Moving abroad: Who here has relocated.

Who here has decided to move abroad

  • Yes

    Votes: 2 33.3%

  • No

    Votes: 4 66.7%
  • Total voters
    6
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Ranger Smith
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Steve
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Question for you all. I kniw this is a .co.uk forum but how many of you have relocated to live abroad?

How easy was it for you to get work, finance accomodation, get residency permits if outwith the EU. Do you regret the move, miss blighty (or blighted as I call it).

I am interested in your experiences?
 
I'm currently in Spain, will send you a long reply when I get back to the UK in a couple of weeks!
 
Depends on where you want to to go Steve and if you want it to be permanent as in emigrating

I have lived and worked in a number of countries but have always ended back in the UK

Live and work in Scotland at the moment
 
Realistically, this is a retirement move (I'll take early retirement) in a good number of years. It's a goal I am working towards. It would more than likely be permanent. It would be Spain or possibly France. I have no wish to go anywhere else. I'm looking for better weather, a slightly slower pace of life, a more rural less populated area, better food and nice scenery. Spain/France would be the place for me.
 
I have voted for no in the poll. When my wife and I retired in 93 we did think of moving abroad to live, but following extensive research and extended periods living in France and Cyprus, we decided that the UK was the place for us. Having said that, up until four years ago, we did spend 3 to 4 months of the year in France, but was always glad to get back home. We still holiday in France, but have no urge to move there.
 
I lived and worked in the USA for a year, but it was never intended to be permanent and is an entirely different ball of wax to moving to another EU country.
 
ST4 said:
Realistically, this is a retirement move (I'll take early retirement) in a good number of years. It's a goal I am working towards. It would more than likely be permanent. It would be Spain or possibly France. I have no wish to go anywhere else. I'm looking for better weather, a slightly slower pace of life, a more rural less populated area, better food and nice scenery. Spain/France would be the place for me.
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We live in France - we bought our house in 1988, spending about 3 months a year there until just over 4 years ago when we moved here permanently.
I've done lots of work on the house and barns… which is really rewarding
We live in SW France in a very rural environment but only 1 hour from Bordeaux and 4 to 5 hours door to door from home to Winchester by Air.

We knew France and Spain quite well and chose France over Spain mainly because of the summer weather, (far too hot in Spain).

Houses are no longer cheap in France but they are still much lower priced than the UK and you get a lot for your money, (we almost have are own small nature reserve on the door step especially if you take in my two neighbours land, etc).

Once you have a house, all in all the cost of living in France is about the same as the UK …….. but life can be much better for retirees ………. but it is always good to get back to the UK every few months for a week or two.

South Africa is marvellous, but that's another story with it's more severe pluses and minus's

Move to France - stick £3 to £5k in your annual budget for trips back to the UK and you can have the best of both countries
 
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Would you keep UK bank accounts or open up French/Spanish ones. Is it easy finding a solicitor to take care of house purchases etc. Is it easy to do, or logistically a nightmare.

I wouldn't move to SA. Just not my bag, France/Spain it would be.
 
ST4 said:
Would you keep UK bank accounts or open up French/Spanish ones. Is it easy finding a solicitor to take care of house purchases etc. Is it easy to do, or logistically a nightmare.

I wouldn't move to SA. Just not my bag, France/Spain it would be.
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Keep your UK Bank Accounts

Opening one with a French Bank is long winded but you will eventually get there

Yes it is easy to find a Noitaire and the buyer pays all the costs of buying the house and these are fixed by The State. Estate Agents fees are usually include in the advertised price, but check, but it is usually indicated, Estate Agents fees are a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 10% …….. so they do push the price of what you are buying up ……. if you can find a private seller sometimes it can work ………. I think Legal fees are about 3% to 5% …. including State taxes, similar to UK Stamp duty ……. but you need to check those out ….. the Estate Agent will usually handle the contract etc.

The Anglo info forum is good - lots of "stickies" on there to answer your questions

We spend part of the winter in SA, it is truly wonderful ……. wish I could spend longer but 5 weeks is enough for my wife
 
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One probably "downer" for EU/UK residents is that the French Health Service rules have just changed in that you cannot join the French Health system unless one of you is "of retirement age" and drawing a State Pension ………. or you are working in France and paying "employment" Social charges …………but you still have your EHIC, (old E111) ………. and any "top up" health insurance is reasonably priced, (not like private health in the UK)

if you are "resident" in France for 6 months or more you become French Tax resident ……. if you visit the UK for more than 90 days a year, (sometimes averaged over a 5 year period, technically you are liable for UK taxes).

