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?

We did it in the early 2000s. Moved to very rural Spain when DS was 10. Worked out great. He had a very relaxed childhood, good education and obviously speaks fluent Spanish. Back in the UK now for various reasons and very happy but still spend a lot of time in Spain, which is, unfortunately, more difficult since Brexit. DS is Head of Languages at a large secondary school in the UK.
We sold up in UK and bought there but if I was doing it again I'd probably rent first to ensure I got the area right. We still consider going back or perhaps giving France a go next time. We're now mid 60s.
If you need to work you'll usually need to speak the language and jobs are still pretty scarce in many EU countries. Bureaucracy can be a nightmare.

As a quick example of Greek bureaucracy: to go to the public swimming pool I needed my tax ID and certification from a cardiologist, gynaecologist and dermatologist. Fuck that.

@Mirabai · Today 10:56
itsabigtree · Yesterday 09:18

God, so much negativity on this thread.

Yes living abroad isn't perfect and their are challenges that you won't face by staying, but it's a brilliant thing to do. Takes some getting used to, but the rewards are massive!
Well that’s part and parcel of the general British attitude to abroad isn’t? Languages are too hard, the sun is too hot, the food is too different.

“What d’ you want to go abroad for there’s bits of Reading you haven’t been”.

I have commented on this thread already but the above views are just too simplistic.

It is perfectly logical to say that if you don't speak the language you are going to struggle with life admin, running a business or finding work. That's just common sense.

So is the fact that climate change has a major impact in places where summers were already quite hot in the first place.

Or that Brexit is making it harder for people to settle in other countries and that Brits can no longer use the healthcare in the EU for free.

Living abroad might work out for the OP but it would be foolish not to plan her move correctly and consider in advance the difficulties she might face.

And I say that as someone who is a British citizen and also has an EU passport and lived in France for many years.

It is not about a little Englander mentality, it is about being realistic.

There are two issues which you’re conflating. First, there is the basic issue of the challenges of moving countries - relating to language, jobs, housing, Brexit limitations, so far so rational. Then there’s is a sort of fearful negative conservative attitude creeping in that is peculiarly British - that languages are too hard (Europeans and U.K. immigrants don’t have this problem), it’s too hot - (it’s not flipping India and that’s what aircon is for - I have never in my entire life come across squawking about heat before MN), that foreign is different and you might not like it kind of thing.

Op if you are still reading, my advice is to visit as many places as you can. Also find out Brexit latest for different countries. Dh is from EU so that hasn’t been a barrier for us. We sold our UK house last summer and are mid move.

Do your research, I’ve spent many an evening watching YouTube videos of different lives to see which one would suit us. Renovate a chateau in France, city in Bavaria, Finca in Spain, Algave aptm etc.

Like you I love the Med lifestyle, ever since I spent a year as an Erasmus student in Barcelona. In the end we’ve gone for a French city on the med. We will have dc visiting from uni for hopefully many years to come and possibly even living with us while working in first job. So I (and they) did not want to be rural, also I’m a city person.

Also learn the language, I’ll never be a fluent French speaker but I’m pretty okay now.

I’ll never be a fluent French speaker

Don’t limit yourself - you could be!

fearful negative conservative attitude creeping in that is peculiarly British
At one point, my ex-husband was thinking that his work might relocate him to West Germany. His mum told us not to go as appparently "they're very different over there" and we'd never understand them or be accepted. My ex and his mum were from East Germany :D (She meant me, too - I think she had honestly forgotten that I might come from a culture closer to the West German one.)
In my experience, Brits are no more conservative or fearful than people from other countries. The languages are a bit different as most people outside the UK learn English as a foreign language and you see and hear that everywhere.

Really so how do you explain Brexit? Or the expat phenomenon on the Costa where the expats stick together and don’t learn Spanish?

Not saying there isn’t a degree of insularity in any country. But ime Europeans are happier to switch countries, (which is partly where the concept of freedom of movement derives because it would facilitate that), learn multiple languages, and more comfortable with relating to each other. The U.K. was always the spikey partner at the table and then it flounced.

I moved to Algarve, Portugal 6/7 years ago before Brexit (I know it is not the Med but it is close enough!). If you do not have private funds, then it is almost impossible to survive here. If you have an online job, then you will be fine.

