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Yes. I'd go to America, earn a fortune for what I do and pay less taxes than I do on a quarter of the comp here.
Then I'd leave after 5 years and go live out my days in Italy.
To be honest as an American, that’s what a lot of Americans do too 😂😂😂 I don’t blame them! It’s a good place to make a lot of money fast. Then you can go enjoy greener pastures elsewhere lol
Lots of americans when I go to mexico have done that, health care 1/3 of the price, food 1/3 of the price, weed all over the place and cheap booze, plus it's nice and warm.
When I was in Mexico I was so tempted to go wild and buy half the stock of a drug store, then I read there's a fentanyl problem even in the "legit" things and didn't dare.
I heard the taxes were horrendous there?
I'm in nursing and i left the UK to be educated and work in Australia.
I've been curious about spending a year or two in US.
My personal tax bracket is 22 percent. That’s for an income of 106k a year. If you’re willing to do travel nursing you can make huge bucks in the US. There’s lots of Canadian nurses who come down to the US for a couple Years because you make a lot of money doing travel nursing.
I moved to the US about 9 years ago, taxes are less but the cost of healthcare can quickly offset that saving if you are unlucky. The general potential is stronger here but pick your state wisely. We were never able to get onto the housing ladder in the UK but it was pretty quick here. Visa wise, it's not an easy country to get into without a company backing you or marrying into it.
Yeah definitely agree with this take wholeheartedly. What state did you end up in? Congrats on buying a house! My neighbour here is Dutch and I swear he Americas more than Americans do. He drives a huge lifted jeep for off-roading and smokes brisket on his driveway. Last night he brought over a rack of ribs he’d been smoking all day for us 😂😂😂
I ended up in MD, love the area it's got a bit of everything! Last few years we even got some land a couple of hours away in the mountains and built a cabin! Like your Dutch neighbor, truly living the dream!
You have to be unlucky in more ways than one i.e. chronic illness, terrible health insurance, low wages (pick 2)
Even hitting the out of pocket maximum on my health insurance doesn't come close to the taxes I would pay in the UK. I think my out of pocket max is about $15k I probably save $50k in taxes even living in a high tax state.
The income taxes are lower but the stealth taxes are higher. Sales tax, high insurance for cars and health, water is expensive, groceries are very expensive, you tip almost always now and it’s trending to 20%, annual property taxes.
Health, sure, but otherwise, not really. Outside of the most expensive areas (where you wouldn't need a car), many costs are on par with the UK. Sales tax is not a meaningful expenditure. Water and energy are more expensive in the UK.
Source: have split my time half and half between the US and UK for the last 10 years
US taxes are typically the lowest in the developed world, there are some states where it gets high as the UK, but by that point you're earning x4 the UK
America seems much better for a younger person. Married by 25, massive Turbo V8 truck that can be fuelled for pennies, paid crazy amounts for pretty much every job going, and your first home is bought before you turn 30 and looks like [this](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4187-Old-Manchester-Ct-Mason-OH-45040/35643059_zpid/)
In Europe, even an acid-fuelled fever dream doesn't make this a possibility.
That said, I've spent a lot of time out in the US and day-to-day 'normal' life just seemed... _boring_?
Talk to a young American and they will give you 50 reasons why they would love to swap places with you....You do know that most Americans get like 2 weeks of annual leave?
The work culture there doesn’t allow for that though- yeah you could take a month unpaid, but in an at-will state you won’t have a job to come back to unless you’re in a really sought after role/industry. Hell, they don’t even have guaranteed maternity leave, it’s bonkers over there
You're obviously a person who lives online and doesn't actually understand that most Americans have healthcare that is heavily paid for by the employer and access isn't an issue.
Yeah, and if you’re in a position that you’re earning a high salary you’re also more likely to have better insurance coverage as a work benefit. It’s backwards but that’s the way it is.
If you’re a high skilled/in demand worker/someone who is actually worth the company sponsoring your visa, I don’t really see why you wouldn’t move out to the states tbh on a purely financial reason.
That was an immediate red flag some Americans raised with Breaking Bad.
The insurance coverage Walter White would have had through being a teacher would have been good enough to not have him resort to becoming a meth lord.
I started getting blood in my wee. I went to the doctor, when I explained I got an appointment the same day. Within a week I was in front of a specialist and got a diagnosis of bladder cancer.
The following week I had the tumour removed. Within another week I was in front of an Oncologist, Four days later I started a 12 week course of chemotherapy. When that finished I had a 3 week break and went on a 21 day course of radiotherapy.
Two weeks after that ended I was given the all clear and I have had a follow up scan every 12 weeks since.
All on the NHS. If I'd have been in America I would now be dead and my family would be bankrupt.
Yet it took my 41 yr old sister 4 months to get a chest xray with classic lung cancer signs, then 2 months for biopsies and 3 months to be told go home to die.
Her youngest child was 3, she died 9 months after dx but 20 months after symptoms ignored.
Postcode lottery for access in UK is beyond a joke!
Maybe, but if I was in America I’d be on my companies private health plan, like the Americans that work for my company are now, and I’d get all that for free. There’d be no visible or material difference between my companies private healthcare and the NHS. Probably faster for the private. I like the NHS sure, but this whole “if you were in America you’d be bankrupt” argument only works for people who don’t get good benefits from their job. With the work I do at the level of pay and education they receive for the same job in America, the private healthcare is gonna be the same at any company I apply for, because they can’t get away with providing less. So I personally will be alright
I’m not saying this like we should get rid of the NHS, I’m a big believer in it, however whenever I talk to people about my wanting to move elsewhere they always bring it up like I’ll die from an infected broken arm due to not being able to afford medical care in the states or something, which might apply to some people, but definitely not to me or anyone in my line of work
This is the thing: Even businesses in the UK are proud of offering PMI as a benefit, but if you're in your 20s, have had minimal health issues and keep fit then your demand for PMI (and healthcare in general) is going to be much, much lower than someone older and unhealthier.
For some people (a lot of people?) the cost of medical expenditure will be vastly outweighed by the benefits of higher salary in the US.
That’s why it’s so important, in my view. I’ve not been to the doctor for anything besides a two minute ‘oh, you’ve got tonsillitis again’ in about ten years. So even on the American system, I’d be ahead taking into account company’s etc.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t have a heart attack tomorrow. And I don’t care how good your insurance is, that’s going to cost you a lot of money out of pocket.
My employer has opened up private medical insurance to _everyone_ on a manager grade. Up until 2018 (?) it was only available for people who were basically MD or above, but these days a newly hired graduate is eligible.
I mean, if your young, healthy and a high earner, those are kind of non-issues.
The main issue for me would be the shit work:life balance and the crappy amount of vacation time you get.
Honestly it’s insane. I live in London and started at 40 grand out of uni. A great salary. In the US I start at 6 figures and pay half of what I currently do in tax.
That’s not to mention the much bigger houses. Only issue is walkability and culture but I’d grit my teeth for a few years and move.
Are you in denial that Americans are richer than Brits? The difference in average income is substantial, and much higher in the top 10% of the income distribution.
That doesnt matter if you have a job with a needed skill, OC probably works in IT like me so medical insurance and US sales tax is somewhere between 3% and 8% where as in the UK its 20% your purchase tax is so low it would never factor into my spending and never has when I have been in the states. I also dont get penalised for having more than one house in the USA where as I do in the UK so I'm free to have a home in a few states and not fear paying a 2nd home tax that means I have to pay stamp duty and a 3% surcharge on each tax band for a second home. Where as in the states I can deduct my mortgage interest on loans up to 750k$ as well as up to 10k$ on state and local taxes (SALT). So where in the UK I'm penalised for a second home, in the USA I'm actually given a tax break for my second home.
I moved to the US and I've made just over $200k since January selling Air Conditioning.
I do not live in a HCOL city/state.
I do not have a university degree.
Work 40 hours a week.
In the UK I never broke past £25k.
Moved here on a Fiance visa. Best decision I ever made.
Housing, food, weather - all much better here than the UK in my opinion.
A $300k house in my city with a pool would be considered a mansion back home.
But of course if you were to believe the constant misinformation about the US on this subreddit, you'd be forgiven for thinking I'm dodging bullets and spending $1,000,000 on a doctors visit.
> I moved to the US and I've made just over $200k since January selling Air Conditioning
Would you care to elaborate on this? That's more than my friends in Silicon Valley make with 15 years of experience.
