To move away from the UK to a Mediterranean country. Has anyone done it?

[Justalittlebitmore]

I've been taking a long hard look at my life recently. I've got a great job with people I love to be around. I also have a small second job on the side that I can do from home and DS to ferry around. I don't have any time for myself. But I need to have both jobs to survive financially, DH also works very long hours.

Maybe I've taken too much on but the more I think about it, the more I don't want to be here (UK) anymore. I'm not sure what I am working so hard for. I have health issues that mean I probably won't live to retirement age, although I am very well at the moment. I can't help feel like I need to totally overhaul my life and enjoy it more. I can't stand the weather here, I spend most of my life waiting for summer and wishing away the rest of the year.

I love the Mediterranean and can't stop thinking about jumping ship and moving over there to build a new life. Maybe not now, but in 5 -10 years.

Has anyone done anything like this? Did it work out?

Bit harder to do it post Brexit unfortunately

Jumping ship? Do you mean with your dh and son or are you thinking you'll leave them behind? A lot of countries border the Med and they are very different. I think you'll get better advice if you indicate which you'd consider.

I know 2 people (well one person and one family) who have done what you describe. In both cases it's gone well but has become a lifetime commitment as children have adopted the nationality of the country they have grown up in and don't, as adults, want to leave.

In your case I'd look at medical provision in the countries you are considering and think about how you'll support yourself into old age if you live longer than you currently expect - with medical advances the situation can change quite rapidly.

I've done it twice and moved back to the UK.

Never again. I'd look at changing your UK circumstances first.

Depends where in the Med. Greece and Italy for example are very poor countries and in Greece there is a lot of corruption in local government and public services so you have to be connected / happy to give backhanders if you want stuff done like property buying, buuilding & refurbishing.

One thing that Brits often are surprised by, because it doesn't come up on hols but does when you live there, is how regressive Greek attitudes are towards women and minorities, outside of Athens and Thess.

A lot depends on whether you could live and work in an EU country - can you get dual nationality based on your heritage?

Then because of your health issues, you'll need to make sure that you'll access to the health system.

If you can't emigrate to the Med you can look at making changes to your life. Can you move to a warmer part of the UK - if you're in the North move to the South, or even to the south of Ireland - it's not the Med but milder winters than lots of the UK.

You could look at cutting down your work - do you really need the second job? Does your husband need to work such long hours? I worked part-time when my daughter was little, just enough to pay the mortgage and bills, and while I was broke I was a lot less stressed, got to pick her up from school everyday etc.

Hope you can reduce the load.

I always wanted to live in Greece, until I realised that I'd never survive the mosquito attacks on me, so that idea is shelved.

I'm rubbish at dealing with really hot weather too as I get older.

You have health issues. Could you afford the costs?

For some people. Lots of us have EU passports

I live in Greece, but came before brexit and not with kids. I absolutely love it and wouldn’t call anywhere else home. I’ve lived on mainland (Athens / outside Thessaloniki) and also on the islands.

Would definitely agree with the poster above re: corruption in government etc. Getting anything done public service wise is a nightmare and you need endless patience but I prefer the lifestyle and am fortunate to have a good job, as Greek wages are very low compared to what most people are used to in the UK.

Depends on the sort of life you want to live, i'd have a look at credit on some expat boards.

if you are doing remote work, it might be easier and really if you work isn't based their economy or is in a resilient sector its should be fine.

Portugal, is good especially lisbon your looking for a bustling city that has life year round rather than a touristy section.

Lots of corruption in Italy as well as Greece. I personally wouldn't do it, but I definitely understand the appeal.

The thing I learnt living abroad... there isn't as much difference as you think. There's still bills to pay, a house to clean, school run to do, work, food shopping etc. Its nothing like a holiday. Yes it can be warmer... but its sometimes too hot. And winter still feels cold. And the rain...

You really, really need to speak the language, unless you are intending to live in a British enclave in Spain or Portugal

We lived in semi rural France in a good tourist area ( so not isolated) for fifteen years. It was essential to speak French: banking, dealing with the tax office, the utility companies, even the dump (!) was very very difficult . We were always having to help other residents who could not learn French ( and learning a language as an adult is quite hard for most people.)

