I've been feeling the urge to leave the country I am living in for about 4 years now.
I am now feeling really rather desperate and need to make a plan.
So this is long...hope you can bear it. Apologies if not.....
I've been out of the UK for about 15 years now. First six years in Aus, subsequent 9 or so in Netherlands.
Living in a very cramped but safe and (infrastructure wise) solid city has it's + and - points but it really is time to move on. (breathing breathing, god I really do feel quite desperate)
Our kids are 2 and 3 and I feel so frustrated with the culture and extremely concerned about the kids growing up so very Dutch. DH is dutch but ready for change, or rather, open to change. There are many misconceptions about dutch culture, mainly because of the weed thing/home births/homosexuality tolerances. All these are very good things IMO. But these factors do not make for an open culture by any stretch of the imagination. My eccentric streak that was so welcome in UK and Australia is just about dying a drought induced death and childcare standards are absolutely horrendous and.....I could go on for hours but I won't.
I'm hoping to hear your pros and cons, your personal experiences of living where you live and why. Tips, tricks advice....anything and everything will help at this stage of planning for the action (january 2012?)
DH has a highly skilled and portable job and is very very clever :). I have a portable job, if not highly skilled :). I am well travelled (in some continents but not others) and an extremely resourceful long term expat, if not clever:) I wouldn't want to work the sort of hours that would take me away from the kids for too long. We have approx 1300 euros a month to live on from rented accomodation if we don't work. Or approx 50k if we sell up. These are fave options (rather than being employed somewhere) because I want to write a book and DH is cooking up a project that needs time and focus. Bali?
I need nature in huge doses to make up for living for almost a decade in a heavily industrialised country. I am a nature lover. And no, a monthly trip to Belgium is not what I'm in need of. I need to live in a place where we can breathe countryside on a daily basis.
Scottish Highlands or Cornwall have huge appeal. I am extremely familiar with the latter and not at all with the former. Forest kindergartens are a major factor in the pull of the Highlands (perthshire) but I know nothing of the culture/economics/demographics. A visit is certainly in order. Surviving on 1300 euros a month is obviously out of the question (enter DH's portable job working from home). Climate is obviously a huge consideration....winters are cold here in NL and I'm kinda sick of it, or at least the endless darkness.
Bali has immense appeal but makes me slightly nervous with such young kids, though clearly many people do it. Schools in Ubud look lovely lovely lovely. But political/environmental factors? And dengue? The kids are still young. Hhmm. The warmth, nature, and the obvious lifestyle possibilities on our monthly budget are big draw factors. Being so far from DH's family (close knit, g'ma and g'dad will be horrified, tho are certainly travellers themselves) is disadvantage.
Nz could be a future possibility, but it feels a little early to go so far.
Ibiza? Can't find any decent schools via google.
Where else? Middle East doesn't appeal.
I'm sorry for this long one..... I've kinda splurged here.
Thanks in advance....