If you’re a British expat living abroad, or an expat from abroad living in Britain…

[Coffeeandbourbons]

Can I ask where you now live/moved from, whether you would move back, and what you like/dislike?

I’ve only lived in the U.K. but for about 2 years have been increasingly thinking about leaving, for what are probably obvious reasons (weather, expensive housing, general quality of life in decline).

We have to stay put for another 3 years at least so I can finish my professional qualification (currently on mat leave, with 2 years left to go when I return to work) so want to use that time to do some homework on what might suit our family.

TIA

For me the issue is that, like any country, the U.K. goes through good and bad times, but bad times are especially shit as we don’t have good weather and decent housing to make it more bearable (I realise that sounds simplistic but it matters to me). At least if the sun is shining the public mood is a little better and free outdoor activities are reliable and enjoyable. Here part of the cost of living crisis issue is that if you’ve not much spare cash, there’s not much to do as the weather is truly crap. Yes I know you can ‘put on waterproofs on and get on with it’, but for me, it just is far less enjoyable 🤷🏼‍♀️

We also have very little space compared to other countries which leaves me feeling claustrophobic, pretty much no matter where you live.

All I really want is decent weather, a reasonable home to live in and to know if I call an ambulance it will arrive in a timely manner, most of the time. My toddler was unwell and struggling to breathe at Christmas and the ambulance took 10 HOURS to arrive! Yep, hours! I think that was the moment I realised my kids are no longer safe in the U.K.

So to follow up I’m not trashing the U.K. because it’s ‘right wing’ (it isn’t) or because of Brexit (although it’s made things a lot worse), I don’t like living here because the public services are truly shocking, the weather is atrocious and unless you’re very wealthy you can’t get a garden bigger than a large court yard in most places.

I've been living in Spain for 6 years. Money from London. I still miss London and would move back tomorrow, but DD is settled here and happy and I'm not unhappy, so here we'll stay. Everything's a bit harder abroad. You know how to navigate things in your own country, but the different processes, bureaucracy and language barrier are tiresome and stressful. It depends where you move to, I guess.

I'm French, and was born and raised in Paris.
I've been living in London for more than 8 years now. UK is home.
My family has always been anglophile, I remember trying to pronounce Worcestershire Sauce as a kid, I grew up listening to the Beatles, the Kinks and the Who, and when I was a teenager, Oasis, Pulp etc...

However I was never a fan of London, until I started to travel there loads for work, started to meet people and to discover another way to experience this mammoth city.

At the same time, I was getting frustrated in Paris, the constant cat-calling and general sexism, the noise, the dirt, people everywhere, no great job prospects...
So I took the plunge and moved to London and never ever looked back. I have friends, family, a dog, I bought a flat, I have better job opportunities...

At the same time, being away from France makes me love it more. I've been watching the news about the protests and everything, and I'm proud of my people. But I really can't see myself living there ever again.

Anyway, I really love the UK, I wish Brits could see their country with my eyes. It's not perfect, no country is, but there are soooo many good things. People, for a start. Culture. A passion for art. A mix of tradition and modernity. Music, architecture, football, dogs...even the weather! What a lovely weather, never too cold, never too hot, some splendid sunny mornings followed by cosy and healthy rain.
A friend of mine lives in the south of France, she's already too hot and dreading the next 4 months...so yeah I love the weather here.

@FastFood Have you ever visited a truly deprived area ? I'm aware there are good things about the UK but it's easy to live in a London/ home counties bubble....

My toddler was unwell and struggling to breathe at Christmas and the ambulance took 10 HOURS to arrive! Yep, hours! I think that was the moment I realised my kids are no longer safe in the U.K.

That is terrifying

This is nice to read. There are good things

I have yes, and it's grim, I won't deny it!
(And believe me, I don't live in Soho or South Kensington 😂)

But to your point of deprived UK, I also lived in a deprived area in France and it's quite similar.
Where my mum lives is quite grim as well. It's the South so ok weather, nice landscape, but no jobs, no money, limited access to culture and education, people drinking at the PMU all day, feral kids etc...

Point is, it's the same everywhere. People who move from the UK to France have La Rochelle, Biarritz, Quimper, Limoges, La Provence in mind. Not Longwy, Roubaix ou Noisy Le Grand.

To experience France or the UK in La Rochelle or Oxford is totally different than to experience France or the UK in Longwy or Jaywick.

It was, like something from a disaster movie when the characters realise the government has collapsed and there’s nobody to help them (only slightly exaggerated). Eventually I gave her a steroid medication from the back of our cupboard which expired years ago, which luckily worked and the paramedics said when they arrived that it was probably what helped her hang on until they got there. The healthcare here is frankly scary.

To contrast that my 16 collapsed in February with Diabetic Ketoneacidosis,which in itself is life threatening( we had no idea t he was diabetic) I phoned an ambulance which took minutes to arrive ,they quickly established what was wrong and got him stable enough to travel to hospital ,( we live about a mile away fortunately) and took I'm straight to tea is ,within an hour he was in intensive care ,they quite literally saved his life .

Resus*

@brittanyfairies that's really interesting about costs in France? Are you taxes high in order to pay for cheaper energy, free uni plus grant and cheap council tax?

Do you think that's why Macron has to increase the retirement age to pay for it all or are you taxed more than in the UK?

That is really good. I hear it really depends where you live these days, some areas are much more overwhelmed than others (of course that's true to an extent in every country, certainly I live in a particularly good area as there's an ambulance stationed at the town health centre so it doesn't have to come all the way from the nearest hospital)

I hope he is doing ok now

So move then 🙄

@FastFood you are so right. I used to study in Toulouse - lovely city but I also saw some of the non lovely bits further out from the town centre - grim.

And don't get me started on some of the banlieue's in Paris Champs Elysée it ain't.

As you said everywhere has it's good and bad areas. Nowhere is utopia.

Good call giving her the steroids, you must have been so worried. Did you hear anything about how long you would have to wait or were you just waiting expecting they'd come any moment?
When I called for my son the other evening because I couldn't wake him up, he came around while I was still on the phone to emergency services but the ambulance still arrived almost straight after I hung up the phone.

What do you think this thread is about?

Does anyone with a complaint about their country have to emigrate in your eyes?

Doesn’t mean that’s everyone’s experience does it?

But you said yourself you have only l iived here two years and apparently it's a terrible place 🙄

The NHS,has many problems I worked in it for many years so God knows im.aware of them ,
but w hen it was life or death they saved my sons life or I assume you only want I hear about people's bad experiences
to confirm your thoughts on how bad it i s?

I also watch British news too, so I do know that my 40 euro a month electric bill is currently unheard of in the UK

Ours is less than 40 Euros per month - North West, UK. Large, very energy efficient detached house.

What on Earth are you talking about?! I’m British, ive lived here all my life. Where have I said otherwise? Think you may have misread something..

Why have you turned up to this thread? I haven’t asked for experiences with the NHS, I’ve asked for people who have lived abroad for their opinions on the U.K. and their other country. Unless you have something to offer why are you just interjecting with random snarky comments?

My mistake I read it as though you had only lived here for two.years.so.I apologise for that .

Im.not ,you said the health care in the UK was terrifying and I agree it has many issues in just pointing out than when it's life and death they were excellent .