[Closed] Where would you rather live (UK content)?

Spain... for the climate and the race tracks 🙂

nowhere outside the UK although I would like to retire to the lakes... bit of a dream that

Southern France, probably, near the Pyrenees.

Not that France is much better financially, but at least the lifestyle would be cool.

Nelson, Victoria, Squamish, anywhere apart from Vancouver in BC really.
Couldn't care less about the politics of the place, it seems pretty liberal (compared with america) but living with that much forest, mountains, lakes and cool people would make me happy.

Tasmania, not because the UK was going down the pan but since I got here life is on the up, better cost of living, better standard of living just a shame we elected a PM who makes DC look like a leftie

In the uk either Yorkshire coastline or North Cornwall. Other than that we have a hankering for Australia..

@weeksy - Spain?! 20%+ unemployment and effectively bankrupt!!

Canada is a good shout.

Is Taz cheaper than the UK? I thought the cost of living in Australia had gone through the roof?

+1 for BC

Glasgow.

jobs, mountains, land of my [s]fathers[/s] mothers, links to the wider world.

Is Taz cheaper than the UK? I thought the cost of living in Australia had gone through the roof?

We have a the same standard of living that we did in the UK but both work part time now.

Vancouver or Squamish for me, maybe Victoria at a push 😉

It's all going to be driven by the likelihood of getting well-paid employment.

Personally, I've no reason to think it would be better anywhere else and I'm very happy to live in Scotland where we are partially sheltered from the effects of successive right-wing UK governments.

Best mate lives in Sydney. He's paying London prices for accomodation and yes the bubble has most definitely burst re cost of living etc. beer for one is eye wateringly expensive.

Always fancied British Columbia... wrecker and alwillis, have you spent much time there? Is it as beautiful as it seems? Any jobs? Also, what's winter like there?

We sometimes think of heading back to NZ either before daughter turns seven (or after she in her twenties!). Prob won't though because of the build up of life around us here - friends, family, places with meaning...

I also think that by raising her here we're giving her the best chance of succeeding in a globalised world.

I'd quite happily move to Lyon in France. Proper weather (hot in summer, cold in winter etc), close to the mountains, a bit grimy, great food/bar culture. Granted, I don't live in the UK currently anyway so for me it's not a huge move but an interesting one nevertheless.

Spent a year living in Vancouver in the middle of my degree. I worked for a small, niche sports physiology business. The region is definitely as good as it looks, the outdoor opportunities are incredible and the people are super helpful and friendly.

Winter in the city is very much like winter in the UK- wet and cold with a little bit of snow. Winter in the mountains is more like winter in the alps as all the rain turns to snow.

France maybe as I'm half French and haven't actually lived there yet but really I'm pretty happy here.

I reckon I could live in Oz or some parts of the US for a few years while the kids are young for the quality of life but I couldn't see myself doing that long term.

Always fancied British Columbia... wrecker and alwillis, have you spent much time there?

Is it as beautiful as it seems?

The pacific rim beaches with Orca and rainforests.

My brother swam with dolphins off Vancouver.

I asked him how it was and he said 'alright'. 😯

It's one of my dream destinations.

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West Coast of Vancouver Island - coldest surf lesson ever. I'll take Oz 🙂

New Zealand is absolutely stunning. Could someone tow it a bit closer to it's easier to get to?

Germany, decent employment opportunities and much better employment laws and relations than the UK. Much better sporting facilities, ie swimmiing pools, sports clubs, cycling paths and forest trails. And sport and/or activity is just a much bigger part of many peoples lifestyles. Much much better public transport. In fact I already made the decision and do live in Germany.

If I was to go somewhere else, then I would expect to take a hit on employment, but perhaps improve lifestyle, first choices would be somewhere in the maritime Alps or French side of the Pyranees.

New Zealand is absolutely stunning. Could someone tow it a bit closer to it's easier to get to?

You can probably drive to a place that's very very similar, it's called Scotland.

let's play a game, it's called: Scotland? - or New Zealand?

i'll start, is this:

[img] [/img]

Scotland? or New Zealand?

is this:

[img] /[/img]

Scotland? or New Zealand?