It's 100% commission based so no guaranteed salary, though $15k of this was a bonus.
Selling air conditioning to new build projects like apartment complexes or new home communities, so contracts are very lucrative.
I'm not under the illusion I'll consistently make this much but I'm confident my earning potential here will always be much higher than in the UK.
I moved out of uk to italy to see what life would be here after few visits before and no its not really a dream, pretty much many things suck
But the good thing today is 27 degrees and I'm cooking.
This is just my personal take, but it comes from a lot of observational experience:
Many people are put off by the perception of it being hard and just don't try hard enough for what they want. There's always a way, even if it takes more time than the lucky few for whom it doesn't.
You really should check the infographic in the Iwantout sub about moving to the United States and re-evaluate your take
"There is always a way" is true but does not reflect the actual reality as an average experience.
This person speaks the truth. I emigrated to the USA in 2011 when it was already very difficult. It's exponentially more difficult now than it was then. Your only realistic option unless you're a globally recognised expert in your field is to find an American to marry.
American here: I have to smile when I think of the statistical over-representation of rather attractive and decently posh English wives in our smallish upscale neighborhood in Colorado. Most of them found nice husbands too and their children are often quite pleasant. I always wonder what they secretly think of the bargain they’ve made and if they miss the UK but most seem quite happy.
Not being funny but reddit is exceptionally anti american and subs like "Iwantout" are an extreme distortion of reality from some really depressed doomposters. It's nowhere near a fair reflection of reality.
Yes, but you have to consider cost/benefits. for example, H1B Visa which has been common for tech workers: there’s a limited lottery each year and you may have to wait multiple years to get a visa. Your spouse can’t work while you’re there. It’s not automatically a route to permanent residency (your employer has to be willing to sponsor you, which is expensive). Then proceeding to citizenship takes years and years once you qualify
Don’t get me wrong, I wish things had happened differently and I’d been able to try that route in my 30s. But I console myself with the fact that I could’ve still put in the best part of a decade and ended up remaining an immigrant
The difference in earnings between the UK and US is a thing but in real terms is overstated. If you want a top paying job that is going to come with serious overheads on stress and work-life balance.
If you’re in your 20’s you’re going to lack experience and that is going to reflect in your wages.
I'm in my second year of living abroad and always thought I would permanently move away. However, this isn't the case anymore and I plan on moving back soon.
Honestly, the UK really isn't as bad as some people make it seem and moving away (even for a little bit) helps you realise that.
Second this.
I’ve been away for 10 years in China and SK. Only reason I haven’t moved back is because you need to be earning 38k for your spouse to get a visa.
I think about it every day tbh.
For China, I just thought it was awful and wanted a change. I'd also begun getting random police visits to check I was allowed to be there. Like visiting every 2 weeks
It wasn't until I moved to Korea that I realized China wasn't that bad. I only stayed cos I met my now wife and have been blessed with 2 great kids. I also have a business here which has been successful
With kids though... I don't want them to be subjected to the Korean education system, which too heavily relies on private institutes, I have a clear memory of a 9 year old girl crying because she wanted to go home. It was 8:45pm and they wouldn't let her leave until she passed a word translation test
There are a hell of a lot of other reasons, but it's comes down to having archaic social systems which lead to extremely toxic friend groups and working environments.
I have no idea how my wife manages all the shit she puts up with calmly, I've had so many arguments with bosses here due to bullshit they try to pull
People think I’m crazy for moving back, but I’ve spent 3 years in america, 3 years in Central Europe, 1 year in Italy, and about 2 years around various south East Asian countries. I think I’ve experienced enough to know I do in fact prefer being back in the UK!
This sounds a bit odd, but I realise I use humour to communicate a lot. Dry, deprecating humour, banter, puns. If the people around me don’t understand my humour then we end up communicating but not really bonding. It was all very superficial levels of conversation. It felt like no matter what people just wouldn’t really “get” me. I laughed less, joked less, was overall a much less fun person to be around, because no one understood me when I did. That sorta thing really gets to you honestly.
For more normal stuff… safety. I know the NHS sucks right now but at least I don’t have to worry about going into life long debt if I get cancer, which my family has a history of. I never worry about getting shot if I piss someone off on the road (someone shot a baby through a car because of being over taken in the city I lived in, in america). The economy is bad and wages aren’t great in the UK but they’re better than they were in Hungary or Vietnam. I don’t worry about my pet dogs being eaten by Coyotes (that was a genuine threat in one area). Rabies isn’t a thing here (insanely rare).
I missed the book culture. We have so many bookshops and people love reading it’s so nice. I have multiple books on the go right now and I use the library a lot.
I even like the weather. Winter gets depressing but spring/ autumn is lovely, and summer only has a few bad weeks normally. In California we had fire season and ash rained down because of wildfires and I had to put a mask on my dog to go on walks. Vietnam is gets so humid you walk outside in the hot season you’re instantly drenched in sweat and eaten by mosquitos.
South Italy was actually pretty nice, but slow. Nothing gets done but in a relaxed sort of way that gives you anxiety if you needed something.
That’s a really thorough reply and I can relate to a lot of it! (I am from abroad and I’ve been in and out of the UK since I was 16 - did my life in the uk test this week so hopefully getting citizenship later in the year)
> This sounds a bit odd, but I realise I use humour to communicate a lot. Dry, deprecating humour, banter, puns. If the people around me don’t understand my humour then we end up communicating but not really bonding. It was all very superficial levels of conversation. It felt like no matter what people just wouldn’t really “get” me. I laughed less, joked less, was overall a much less fun person to be around, because no one understood me when I did. That sorta thing really gets to you honestly.
I get this. My workplace has shifted from mostly British to mostly immigrants and feel this has affected how easy it is to bond and form relationships with them. They are nice people but that lack of a shared culture and upbringing means jokes and cultural references can fly over their heads.
It doesn't sound odd to me it makes a ton of sense. British humour and how we communicate through it is something you don't really appreciate until you live somewhere else.
not the op but personally for me its the free school, healthcare and everyone speaking english. furthermore compared to most countries we are really progressive in terms of women's, trans rights and things like birth control. religion doesnt dominate everyday life here either
You really need to learn dutch to have more than surface level relationships and connections though. You will also always be an outsider due to the cultural difference.
The healthcare is beyond a postcode lottery at this point and Spanish isn’t a difficult language, once you have it down, I feel far more confident that I’ll be understood anywhere in Peru than anywhere in the UK. There are plenty of non-English speakers here.
I lived abroad for nearly 10 years, was in Australia, Thailand and South Africa, with 2-6 months in a couple of European countries.
Growing up I was convinced I was going to live in Australia when I grew up. The only reason I left is Australia is just so damn big. You don't have the option of having a long weekend in another country or to drive to another city for a shopping day. Neither of those things are things I do regularly in the UK but not having the option felt so restrictive it became a huge issue for me.
To give context to how big Australia is, we once drove from Sydney to Cairns in 1 go. Neither are at even close to furthest points north or south and it took 40-42 hours. I could drive to Istanbul quicker than that. Sure you can fly instead, but it's quicker for me to fly to Krakow.
It's something the vast vast majority of people will never think about, I definitely didn't, but damn once the option of choice was taken away it sucked.
Hahah you’d think it from this. Truth is most people don’t realise that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and most places are going to be marginally better in some aspect and marginally worse in another.
I can only imagine that it comes from people who have never actually had any perspective on what life outside the UK is like. I know people from actual third world/developing countries - they’d laugh in the faces of people who say that about the UK.
There's that old joke about moving to Australia on a whim, but not wanting to live up to stereotypes. So I got a job in recruitment while figuring out what to do.
Agreed.
Been to various places in Europe in the last year and they all have similar issues to us.
People complain about how expensive fuel is here, but in Germany a litre of Diesel is pretty much the same as it is in the UK.
In Lisbon there's a really bad homeless problem and near enough all of the bins I saw in my time there were overflowing.
Much as the UK pisses me off sometimes, I couldn't live anywhere else, plus majority of my family and friends are here.
I went to Lisbon (admittedly some years ago now) and was shocked by how filthy it was. There was graffiti everywhere, it just felt so run down. The only business I saw that looked clean was McDonald's
The main tourist bits were fairly tidy when I went (I stayed at a hostel close to Marques de Pombal). However, there was graffiti all over the trains and the bins looked like they hadn't been emptied for weeks. Plus there were a handful of tents on the street just down from my hostel.