The above is the "general" position - certain specific circumstances can change those

New Cars are about the same price out here, maybe a little cheaper but it depends on the Exchange Rate
Used cars are more expensive - but the French are not as "car conscious" as us Brits

You can re register you RHD UK car here - not really a problem, many do.
No road Tax in France, MOT ever 2 years after the 4th year - no MOT at all on Bikes
Insurance is more expensive, but they will accept up to 50% of your UK NCB

Spring/Summer/Autumn weather good if you are used to the UK

We are 2 hours from Spain - 1 hour from the Atlantic coast and maybe 5 hours from the Med

Eating out is cheaper and food is generally good - but the UK is catching up

Nature is great out here …….. lots of unspoiled countryside of all kinds

Any other specific questions, just ask and I'll do my best

Normally France is a relatively easy country for Brits to move to and get used to …… no matter what your first conceptions are
 
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My French is passable, i.e. I can order food, explain illness to a pharmasist, ask directions, introduce myself, ask directions etc. I feel as if I live here only because my job is here and really I am held back from where I'd like to be. Sounds childish but got no kids/dependents or family that require me to be in the UK.

I'd probably just buy a new car over there, used cars are pricey and keep it a longer time.
 
I've lived in 17 countries across four continents. No problem at all. One thing I can tell you, the grass isn't greener anywhere. And if you aren't happy where you are now, wherever that is, it won't miraculously be any better elsewhere.
 
Lived & worked in Canada for close on 10 years now; 5 in Toronto, 4 1/2 in Edmonton. The whole visa/permanent resident process took close to a year. Arrived in Toronto without anywhere to live or a job; had never been to Canada before! Stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks, rented an apartment straight away and then took a 2 month 'holiday' before finding a job. Had to start at the bottom of the rung doing data entry for Toyota (am now a purchasing manager for a wine import agency) as Canadian employees wouldn't 'recognise' my previous work history in the UK. Toronto was a nice city to live, but Edmonton & Alberta is just a better standard of life. Fresh air, slow paced lifestyle, greenery, mountains and lakes a short drive away.

Emigrating in 2004 and then moving with my job to Edmonton are one of the best things I've done. Don't regret the moves at all, and the grass here is definitely greener; well it's not really, grass is brown for the majority of the year and then it's hidden by snow for 6 months....but you know what I mean ;)
 
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mindcrime said:
Lived & worked in Canada for close on 10 years now; 5 in Toronto, 4 1/2 in Edmonton. The whole visa/permanent resident process took close to a year. Arrived in Toronto without anywhere to live or a job; had never been to Canada before! Stayed in a hotel for 2 weeks, rented an apartment straight away and then took a 2 month 'holiday' before finding a job. Had to start at the bottom of the rung doing data entry for Toyota (am now a purchasing manager for a wine import agency) as Canadian employees wouldn't 'recognise' my previous work history in the UK. Toronto was a nice city to live, but Edmonton & Alberta is just a better standard of life. Fresh air, slow paced lifestyle, greenery, mountains and lakes a short drive away.

Emigrating in 2004 and then moving with my job to Edmonton are one of the best things I've done. Don't regret the moves at all, and the grass here is definitely greener; well it's not really, grass is brown for the majority of the year and then it's hidden by snow for 6 months....but you know what I mean ;)
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Hmmm brown grass for the majority of the year...under snow for six months of the year...

....how long are Canadian years???

(I love Canada. ...especially western Canada)
 
We were having a discussion the other day as to what Provinces make up Western Canada. Me, being an immigrant said Alberta & BC, but Canadians include Sask & Manitoba.

Vancouver and the surrounding area would be a great place to live, but the cost of living and weather is a real downer. We may have a 5 to 6 month Winter in Edmonton, but we get so much more sunlight and clearer skies than Vancouver. Downside is the 6 1/2 trip to the US border, and a further 4 hours to civilisation.
 
We've always said that if we were to emigrate anywhere it would be to Canada.
Darren's aunt and uncle live near Toronto and would happily put us up for a while until we got settled . . . it's just other family ties here that have prevented us from seriously thinking about it.
 
My husband and I thought for quite a long time about retiring to Portugal - to an area we knew and loved . It seems to have everything - including a large modern Hospital

We changed our minds when we heard there was no cover by Doctors/ surgeons at weekends. Anyone needing even simple survey such as an appendectomy had to be flown down to Opporto !
 
The French "National Health Service"is very very good
 
ST4 said:
French everything seems very very good. But income tax is very high, particularly if you pay in the upper bands - a concern but not an over riding limiting factor.
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We pay about the same or less than the UK

Social charges on 90% of income is a "killer" - 15.5% - but it is not charged on pensions - but is on most other stuff, all earned income and bank interest, dividends and similar.

Allowances are good - better than the UK

do an online calculation and you can see the effect on you, but don't forget "social charges" as these tend not to be regarded as "income" Tax by the French
 
ST4 said:
A bit like council tax....and NI over here....