I work with real estate (sales and rentals) and I have a few properties of my own which also bring in an income, so I am doing fine. It is not long until I can get my British pension so that will also make life easier. I would not move back to the UK. My family have moved here as well now, so I have even less reason to consider moving back. I get private health for 900 euros a year (aged 60) which is way less than in the UK. I work a lot with people coming from US, UK, Canada etc who are moving here to start a new life, but they are nearly 100% retired with decent passive income.

Whatever you do - learn the language. Don't become one of the entitled English-only speakers

I lived near the Med at one point - blooming cold in the winter - not same as here but the house had stone floors, no double glazing, crummy heating so I think I'd prefer to visit.

My youngest DD (20) is studying in Italy currently as part of her obligatory year abroad for uni and she has said much of this too, almost word for word.

It is true that Brexshit has made things so much more difficult. We have lost so many of the freedoms and opportunities we used to have. DD had to apply for a special study visa, which cost quite a bit. She has also had to apply for a local residents permit where she is living (not sure why the six month visa isn't sufficient there, but hey ho).

It's nice to dream, OP. However, I'm afraid it is likely to be less straightforward now that we have lost Freedom of Movement. Also, with existing health conditions you may find insurance expensive, and you will need to ensure you can access healthcare.

@Mirabai

''There are two issues which you’re conflating. First, there is the basic issue of the challenges of moving countries - relating to language, jobs, housing, Brexit limitations, so far so rational. Then there’s is a sort of fearful negative conservative attitude creeping in that is peculiarly British - that languages are too hard (Europeans and U.K. immigrants don’t have this problem), it’s too hot - (it’s not flipping India and that’s what aircon is for - I have never in my entire life come across squawking about heat before MN), that foreign is different and you might not like it kind of thing.''

Again, no.

The heat IS an issue. It gets over 40 degrees in the Mediterranean in the summer.

I spent my childhood in one of these hot countries but I struggle with the heat now when I visit and it is only going to get worse with global warming.

You can't take your aircon with you when your walking around town...

French for example is a much harder language to learn than English.

The point is quite a few people commenting here have lived in various countries and are simply sharing their experience. Suggesting people are ''squawking'' or have an irrational dislike of anything foreign is a bit silly.

If the OP is happy to cope with the hot weather, isn't too bothered about finding a job and is happy to manage with only a basic knowledge of the local language and to have to get private insurance, then more power to her. She will probably have a great adventure.

I am an expat. At the moment I live in an Asian country but previously lived in a Mediterranean one.

It’s REALLY not has hard as it seems. It’s daunting to get started but getting started is the very hardest part. Once you’re physically in the country, it’s so much easier. Visas are mildly irritating but you get used to them! I can’t recommend living abroad enough. I love the UK and have family and friends there still but honestly, when I read Mumsnet/speak with friends back home/watch the news, I can’t believe what I’m hearing. As much as people on MN try to tell you that life has got worse everywhere, this is very much not my experience at all! Where we live now, as well as where we lived previously, we have access to excellent healthcare on the same day (as in, turn up at a hospital Monday morning to see a GP, have all blood tests/scans/necessary tests done by the next day latest). Food is normal price, very affordable. There’s plenty of it. Schools are well-funded and functioning. All the things I see complaints about in the UK just aren’t issues here. You’d have to research the country you want to move to, of course, but I really don’t think many places are as bad as the UK is at the moment.

Living abroad IS challenging at times but it’s a pleasant challenge. Every single day and every single experience feels like an adventure. I used to get these feelings of ‘what am I doing with my life?’ In the UK. I never get these here! Because I feel like, just by living abroad and drinking in this new language and culture and history and meeting all these new people - that’s doing something in itself! It’s just a wonderful feeling. Even stressful days, I can laugh at and say, ‘well this will be a good story one day!’

I don’t know anyone who moved away and regretted it. You can always go back one day. The UK isn’t going anywhere. You only live once, as they say. Be brave! Go for it!

As for hot weather - sure, it gets hot. But the UK is heating up horribly and there’s at least AC everywhere you go in hot countries! It gets SO hot where we live now and I cope better in summers here than I did in the UK! Sure there’s no AC as you walk around, so just do as the locals do and don’t walk around during the hottest part of the day, or if you have to go somewhere then cycle! It’s oddly cooling to ride a bike and have that breeze.