🙂

I'd like to spend more time on Van island. 1.5 times the size of Wales, with less than 1/3 the population with mountains twice as high as Snowdon.
[img] [/img]
It's that tiny little bit bottom left 😯

Lived in Munich for a few years and loved it. Would go back tomorrow.
Austria, NZ, Canada would all do fine too.

I'd like to spend more time on Van island. 1.5 times the size of Wales, with less than 1/3 the population with mountains twice as high as Snowdon.

As a Welsh lad that sounds pretty incredible, wrecker!

Baffin Island's a better name, though. 😉

Slitting mill. Just by the start of follow the dog. Lovely peaceful area, commutable into Birmingham with handy train links to everywhere.
Just round the corner from where I am now.

I'd always wanted to move to Cornwall, but its too far from Scotland and vice versa

Uk is a great place to live, apart from all the idiots moaning about how crap it is. Slightly better weather and bigger mountains would be nice but you can't have everything.

BC is ace though, and French Pyrenees is a good shout too. I am a big fan of Austria as well.

Nowhere's perfect though.

You can probably drive to a place that's very very similar, it's called Scotland.

NZ is more than 3 times the size with a smaller population, the mountains are MUCH bigger (Nevis is half the size of NZs thirtieth highest mountain) AND they have a good rugby team 😉

I'm very happy to live in Scotland where we are partially sheltered from the effects of successive right-wing UK governments.

Eh? How does that work?

Last time I looked Scotland was still in the UK (and will remain so); and we've only had one right-wing government in the last 16 years...unless you were being ironic...

In what way were New Labour not a right-wing government? And the Scots have their own parliament - did you not know?

To be born in England is to win 1st prize in the lottery of life!

If not the UK, then northern California will do nicely thank you very much. Great climate, awesome landscape, nice people. Santa Cruz I think 🙂

As a Welsh lad that sounds pretty incredible, wrecker!

After watching the Great British Year last night,it reminded me of why I love living on this daft wee island so much.
Over the years I have had the chance to travel a lot ,and live in lots of different places ,but the UK is always where my heart is .

[i]I also have a theory that all the whiningcockfiddlers of the world ,will always be just that.
Put them anywhere in the world and they still would find something to moan about [/i] 😉

Andorra: the people are super cool, its beautiful, the riding is ace, most things are cheap (except housing) and its not far to sunnier climes in the winter.

If you have hippy pretensions like me Portland, Oregon sounds cool.

Or Boulder, Colorado also looks great.

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Andorra? Hmmm - not as cheap as I expected, petrol station/tax free shop every 50 yards. It's not for me. Great riding though.

Andorra? Hmmm - not as cheap as I expected, petrol station/tax free shop every 50 yards. It's not for me. Great riding though.

Pal/Sispony/Ordino or even La Massana are a bit different than Andorra La Viella.

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and even the fire service is cool in Andorra! 🙂

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Brother emigrated to San Diego, California this January, all year round warm climate, little rain, great surfing and mountain ranges a short drive away for biking, earning a lot more cash than he was in the UK, and a loves the way of life out there.

Where do folk in BC / New Zealand / the Alps dream of living then...

Slough, Coventry, Bracknell...

Always had a hankering for the south of France on the Atlantic side, down near the border.

UK for me please. No desire to live anywhere else. I wish it was warmer for longer but we rightly have much to be proud of and when all's said and done its a great place to live.

A lot of these choices seem biking related. Sure we don't have huge mountains here but I live 4 hours from Scotland, 1 from Wales, 1 from the Peaks, loads of great trail centres and natural riding. We're hardly hard done by here, definitely no rose tinted gigs on here when I look at anywhere else.

>NZ is more than 3 times the size with a smaller population, the mountains are MUCH bigger (Nevis is half the size of NZs thirtieth highest mountain) AND they have a good rugby team <

Yeah you need it - given the absence of right to roam 😉

I'd happily holiday at ANY of the above.

However I'd hanker for blighty far too much. Bar the suburbia and grime boy there are beautiful places here. Soo many beautiful and varied places and people.

No thanks. I'll stay here.

Ex-Pats when you are old and ill, please stay overseas and enjoy that counties hospitals etc.

