Where could we move to with this income?

[Thestickereconomy]

We are vv lucky to have been left some investments that bring in about £30k pa. We have both reached career dead ends and are currently living in a place in the UK that suits neither of us. Husband is an EU citizen, I am British. Have one child, both of us grew up outside the UK and want similar for our child, ideally. Where could we go within Europe where we could live on that income ( in case we couldn't get work)?
It is a bit of a pipe dream but not really... We've both spent a lot of time traveling pre kids and are feeling really desperate to get out of the UK (no offence to it but it doesn't feel like home to either of us).

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary? You'd live extremely well on that there.

does that include rent/mortgage? If you sell up remember that will probably be it for returning.

All very well in your fifties but there are many who find that the great abroad isn't so great when they get old and ill. Think very hard about the long-term plan and don't burn boats.

Does it have to be within Europe?

Most people in Europe live off that amount or less. So you would survive anywhere in the EU.

You would need to look at health care costs. These can be high in EU countries with higher welfare standards (France, Germany etc) and if you are not working you may end up paying c 30% of your world wide income (capped at around €750 pm). If you are resident abroad you will no longer legally qualify for NHS treatment even if you have a full NI record and are paying UK tax. If you move to an EU country with lower welfare standards costs will be lower but health care standards can be pretty patchy.

Are you entitled to the EU citizenship of your DH (will depend on national law) Because if not, you may wish to check you will be entitled to join him - no strings attached- in a third EU country post Brexit. You will probably be OK if you go before 29/3/2019 but the answer will be dependent on “the deal” if you leave it any later.

Depends on what you want... Good weather most of the year? Head south to Spain, Portugal, Italy. Lowest cost of living, head east towards old eastern block countries, best childhood - i think Holland quite often tops the happiest kids in the world polls, etc.

It would help to think about what you want - large expat community, climate, job opportunities, language barriers, town/city/countryside lifestyle

Typed huge reply, & lost it!
Good points about healthcare and Brexit. Am eligible for nationality of his country after seven years residence, but country is v expensive. Husband happy not to come back to the UK. I am a UK citizen and have parents here so would probably want to, at least for visits. Has to be Europe unfortunately. We have a house we could rent out to cover the mortgage or sell to clear it. We would ideally like: decent schools (vague I know), a town or city with some vibrancy around art, music - some sense of a scene - some history, sun, close to water of some kind. Places we have loved include Ghent, Copenhagen (waay too ££ sadly) Krakow, pretty much anywhere in Italy. Maybe Spain? Prague? I know this is all extremely vague.

Two points

Have both of you been gifted these investments legally or just one of you? If it's just one of you, then if you wish to share them, think very very carefully and make sure they are indeed 50/50. I say this as in the event of separation, if one of you inherited, depending on where divorce would happen, one of you can take 100% unless you act to make it a 50/50 legal split now.

Also in terms of care of children, be so so careful about moving abroad, if separation were to happen. Most countries of the world have signed the Hague Convention and that would apply if either every wanted to take the children to another country without the consent of the other. Hague Convention would declare CURRENT country of residence would apply and the children would have to stay in this new country of residence, if there were disagreement over where to live and if there are no other extreme factors (such as child protection). I have helped so many women (yep all women) who've moved abroad, the majority don't have independent income and the majority were not working. Then the fathers have a mid life crisis and the mother is fucked, cannot move, no income, have to suddenly find work. You might think it will never happen to you. So did all those for whom this happened.

Yes those are certainly good points, I also know people this has happened to (we previously lived abroad together, pre kids). It can be a dreadful situation for women, definitely.

Krakow is full of smog, Gdańsk could tick some of your boxes but might not be as international as you would want to.

Ljubljana ? Slovenia is an amazing country. Lookup Lake Bled.

Could you live in Italy on that income?

It sounds like you would ultimately want to work in some way, which would help - is that right?
How are you at languages? Because that income wouldn't be super comfortable in most capital cities, and then once you go to regional centres you'll usually need the local language to make friends and settle, as well as ultimately work.as other posters have said, it's always worth having a backup plan so I'd say hold on to the property and rent out to cover the mortgage, at least for the first few years.

Such an exciting opportunity, I think it's a great idea! Also think that Slovenia is lovely, if you're really into culture then Belgium and the Netherlands are lovely, maybe less of a culture shock (unless you are looking for that!) and easy to get to a big city occasionally if you wish. Or Bilbao or San Sebastian have culture, sun, not super expensive? Employment could be tricky later though

I'm not sure about the cost of living there, but have you looked at Gibraltar? As then you could work as English speaking (so the income from savings would be a backup rather than sole income) and also have free healthcare, education etc as you are used to in UK. Also as you will still be resident in UK no issues about access to NHS/ state benefits if you

Where is your husband from? That should be your first choice, because he would presumably have access to that country's healthcare and social security system without any preconditions.

Otherwise, you need to consider freedom of movement criteria, which require you to be economically active as a condition of accessing social security systems in Europe.

Do you have skills you could use in self-employment?

Otherwise, you can live in most of Europe on £30k, as that is over the minimum wage x 2 in most European countries. The exception being big cities, due to the cost of housing.

And language. Go somewhere where you will be able to communicate. Many British people move to Europe with the intention of learning the language fluently but few do it - pretty much the only ones who do either have local spouses, or a job that involves spending the day with native-speakers.

I've been in France for over 20 years. The number of Britons I know who have French at European C1 standard and above (ie are functionally fluent) and who don't have a French spouse or partner is in single figures. For the rest, dealing with simple daily stuff - school meetings, finding a plumber, making phone calls - can be a struggle.

Do u have a lump sum as well as the guaranteed yearly income? So can you buy a house outright first to get set up?