There are so many online jobs now too. If your own job isn’t something you can do from home, you can look into online ESL teaching and also online editing and proofreading. Very easy to get into and good money!

I think Portugal has some sort of special tax arrangements if you move there.

Think you might be living in a bit of a bubble there. Most "of us" dont' have EU passports.

Do you have any experience of online editing and proofreading and online ESL? They are absolutely not well paid.

Go for it, rent your house out here in UK as if you change your mind, you can come back

Renting your house out will help with the dire shortage of rentals here in UK

@80s

Lots of things!

Sure the sun definitely is a major factor.

But it's so much more than that.

*so much easier to make friends abroad, huge social circle here.

*much, much safer for my kids - they can run free. I don't have to worry about needles in playgrounds and drunks in parks.

*learning a new language broadens the mind, and great for the children.

*meet people from all around the world that I would never otherwise have met.

*drive to other European countries with ease. Can do day trips to other countries!! Amazing.

*the food and fresh fruit and vegetables are 1000000 times better than in the UK.

*swimming in the sea in October.

*school system not completely fucked and the children still have respect for teachers and want to learn.

*public funded infant school.

This is just what springs to mind but there's lots that I can't quite verbalize.
The challenges and the extra effort it takes to navigate the unknown can actually be very satisfying. It's a positive challenge.

@itsabigtree True, we can pop over to the lovely Czech Republic from here. East Germans are a harder nut to crack when it comes to making friends but I can't complain; not having any family or old friends here has made me more sociable than I might have been in the UK. Germans also tend to be more confident and it's toughened me up too. The school education system here has a bad rep but my children got through it and have a much broader range of general knowledge due to learning all subjects up to 18. University education is free (v. good) and they get child benefit until they finish. But on the whole this is my normal now, not something to get excited about any more. At this stage I'd find it exciting to live in the UK :)

Lots is not most. Lots of us do have EU passports. There was a huge surge in applications about 8 or so years ago, which has continued since. I wonder why....?

Then there’s is a sort of fearful negative conservative attitude creeping in that is peculiarly British

It's not peculiarly British. I lived in Italy for a few years, then France...the moaning and negativity about so many different things is more than a match for British complaining, trust me. At least Brits aren't convinced a cool breeze on the neck will actually kill them and spend half their lives trying to avoid the colpo d'aria, or tell complete strangers about their la cervicale.....

@Greenfairydust

Despite your denial your post exemplifies my comments.

The heat is an issue for you, it’s not for a lot of people. Tuscany often hits 40 in August this is not new. I don’t know why that panics certain English, it doesn’t phase Italians. Unless you are infirm or overweight heat is not dangerous - unless of course you go out in the midday sun like mad dogs etc. Mediterranean lifestyle with midday siesta is set up for the heat.

As to French it is most certainly not a difficult language to learn. It ranks in the top 5 easiest languages for English speakers. This is because it’s a super regular language and the pronunciation is clear from the spelling. English is an irregular language with unpredictable grammar, tenses, pronunciation.

No idea why the British make such a meal of learning languages!

@Mirabai
@Greenfairydust

''Despite your denial your post exemplifies my comments.

The heat is an issue for you, it’s not for a lot of people. Tuscany often hits 40 in August this is not new. I don’t know why that panics certain English, it doesn’t phase Italians. Unless you are infirm or overweight heat is not dangerous - unless of course you go out in the midday sun like mad dogs etc. Mediterranean lifestyle with midday siesta is set up for the heat.

As to French it is most certainly not a difficult language to learn. It ranks in the top 5 easiest languages for English speakers. This is because it’s a super regular language and the pronunciation is clear from the spelling. English is an irregular language with unpredictable grammar, tenses, pronunciation.

No idea why the British make such a meal of learning languages!''

I find this post really quite amusing actually.

Since:

• I am a French national, and British, but not English
• I spent about 20 years living on the island of Sicily so I know more than enough about the Mediterranean lifestyle. Climate change is an issue in places where you already had high temperatures as the norm
• Thank you for explaining to me what my mother tongue (French) is like. I feel most enlightened. French is not a ''super regular language'', neither is the pronunciation clear from the spelling.

But seriously back to you OP, I wish you good luck with you plans and I hope you find the right place to move to.

The advice here has been to spend a bit of time planning and making sure you try it out first (maybe rent a holiday home for a month and see how you get on).