[Closed] Anyone thinking of Emigrating?

I moved to Morzine 10 months ago, love it... no regrets at all

I moved to Morzine 10 months ago, love it... no regrets at all

Was it for work or just because you wanted to go?

I love visiting France and Spain, but would I really like to live there? Is the cultural gap that much greater than the physical one?

No. At least not in Spain. There are differences, of course, but nothing really weird. Work/life balance is pretty similar to the UK, or even worse - despite the reputation the Spanish work very long hours, unless they're state employees... I've thankfully changed projects and am now a lot closer to home, but previously I was spending 1.5 hours/day commuting, and that would have gone up to 2.5 if I'd used public transport.

I was fed up working in a place I didnt want to be and felt pretty pap because of it so I reshuffled from a filmic into a more web design roll and moved to morzine - most of my clients are in the uk and i support uk companies in a freelance role.

Doing some work out here now also - I dont have a family or anyone to support so I can get away with a simple life of biking, climbing, skiing, bbqing and chilling... quite lucky I guess but when it comes to affording a mortgage I doubt I'll be lucky as 30% on £160k is going to suck as a deposit!

Def off to Spain in 2 years max.In mid fifties now so working and saving as much as possible.Cycling in the sun for 10 months of the year sort of appeals to me!

Its looking very tempting to head to Melbourne..

Just need to have a good long think about it.

alexx,

Are you a profession libéral? Or 'unofficial' in terms of paying French cotisations?

I work for UK clients from here near Grenoble, but am fully within the french system. Was a worrying few months when I was under the radar esp as we have a family here.

Teetosugars,

When you watch all those programs on the TV about moving to Australia, people are always surprised at just how much everything costs. The idea of the house in the suburbs with the swimming pool and barby is usually out of the reach of most people. Plus, things like utilities, household goods and sports club memberships are also very expensive.

Personally, I'm looking for a change in culture too. I'm sick if my neighbours kids using my garage door as a goal mouth, I hate the behavour of road users (of all kinds including some cyclists) and although I have a fantastic view of the countryside out of my back window, I'd like some more space to roam and weather that isn't raining all the time.

The good bits of British culture I really enjoy and am really patriotic about, but these seem to be getting more and more rare. I'm generally just getting fed up of what Britain is becoming and I'm not sure I want to be here in another 10 years. Greedy bankers, riots, politicians that continue to wipe their elbows when they've been to the toilet.

Why not make the break now and make a life elsewhere.

I have thought about emigrating before, but no one does pubs like the British. 😉

mavisto + 1. I feel we're just too hemmed in. There is little space left and it's decreasing rapidly. It won't be long until we have to go to a national park just be in the countryside.
If I can find a way/get a job where I want to move; I'm off.

There is plenty of space in the UK. Granted not a lot in the South East of England but if you look around the whole of the UK you might get a pleasant surprise.

Work/life balance is pretty similar to the UK, or even worse - despite the reputation the Spanish work very long hours, unless they're state employees... I've thankfully changed projects and am now a lot closer to home, but previously I was spending 1.5 hours/day commuting, and that would have gone up to 2.5 if I'd used public transport.

That's because you are a high flying city boy. Us southern county folk get by OK at a more gentle pace. 🙂

There are a few differences but I mostly prefer them. There is plenty of fantastic road riding throughout the year, mountain biking is becoming more popular too.

Let's face it, this country isn't going to improve for us hard working taxpayers,and how many more people/houses/cars/roads can we squeeze onto this little island of hours.Then add the cr*p weather. There's a whole world out there.

I'm always tempted by Germany. Mostly the Northeast. I would love to live in the land of my fathers, but equally, things just seem so well ordered there.

Right now?

Anywhere but here would be better

my mum lives in france, gets by fine, there's plenty of help out there, I'm sure she belongs to a club/website called anglophile or similar which helps with paperwork and legal stuff as well as simple translation and social stuff.