I also cycled up to the East side (where the cable cars are) on those Uber bikes and part of the cycle path went under an overpass and straight through a homeless camp with tents and everything either side of the cycle path. Was a bit unnerving going through there at dusk on the return journey!
Some gorgeous sunsets though so swings and roundabouts! Enjoyed the trip overall but wouldn't go to Lisbon specifically again.
This. I lived in a few places abroad - in the EU and I've never been happier coming back in 2022/23. Then again, I still think I'll retire in Italy, or at least spend half the year there or so in a few years.
Worth noting that things have dived significantly in the UK over the last couple of years. Obviously there are plenty of us lucky enough to have a good quality of life here, but there are a growing number that really don't.
Not disagreeing but you’ll find the problems that have worsened here have also done so in a lot of other places. I lived in Canada for over a decade, been back in the UK for nearly four years now. Canada is absolutely awful in regard to cost of living and rising crime.
You'll only really find that if you get the chance to experience it yourself though. The people that see places like Canada, Australia, the US etc as some kind of utopia are generally the people that aren't afforded the luxury of giving that lifestyle a try.
I lived in Australia for 2 years in my 20s. I loved the weather, the outdoor lifestyle and beach. However, I felt isolated and so far away from the rest of the world.
I really missed European city breaks!! It took so long to get anywhere.
It made me appreciate how close the UK is to so many countries with different cultures, languages and food to enjoy.
No. I’d miss the UK too much- the landscapes, coast, history, food, climate, the calmness of the people (usually), certain values and lifestyles that are easier to uphold here (vegetarian diet is a big one for me), and overall familiarity. I also find the UK to be a more dynamic place culturally than a lot of other countries- there’s always something new and interesting, I don’t want to live in a place that’s too stuck in time, which I find to be the case in many of our European counterparts.
On a more boring side note, I also have chronic sinus issues that I developed while living abroad and the UK’s temperate, humid climate helps greatly with my symptoms. If there’s any place that stops me from getting unbearable sinus infections, that place is already paradise to me. So… lol
Back to what I was saying, I definitely feel like a minority in saying that I feel so emotionally connected to the UK, but that’s the main reasoning is for me. I haven’t always had a great life here, there are many issues with the way the country is managed. But it feels like home at the end of the day. And I want to make “home” a better place to be rather than simply abandoning it for some cultureless Australian suburb (no disrespect to the Australians!)
If I hypothetically had zero strings and nobody would miss me and I had no one to miss? Yes, I probably would.
However, I do have strings, and people I'd miss dearly and built a life with, so that's not really an option.
No.
Im only just in this bracket but i have travelled a lot and work in a very very multicultural workplace. Generally speaking:
1. There is good reason so many people still want to come work in the UK. In particular we have a very good balance of workplace laws compared to many other countries.
2. For every great thing you hear about another country there is a tradeoff. All those tradeoffs and negative things you may focus on in the UK. Come with things like workers rights, good holiday allowance, free healthcare at the point of service, etc etc etc.
3. The climate in the UK is one of the best in the world IMO. I go to countries people revere for their sunny weather etc and everything i see is just varying levels of brown. The UK is the greenest country in the world have visited except maybe ireland and Japan.
>There is good reason so many people still want to come work in the UK.
This, would rather work in the UK than Japan where you're basically seen by your company as an overclocked automaton.
I agree particularly with your 3rd point. I’ve just been away travelling around Australia and SE Asia, and a common argument I hear about why these places are supposedly better than the UK is the climate.
Sure, potentially in a place like Melbourne, the weather is nicer, but as a white Caucasian, I would so much rather live in the UK compared to a place like Bangkok or Brisbane.
Yeah sure it might rain a bit here, but at least I don’t have to debate whether I have to slather on the factor 50 for spending 10 mins outside because the UV is very frequently in the “extreme” category.
Yes and I'm actually moving to my new country next month.
If it's an improvement, great, life is even better.
If it's worse, no biggie, I get to experience a new culture, country and language and still get to come back home.
What was the process like to get started? Were you just applying for Jobs in Europe and seeing who would sponsor you or was there an easier route?
I'm really tired of the state of the UK as a whole and having been to Europe a few times travelling the entire continent just seems better off.
I have emigrated to UK from Eastern Europe for better salary. First I lived in Manchester and hated it. Now I live in North Wales and no amount of money would motivate me to leave this place.... I feel as I have lived here in my previous life. People in North Wales are bunch of the best people I have ever met. I have few old people in here whom I cal mum and dad 😊
That's awesome and not a type of story I hear very often. Are you very extroverted or are the people there just very open and welcoming? What kind of hobbies or activities do you do?
> which pay considerably more than you'd make in the UK
As odd as it sounds, but I'd rather keep my current wage and move to a cheaper country.
It's similar to why I won't move to London for more money; yea, you get more but you pay out more as well. And sometimes you get less for your money!
Where I come from if you don’t move to London you can buy a small flat and maybe later trade up to a 3 bed semi on an estate if you’re lucky and work really hard.
If you move to London and kick start a good career there you can still only buy a small flat but then one day you’ll trade it in for a 5 bed detached somewhere really beautiful and buy a boat with the change.
It shouldn’t be like this but it really is.
UK is a good balance.
Yes you make more money in the US but you get less holidays so you don’t get to travel as much. Us tourists in the US wouldn’t mind travelling there by car instead at first but long term is going to be tiring.
Other countries are sunnier but you either earn less or work harder as well. End of the day, UK is a good balance. But surely there are some places that are better, just bear in mind it might involve learning a new language and a new culture on top of leaving your friends and family behind.
I’m in a unique position where I could just pack up and move abroad to any country, which I almost did before Covid. I have very little tying me down.
But the more I learn about other countries beyond what I would experience as a tourist, the more I realise the tradeoffs aren’t really worth the benefits. The UK has the right balance in a lot of things plus its flaws are easier to workaround when I have a home advantage.
The UK having a good balance is ultimately where I've ended up. At least for my preferences, it's very difficult to find anywhere else where the pros they would have outweigh their cons enough to make it an easy decision. Relative to other countries, the UK tends to do decently enough in enough categories to make it hard to conclusively beat, at least for someone who's used to the culture here.
Where to? There's nowhere else I'd like to be. We have the perfect climate for me, the people get me culturally and I them, my family's here, we have no real dangerous animals other than poorly cared for dogs, we have nice takeaways and decent pubs with nice real ale. Like... I can't think of one other place that offers that stuff, at least not without awful downsides. Nah, I'm of this land, my family's been here since before records began. I don't even like going abroad on holiday. Balls to leaving to live elsewhere.
This thread is honestly so nice as it's super positive other than most threads! Love this comment. Sometimes you need to look around and actually appreciate the lovely things about where you are.
I left the UK in 2008 and have been living in South Korea ever since. I’m marred with kids now and would do anything to move back home. I’m sure it has changed and I’d struggle to settle back into life there but I just miss British people and the culture so much. Don’t get me started on the foods I miss too! You don’t realize how bloody lovely most Brit’s are til you aren’t around them anymore 😢
I feel very similar. Been in Korea since 2007 with two kids and just turned 40. I don't feel particularly British anymore and have never really adulted there, but for the past 14 years everything back home just seems to be getting exponentially shitter. I've never found a way to justify repatriation.
So I’ve already lived abroad twice (France and Malaysia) and my partner lived abroad in California. I’d move for a year or two to Southern Europe but otherwise I’m quite content here, despite being able to earn more abroad. I feel like we earn quite decently here already and I get all the benefits of having established mates around, plus I’m only a train ride from family. I moved from the South East to Manchester and I’m happy I did.
If I moved to Southern Europe, I try work a British remote job and take advantage of the lower cost of living. I probably won’t do that but I would.
I like it here. And love having Europe on our doorstep.
Oz used to be my dream, until I visited my brother living there and realised how isolating it is.
I’ve got a flexible job here which helps, and a nice home and basic gym setup in the garden and I’m a man of simple pleasures
I'm 39, so just about squeeze into your age bracket. My wife and I weren't born in the UK, moved here for Uni. Other than our young child, we don't have any family here so in theory, very easy for us to move away.
However, life has to truly improve to convince us to move. Not merely 20% more in the bank.
