Don’t want to live in England anymore

[Orangeetree]

I have been in London for 19 years. First 10 to 15 years were ok but I am counting the years to live this country. The weather depress me and I feel we spend too much time indoors. We just been to Greece and it was lovely, we were in a lively village where kids and adults spend time socialising outside. The sky was blue everyday.

However our jobs are in London, kids are teens so we are not going anywhere until younger finish school; currently in year 8.

Do other people move abroad for similar reasons? How do they find settling in? Getting new jobs? Schools, etc?

Ruanda is welcoming foreigners and I believe the climate is pleasant.

Yet another post from someone who can't think of anything intelligent to contribute.

Brexit was only about the EU. There are lots of other countries.

This may be an option; maybe somewhere closer to natural scenery and a more relaxed pace of life may be better even if the weather is not always great.

London is a great city when you are young and for career opportunities but your priorities change when you are older.

Where in SE you live if you don’t mind me asking?

I thought it was rather witty, though admittedly not to everones taste

It was a joke..🙄

Its really difficult to even try now post Brexit before you xould have gone and given it a try to see!. Look at the visa rules of the country you are thinking about going to

Thank you all. England has been kind to me and I am grateful for it; but for some reason I am ready to move on. For the last few years I wake up with this yearn of wanting to be somewhere else, close to the sea. I didn’t even grow up close to the sea but it really is my happy place; swimming in the open water with the sun shining that’s all I can think of. I think I am also tired of living in London, I don’t enjoy going to town and the business of it. We have good jobs here and kids are settled so it is not so simple just to uproot everyone.

It does seem if you need to stay in the UK for a while then moving to another area is an obvious option. That depends on schools and jobs and commuting of course. I lived in London for ten years amd it took time to get over leaving it, but I am finally happier away from it. I live in Oxfordshire and it's wonderful (though a long way from the sea).

If your jobs are mobile then why not look at somewhere like Somerset or yes the Gower. Kilve beach in Somerset is mindblowing and seems to be deserted most of the time - there are places like that to discover.

I left London 2 years ago after living in that city for decades and moved to the Kent coast to settle and buy a house in a seaside town (I grew up by the sea and missed it horribly). Love it here. Slower pace of life, friendlier people and much healthier lifestyle.

I have dual nationality from an EU country so could have settled somewhere else but I was worried about things like the heat (Southern Europe is really hot in the summer obviously and that will get worse with climate change), jobs, language, bureaucracy...plus I really like it here and I hope that a change of government will improve the country's mood and standards of living.

Maybe moving out of London and trying somewhere else in the UK would be a good first step.

By the way if you miss swimming in London there are places where you get heated outdoor pools. I used to swim outdoors all year around at the Oasis Centre in Covent Garden :).

Sorry, I took it as serious

Yes, rather witty in that case.

@KnickerlessParsons

I am totally aware that Brexit was about the EU.

The OP mentioned Greece and nobody seemed to mention that she may no longer be able to do it!

OP has already said she's not thinking of living in Greece, just that they'd been there on holiday

I went through this! I have spent the past couple of years plotting our move to Spain with total sincerity and intention.

Definitely go on a fair few non holiday recces in every season, OP. Do the legwork and the groundwork. Join moving to Greece Facebook groups (which will lead you to other groups). Investigate and research.

We’re not moving to Spain but we continue to spend time there and love it. It took two years of good intentions, sincere planning, and lots of exploration to come to the conclusion that moving there was going to be a step too far. But it bonded us to Spain and it feels like our very special escape hatch whenever we need to de-London. Ironically, I’ve fallen in love with London again after an incredibly bitter spell of detesting it. I just had total London burnout. But I think exploring Spain helped me successfully shake off the sense of being trapped here. And we can always move to Spain if we really really really feel that it’s the right thing to do. That’s the big takeaway.

I lived in Spain for quite a few years! However, I did get fed up of the weather and the constant heat! It is great on holiday but when you are working. - not so much. I missed the seasons badly. My ideal situation would be six months abroad and six months int eh Uk. Perfect balance. Maybe when we retire.