I really like the UK frankly, one of the few places that could tempt me would be northern California - San Francisco bay area or Tahoe.

UK is a beautiful country with an amazing history and an entrepreneurial/trading/open-minded spirit which will stand us in good stead as the new world order comes through.

I also think it's not obvious when you live here how much better off we are than the vast majority of the world. Southern Europe seems to be rather knackered economically, USA is going through a confidence crisis, China doesn't treat it's people too well.

I lived in France when I was a student and it gave me a real sense of perspective how great UK is...

Germany. For exactly the same reasons on the previous page.

Wouldn't turn down offer to go back to Holland either (even if the beer is rubbish, and the mountains are non-existent). Quite fancy the idea of something a bit closer to the Austrian, Süd-Tirol, Slovenian end of the Alps though (although French Alps / Lausanne / Geneva kind of area would do too).

Nowhere in the UK is really shouting out to me at the moment. Lakes maybe for early retirement.

Ex-Pats when you are old and ill, please stay overseas and enjoy that counties hospitals etc.

Yeah, it's not like they paid tax and NI all the time they were living in Blighty, is it? Selfish sods.

Uuh...

grum - Member
If you have hippy pretensions like me Portland, Oregon sounds cool.

People with hippy pretensions are hipsters, and Portlandia is full of them.

My vote is Canada. I was in Calgary for Canada Day and the mayor even praised public sector workers!

Currently live in Bromley (SE London)
If I moved anywhere in the UK it would probably be the new forest...

If we went abroad then either Australia (Victoria) or Austria (near Zell-am-see or Kaprun)

Vancouver / Victoria are pretty cool (I was there 2 weeks ago). I'd have most of the year in the UK and 3-4 winter months in San Diego or Palm Springs at a push! Really though I'm happy in the UK.

My vote is Canada. I was in Calgary for Canada Day and the mayor even praised public sector workers!

I lived in France when I was a student and it gave me a real sense of perspective how great UK is...

Where did you live though, Roubaix?

South of Dijon, France is a great place to live.

Ex-Pats when you are old and ill, please stay overseas and enjoy that counties hospitals etc.

I will thanks, they actually have rather good provisions here. I find social and medical care is pretty equal throughout western Europe, and in fact Germany probably edges the UK in those provisions.

I am not sure about other destinations, such as the US, Canada, Australia and new Zealand. I imagine again they are fairly comparable as long as you are in gainful employment. I think the main thing that always puts me off America is if your life takes a turn for the worse, ie losing your job, then everything can really go very wrong.

Yep over here in Oz the minimum employer pension contribution is 9% and planed to rise

We're on the move, we're tempted by Andalusia - for the climate and cost of living. Lack of employment and language skills means that's unlikely though
So we're probably going to end up in Alston, food for your soul the Pennines in our opinion
Got to be better than Sussex to be honest, I've moved here from Yorkshire 7 years and I can't say I've settled

If it was warmer, say 10C warmer, I'd pick the West Coast of Scotland.

Ex-Pats when you are old and ill, please stay overseas and enjoy that counties hospitals etc.

Honestly Hora, open your eyes and do some proper digging into the state of foreign health care before making comments like that. You only need to look over the channel to see how sh*t the NHS is in comparison to the French system. And by the look of it its only going to get worse over here...

If I could move anywhere in the UK it'd have to be Devon/Cornwall. I love the sea and I'd love the ability to surf more often than I do (Halifax isn't best placed for someone who likes a paddle). Bringing up my kids near the sea, going to the beach every weekend and stuff appeals massively. If ever a decent job came up down there I'd be there in a flash.

But the grand plan is France. Pay off the mortgage ASAP, retire by 50 and move to France and buy a place that needs a bit of work but has the ability to convert some outbuildings into gites and has a fishing lake. Spend the rest of my life sitting in the sunshine, doing a bit of fishing, eating and drinking nice food and drink and taking advantage of the rural French way of life which is so laid back its beyond horizontal...

move to France and buy a place that needs a bit of work but has the ability to convert some outbuildings into gites and has a fishing lake. Spend the rest of my life sitting in the sunshine, doing a bit of fishing, eating and drinking nice food and drink and taking advantage of the rural French way of life which is so laid back its beyond horizontal...