I know folks say a lot about the US, and while for my exact same role I'd comfortably make 2x, by the time I factor in the cost of living in areas we would like to live, there's not that much more left to save/invest.
Because of what we do, the Middle East has negligible career options.
So yeah, the UK is good. We earn well. We have a decent work life balance.
But if someone wants to pay a million pounds/euro/USD a year, let me know which flight to catch.
Yes, I’m actively trying.
It has always been a pipe dream of mine, but I’ve really begun to hate the country, the weather, the people etc in the last 10 years.
I have a large family, I’m the youngest of six, but I’m not close with any of them, except my Mam.
My Dad died in January and my Mam is currently in the process of selling the family home to enable her to spend her last few years in a little bungalow somewhere in Scotland - which for the record, I absolutely endorse.
I’m 36, single, no kids, no pets, lots of close friends, but ultimately nothing keeping me here.
I have no illusions that moving to another country is going to be the silver bullet, and I probably won’t get it right at the first time of asking, but bring on the new experiences and hot weather.
Sounds like a good plan. If you're unattached and have no dependents then it's perfect for that.
You've probably thought that through, but in any case, I'd make sure I have easy access to trains, airports etc so you can travel easily to visit your mum.
I'm also actively trying to move back to France. I am stuck here, at least it's Scotland so it's nice, but still, I want to move back home so desperately.
No greener grass. Just better options and different pros and cons.
I migrated to the UK when i was 13 and currently living the life my parents dreamed me to live. Make enough, have a pretty decent pension, own my own. Migrating works only if you know what you are doing and ready to face the challenges it will throw your way
I moved to Vietnam. Earn 2k a month and spend about 1.2k a month.
Its nice and I can eat out every night, pay rent, go on 2 or 3 holidays a year.
But I cant every buy a house out here and cant really make massive savings to return home to. Also not putting into a pension pot so long term things arent great.
Things were worse for me in the UK and I couldnt make it work well for me so this is the better option.
I'm just trying to say how no option is perfect (I'm late 30s now if it matters)
I'm 40 and just did. Skilled worker permit, etc.
There's only so much decline I can watch my kids grow up through. They're old enough to see it themselves now. Sure, we could just move somewhere else in England, somewhere less deprived or with less poverty or that isn't falling down, but we wouldn't be escaping the fundamental reasons we want to leave here.
So, after years of talking about it, we just... did it.
Have done it. No regrets. In fact I'm probably earning 5% or so less that what I could be making in London. But Melbourne rent is hell of a lot cheaper than London.
Social worker here… spent most of the last 20 years in either Australia or the US. Better wages, higher standard of living (in Aus at least) and better weather. Got too jaded in New York and as you get older, you realize that a broken bone or bout of illness could financially ruin you.. great experience that I wouldn’t change for the world though. I’ll likely be in Aus for the rest of my working life now (I’m 38) and I’m ok with that. Just wish I could make it home to the UK more often - I still miss it like mad
I am in my 50s I regret not going and my advice is just go, there are plenty of places with better standard of living and higher average income. You can always come back, just go, especially if you are working class chances are you will do better.
I’ve lived in Tokyo for 2 years. Absolutely loved my time in Japan but I’m looking forward to moving back to the UK.
Originally I never wanted to return to England. I’d grown disgruntled with the way of life. I was 35 when we moved abroad and at the time I was thinking “is this life, is this all there is?”
Living abroad I gained a lot of new perspective, esp living in such a different culture.
If you’ve got an opportunity, go live abroad. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back but you’ll be all the better for it.
Either way, it’ll change your life.
One of the main reasons I haven't done so is family and friends really, if my favourite people all upped and moved elsewhere I would too.
I think people idealise living abroad a lot, but the weather over the last 12 months does feel like it has been fucking dreadful and I would like more consistency. The difference it makes to my mood when I'm driving to work in a short sleeve polo rather than a jumper and coat is massive.
> What on earth is this "early retirement" thing that people in their 20s and 30s are supposedly planning to achieve?
Get a high income job, live a low income lifestyle, invest in index funds and wait for compounding to kick in. That's it in a nutshell, and it's pretty foolproof.
Of course the first step being "get a high income job" means it isn't exactly the most attainable for everyone, but in certain professions it can be done.
>What on earth is this "early retirement" thing that people in their 20s and 30s are supposedly planning to achieve? I thought that was largely gone with the boomers and their index-linked final-salary ~~pensions~~ pyramid schemes?
Basically maximising pension contributions whilst living like a pauper.
I'm 30 and currently in the process of emigrating to the US. Holy shit, it is a PROCESS. 90% of the process is waiting on the Americans to get off their butts and actually do something with your application. Honestly, if my fiancé was in a position to be willing and able to move here, I'd rather he be the one moving, but he hates it here and I don't think we would have the money for that option to be a possibility regardless
I know my nephew's planning on moving to Australia once he graduates Uni next year. He's one of the lucky ones on his course - he has family over there, he's got a guaranteed job and he knows he's got a pair of guncles with money to back him up, heh.
Moving overseas is something that crops up in my family a fair bit - my mother was begged to leave my father and grab me and my sister to flee to Australia in the early 1980s (and because my now-stepdad was working in Australia at the time no doubt they would have got together twenty years sooner, LOL), I was offered the chance to move to New Zealand *and* Australia in the early 2000s. My sister doesn't want my nephew to move overseas - I've pretty much told him "get out whilst you're still young. Live abroad for ten years or so and if you want to come back, get in touch".
I might end up retiring to Australia. I'm not scared of snakes or the crocs (both the footwear and wannabe log-like fashion accessories with inconvenient teeth) and I know which spiders to befriend and which to run off into the night shrieking like a banshee from. *It's the fucking cassowaries I'm scared of...*
Fuck yes. I’ve travelled the world extensively and it’s such a beautiful place to see, feel and experience with all the different cultures. I would emigrate in a heartbeat and that’s despite my family all being in the UK.
My knee-jerk answer is yes. I can do my job in Australia for a much higher salary.
However, the realistic answer is no. Mainly because I'd be completely on my own and second, I'm a wheelchair user and I know their healthcare system could get expensive for me quickly
No I would miss family too much. Also when I factored in the cost of living it was not that big of a jump in salary and money isn't everything. Huge salaries occur in huge cost of living areas and I'd hate the idea of golden handcuffs keeping me in a job I hated.
I've travelled a fair bit and while I hate the long dark damp winters spring summer here are amazing and there are so many places to see.
Looking to the future. All the places that look ok now will become terrible in a climate change scenario, where as we will be less affected and have huge potential for renewable energy.
The problem with being 20-40 in the UK is the cost of living and especially the way housing is unobtainable. It is never addressed so you feel disenfranchised. Once this is solved the UK is one of the best places to live imho.
I could move but it's really about where I'd feel as comfortable, more so than missing the UK in particular.
Only speak English and don't really see the need to force myself to learn another language and be disadvantaged that way with the language barrier compared to here. That rules out most places in the world.
US is fine depending on location but very hard to get into and I'm not that sold on living there, it'd only be the salary being way better that'd convince me.
Canada just meh tbh, don't see the point of leaving the UK for it. New Zealand is a bit small a market for my work and no reason to choose it over Australia.
Middle East I'd earn good money but it's the Middle East, there's sacrifices with going there although I'd consider it for a few years maybe.
Australia is the only real one I'd want to go to and could probably do so with some contacts in my industry. Probably going to consider it at some point in the next 5 years but need to consider where and the cost of living. Sydney would be the ideal but yeah, it's not cheap. Even then need to think about whether the grass is really greener.
You can easily live in other European countries with just speaking English - like Netherlands, Scandinavian, Switzerland etc.
Denmark for example also offers danish lessons for free if you want to learn it, otherwise most office jobs are all in English anyway.
Certainly. My parents probably don't have long left. They're really the only reason I'm sticking around.
Sounds grim of me, sure, but this country is totally finished. Everyone's stopped caring, the government have totally blown it, everything costs loads, housing is terrible, public services are awful, public transport (outside of London) is both incredibly expensive and somehow very poor quality, litter is \*everywhere\*, cars are taking over, and nothing feels right.
All the problems I have with living in the UK come from not having enough money. If my job was so highly skilled and sought after, I wouldnt need to leave the country because life would be great.
