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?

Compare life in another country with daily issues not what it’s like and how you feel on holiday there.

You might prefer it you might not, hard to say.

Do you speak the language?

There's a lot to think about here. Thanks for all the replies.

Maybe I could split my time between the UK and elsewhere to keep UK healthcare and not need residency in the EU.

I definitely need to do more research into this!

Remember UK citizens can only stay a max of 90 days within the EU every 180 days. That limit is as a tourist (and a very few other reasons). You’d now need a visa to stay longer or work.
When I was young I hoped between EU countries working within my specialty and learning best practice. That’s now denied to our kids, impoverishing our science, health and many more sectors 😢

I lived in the south of France for a few years. My life there wouldn’t have been possible without my fairly fluent French. Acquiring the language, considering work and the feasibilities post-Brexit should be a priority if you’re serious. It’s concerning me that you seem quite vague about where you would move, though — Italy, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece etc to mention only a few are all very different cultures.

Living in Italy can be a challenge if you don’t speak the language. There is also a lot of bureaucracy to deal and when dd studied there recently I had to go over to Italy and help her with deal with it all.

I did, some years ago. Spain first, and then Portugal. I'm still not in UK full-time now(in non-European country several months of the year). DSis left UK back when I did and is still in Spain As are 2 of my schoolmates

If you're serious about wanting to move to the Med then this really isn't the place to ask. You'd be better of finding a more suitable forum where you can dig into all that moving abroad entails. On here too many people are rigid with an immobile mindset of oh my God you can't possible move out of UK and actually enjoy/thrive/survive.

In reality lots of people move around generally in this aorld and live to tell the tale. I go away as I dislike the weather and politics of UK its just too gloomy. Some aspects I like though, & I do come back to see family. Normally do some temp work whilst here. That's about it.

On here too many people are rigid with an immobile mindset of oh my God you can't possible move out of UK and actually enjoy/thrive/survive.
Quite a few Mumsnetters live abroad - I live in Germany and constantly spot posts by other Brits living elsewhere. In my experience it's those who live abroad who know the pros and cons and advise people to do their homework and not expect to learn the language instantly, etc.

On here too many people are rigid with an immobile mindset of oh my God you can't possible move out of UK and actually enjoy/thrive/survive.

People can. Just don’t be naive about realities of living in new place, especially if there’s language barriers.

I’ve lived in a few countries and have thrived and enjoyed it but it’s not a holiday.

I’ve lived in Portugal for 20 years, it was much easier to move when we did.

It takes a lot of resilience to live here, to learn the language, to deal with the bureaucracy, to stay up to date with ever changing laws.

You really have to want to be here, it’s not easy.

If you can work remotely in IT, some countries offer Digital Nomad visas for a year at a time, but there's a monthly income threshold for most set at about 3,500 euros.

By far the biggest hurdle, apart from culture shock is EU nationality...

If you don't have it, UK passport holders are limited now post sodding brexit, to 90 days in any 180 days... And that's in ANY Eu country... So if for example, you wanted to live in France... But 2 months ago you had 2 weeks holiday in the canaries... This would count towards your 90 days...

If you overstay uou can be banned from entry for months and have a steep fine...

Not quite any EU country, doesn't apply to Ireland 😉

It’s interesting that so many of you mention the heat and climate change. We actually moved back from Australia because of this. Visit in 2006 and loved it. Actually got round to relocating in 2012 and came back after two years because the heat was unbearable. We were in Sydney, not the North / Centre.

You’ll need a passport. Brexit has our paid to Brits without European passports going where they like.

I did the opposite move. For me, the bureaucracy and red tape was awful, the summer sun didn’t make up for it. Despite people loving this country for holidays and a high expat community, imo it’s not a great place to live. I love England, I wouldn’t move back for anything.

You have taken on too much and you are burnt out. You need more balance, and more things to look forward to, like holidays.

I have lived abroad and while I sometimes look back wistfully and wonder why J didn’t stay I also found it surprisingly hard. I am not saying don’t do it, but the reason you have for doing it can be fixed in other ways. In the meantime you could get some spring into your step with a nice holiday or weekends away. And have a think about how many hours you are doing and why. You like your job and have nice colleagues and that is not to be sniffed at. (I’ve had the opposite and that is hard).

Italy is the 4th economy in the EU not a poor country at all. Some parts of the UK are significantly poorer...
just to be careful when you think all Mediterranean countries are cheap - you are in for a surprise. It cost 1 MIL euros to buy a flat in Milan - similar to London in that respect - of course there are poorer parts but we can safely compare it to the UK.
Also in France- italy and spain childcare is heavily subsidised- healthcare is pretty good as well - there are issues- but these are not poor countries

Things have changed also in the Mediterranean- French women go back to full time work after their maternity leave - there are creches even in the most rural of towns - think small villages etc...
italy has " asilo nido" spain has a similar system

I don't know which country you're interested in, but I've lived in Italy twice and after the first time I was determined to go and live there permanently, because I loved it so much. So I returned, but bloody hell it was hard.

It's hard if you don't speak the language with a decent degree of fluency from the start so you can speak to your landlord, your doctor, your DC's teacher, the woman in the post office, the plumber, the bureaucrat in the residency office, the bloke fixing your car, the optometrist, and so you can make friends. Life is very lonely and isolated when you can't easily communicate.

It's hard if you don't live with at least one local or someone who knows the ropes and how to get things done. For instance, I couldn't open a bank account (I was told 'You're an unknown person'), I couldn't get a mobile phone contract, getting a job is almost impossible unless you know someone who can hire you ... nepotism is rife across the Med.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I returned to the UK and haven't had any illusions about living in Europe and it being a wonderful, sun-drenched utopia since. And, I should add, that was when the UK was part of the EU.

There is a Living Overseas section on MN which you might find useful. Good luck!

Do you have an EU passport? Does your DH? Do you speak the language? To a level where you can deal with paperwork, but also get a job? What is the employment market where you want to go? What kind of medical treatment do you need? Would you be able to get insurance where you would like to go?
can you afford to live there?
the other thing about getting an EU passport - can you have dual nationality? Because since Brexit you might not be able to do that anymore (eg as a German citizen you could not take in UK nationality anymore - this was possible when we were still in the EU, whereas it is possible to have both Irish and UK citizenship). If you cannot have dual nationality- would you give up your British one?

@DeeCeeCherry

''On here too many people are rigid with an immobile mindset of oh my God you can't possible move out of UK and actually enjoy/thrive/survive.''

Nonsense.

The majority of people commenting here are simply pointing out the issues to be mindful of (Brexit, not speaking the language, climate change/the heat, bureaucracy, attitude to women and minorities and healthcare provision).

The OP needs to consider all of this before making a permanent move.

It is just practical to look at the advantages, pitfalls and practicalities of settling in another country, so you can make an informed decision.

Is Portugal (as suggested by a few posters) classed as a Mediterranean country? I didn't think it was

misses point of thread

No, Portugal has an Atlantic coast, but most people assume it’s Mediterranean (and an Atlantic lifestyle conjures up something different altogether)

I'd like to retire to a med country but not sure about working there.