I'd drop the UK like a hot stone if I had the chance, all the bits with people in them are awful. I love France and the French people (really) so somewhere in the Alps would be high on my list. Top of the list is probably Chile, fantastic country, incredible scenery and mountains, nice people and a decent economy.

Second vote for Boulder Colorado, I have a house there and can confirm its the best place.

You can probably drive to a place that's very very similar, it's called Scotland.

let's play a game, it's called: Scotland? - or New Zealand?

I've spent plenty of time in the highlands & islands. New Zealand has bigger mountains, better skiing, better food, better diving, excellent wine, warmer temperatures, and the locals have a chip on their shoulder about Australia, not England.

Currently in the, initial, planning stage of moving from Leeds to Cumbria. Looking at places west of Penrith but just outside the NP - being just inside the NP seems to add £XXXXXX to the price of a house.

Quite happy where I am, but quite fancy Northumberland or the
West Coasts of Scotland or Ireland.
Llanberis possibly.

Austria (near Zell-am-see or Kaprun)

Lived in Kitzbühel for a little while.

Stunning.

Ridiculously expensive.

I've spent plenty of time in the highlands & islands. New Zealand has bigger mountains, better skiing, better food, better diving, excellent wine, warmer temperatures, and the locals have a chip on their shoulder about Australia, not England.

Genuine 😆

But the grand plan is France. Pay off the mortgage ASAP, retire by 50 and move to France and buy a place that needs a bit of work but has the ability to convert some outbuildings into gites and has a fishing lake. Spend the rest of my life sitting in the sunshine, doing a bit of fishing, eating and drinking nice food and drink and taking advantage of the rural French way of life which is so laid back its beyond horizontal...

That sounds very ace.

We moved to the IoW to be near the sea. Have to say, it's great to have it on the doorstep.

Yeah, it's not like they paid tax and NI all the time they were living in Blighty, is it? Selfish sods.

Ex-Pats aren't always the type who leave Britain at 60 to retire to Spain you know.

Lots go to work overseas, stay away then get homesick or just sick.

NHS is bad? Yes it has its bad points. DBW - are you sure about cost(s) in France v UK for healthcare?....

and a great deal of expats are sent away on secondment, and actually pay UK NI still (c/o forms E101/E106, or now form A1 or whatever it's called), and remain employed by a UK co.

Marton, near congleton. But I'd move it closer to the Peak district.

I could be persuaded by franconia, Haute Provence or a few bits of Canada, the US and NZ but overall I'm pretty happy with Northumberland.

Secondment isnt permanent. Its a temporary assignment.

I wonder if people who emigrate eventually tell locals about pride, stories from home etc.

You might leave but your heart doesnt. Britain with its leaden skies, complex communities, energy and passion to learn about the world can't be beaten.

"And bugles calling for them from sad shires"

Was a line written in a poem about young men who will never go home to blighty. If I left the UK I would feel the pull to return home.

Bought a place near Alicante two years back and spent plenty of time there being its sunny 322 days in a year and what we have decided to do is soon to live 6 months there and 6 months here only when its good weather. Quality of life and food much better there than here!
and only 2hr 20mins on the plane

GeordieLand for now ...

Very happy in the North East , would like a little holiday place in or around the North York moors, if abroad probably around Vezac in the Dordogne.

I wish I could speak more languages so I can move around apart from English speaking countries.

Wales will always be 'home' for me, despite the fact I've lived in Hong kong almost 20 years. Live on Lantau, no high rise, surrounded by country park. Relatively well placed for Europe and Oz/NZ. Suits me at the moment, but nowhere is perfect.

Left the UK in early 2011 to come to NZ. Love it here but it took a while to feel that way. There are a few things I miss about the UK - living in the Peak District, the smell of cowshit on a winter ride, history, the ability to laugh at yourself etc but mostly it's my mates I miss. There are a lot of things I don't miss.

Last summer lasted for nearly six months and it was stunning. There is a lot more to life than good weather, but it definitely helps.

We'll probably come back at some point and as my wife and I paid tax and NI for close on 40 years between us, and will do so again when we come back, we'll be quite comfortable using the services of the NHS and other public services, thanks.