Seriously thinking about leaving the UK

[Tanyasfootspa]

I’m not sure when the turning point was, but DH and I have hit a wall. The DC are both at university now, and for the first time in a long time, we’re thinking seriously about leaving the UK. The only thing stopping us is wanting to be close to potential future grandchildren.

It just doesn’t feel like the same country anymore. Everything seems to be falling apart — the NHS, education, transport, basic services — and yet at the same time, there’s this growing mindset that the government should step in and fix every personal problem. I’m all for supporting people who genuinely need help, but it’s frustrating seeing how much personal responsibility has gone out the window. It feels like no one’s expected to stand on their own two feet anymore.

We’ve worked hard our whole lives, paid our taxes, and honestly, it feels like we’re constantly penalised for it. Meanwhile, the cost of living is insane, our quality of life is slipping, and every time we turn on the news, it’s just more chaos or excuses.

We’ve started looking at options — maybe Canada, or somewhere in Europe (though Brexit makes that harder). We don’t expect a perfect life anywhere, but we want to live somewhere that still feels like it’s moving forward, not falling apart.

Has anyone else made the move once the kids were grown up? Did it help? Are we just burned out, or is this how others are feeling too?

Would really love to hear your honest experiences.

Thinking back to when I first came here...I think most of what you have mentioned above is true. Its a different system. You need social security number. You need credit history. Its not easy to get used to a new system, or to get established in it. My Neighbor just got a knee replacement. He had to wait 8 days. If you play by the rules here, and adapt to the system....its a level of service that beats anywhere in the world.

And most countries (including the UK I think) won’t grant visas for individuals with conditions such as Down’s syndrome.

Us inheritanxe taxes start at like 12 million, federally. Portugal did away with IHT a few years ago. Also, no tax on sales of foreign assets and no tax on long term crypto. After our 10 years of tax incentives are up, we will be retiring before we are 50. I could never see that happening in the UK for us, despite both being hugh earners. I suppose if we never got a house and rented forever we may have a chance but that comes with it's own issues and still doesn't solve the other tax problems.

Obviously by my post you can probably tell that we are planning to move to Portugal and get out of our UK tax residency immediately. Just an FYI, I work for a tech company. When I raised a request to start this process, I was told 4 other senior engineers have asked to do the same. All on high salaries like me. I am also getting loads of calls from recruitiers and when I tell them I want a UK contract that will allow me to live and work in portugal, 98% of the responses have been, yeah, you and everyone else, let's see what we can find, wish i could do the same. I know 4 people and some recruiters does not an exodus make, but I'm certainly seeing a trend and wonder how people will deal with that. Prob say off you fuck, like one poster has to me already. Once we leave, our taxes leave, the companies leave, what will be left and how will everyone get their benefits?

You'll pay around 50% on capital gain when or if you come to sell and IHT if the property is sold is also 50% on the gain.

Since Brexit, not everyone is going to be able to go to Europe either, not least the cost of health ins until residency.

Around 100k pa left the UK for Europe pre Brexit

Bu good luck to you, its great to live or work abroad.

The OYF stuff is self defeating for the UK as annoying it is to see. Some prefer to drive out taxpayers to their own detriment.

Its almost as if the UK does nothing at all to attract foreign inward investment isn't it?

No EIS no SEIS... nothing at all...... 😂

Germany and France both apply tax rates to property sale profits of around 36%, Portugal 50%, 27% in Italy, on gains.... UK is 0% primary residence.

Same posters going on about more taxes and OYF

Yep same posters going on and on alright!!

Yep, maybe they can find others to reply to.

Oh my christ that poster is still going, she is batshit!😂 she was raging at someone earlier that any DC growing up in the UK will have no opportunities and also society will have collapsed around us all.

Yesterday the UK posted stronger 2025 growth than the USA, France, Canada, Germany and Italy (bbc report) .... no point telling her that though, she'd have to take a break from screaming about UK taxes and us all living off benefits for long enough to read the article.

In a rising market people couldn't afford to move could they. Say property has gone up by 50% while you e lived there, then tax takes 50% of that plus agents fees, legal fees, moving costs. How could you afford a new house at new prices?

You’re probably thinking of another poster tbf going by this.

What it stops is people flipping property for quick gain and helps keep property prices lower, so the market is more stable and don't get the bubbles we often get.

Btw i'm not suggesting we do this, i was pointing out that whilst there are lower taxes in some countries, they are often offset by taxes that we don't have.

PP might have a shock when/if they decide to move back to the UK, they find they are now out of the UK market and will have a bill for any gain they may have made on the house they sell.

Yes that could be a shock. I know a couple who lived the high life as ex pats then when they retired and I'll health kicked in they started to run through their money so came back to get NHS treatment and got a council flat as the money they had left wouldn't buy much. They thought it was all very unfair but it was their decisions.

And I'll look forward to none of this shite happening.

What a lovely patriotic post!!

People have been predicting the end of the UK for decades, yet here we are!

What you don't seem to realise is that people do move here and make money, UK no1 in Europe and 3rd in the world for FDI & people leave education and make money, pay taxes etc

There are loads of opportunities for young people, not least in life sciences, health and engineering, esp defence and power. Look at RR? world leading jet engines and nuclear engineering, much of which is done in the UK

Bu as usual the right whingers want to do all they can to rubbish the country.

Agree. At least the British have a sense of humour. Some places I've been are just soooo whiny it's depressing.

Enjoy. People will pile on.

Yeah this is the Great American Disaster poster i was referring to.

Bless her she seems to think she and her DH personally hold up the entire UK economy. Also she knows 4 other people who want to move to Portugal with her so that obvs means an exodus of all future investment in the entire British economy.

I said none of that actually, clearly you can't read.

I said, if ALL high earners like us leave, or even a large percentage, the UK economy will be hit and the people left will have no choice but to fill the gap. The top 10% of earners pay 60% of the taxes, so unless you are as bad at math as you are at reading, you should know that will have an effect.

In addition, I didn't say everyone was moving to portugal, I said at my company, which is a small subsect of the whole but can be used to calculate trends (also how research groups work but then again wouldn't expect you to understand that either), 4 MORE people this month are in the process of moving abroad bc they want out of the uk. When I raised it to my very british manager he said "I'm here because of family obligations but if I had the chance, I would be applying to leave right next to you"). So yeah, I can safely say a lot of people want to leave and a lot of people in the position to, are. So when they hike up taxes yet again, I assume that number will keep going up bc who would actually want to stay?

Put your head in the sand all you want but it is happening, even if you are too dim to see it.

As I’m single I’ll only have a £500k IHT allowance so I’m passing on lots to the DC now while I’m still working as payments out of excess income. But frankly my job as a mum was to raise them so they are self-supporting and not reliant on me for either income or capital. I don’t really care what happens to anything I have over £500k when I’m dead and they have no right to care either.

Nowhere is perfect, but only the UK is home to me and my ‘family obligations’. I would hate to be part of an ‘expat community’ and would also hate to be cold-shouldered as an immigrant by the people who have lived all their lives in a place - as so many of my charming fellow countrymen and women do here in the UK. So I’m staying put, avoiding whingers like the plague, and focusing on the good things and my family.

If you are comfortable with what you are planning or thinking why do you need to be so aggressive and rude?

Living abroad is easier for high net worth individuals, as it is easier to buy a visa, but moving a business established in one country to another is challenging for many business types, despite the incentives that some countries offer.

@SumUp yep - if you don’t need to work in that country , have large amounts in bank and a good amount of passive income there are way more options -