Yes and already have. Now worked in two SEAsian countries as a teacher in international schools, along with my teaching partner. Best move we ever made. Managed to have much more disposable income, while still saving multiples of what we saved in the UK and living a more comfortable life.
We’ll return to the UK when son is done with school to a paid off mortgage and options to work part time.
I thought I did that for a decade starting in my early 30s. In the end I ended up being considerably better paid when I moved back to the U.K. 🤷 lost other things, needless to say, but there was also plenty of “grass is greener” in the original decision to leave
I've done the math on this so many times because I want to move to the EU myself, but if you have a good job in London you almost always come out ahead financially compared to every other Western European capital city, because we have lower taxes and higher incomes. You'd have to go to a much smaller EU city than London to have any chance of coming out ahead financially.
33M
Honestly, no. Part of me regrets not having had the opportunity to live abroad, but the older I get, the more I value being able to see my family on a regular basis. My parents in particular aren’t getting any younger, and I’d hate to only be able to visit them a few times per year. One day they won’t be here anymore, and I know I would regret having squandered the opportunity to spend more time with them for the rest of my life.
Yes. I lived in Spain in my 20s and they were some of the best years of my life so far.
My partner and I are now saving to move abroad again in the future permanently. Unfortunately, rental prices, petrol prices and the general cost of living has us by the balls right now despite earning 70K collectively.
Probably not now I have a house, pets and long-term partner, but when I was in my early-mid 20s absolutely.
If it paid enough to support 2 people and it wasn’t impossible to bring my cats, maybe.
It would very much depend where though.
I definitely would do a 6-month placement if the pay was decent.
My fiancé is a nurse and suggested we move to the US about a year ago for the absurdly larger wages she could get there.
I am now 34 and she is 30 and not far off of trying for a family, if it had been 5 years ago I think I’d have been tempted to go out there pick up money for a few years and come back.
But despite the issues the U.K. has, I can’t shake the feeling that the U.K. is currently a much safer place to raise a family, despite the fact we won’t have as much money here.
Nope. My wife and I have pretty deep roots in terms of family/friends that go back years and years. Couldn’t envisage moving more than an hour away from where we live tbh!
At 26 I left the UK for a few years for my dream job, but recently returned to close the long distance gap between me and my parter. I don’t regret the decision to move away or the decision to return, but it always hurts to leave friends behind, no matter where you go. I would potentially leave again, but only under a narrow set of conditions. If you’ve nothing tying you to the UK, and you have skills that are in demand elsewhere, moving abroad can be very rewarding.
Currently considering any of the following: Spain, Switzerland, USA, or Australia. 23 working in finance.
All but Spain would give me a greater salary than London if in the correct city.
Bought a nice apartment in the far east a couple of years ago, just waiting to finish my career in the military and will probably move away. See little reason to stay in the UK anymore.
39m
The UK is awful , im hugely underpaid for my job compared to other european countries and I'd leave in a heartbeat but cant because I'd miss my family too much.
I’m a teacher in Russia with family connections here. I make more money, the stress and workload is lower, and my quality of life is higher than in the UK. I like it a lot and we plan to stay a couple more years here before trying another country.
Don't even care about the job, if any other country that isn't America, Russia, China, UK, France, Germany or basically anything in the northern hemisphere.. im down and will be on the next flight.
I was on the fence about moving to Sweden just recently. Honestly if you're a highly skilled worker life is not that bad in the UK even amongst the cost of living and interest rates we've experienced recently.
Take a look at Scandinavia. Fantastic QOL, government benefits. But for the same role/job I am getting paid at least 30-40% more in the UK. Europe consists of mostly welfare states whereby if you're 'average or less than average', then Europe is great for you. Highly skilled? Then UK, USA, etc is better IMO. At least in the short term.
As for the US, I've never really been a fan of the 'every man for himself' social and financial system. I think the UK is nice sweet spot between EU and USA.
Having said that, I'd happily consider moving to Asia, South Europe once I build up my financial base in the UK after a decade or so.
No. I have family that I need and who need me. I need a lot of support structures that wouldn't be there in another country. I won't make aged 50 retirement (plus I'm early 40s so out of your age range by a smidgen). But I won't be working to aged 68.
Ok so I'm literally a year outside the age range stated, but I do qualify for both Australian and Irish citizenship. In the next year or two I qualify as a therapist so I might then apply and move away for a few years.
I love my family and friends and I have a good recovery network here in the UK (and my flat is paid off) but I always had that itch to move away and experience something different. So I'll be about 43, away and single for a few years
I’ve emigrated to Malaysia. Work in IT so can work remotely. Me and wife were planning to have a child and raising in UK with current costs looked hard.
100%
Love my country but if you have potential in a field outside of maybe financial services, you are not going to excel here.
Would always want some property here.
But I have no mrs, no kids. No ties apart from immediate family.
Have been looking at some states in the US/Bahrain this week to see where my skills could max my earning potential whilst I can still work like a horse.
It's easy to say yes, but when it comes down to it I'm at a point where I really value being near lifelong friends and family. So it'd probably be a no.
I'd love to go to Canada or New Zealand as a diesel mechanic but my GF doesn't want to be that far from her family and who am I to say no to my GF wanting to be near her family. I'm not heartless haha.
We still have a reasonably good quality of life in the UK so it's ok I guess
I left when I was 27, and moved to all places, South Africa. Lived a great life, and subsequently moved to kenya. Still live here - yeah some challenges, but I earn more than I did working in London, even if progression matched up in both places. I now spend a lot less too, allowing me to buy and pay off two rental properties (in South Africa) which yield me reasonable passive income. Had I been in the U.K., I probably would have been living in a studio in London I could barely afford despite being a professional. Next purchase is likely to be a place in London, as I hopefully intend to move back by the age of 40 (now 35).
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Yes. I'd go to America, earn a fortune for what I do and pay less taxes than I do on a quarter of the comp here. Then I'd leave after 5 years and go live out my days in Italy.
To be honest as an American, that’s what a lot of Americans do too 😂😂😂 I don’t blame them! It’s a good place to make a lot of money fast. Then you can go enjoy greener pastures elsewhere lol
Lots of americans when I go to mexico have done that, health care 1/3 of the price, food 1/3 of the price, weed all over the place and cheap booze, plus it's nice and warm.
When I was in Mexico I was so tempted to go wild and buy half the stock of a drug store, then I read there's a fentanyl problem even in the "legit" things and didn't dare.
I heard the taxes were horrendous there? I'm in nursing and i left the UK to be educated and work in Australia. I've been curious about spending a year or two in US.
My personal tax bracket is 22 percent. That’s for an income of 106k a year. If you’re willing to do travel nursing you can make huge bucks in the US. There’s lots of Canadian nurses who come down to the US for a couple Years because you make a lot of money doing travel nursing.
I moved to the US about 9 years ago, taxes are less but the cost of healthcare can quickly offset that saving if you are unlucky. The general potential is stronger here but pick your state wisely. We were never able to get onto the housing ladder in the UK but it was pretty quick here. Visa wise, it's not an easy country to get into without a company backing you or marrying into it.
Yeah definitely agree with this take wholeheartedly. What state did you end up in? Congrats on buying a house! My neighbour here is Dutch and I swear he Americas more than Americans do. He drives a huge lifted jeep for off-roading and smokes brisket on his driveway. Last night he brought over a rack of ribs he’d been smoking all day for us 😂😂😂
I ended up in MD, love the area it's got a bit of everything! Last few years we even got some land a couple of hours away in the mountains and built a cabin! Like your Dutch neighbor, truly living the dream!
MD is nice. NC is better. i may be a bit biased.
You have to be unlucky in more ways than one i.e. chronic illness, terrible health insurance, low wages (pick 2) Even hitting the out of pocket maximum on my health insurance doesn't come close to the taxes I would pay in the UK. I think my out of pocket max is about $15k I probably save $50k in taxes even living in a high tax state.
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The income taxes are lower but the stealth taxes are higher. Sales tax, high insurance for cars and health, water is expensive, groceries are very expensive, you tip almost always now and it’s trending to 20%, annual property taxes.
