So bored of 'we left our life in the UK' influencers

[Prenoden]

Seem to be so many now. 'We left our life in the shitty UK for a dream life in [insert any sunnier country]. I'm not actually following these, they just seem to pop up on my social feeds uninvited.

Content on a lot of them is boringly similar, contrasting dull grey skies of previous life vs them now sat on a beach sipping from a coconut with clichéd POV captions.

Obviously everyone is entitled to do what they like and move wherever but why does it always have to be contrasted in this way? As if everyone is crazy for staying in UK. Every place has pros and cons and a lot of these sunny places aren't all they're cracked up to be.

A friend moved to Spain a decade ago in search of this kind of idyllic life and although the weather was lovely etc they said the bureaucracy was terrible, the school system was appalling and once her partner lost his job and couldn't find another that pretty much ended it and they willingly moved back.

Before anyone asks, I'm not bitter because I am stuck on this island. I like it here, it's not perfect and if you watch the news it's all negative, but I live in a lovely town, we have a nice network and I work remotely 4 days a week which is flexible with DC, earning enough money for what we need but always budget etc.

I do think Brexit was a terrible mistake though and the country has been in decline since. We will come to see it as a historic mistake but at the moment the far right loons seem to have a grip on setting the narrative (even though Brexit is their fault).

It's ironic that a lot of these new life influencers are now in sunnier EU countries that Brits could have easily moved to at the drop of a hat before Brexit but now it's a lot harder and bureaucratic, a lot of them create content about how to navigate visas etc. It's like it's become more desirable because it's not so easy anymore.

I actually have Eu citizenship thankfully so can still move to Southern Europe if I wanted to but the economies don't seem great so unless you're retired/ digital nomad it doesn't work. Climate change is also a worry a summers getting hotter everywhere and I wonder what that will mean in 10- 15 years.

@Longoverduelibrarybook it’s been pretty warm in the UK this summer. I could have eaten breakfast outside most days, but I can't be bothered.

We found old pensions, which combined will have given us less than £50 a month income.
So decided to invest and buy a property in Greece, that was 6 years ago, 3 years ago we decided to move out here, retire and live the best life ever.
No regrets, too many positives to list, but, starting with the fact that we couldn’t have this life in the UK, Council Tax and Rent would swallow up half our monthly income, rising energy and other bills would swallow up the other half, leaving us less than £300 a month to feed ourselves and for any other little necessities we needed.
We would had to have tried to downsize, now almost impossible, not enough 1 bed accommodation is available in the UK, let alone in the area we lived.

Our Council Tax, just prior to our move here was rising from £1250 a month to £1315, our water from £70 to £94 a month, gas from £120 to £160, electric £150 to £200.

Here my Council Tax is £130 A Year.
Water averages at £30/40 every two months,
Electric £130/£150 every two months
My mobile phone costs the same, my tv licence is already added to my electric bill and my internet cost £40 a month (when I left the UK 3 years ago I was paying £57 a month).
Granted, I was unsure due to the language barrier, but, we have a nice little 2 bed, a 3 minute walk to the beach and I would never return to the UK, I wish to die with sand between my toes and buried at sea.
As for influencers, they are paid by the stupid that follow them and their madcap lifestyles are a result of people not understanding that they encourage, foolishness, daft and sometimes dangerous people.

That’s good, something to look forward to 🙏

I agree OP. We spend a few weeks abroad each year, but after 3 weeks of hot sun, sea, and eating and drinking, I've had enough, and love coming back to the UK where the weather is varied (seasons) and life is just more, well, interesting .

Seasons are varied in other countries too and life is interesting also, living somewhere is nothing like being on holiday

Oh my goodness you are so right. BREXIT was a disaster for this country. To be honest our happy place is Scotland & that certainly usually doesn't have the sunshine ( but as I write I am proved to be wrong as it is lovely here at the moment )
We should be thankful for a lot of great things in this country of ours as there are certainly a lot of worse places to live in this world.

Just back from a holiday in Scotland, it was roasting!

@ccridersuz good for you lovely xx there’s more than one way to skin a rabbit -

Yes how many run back to the UK when they need the nhs?

I do think at some point it becomes about the life your kids have, rather than only considering yourself.

The childhood and opportunities that my kids have in Canada surpass the UK. It's cheaper and the standard of living is higher. The weather is better. It's not elitist. There's outdoor activities for every season. University is cheap.

And public executions in the square every Friday lunchtime.

Currently on holiday abroad. Went to main pool a couple of days ago and got speaking to a man sat nearby who has similar aged DC so kids were playing together.

About 2 mins into the conversation he mentioned that he hates London. I’m from London which he knew, and he was from near Wigan. Then he started ranting about how much the UK has gone to the dogs and he wished he could leave. Then the whole ‘people on dingies’ thing started.