Basic rate tax payer after council tax and NI has probably seen nearly 40-50% of their gross disappear in tax...
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They still have a system across here maybe similar to the old rates system and Council Tax combined

We have a modest stone house and outbuildings/Barns - quite normal in Rural France - OK we have 4 bedrooms but a couple aren't that big - but it is a really nice house with lots of space and land - we pay about Euros 2,000 a year in Taxe d'habitation and Taxe Fonciers - Council Tax and Rates if you like
 
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I spent time in France and was constantly thinking what a great place.. Soon after one jaunt to France I was on a trip around the UK and suddenly thought to myself.. Are there French people traveling around say the lake district and saying what a great place England is and how they would like to move here when they retire?

Is france better or just different?

I was thinking exactly the same as the OP and then decided.. UK a place by the sea... I can make my retirement as slow paced as I want.... you make your life how you want it.. Not sure changing countries would do it... have decided to stay here.. but still get pangs of doubt and this thread has brought them back... would be nice to live in france.... but would also be nice near the coast here :)
 
I haven't but would love too... A little french farmhouse yes please!... nothing really keeping me here except kids so maybe once i'm really old and grey and they've buggered off :D
 
KIPAX said:
I spent time in France and was constantly thinking what a great place.. Soon after one jaunt to France I was on a trip around the UK and suddenly thought to myself.. Are there French people traveling around say the lake district and saying what a great place England is and how they would like to move here when they retire?

Is france better or just different?

I was thinking exactly the same as the OP and then decided.. UK a place by the sea... I can make my retirement as slow paced as I want.... you make your life how you want it.. Not sure changing countries would do it... have decided to stay here.. but still get pangs of doubt and this thread has brought them back... would be nice to live in france.... but would also be nice near the coast here :)
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ours was not a sudden decision ……. as I said we bought our house here in 1988 …….. I have seen Brits come "permanently" and then go back to the UK - usually after 5 to 6 years. We are fortunate in that we can get back to the UK as much as we want, as I said provision £2k to £3k a year and you can go back to the UK 6 times in comfort if you desire.

Lots of Brits in France … they come for different reasons, but if you own a house in the UK, wish to live in France selling your UK house provides enough to buy a really good place in rural France plus you have some capital to help with your retirement.
But it is difficult to get back into the UK housing market once you have sold as prices of houses in France really only increase by annual inflation (at best over the past 5 years), and the exchange rate can always work against you, plus it can take a few years to get the (high) buying costs back in price appreciation…. some people rent their UK house out and rent or buy in France until they are sure or want that security of being in the UK housing market just in case

France is not for everyone ……. for most people moving permanently from the UK can be a very nervous decision …….. we have lived in a few countries, (nowhere near as many as the 17 that dejongj has lived in permanently as he states above), and i traveled a lot with work ….. all I would say is get to know the place as best you can before you decide that it is a permanent place for you …….. but as I said, if you wish you can easily get the "benefits - no monetary" of both countries ……. France is not miles away it is really close to the UK……. we don't regard France as a "foreign" land.
 
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BillN_33 said:
ours was not a sudden decision ……. as I said we bought our house here in 1988 …….. I have seen Brits come "permanently" and then go back to the UK - usually after 5 to 6 years. We are fortunate in that we can get back to the UK as much as we want, as I said provision £2k to £3k a year and you can go back to the UK 6 times in comfort if you desire.

Lots of Brits in France … they come for different reasons, but if you own a house in the UK, wish to live in France selling your UK house provides enough to buy a really good place in rural France plus you have some capital to help with your retirement.
But it is difficult to get back into the UK housing market once you have sold as prices of houses in France really only increase by annual inflation (at best over the past 5 years), and the exchange rate can always work against you, plus it can take a few years to get the (high) buying costs back in price appreciation…. some people rent their UK house out and rent or buy in France until they are sure or want that security of being in the UK housing market just in case

France is not for everyone ……. for most people moving permanently from the UK can be a very nervous decision …….. we have lived in a few countries, (nowhere near as many as the 17 that dejongj has lived in permanently as he states above), and i traveled a lot with work ….. all I would say is get to know the place as best you can before you decide that it is a permanent place for you …….. but as I said, if you wish you can easily get the "benefits - no monetary" of both countries ……. France is not miles away it is really close to the UK……. we don't regard France as a "foreign" land.
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Yes fully agree with that....For me it was mainly work for my parents that made us move about...and then when I was of age I ended up doing the same thing for a while....I've now been 18 years in the UK of which nearly 14 in the same place....

To me there is no such thing as a permanent house or place to live, I live where my home is. A subtle but very important distinction to me. It is great experiences though, and I won't guarantee I stay here all my live...I go where my home is...
 
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