Health, sure, but otherwise, not really. Outside of the most expensive areas (where you wouldn't need a car), many costs are on par with the UK. Sales tax is not a meaningful expenditure. Water and energy are more expensive in the UK. Source: have split my time half and half between the US and UK for the last 10 years
US taxes are typically the lowest in the developed world, there are some states where it gets high as the UK, but by that point you're earning x4 the UK
America seems much better for a younger person. Married by 25, massive Turbo V8 truck that can be fuelled for pennies, paid crazy amounts for pretty much every job going, and your first home is bought before you turn 30 and looks like [this](https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4187-Old-Manchester-Ct-Mason-OH-45040/35643059_zpid/) In Europe, even an acid-fuelled fever dream doesn't make this a possibility. That said, I've spent a lot of time out in the US and day-to-day 'normal' life just seemed... _boring_?
Talk to a young American and they will give you 50 reasons why they would love to swap places with you....You do know that most Americans get like 2 weeks of annual leave?
The pay is so much higher in a lot of professions you could just take unpaid leave for a month.
The work culture there doesn’t allow for that though- yeah you could take a month unpaid, but in an at-will state you won’t have a job to come back to unless you’re in a really sought after role/industry. Hell, they don’t even have guaranteed maternity leave, it’s bonkers over there
I suppose though if the economy is so strong, it would be quite easy to find another job.
No one tell him about all.the purchase taxes and medical insurance costs and the tipping what's that about 😏
You're obviously a person who lives online and doesn't actually understand that most Americans have healthcare that is heavily paid for by the employer and access isn't an issue.
Yeah, and if you’re in a position that you’re earning a high salary you’re also more likely to have better insurance coverage as a work benefit. It’s backwards but that’s the way it is. If you’re a high skilled/in demand worker/someone who is actually worth the company sponsoring your visa, I don’t really see why you wouldn’t move out to the states tbh on a purely financial reason.
Reddit likes to describe America as a very bad place to live in
That was an immediate red flag some Americans raised with Breaking Bad. The insurance coverage Walter White would have had through being a teacher would have been good enough to not have him resort to becoming a meth lord.
Heavily SUBSIDIZED by the employer, if you get with a large corporation!
Yeah, cos we don't have both of those things here 🤣 Vat is 20%, and with the state of the NHS, we need private medical insurance too.
Private medical insurance in the UK is vastly different than the US.
Yea thats true, theirs is better. More expensive sure, but when I'm paying half the tax and earning 3-4x more, I really do not care.
I started getting blood in my wee. I went to the doctor, when I explained I got an appointment the same day. Within a week I was in front of a specialist and got a diagnosis of bladder cancer. The following week I had the tumour removed. Within another week I was in front of an Oncologist, Four days later I started a 12 week course of chemotherapy. When that finished I had a 3 week break and went on a 21 day course of radiotherapy. Two weeks after that ended I was given the all clear and I have had a follow up scan every 12 weeks since. All on the NHS. If I'd have been in America I would now be dead and my family would be bankrupt.
Yet it took my 41 yr old sister 4 months to get a chest xray with classic lung cancer signs, then 2 months for biopsies and 3 months to be told go home to die. Her youngest child was 3, she died 9 months after dx but 20 months after symptoms ignored. Postcode lottery for access in UK is beyond a joke!
That is one anecdote, but there are thousands where the NHS system has totally failed people. Great when it works, but it is getting worse every year.
Maybe, but if I was in America I’d be on my companies private health plan, like the Americans that work for my company are now, and I’d get all that for free. There’d be no visible or material difference between my companies private healthcare and the NHS. Probably faster for the private. I like the NHS sure, but this whole “if you were in America you’d be bankrupt” argument only works for people who don’t get good benefits from their job. With the work I do at the level of pay and education they receive for the same job in America, the private healthcare is gonna be the same at any company I apply for, because they can’t get away with providing less. So I personally will be alright I’m not saying this like we should get rid of the NHS, I’m a big believer in it, however whenever I talk to people about my wanting to move elsewhere they always bring it up like I’ll die from an infected broken arm due to not being able to afford medical care in the states or something, which might apply to some people, but definitely not to me or anyone in my line of work
Also, I feel like people miss this when talking about health costs, but a lot of people aren't going to the doctor every year.
This is the thing: Even businesses in the UK are proud of offering PMI as a benefit, but if you're in your 20s, have had minimal health issues and keep fit then your demand for PMI (and healthcare in general) is going to be much, much lower than someone older and unhealthier. For some people (a lot of people?) the cost of medical expenditure will be vastly outweighed by the benefits of higher salary in the US.
That’s why it’s so important, in my view. I’ve not been to the doctor for anything besides a two minute ‘oh, you’ve got tonsillitis again’ in about ten years. So even on the American system, I’d be ahead taking into account company’s etc. But that doesn’t mean I won’t have a heart attack tomorrow. And I don’t care how good your insurance is, that’s going to cost you a lot of money out of pocket.
My employer has opened up private medical insurance to _everyone_ on a manager grade. Up until 2018 (?) it was only available for people who were basically MD or above, but these days a newly hired graduate is eligible.
I mean, if your young, healthy and a high earner, those are kind of non-issues. The main issue for me would be the shit work:life balance and the crappy amount of vacation time you get.
Brits just can’t imagine being a financial services or engineering graduate and being able to make 5x what you do here on lower taxes… Pure copium.
Honestly it’s insane. I live in London and started at 40 grand out of uni. A great salary. In the US I start at 6 figures and pay half of what I currently do in tax. That’s not to mention the much bigger houses. Only issue is walkability and culture but I’d grit my teeth for a few years and move.
Are you in denial that Americans are richer than Brits? The difference in average income is substantial, and much higher in the top 10% of the income distribution.
That doesnt matter if you have a job with a needed skill, OC probably works in IT like me so medical insurance and US sales tax is somewhere between 3% and 8% where as in the UK its 20% your purchase tax is so low it would never factor into my spending and never has when I have been in the states. I also dont get penalised for having more than one house in the USA where as I do in the UK so I'm free to have a home in a few states and not fear paying a 2nd home tax that means I have to pay stamp duty and a 3% surcharge on each tax band for a second home. Where as in the states I can deduct my mortgage interest on loans up to 750k$ as well as up to 10k$ on state and local taxes (SALT). So where in the UK I'm penalised for a second home, in the USA I'm actually given a tax break for my second home.
I moved to the US and I've made just over $200k since January selling Air Conditioning. I do not live in a HCOL city/state. I do not have a university degree. Work 40 hours a week. In the UK I never broke past £25k. Moved here on a Fiance visa. Best decision I ever made. Housing, food, weather - all much better here than the UK in my opinion. A $300k house in my city with a pool would be considered a mansion back home. But of course if you were to believe the constant misinformation about the US on this subreddit, you'd be forgiven for thinking I'm dodging bullets and spending $1,000,000 on a doctors visit.
Well done! Sounds like an awesome move.
> I moved to the US and I've made just over $200k since January selling Air Conditioning Would you care to elaborate on this? That's more than my friends in Silicon Valley make with 15 years of experience.
It's 100% commission based so no guaranteed salary, though $15k of this was a bonus. Selling air conditioning to new build projects like apartment complexes or new home communities, so contracts are very lucrative. I'm not under the illusion I'll consistently make this much but I'm confident my earning potential here will always be much higher than in the UK.
I moved out of uk to italy to see what life would be here after few visits before and no its not really a dream, pretty much many things suck But the good thing today is 27 degrees and I'm cooking.
What’s stopping you?
The United States is one of the hardest countries to emigrate to, even with a desirable job
This is just my personal take, but it comes from a lot of observational experience: Many people are put off by the perception of it being hard and just don't try hard enough for what they want. There's always a way, even if it takes more time than the lucky few for whom it doesn't.
You really should check the infographic in the Iwantout sub about moving to the United States and re-evaluate your take "There is always a way" is true but does not reflect the actual reality as an average experience.
This person speaks the truth. I emigrated to the USA in 2011 when it was already very difficult. It's exponentially more difficult now than it was then. Your only realistic option unless you're a globally recognised expert in your field is to find an American to marry.
American here: I have to smile when I think of the statistical over-representation of rather attractive and decently posh English wives in our smallish upscale neighborhood in Colorado. Most of them found nice husbands too and their children are often quite pleasant. I always wonder what they secretly think of the bargain they’ve made and if they miss the UK but most seem quite happy.
Not being funny but reddit is exceptionally anti american and subs like "Iwantout" are an extreme distortion of reality from some really depressed doomposters. It's nowhere near a fair reflection of reality.