That's because you are a high flying city boy. Us southern county folk get by OK at a more gentle pace.

lol

Changed projects, now get out on time and actually rode a pushbike into work today for the first time in over 20 years 🙂

I would love to get away from Britain but my son is disabled and walks in a frame (zimmer with wheels) so schooling would be difficult! I worry about his and his sisters future living here, the country is on its backside and the immigrants that have landed on these shores seem to be extremely greedy and rude, well the ones working for me seem to want everything for nothing and whilst their wives are at home pumping babies out soley for the child benefit!!!

Mavisto, I think those telly programs frequently show people moving from Leeds to Sydney or the equivalent and then being surprised! Housing in the large cities is still expensive, but rural /small town property is more affordable. The exchange rate has halved over the last 10 years though. My folks sold a 1bed seafront flat in Southend and bought a 4bed on 5 acres, 2 hours south of Sydney 🙂 They ran that property and raised a child on a single skilled working class wage too.

Don't get me wrong, we still have it better than a lot of places in the world. It's just there are places who are getting it right going forward. The UK ain't one of them IMHO.

I am working in Italy now. Its great:

14hr days
15% more tax
Lower salaries than the UK
No public spending
Poor transport system
No govenment agency functions as it should
85Eur to change the gas bill into my name.
500Eur to register a car in my name.
5000EUR for a 5year old Fiat Panda
Higher fuel prices than the UK

and seems like longer winters/more rain than the UK too.

I would move farther than Europe if you want to get away from 'all the problems of the UK' as they are similar all over. Apart from the fact most of Europe has higher unemployment.

Not me

live near good trails, mates, family.

commute is 20 mins, I squeeze a full time job into 175 shifts in a year - so plenty of time off...

3 snowboard trips this winter - probably more than people who live a lot closer to the mountains than me

Have lived in Vancouver, Morzine and Vald'isere - but no place like home 8)

The grass is always greener....

I would move farther than Europe if you want to get away from 'all the problems of the UK' as they are similar all over. Apart from the fact most of Europe has higher unemployment.

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Edit: freeridenick beat me to it!

I moved to Sweden 8 years ago as an interesting experiment, and have stayed and have no real desire to move back to the Brighton area where I originate from.

My wife, (then girlfriend), is Swedish, however we had no jobs or housing sorted before we moved over. We simply sold the flat and car in the UK, got our possessions shipped over and put in storage, and left with 2 bags each and slept on friends floors and hostels until we found somewhere to live.

Life is different over here, and certainly more in-line with what I want out of it right now, however the UK has many many things going for it. I'd never would have been in the position to do the opposite move had I lived over here.

Changed projects, now get out on time and actually rode a pushbike into work today for the first time in over 20 years

mavisto, Why not narrow down where you have in mind and take a break there? Not a holiday but with a mind to live. Perhaps out of season too so you get a chance to experience the bad weather and day-to-day living.

I've lived abroad and travelled enough to know that culturally I'm firmly British and could never give up pubs, rain, Scotland and British humour.

Friends of Mrs Gti emigrated to Australia and for a year we kept receiving irritating emails with pics of the kids frolicking in the surf, etc. I could tell that Mrs Gti was a little envious. Then it all went quiet and the next thing we heard, they had moved back to UK and were living in Cumbria, only the wettest county in England. Turned out they had never been sure about Oz and then someone they knew got scoffed by a shark, at which point they realised that Australia is full of animals that prey on humans.

I was offered a state sponsored move to Canberra. Was tempted, especially as we have loads of family out there, but for all it's faults, there are just too many things I'd miss about this country.

in october i turned down an intercompany move to perth australia purely based on a cost analysis of what i was getting for a wage - in the uk it is a good wage - in perth australia id be well below average and priced out of the market and basically be living like a minimum wage uk employee - after trying for more and them declining i told them to poke it - make sure you do your research into costs !

yeah living costs in Aus are mental aren't they Terry. Not like the old days any more

I spent a month driving round NZ last October after thinking for a few years I might want to move there. I'm still thinking about it now, a beautiful country but with working in telecommunications I'd probably have to be based in Aukland or Wellington and I'm not so sure I'd want to live in a city. Still thinking about it.