The French attitudes to society and to state benefits are very different ( and less generous to ‘foreigner’) than the UK.

we loved the experience, but we kept our house and most of our capital in UK so we weren’t trapped.

Keep climate change in mind, a lot of Med/Southern European countries can now become unbearably hot during summer months.

I'm not saying don't, but it's so so difficult. Mediterranean society often functions by relying on family and extended family. You mention you have a son. Often school children only go to school in the morning and are home before lunch. No such thing as formal child care. It looks idilic, but if you don't have the traditional set up, it can be really hard. Things are set up for 2 parent families with 4 grandparents and generally at least 4 aunts and uncles ready on hand.

I may be able to get German nationality, but I don't know if things have changed since Brexit.

I would keep a foot in UK, just in case. Maybe I could come back for part of the year. I don't know! This is just a dream for now, hence getting some independent opinions!

By jumping ship, I meant leaving the UK. DH would gladly come and DS is a late teen and can chose to come or not. He is quite independent and I imagine that in 5-10 years he would have his own life, possibly abroad anyway.

We would love to, and DH used to get regular approaches from headhunters in EU, but we missed the boat and Brexit has stopped them calling. It’s not just the loss of Freedom of Movement, we also lost equivalence of qualification. So if you have professional degrees or qualifications for your career they are no longer accepted, as they are for EU citizens, you’d have to jump through hoops specific to the individual country. It’s too onerous for my profession (despite speaking the relevant language).

Yes. I would love to go. However my savings didn't go up quickly enough to beat the Brexit cut off. I was also waiting for my DC to be ready ie settled and happy with their own life.

Now all that's stopping me is having a UK passport.

Some attempts are being made to come to a new agreement on double citizenship, but you'll currently have to give up your British nationality if you take German nationality You'd have to have a German-born German parent - if you were born before 1974 it would have to be your dad.

Nope. Used to want to live in the med. Then I got older and less tolerant of the heat, now I don't even want to holiday there in the summer months, it's too hot. I've grown to love our seasons here, OK maybe not winter.
Add in the small matter of cockroaches (never recovered from my 3am experience of a giant flying cockroach in my apartment on holiday in Spain) and it's a no from me.
I would think with a pre exisiting medical condition you would need some expensive medical insurance too.

I have dual-nationality and lived in a Mediterranean country as a child/teen then moved back to London to study and live permanently.

I would never move to another Mediterranean country permanently.

because:

• with climate change the heat can be really hard to deal with in the summer and that is only going to get worse
• I remember a lot of misogyny/sexism/outdated views of women when I was a kid in places like Italy and Greece. Although I accept things might have improved since
• there are not as many job opportunities
• if you don't speak the language you might struggle with the bureaucracy
• Brexit has made things harder. So if you don't have an EU passport you need to think carefully about how this could work for you
• if you have health issues, you will need a good insurance scheme.

That said, I completely understand you might want an easier pace of life and a warmer climate if you have health issues.

That's what makes me so mad about Brexit as well.

Before that I would have said move to the South of France and enjoy a nice pace of life and the wonderful French health system, but unfortunately it is no longer so straightforward.

Can you look at moving to a different area in the UK? maybe near the sea.

I have health issues too and this is what I did: move from London to a small coastal town in the south east and I am feeling so much better now.

Me too but the majority of Brits don’t

Yes that’s correct.
As soon as Brexit was announced we sorted German passports as Germany only currently allows dual nationality with another EU country.

I used to live in southern France for part of the year and loved it. But I couldn't take the heat these days. It's definitely got hotter in these Mediterranean countries and I find it almost unbearable in the summer.

The German dual nationality thing is a little more complicated. You can have dual nationality with a non-EU country if you can prove it would be unnecessarily onerous to give the other nationality up. You have to write a letter to the embassy explaining why that would be (for example, some countries, such as Iran, have no legal means of giving up citizenship). I’ve heard noises that this would apply to Brits with family not entitled to German citizenship, due to not wanting to split families. (I’m a dual German-British national).

I studied in Italy and it was a surprisingly sharp culture shock. The bureaucracy is difficult to navigate and just figuring out how everyday life works is tricky. The media is about 20 years behind the UK in terms of objectifying women (not a surprise really, given that Berlusconi owns a lot of it) and attitudes towards minorities and LGB people. Corruption is endemic.

I wouldn't.