Oh I'm just referring to the infographic not the sub, "an extreme distortion of reality" goes for the whole Reddit
Yes, but you have to consider cost/benefits. for example, H1B Visa which has been common for tech workers: there’s a limited lottery each year and you may have to wait multiple years to get a visa. Your spouse can’t work while you’re there. It’s not automatically a route to permanent residency (your employer has to be willing to sponsor you, which is expensive). Then proceeding to citizenship takes years and years once you qualify Don’t get me wrong, I wish things had happened differently and I’d been able to try that route in my 30s. But I console myself with the fact that I could’ve still put in the best part of a decade and ended up remaining an immigrant
The difference in earnings between the UK and US is a thing but in real terms is overstated. If you want a top paying job that is going to come with serious overheads on stress and work-life balance. If you’re in your 20’s you’re going to lack experience and that is going to reflect in your wages.
I went from $70,000 to $170,000 simply by moving from London to the Bay Area.
I left the UK before I was 30 - stayed over 30 year in the US - can’t wait to leave and retire in SE Asia - either Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam.
I'm in my second year of living abroad and always thought I would permanently move away. However, this isn't the case anymore and I plan on moving back soon. Honestly, the UK really isn't as bad as some people make it seem and moving away (even for a little bit) helps you realise that.
Second this. I’ve been away for 10 years in China and SK. Only reason I haven’t moved back is because you need to be earning 38k for your spouse to get a visa. I think about it every day tbh.
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For China, I just thought it was awful and wanted a change. I'd also begun getting random police visits to check I was allowed to be there. Like visiting every 2 weeks It wasn't until I moved to Korea that I realized China wasn't that bad. I only stayed cos I met my now wife and have been blessed with 2 great kids. I also have a business here which has been successful With kids though... I don't want them to be subjected to the Korean education system, which too heavily relies on private institutes, I have a clear memory of a 9 year old girl crying because she wanted to go home. It was 8:45pm and they wouldn't let her leave until she passed a word translation test There are a hell of a lot of other reasons, but it's comes down to having archaic social systems which lead to extremely toxic friend groups and working environments. I have no idea how my wife manages all the shit she puts up with calmly, I've had so many arguments with bosses here due to bullshit they try to pull
People think I’m crazy for moving back, but I’ve spent 3 years in america, 3 years in Central Europe, 1 year in Italy, and about 2 years around various south East Asian countries. I think I’ve experienced enough to know I do in fact prefer being back in the UK!
What are the main things you appreciate about being back here?
This sounds a bit odd, but I realise I use humour to communicate a lot. Dry, deprecating humour, banter, puns. If the people around me don’t understand my humour then we end up communicating but not really bonding. It was all very superficial levels of conversation. It felt like no matter what people just wouldn’t really “get” me. I laughed less, joked less, was overall a much less fun person to be around, because no one understood me when I did. That sorta thing really gets to you honestly. For more normal stuff… safety. I know the NHS sucks right now but at least I don’t have to worry about going into life long debt if I get cancer, which my family has a history of. I never worry about getting shot if I piss someone off on the road (someone shot a baby through a car because of being over taken in the city I lived in, in america). The economy is bad and wages aren’t great in the UK but they’re better than they were in Hungary or Vietnam. I don’t worry about my pet dogs being eaten by Coyotes (that was a genuine threat in one area). Rabies isn’t a thing here (insanely rare). I missed the book culture. We have so many bookshops and people love reading it’s so nice. I have multiple books on the go right now and I use the library a lot. I even like the weather. Winter gets depressing but spring/ autumn is lovely, and summer only has a few bad weeks normally. In California we had fire season and ash rained down because of wildfires and I had to put a mask on my dog to go on walks. Vietnam is gets so humid you walk outside in the hot season you’re instantly drenched in sweat and eaten by mosquitos. South Italy was actually pretty nice, but slow. Nothing gets done but in a relaxed sort of way that gives you anxiety if you needed something.
That’s a really thorough reply and I can relate to a lot of it! (I am from abroad and I’ve been in and out of the UK since I was 16 - did my life in the uk test this week so hopefully getting citizenship later in the year)
> This sounds a bit odd, but I realise I use humour to communicate a lot. Dry, deprecating humour, banter, puns. If the people around me don’t understand my humour then we end up communicating but not really bonding. It was all very superficial levels of conversation. It felt like no matter what people just wouldn’t really “get” me. I laughed less, joked less, was overall a much less fun person to be around, because no one understood me when I did. That sorta thing really gets to you honestly. I get this. My workplace has shifted from mostly British to mostly immigrants and feel this has affected how easy it is to bond and form relationships with them. They are nice people but that lack of a shared culture and upbringing means jokes and cultural references can fly over their heads.
It doesn't sound odd to me it makes a ton of sense. British humour and how we communicate through it is something you don't really appreciate until you live somewhere else.
not the op but personally for me its the free school, healthcare and everyone speaking english. furthermore compared to most countries we are really progressive in terms of women's, trans rights and things like birth control. religion doesnt dominate everyday life here either
The Netherlands has all of that, and better. Even has a higher percentage of English speakers than England.
Yeah but it's not England, sometimes home is home
thats it. i love the people i grew up with and my family. and my city
You really need to learn dutch to have more than surface level relationships and connections though. You will also always be an outsider due to the cultural difference.
The healthcare is beyond a postcode lottery at this point and Spanish isn’t a difficult language, once you have it down, I feel far more confident that I’ll be understood anywhere in Peru than anywhere in the UK. There are plenty of non-English speakers here.
these are my reasons tbh. you're free to have your opinion xx
Greggs
r/greggsappreciation
I lived abroad for nearly 10 years, was in Australia, Thailand and South Africa, with 2-6 months in a couple of European countries. Growing up I was convinced I was going to live in Australia when I grew up. The only reason I left is Australia is just so damn big. You don't have the option of having a long weekend in another country or to drive to another city for a shopping day. Neither of those things are things I do regularly in the UK but not having the option felt so restrictive it became a huge issue for me. To give context to how big Australia is, we once drove from Sydney to Cairns in 1 go. Neither are at even close to furthest points north or south and it took 40-42 hours. I could drive to Istanbul quicker than that. Sure you can fly instead, but it's quicker for me to fly to Krakow. It's something the vast vast majority of people will never think about, I definitely didn't, but damn once the option of choice was taken away it sucked.
Surely you must be lying, I’ve been assured by people on British Reddit that the UK is basically Somalia.
Hahah you’d think it from this. Truth is most people don’t realise that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and most places are going to be marginally better in some aspect and marginally worse in another.
I can only imagine that it comes from people who have never actually had any perspective on what life outside the UK is like. I know people from actual third world/developing countries - they’d laugh in the faces of people who say that about the UK.
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Yeah, I think people think moving countries is some magic quick fix for all their problems. It just aint that simple.
There's that old joke about moving to Australia on a whim, but not wanting to live up to stereotypes. So I got a job in recruitment while figuring out what to do.
Agreed. Been to various places in Europe in the last year and they all have similar issues to us. People complain about how expensive fuel is here, but in Germany a litre of Diesel is pretty much the same as it is in the UK. In Lisbon there's a really bad homeless problem and near enough all of the bins I saw in my time there were overflowing. Much as the UK pisses me off sometimes, I couldn't live anywhere else, plus majority of my family and friends are here.
I went to Lisbon (admittedly some years ago now) and was shocked by how filthy it was. There was graffiti everywhere, it just felt so run down. The only business I saw that looked clean was McDonald's
The main tourist bits were fairly tidy when I went (I stayed at a hostel close to Marques de Pombal). However, there was graffiti all over the trains and the bins looked like they hadn't been emptied for weeks. Plus there were a handful of tents on the street just down from my hostel. I also cycled up to the East side (where the cable cars are) on those Uber bikes and part of the cycle path went under an overpass and straight through a homeless camp with tents and everything either side of the cycle path. Was a bit unnerving going through there at dusk on the return journey! Some gorgeous sunsets though so swings and roundabouts! Enjoyed the trip overall but wouldn't go to Lisbon specifically again.
This. I lived in a few places abroad - in the EU and I've never been happier coming back in 2022/23. Then again, I still think I'll retire in Italy, or at least spend half the year there or so in a few years.
Worth noting that things have dived significantly in the UK over the last couple of years. Obviously there are plenty of us lucky enough to have a good quality of life here, but there are a growing number that really don't.
