I want to move abroad - but where to start?

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Hello,

I really want to experience life in another country. Currently we live in the South West of the UK and apart from living in the states for 3 months and some holidays, we have never lived abroad.

It's something my partner and I would love to do but I don't even know where to start.

My partner works for a building society and also has qualifications in insurance. I'm a trainee accountant so won't be moving until I have qualified so i'm not sure if any of our skills are transferable? We both work for companies that are only UK based so no option to transfer jobs either.

Any advice on moving without transferring jobs?

Hi, I'm a Brit living in the Netherlands. I will say that the life here is incredible. It's a virtual Utopia. Everywhere is super clean, very low unemployment, very high level of local services, and everyone speak English so you may not actually need to learn the language so fast, so your time to try fit in can be a lot longer.
But....! ( there's always 'buts'). We pay a shit load of taxes, but for what we get, it's very worth it. The absolute worst thing is that when you live abroad, you never account for how you miss having family nearby. It means that you never have a babysitter, never have somewhere to pop into ( in the Netherlands, you cannot 'pop' into visit someone, you need to make an appointment well in advance). Also, you may make friends but you will never be fully integrated. My kids were born here, and still we are never included in the general things that go on in the community, ( they are, the kids, but us parents aren't). That sounds odd, but it's just the way it is. The Dutch make friends at school and uni, and that's generally their group for life, and even other Dutch don't get to join those groups. My wife has a beauty salon, and so knows intimately all the local ladies too, (some have been coming for 14 years!), but still we are never included.
I have heard the same things from Expats in many countries across Europe, so if you do wish to try out somewhere, make sure not to burn bridges, and ensure you have a way back! I would literally pack up and move home tomorrow, if I could.

Visas, visas, visas - you can't move anywhere unless you qualify for a visa to do so.

Assuming that you have no family members already living overseas, you need to think about the kind of places that you might want to live and then research whether there is any possibility at all that you would qualify for a visa to go there. Unless you have language skills I'd start with the English speaking countries (including bits of the Caribbean) and go from there

Also, you may make friends but you will never be fully integrated

That's so sad! I would never have thought The Netherlands would be like that, but my only experience of living around Europe is as an RAF brat where you never really integrate.

In the US I feel fully integrated and very welcomed by the local population. It's actually one of the reasons I struggle with the idea of ever leaving.

semster, yes, that's right. It is really good here, and the standard of living is way, way ahead of the UK, but I would go back tomorrow. It could be that I am seeing the UK through memories of what it was to me when I was there, and when I go home every month or so, I'm quite glad to get back again afterwards, but that's mainly because I generally don't get over with the wife and kids too, who have to stay in NL for their school and my wife's work.

Wow, there's some negativity on this thread! OP, I have moved countries 4 times. It hasn't always been easy and I am now pretty keen to move back 'home' to the UK. However, living abroad is an adventure and I don't regret any of it. I've had two children abroad. Yes there are challenges but you don't expect this to be easy do you? Go with a spirit of adventure and expect hard work and you'll be good.
As pps have said, the main obstacle is visas. I've been through visa hell several times. Even something that seems easy can turn out to be a nightmare of paperwork. You can go two ways and I've done both. Either pick a country you like and get a visa/job to go there, or pick an industry (mine is international education) and then go to any country that has a job in that industry. If you're a teacher you can work almost anywhere. If at all possible, keep a home base in the UK. It's much easier to have a UK address to keep bank accounts etc open.
Good luck. Do 10x more research than you think you will need, and keep us posted!

Try Luxembourg they often look for English native speakers in the financial sector. Checkout luxembourgforfinance.com/en

If you're pregnant definitely luxembourg it's an amaaaazing place to live with kids.

Don't let all the negativity out you off I love living abroad and my kid speaks 3 languages and will learn at least one if not two more.

We moved to Canada 4 years ago and love it. Ours was a promotion/ relocation initiated by my Dh’s employer (Big 4). They coordinated and paid for everything including both our work visas, recon trips beforehand etc. I was able to transfer my role (with a different employer) too so it worked out brilliantly. We love it here and won’t move back. Oh, and DH gets 30 days leave. You are both young enough to make the move (we were mid-30s and it was no problem). As I said, an easier way to make the jump is via an internal relocation with a big employer as opposed to self-funded.

Lastly, work. I've never transferred jobs. Started again each time. You have to work twice as hard to prove yourself when your experience/qualifications don't come from your new country. We've taken pay cuts as well. British expats is a good forum but they can be quite blunt so do your research before you post there.
You mentioned about learning a language. In my experience most expats learn very little of the local language and I think that's a real shame. You miss out when you are limited to your expat bubble. With that said though, don't expect to become fluent enough to work and make friends in the second language unless you are planning to emigrate long term. Even then, it won't happen straight away. I'm a language teacher, it takes years of full immersion to become that fluent. As an expat, your strongest asset is often your English. Why would a local company employ you over a local, when you are likely to have a cultural barrier, linguistic barrier etc? Often the only reason a company will hire a Brit over a local is because they need someone with excellent English. Use that to your advantage.

I would also recommend Luxembourg. Great attitude towards family and children.
Upside Lots of jobs and English widely spoken.
Downside very expensive housing costs.

The UAE is fab halfway place info youre not sure how much you want to commit. Everyone speaks English, quality of life is high, schools are generally good. Expat packages are still available which include housing travel and school allowances.
We went as it meant I could be a SAHM for the early years.
We had thought Australia or Canada but that felt more like moving for life.

For some great tips on moving abroad take a look at this article: gersonrelocation.com/an-insiders-guide-to-choosing-a-type-of-moving-company-for-an-international-move/

I understand your sentiments OP. I’ve lived in a number of places around the world, but I do get itchy feet if I’m in one place too long. Most recently after 5 years in London my husband and I decided we were ready for a change and wanted to take our kids somewhere other than their birth country. A good place to look for jobs would be unjobs.org and impactpool.org as the sorts of jobs they advertise will employ British nationals all over the world and usually include a good benefits package. Mostly with NGOs, IGOs and the charity/international development sector. My husband applied for and got a job with an EU institution after seeing it advertised there. We’ve been here a few years now and are very grateful to be here now that Brexit is happening.

Good luck with your search!

I third the suggestion of Luxembourg, that’s where we’re living now and we love it with young kids.