Kev

My conclusion after 6 months living in australia was that I wouldn't move there permanently. The quality of life is amazing but living is expensive and things are very far away. The sterotypical aussie males in wife bearers get very tiring after a while too! Having said that I would love to go back for a short stint again, 6 months a year or something.

I'd love to move to Canada but no one will give me a job as they all want people with "4-10 years local experience". 😥

bigjim, yeh I was wondering perhaps I should try and spend six months or a year in NZ to see how it goes. I went to Australia for a month too, it wasn't really my thing and very expensive.

Kev

Thanks for starting this thread mavisto.
I shall be renewing my efforts to get gone.

mavisto - Member
Teetosugars,

Why not make the break now and make a life elsewhere.

To be fair, my first thought was going back home to South Africa, but the Mrs ain't so keen..

We spent 3 months living in Oz, a couple of years ago, so kinda know the way things are cost wise..

Looking at jobs out there, I reckon we would be comfortable as we are here, buit yeah, all things to be looked into...

My neighbours are moving to Perth next month and are very excited about it; they have been trying to get out there for months/years but he has now got a job so they are off. Can't say I am envious though. I would much prefer to move to Alsace-Lorraine or somewhere like that. Great mix of French and German culture and great cycling. What's not to like. As a drummer I could earn more working in Germany but then live in France. There was a food programme on last night which again whetted my appetite (no pun intended)to go there.

keva - wellington as a city is one of the few citys i would consider moving to WORLD WIDE (uk inclusive)

GlitterGary - Member

I have thought about emigrating before, but no one does pubs like the British.

One of my ideas for a business venture would be a British microbrewery. There are guys out there who make complete systems (of differing sizes) ready for brewing. I'm sure I wouldn't have to jump through too many hoops to set one up in a small shed somewhere in France. After some of the Cidrerie places I've visited with dogs and ducks roaming about, I'm sure I wouldn't have the hassles I'd normally get here. Have a little Bar Tap attached to the brewery and hopefully I'll attract all the British boys and girls dying for a decent pint.

can't share much experience yet, but i applied for a job in wellington nz just before christmas, almost on a whim... now we're all flying out in june (me mrs d + 3 kids under 6).
excited and bricking it, in almost equal amounts..

work life balance won't be addressed (i'll swap 2 hours a day commuting for 2 extra hours @ work), and i'm not particularly fed up with uk. for us the biggest push was the thought.. "do we want to be here, doing the same thing (jobs/rides/life), in 10 years time? - without having at least tried something very different.."
careful what you wish for 🙂

I'm in the process of doing a company transfer to San Francisco for a 3-5 year stint. Waiting on the visa petition processing, but aiming to be there in a couple of months.

I'm not expecting life to be massively better there, or that we will hugely richer financially but I'm looking forward to exploring the differences, and I'm hoping that it will be a good experience for the kids.

Might have to buy a Marin, since we may well end up living near Mt Tam.

Bloke at work has just returned to the UK from living in NZ for quite a long time. Had the nice life, big house, money etc but the last earthquake did it for him. He says that everyone is shortening their lives from living on adrenaline all the time.

Often thought about it, but ultimately I have kids that I couldn't uproot.

Plus for all its faults, this Island in the spring sunshine is one of the best places on gods green earth.

Where I live I can be on moorland 5 mins from my door, mountains in an hour and a beach in 40 mins.

Yep. Much of this place is falling apart and I'm not sure I want junior monkey to come out the other side of a failing education system with little or no prospects. And don't even get me started on society's issues.

The plan is off to the USA next year.

Then I can start work proper on the religious cult I've been planning for the last couple of years. Mrs TT used to think it was a joke - now she thinks I put too much effort in to the plan 😈