Moving abroad from the UK to live and work

[RobertaRo]

Hi all!

So.

I'm wondering if anyone may have any words of wisdom or advice for me. I don't know about anyone else, but each day I am getting more and more sick of living and working in the UK! My families work/life balance is a shocker and I am certain life doesn't have to be like this?? Our son will be 2 in December.

I am seriously toying with the idea of moving abroad to live and work for a couple of years. My dream (tell me if it's far fetched!) is to move to Thailand. I currently am a nanny and I have a background in teaching too. My partner works in sales so I imagine he could hopefully get some kind of job in sales almost anywhere in the world?
It's just me that's the problem really 🤣. I would love to nanny in Thailand! But don't know if there is much of a market for British Nannie's?

Other countries/places we would consider are:
-Netherlands
-Barcelona
-Thailand - anywhere! Beach ideal though.
-Dubai/UAE.

has anyone braved the move? Where did you go? Was it worth it?

Would love to hear your stories! 💓

Do you have a EU passport? If the answer is no, I would try non-EU countries first such as Switzerland.

What passports do you hold?

But yes it sounds pie in the sky, sorry.

Nannying type jobs are pretty much only an option for Thai people in Thailand. You're not going to get a good nannying gig, sorry. Have you been to Thailand before?

I could see it happening if you are (or can position yourself as) a high end Norland-style nanny, offering the English Nanny package to well off families in Singapore, Hong Kong etc, but I definitely can't see being a nanny as a job compatible with a beachy lifestyle in Thailand etc.

Teaching/private tutoring maybe - but again, it would be for well off urban families, I suspect, and more Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing etc. and families who want their child to learn English from someone who sounds like Kate Middleton.

Your teaching could be mostly online though, I suppose, and you could move around to fun, beachy places as your fancy takes you (if your partner's work permitted too, of course).

Could your partner work remotely and would he be willing to be the sole breadwinner for a year or two of digital nomad by the sea in SE Asia?

If you want to do it, do it now. You'll be locked down to one location soon enough when your child starts school.

You'd be better off looking at teaching English as a foreign language somewhere like Thailand but according to people I know who’ve done it that’s a very oversaturated market now so I don’t know how successful you’d be at getting a job. Remote work/digital nomading is a better option but that depends on how much contact with the employer is necessary as a 7 hour time difference would mean working odd hours unless you can complete the work in your own time.

For anywhere in Europe (including Switzerland even though not in the EU) you’d need either an EU passport or an employer to sponsor your visa.

I actually think it could be doable in Thailand if one or both of you could work remotely because the cost of living is quite cheap. SE Asia is a good option for that.

Ok, this is a long reply but I hope it helps!

Currently living abroad due to my husbands job. In his company it is very common to post people abroad for a few years. But it's not easy - so much depends on what visas you can get and whether that allows one or both of you to work or not.

If you live somewhere that doesn't speak English and you don't speak their language, then it's very difficult to get a job locally. You need to be practically fluent if you want to compete in the jobs market abroad, and even then a lot of countries will prioritise applicants who are born in the country (like the US does).

But if it's something that you want to do, you should really do your research. You might live in a different country but if you're working then how different will your lifestyle really be from the UK? Will you still be working long days, commuting etc? If you did get a local job, do the employers award good amounts of annual leave, will you have the same workers rights that you have in the UK? Will the salary be the same or will it be lower because you live in a country where salaries are a lot lower? or is the cost of living insanely high compared to the UK?

Trust me, as someone who has lived in 3 different countries, it's not all "yay we get to live abroad, life's so amazing now!" You have to work hard to make new friends, if you have kids will they be happy to move, how often will you really see your UK friends and family if you live an expensive plane ride away? I'm not trying to discourage you, there are also a lot of benefits to living abroad but I've seen so many people move abroad thinking life will be amazing and then they are smacked in the face with reality. You can make it work, but it's often tough settling in to a new country and the first few months can be a real shock to the system. Many move home within the first year.

So in summary 😄 - you need to do an awful lot of research if you want to make it a reality!

Check out the "Living overseas"-board here on Mumsnet.
Many different aspects of moving abroad are discussed there.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/living_overseas

I wouldn't think twice. I just jumped and lived so far in Mexico, USA, India, Barcelona (18 years), and now back in London. I have to say it's one of the most depressing places I have ever lived in. I believe where there's a will there's a way. You will make it work, how much do you want to move? Maybe you did already. I really really recommend it. Right now I'm stuck in London doing a psychotherapy course and the course is good it's just the general UK that is so depressing and limiting and run on fear. Believe me when you jump to another country you will realise, just how much control and fear is fed into people here. I'm sorry but unless you've lived abroad you would know. My friend bought some property in Spain and has a visa, she got it easy. I would go to Thailand, it's affordable, nice people, good food, and many have a quality life there or Dubai could be promising work wise. I would get out of Europe personally but if you're going to do Europe, Barcelona was enjoyable, lovely food, friendlier people, nice weather and easy to navigate and get around. Good luck with everything. Just jump! the rest falls into place. Also, what about Portugal?

I’ve been looking at the digital nomad visas. Is that something you could qualify for?

Unless you have a EU passport the chances of you being able to legally work as a nanny abroad will be pretty much nil I fear.