Where could we live, really well, on about £1800 a month?

[KatyMac]

We could go pretty much anywhere I guess - but where would it be a good life?

eg we could go to Jamaica, but (according to DH) we might be quite restricted in where we could live & there is a lot of violence

we could go to spain but there are an awful lot of british people there & neither of us speak Spanish

So where could we go?

Down under...Aus or NZ

Why do you want to leave the UK?

Panama is supposed to be lovely for a cheap ex-pat lifestyle

I guess the problem with destinations like that is health & education provision

Would you still be needing to earn your £1800 a month, though?

You could live very royally in Mauritius on that - but you'd be very hard-pressed to earn it.

I have the £1800

Why do I want to leave - umm I have a very bad cold/chest infection and DD & DH have gone out without me, so I want to move somewhere warm

Health provision is a major issue - DH has a chronic chest problem & I have ME/IBS

Hadn't even thought about education

I would go back to Singapore (lived there most of my childhood).

Loved it and we go back on holiday when we can.

DS and DDIL are off to South Africa to her hometown for a few years, so will probably be going there on holiday in the future, will update you on how that is after we have been.

Also loved Mauritius and Fiji as well.

Mauritius sounds nice as does New Zealand - not sure I have points for NZ though - unless they count DH & I separately both as Childcarers (on the list of skill shortages)

But DH can't really work

no where else?

Right then - you could narrow the field down by ruling out anywhere where English isn't the main language. Which makes Aus/NZ good candidates - except I think they have some rules re only people with the specific skills they need (could include childcare though). The US - I'd love it there, but bloody hard to get a Green Card. Ireland - great country but expensive and possibly wetter than the UK. Jamaica - sounds wonderful to me, but a lot of desperate poverty mixed in, and no idea re healthcare.

There would have to be lots of dancing - so we're after good climate, affordable healthcare, English speaking, cheapish flights for the parents and dancing. Hmm.

I haven't really helped, have I ?

& sailing

DH says Turkey so long as you don't live the english lifestyle buying english food from english supermarkets etc.

Hmm - what about the language? Is Turkish hard?

I've been thinking about childcare in New Zealand.........

Most people in Turkey speak English. They learn it in school from primary age and it's taught in the home.

Tourism is the biggest part of turkish eceonomy and English is the most widely spoken language so it's considered important to know (as told to me by a turkish bar owner last year)

I'm guessing I wouldn't get a job in a nursery without turkish tho' (if they have Turkish nurseries)

Don't think Turkish is that hard. My mum was a primary school teacher in Germany and learnt Turkish in evening classes as there were lots of little Turkish children in her class who knew almost no German. It seemed like a pretty straightforward language.

Moondog has spent a lot of time in Turkey IIRC - back of beyond though so probably quite different from the more populated areas.

I did your job in the uk but in Italy I teach english. Get paid 4 times more. decide when I want to work, work freelance and have no paperwork. What can be better. I'm sure you could do the same in Turkey

You can live more cheaply in provincial France than in provincial England. You would have to work in order to get health cover (social security); state education is quite reasonable (though, like anywhere, you need to pick your area/school). South of the Loire Valley the weather is significantly better than in most of the UK.

My parents would like us to live in France (& I would love it)

I wonder if I could get DH to learn French ?

So you have a guarnateed income of £1,800 a month for the rest of your life ??

Take your time and think it through...

Actually no

Forgot that - it stops in 9 yrs - oops that makes a big difference

Damn! That was why I was opening the nursery - Now what can I do to increase my income so when it stops I have enough to live on

I must see how much Tax credit we will get if DH has a pension

Urban Australia and NZ are not much cheaper than the UK. You would certainly not live really well on GBP1,800 in any Australian city.

Lots of expats are very happy with life in Malaysia and Thailand.

What a shame - I thought if I took my housing costs out (if I could buy with my equity from here) & I worked we'd be OK

i think it is impossible to say for other people what you can live on tho

there was a thread recently about living on 30k with 500 quid mortgage and people seemed to think that was hard and i thought wow lol