of labour, so where have all the people gone?

I don't know... I moved to the UK many moons ago.

I often phantasise about going home .
Especially with the better climate and higher living standards... but then I talk to friends and relatives and I relise that better does have a cost.
It really is different country different shit to deal with! Sometimes its the devil you know...

The UK is a fairly decent place to live really:

A welfare system
Healthcare for all
Education for all
Not very corrupt
Good human rights
Low crime
Stable economy
Temperate climate
Good standard of living
Reasonable taxes

There are plenty of places much worse, and only a few maybe better. Why do you think immigrants and refugees want to live in the UK? It has a lot to offer. There is just a downward spiral of negativity but honestly other basically good countries have just as much shit and chaos. Look at how Covid shone a bit of a light on that around the world.

No where is perfect.

I'd leave tomorrow I'd I could, I've lived abroad and the hardest thing was coming back. The grass was greener.

Surely not! We all know from reading Mumsnet and the Guardian that the UK—well, England, specifically—is the most shit country in the world. Surely you don’t expect us to believe that people came here because they thought it was better!? Wow! How is their mental health?

We live in France and from my experience the problems the UK currently has are not really being felt elsewhere. We’ve always paid high prices for food so I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference on that, but our gas bill for example is still very low in comparison to those of friends and family in Uk. We have had the petrol refinery workers on strike so some places have struggled to fill up the pumps, but the government have forced them back to work and forced Total to put their wages up. I really hope at the next GE the tories are finished.. I dread to think where the UK will be in ten years under another Tory stint. We went to france before Brexit so haven’t had to apply for visas with any complications but I know of people who have come since brexit and also people who have gone to Portugal aswell and loving it there. X

You sound like me 9 years ago. My DH had recently retrained as a teacher and I was struggling with being made redundant and having two needy kids under 3. I have no degree or formal qualifications as I had always worked in office based jobs. Anyway he was offered a job in the Middle East (Kuwait) - we rolled the dice and moved and never looked back. We earned enough for me not to work the first year we were there. I then got a job working in a local British nursery , and surprisingly loved it. We moved to Malaysia last year and I can't work here because I don't have a degree , but we are comfortably living on one wage. My kids have had so many experiences that they wouldn't have had if we had stayed in the UK. It's hard at times being so far away from family and friends , but we are happy. A lot of countries offer digital nomad visas now so if you can both wfh now I can't see why you can't do your job elsewhere. I'd do it now for a year or so while the kids are both still young and international school fees kick in - that way you'll know if living abroad is for you

See Australia, where I have lived before, would worry me enormously with regards to climate change. We are very lucky in the UK to be a grey, temperate little rock out in the North Sea, it does have its advantages!

How old are you?

The commonwealth countires do a visa up to about age 32 I think when you don’t need qualifications. It’s 1/2 years and you can work any job. Then there’s the option for your employer to sponsor you so you can stay longer. You can take DC if you have them. Look up working holiday visas

@sjxoxo France has the lowest inflation in the EU but many other EU countries have a similar or higher inflation rate than the UK.

This.

You could move to a less desirable country and work to improve it. Or you could improve the community you live in. Why are you waiting for someone else to do it?

I do a quarterly litter pick on my regular running route in the village where I live. It takes one Sunday afternoon. For years I volunteered for a search team to support my community. Now I'm helping a local project to restore woodland.

What are you doing? Absolutely everyone has talents and abilities.

After 13 years in South Africa I was relieved to come back to the UK.

I had an amazing time, but the racism, sexism, and lack of services for my DD (adopted, has an EHCP here) had an every day impact on her - and my - mental health.

It is far from perfect here, but can be far worse elsewhere.