We are just going through what you have done? I speak Spanish and lived there before. Done our research and I could get a job there as a teacher but the salaries are dire.
My husband is worried about his UK pension and has an amazing job here with a good salary, but would not be able to do it in Spain.
Can I ask what put you off going?
We have instead decided to just spend all school hols over there instead and potentially buy a holiday place.

Yes that’s the conclusion I came too; I’ve lived in Spain for 10 years but have now bought a second home in UK

peebles32

Many reasons. I’m an EU citizen but the Spanish bureaucracy is a big pain in the ass.
Ultimately, though the heat is a real deal breaker. Lots of people advised moving to Northern Spain but the part I absolutely love is very hot and humid for too many months to realistically cope with. But that region is where our hearts are. I grew up in the intense heat of California. So I can do heat. But I noticed that my children just couldn’t cope with the heat of Spain during our recces in summer/autumn. My daughter really struggled in ways that were beyond ‘she’ll get used to it.’ And real life means you’re not always going to be poolside or on a plane to a cooler place.
Also, international schools. They are a necessary first step for us but expensive (for my family at least). Also, where we would be moving to, we’d have to learn the dialect which is spoken in schools, which my kids would be transferring to after international school. Just such a big hurdle for my kids to master Spanish and a local dialect. So this became a bigger challenge over time and my daughter was beginning to feel more stressed than pleasantly challenged by all of the prep we began doing.
Other kids swim through change. Mine don’t. I think you really get to understand your kids’ needs when you explore flipping their world upside down and right side up! 😆
I too worried about affording health insurance (for at least the first year in my case but possibly beyond a year) and my pension being taxed as income… lots of bureaucratic hurdles have put me off, in all honesty. I’d be leaving my 22 year old in the UK and that felt wrong.
Basically, the Nope List grew longer than the Yes List.

I watched a documentary on climate change in which an Australian expert said that he was moving abroad because he feared how hot it would soon become. It sticks in my mind because I remember him saying "by the middle of the century I fear Sydney will be hitting 50 degrees in mid-summer."

🥵😬
Extreme heat is very tough on the body, I read that the kidneys are especially badly affected?
Dreary rainey cold Britain might soon seem like a blessing☔ 💙

I think it would be good to try other places in England. Near the coast in Dorset would probably suit you. If you like water sports you can partake all year round with the right equipment. There's a New Years Day ocean swim at Lyme Regis and many other coastal towns.

Or as a pp said Kilve beach in Somerset, which is also close to the Quantock hills if you like walking and not far from Dartmoor and it's neighbouring Devon. The north Devon coast would be great if you like surfing but it's quite a long way in terms of accessing the rest of the country. Plenty of beautiful places in England and if you like the coast, an island is the perfect place to live.

I lived in Greece for 12 years. Unless you have a trade and speak fluent Greek all there is, is bar work, which in the winter doesn't exist. I built my own house out there which I eventually sold cheap just to get out.
The bureaucracy wears you down. It's a great place for holidays but not to live. Even Greeks are leaving in their thousands

I’m always amazed how so many people think England = London. We have beaches and the sea in other parts of the UK.

I moved to a seaside town near a capital city in sunny Europe. We had young children not in school and knew it was now or never.
I wanted to bring my children up near a beach and have the opportunity to do stuff outside most of the time. I'm learning the language and at times it's been hard but if you make the effort people are very nice. We are fortunate we can work anywhere.

The standard of living is so much better and we can afford a much nicer lifestyle. The schools are much better and there's more choice if you don't like shut up sit down and listen cultures. Healthcare is better, even public, and we're in the eu so prices are better. Food is also healthier and it's much harder to get processed rubbish so we're healthier than ever.

It's lonely at times. We are building our own village but that takes time. There have been times where I've questioned my sanity but I do honestly think it was the right decision for us.

We are moving to the EU but had to wait for last dc to finish GCSEs. Luckily have EU passports (thanks dh). We lived overseas when dc were little and living back in the UK never felt right after that.

I actually can’t wait.

@Brexile your dd has done amazingly well!