I was just trying to have a nice time with my kids, however, even on an idyllic setting, this miserable guy wants me to accompany him in his misery.

It’s people like him who are ruining the UK. Voting to make us poorer and things harder, complaining about the consequences, then vowing to vote for the same people who brought us here. I love where I live in London but if I ever decide to leave UK, it will be to get away from people like the man at the pool. They drag us down with their constant drip of poison.

I saw recently that the USA was only kept off the bottom of the latest world happiness index by Belize. This is what poison does.

Here in Australia, British people who came to live here have a reputation for complaining a lot and never being happy. They call them “whinging poms”. And many of them often did return to the UK and can often go back and forth, as they cannot decide where they are happiest. Those people are known as “ping pong poms” by Aussies.

Having been on Mumsnet after being away from the UK for a while, I do think it’s part of the British mentality to run things down and complain about how awful everything is in general. The current complaint du jour is immigration it seems and I am perplexed at the references to self describing as “indigenous” - as if they are disadvantaged First Nations people who are oppressed by colonisers.

We have similar issues in Australia with housing, cost of living etc. Nowhere is perfect and it’s a worldwide problem. Total immigration is way higher than the UK on a per capita basis. The Nigel Farage equivalent would be Pauline Hanson and she’s old hat now. People moved on since the 1990s when it was more of a political hot potato.

It's 12 degrees this morning. So breakfast outside has been possible this summer, but that window was short 😂

I have an Aussie DH so spend a fair bit of time over there. Australia isn’t perfect by any stretch, nowhere is. However, what stands out for me is the general difference in attitude. DH’s family and friends range from high to low income, nevertheless, despite the odd moan, they are more positive.

They are often also more proactive. If someone is consistently unhappy about location, job etc, other Aussies would expect them to actively do something to change their circumstances as opposed to just complaining.

In the area I live in London, it’s quite mixed in terms of class and it has a nice community feel. We have an active street WhatsApp group, and it’s all stuff along the lines of recommendations for good electricians, seed swaps, did you know x pub is closing down etc, not moaning about how shit everything is supposed to be. Most people don’t tend to want to be in the presence of either toxic negativity (or toxic positivity).

I hadn’t really experienced the aggressive complaining IRL that I see online until the guy a couple of days ago. Moaning is part of British culture but it used to not be as aggressive and spiteful with the aim of making everyone else around you feel shit, and once they start they won’t let it go. It’s depressing.

@Coolasfeck well said. You are so right about people complaining, thinking the grass is always greener. Of course the UK is not perfect. I lived and worked in Europe for 2 years and did enjoy it, but imo it really is no better than in the UK. Personal choice, but I just prefer life here.

@Coolasfeck yep my H would agree - it’s a general attitude in many areas in UK - and the idea that if like us you are in your early 60s that you too should think that way . My H just doesn’t hold his tongue though - we met a couple last time in Mallorca - he started on all this and my H just gave him a lecture that maybe he should look at the figures pre Brexit, read up on the rules as they were then and work out why it’s more of an issue now - also maybe he might want to look into exactly why the Tory’s needed to let close on 900k legal migrants in over a couple of years post Brexit . These things were all predicted but dismissed as scaremongering by those who for some reason thought being out the EU would cleanse the country of all who were not British . These things blokes wife was sat there smirking - I reckon she had enough of his ignorant toxicity too.

Why would they do that if they are legal in their adopted country? It would be illegal to do that anyway, since the criteria for NHS care is to be actually resident in the U.K. I did meet people in Spain, living under the radar who abused the EHIC card , but hopefully, with stricter regulations, they are flushed out these days.m

We only get a month of hot weather, max, and that’s broken into chunks

Influencers are, mostly, full of shit. "It's more fun taking pictures of myself in sunny pretty places than it is taking pictures of myself in Neasden in the rain." Yeah, what a thundering revelation that must have been for you.

Influencers 🤣🤣 who is being influenced by 20 somethings without a clue?!?! They’ll be back here working in Morrisons before you know it!
Put down the phone and stop living your life watching a screen! 🤷🏻‍♀️

You sound jealous! Maybe you know the grass isn’t greener on the other side, but do you admire their ability to follow their dream and give it a go? Just because you’re happy where you are, doesn’t mean everyone else is! Some people move around the world or their country all their lives. That sense of spontaneousness, freedom, time with family…. That’s real wealth that you can’t buy! I think THAT is what your envious of and you have written this to try and make sense of the feelings your getting

The fact you know who dawn ward and the real housewives are makes you shallow too - you do know that right 😂 your clearly following their every move! Fml 🤦🏼‍♀️

Have you been? It’s a Muslim country! They are very family oriented. The streets are clean and safe. No viable alcohol consumption etc. completely different to the UK

I haven't a clue what she's doing; i was aware of her moving to Dubai, that's all. I hope your snitty comments make you feel better though 🙄