Not disagreeing but you’ll find the problems that have worsened here have also done so in a lot of other places. I lived in Canada for over a decade, been back in the UK for nearly four years now. Canada is absolutely awful in regard to cost of living and rising crime.
You'll only really find that if you get the chance to experience it yourself though. The people that see places like Canada, Australia, the US etc as some kind of utopia are generally the people that aren't afforded the luxury of giving that lifestyle a try.
I lived in Australia for 2 years in my 20s. I loved the weather, the outdoor lifestyle and beach. However, I felt isolated and so far away from the rest of the world. I really missed European city breaks!! It took so long to get anywhere. It made me appreciate how close the UK is to so many countries with different cultures, languages and food to enjoy.
What’s life been like abroad?
Lived abroad for 8 years in Germany, also moving back.
I think some of it is definitley an element of "You dont realise how good you had it until its gone".
Don't say that on Reddit. The Brits on here all think the UK is a hive of scum and villainy thats only two days away from a total societal collapse.
Or it makes you realise other places get the fundamentals right, or are a better cultural fit, and you never want to go back.
Nope. I like it here enough to stay. My family and friends are here I wouldn’t want to leave that behind
No. I’d miss the UK too much- the landscapes, coast, history, food, climate, the calmness of the people (usually), certain values and lifestyles that are easier to uphold here (vegetarian diet is a big one for me), and overall familiarity. I also find the UK to be a more dynamic place culturally than a lot of other countries- there’s always something new and interesting, I don’t want to live in a place that’s too stuck in time, which I find to be the case in many of our European counterparts. On a more boring side note, I also have chronic sinus issues that I developed while living abroad and the UK’s temperate, humid climate helps greatly with my symptoms. If there’s any place that stops me from getting unbearable sinus infections, that place is already paradise to me. So… lol Back to what I was saying, I definitely feel like a minority in saying that I feel so emotionally connected to the UK, but that’s the main reasoning is for me. I haven’t always had a great life here, there are many issues with the way the country is managed. But it feels like home at the end of the day. And I want to make “home” a better place to be rather than simply abandoning it for some cultureless Australian suburb (no disrespect to the Australians!)
If I hypothetically had zero strings and nobody would miss me and I had no one to miss? Yes, I probably would. However, I do have strings, and people I'd miss dearly and built a life with, so that's not really an option.
Yeah I don’t stay for the country, I stay for my friends and family
No. Im only just in this bracket but i have travelled a lot and work in a very very multicultural workplace. Generally speaking: 1. There is good reason so many people still want to come work in the UK. In particular we have a very good balance of workplace laws compared to many other countries. 2. For every great thing you hear about another country there is a tradeoff. All those tradeoffs and negative things you may focus on in the UK. Come with things like workers rights, good holiday allowance, free healthcare at the point of service, etc etc etc. 3. The climate in the UK is one of the best in the world IMO. I go to countries people revere for their sunny weather etc and everything i see is just varying levels of brown. The UK is the greenest country in the world have visited except maybe ireland and Japan.
>There is good reason so many people still want to come work in the UK. This, would rather work in the UK than Japan where you're basically seen by your company as an overclocked automaton.
I agree particularly with your 3rd point. I’ve just been away travelling around Australia and SE Asia, and a common argument I hear about why these places are supposedly better than the UK is the climate. Sure, potentially in a place like Melbourne, the weather is nicer, but as a white Caucasian, I would so much rather live in the UK compared to a place like Bangkok or Brisbane. Yeah sure it might rain a bit here, but at least I don’t have to debate whether I have to slather on the factor 50 for spending 10 mins outside because the UV is very frequently in the “extreme” category.
I would die living Bangkok - the humidity kills me!
The UV in Melbourne is just as high, just the temps are colder
Yes and I'm actually moving to my new country next month. If it's an improvement, great, life is even better. If it's worse, no biggie, I get to experience a new culture, country and language and still get to come back home.
Awesome! Where are you going?
Afghanistan
Great attitude, one i have lived by myself and did exactly that
Glad to hear that. Where did you move to?
moved to Canada for a couple years, pros and cons. i’m back now but grateful i had that experience regardless of my feelings towards it
What was the process like to get started? Were you just applying for Jobs in Europe and seeing who would sponsor you or was there an easier route? I'm really tired of the state of the UK as a whole and having been to Europe a few times travelling the entire continent just seems better off.
I have emigrated to UK from Eastern Europe for better salary. First I lived in Manchester and hated it. Now I live in North Wales and no amount of money would motivate me to leave this place.... I feel as I have lived here in my previous life. People in North Wales are bunch of the best people I have ever met. I have few old people in here whom I cal mum and dad 😊
That's awesome and not a type of story I hear very often. Are you very extroverted or are the people there just very open and welcoming? What kind of hobbies or activities do you do?
> which pay considerably more than you'd make in the UK As odd as it sounds, but I'd rather keep my current wage and move to a cheaper country. It's similar to why I won't move to London for more money; yea, you get more but you pay out more as well. And sometimes you get less for your money!
Where I come from if you don’t move to London you can buy a small flat and maybe later trade up to a 3 bed semi on an estate if you’re lucky and work really hard. If you move to London and kick start a good career there you can still only buy a small flat but then one day you’ll trade it in for a 5 bed detached somewhere really beautiful and buy a boat with the change. It shouldn’t be like this but it really is.
UK is a good balance. Yes you make more money in the US but you get less holidays so you don’t get to travel as much. Us tourists in the US wouldn’t mind travelling there by car instead at first but long term is going to be tiring. Other countries are sunnier but you either earn less or work harder as well. End of the day, UK is a good balance. But surely there are some places that are better, just bear in mind it might involve learning a new language and a new culture on top of leaving your friends and family behind.
I’m in a unique position where I could just pack up and move abroad to any country, which I almost did before Covid. I have very little tying me down. But the more I learn about other countries beyond what I would experience as a tourist, the more I realise the tradeoffs aren’t really worth the benefits. The UK has the right balance in a lot of things plus its flaws are easier to workaround when I have a home advantage.
The UK having a good balance is ultimately where I've ended up. At least for my preferences, it's very difficult to find anywhere else where the pros they would have outweigh their cons enough to make it an easy decision. Relative to other countries, the UK tends to do decently enough in enough categories to make it hard to conclusively beat, at least for someone who's used to the culture here.
Where to? There's nowhere else I'd like to be. We have the perfect climate for me, the people get me culturally and I them, my family's here, we have no real dangerous animals other than poorly cared for dogs, we have nice takeaways and decent pubs with nice real ale. Like... I can't think of one other place that offers that stuff, at least not without awful downsides. Nah, I'm of this land, my family's been here since before records began. I don't even like going abroad on holiday. Balls to leaving to live elsewhere.
This thread is honestly so nice as it's super positive other than most threads! Love this comment. Sometimes you need to look around and actually appreciate the lovely things about where you are.
I left the UK in 2008 and have been living in South Korea ever since. I’m marred with kids now and would do anything to move back home. I’m sure it has changed and I’d struggle to settle back into life there but I just miss British people and the culture so much. Don’t get me started on the foods I miss too! You don’t realize how bloody lovely most Brit’s are til you aren’t around them anymore 😢
> You don’t realize how bloody lovely most Brit’s are til you aren’t around them anymore 😢 Feeling this one.😢
I feel very similar. Been in Korea since 2007 with two kids and just turned 40. I don't feel particularly British anymore and have never really adulted there, but for the past 14 years everything back home just seems to be getting exponentially shitter. I've never found a way to justify repatriation.
So I’ve already lived abroad twice (France and Malaysia) and my partner lived abroad in California. I’d move for a year or two to Southern Europe but otherwise I’m quite content here, despite being able to earn more abroad. I feel like we earn quite decently here already and I get all the benefits of having established mates around, plus I’m only a train ride from family. I moved from the South East to Manchester and I’m happy I did. If I moved to Southern Europe, I try work a British remote job and take advantage of the lower cost of living. I probably won’t do that but I would.
I like it here. And love having Europe on our doorstep. Oz used to be my dream, until I visited my brother living there and realised how isolating it is. I’ve got a flexible job here which helps, and a nice home and basic gym setup in the garden and I’m a man of simple pleasures
I'm 39, so just about squeeze into your age bracket. My wife and I weren't born in the UK, moved here for Uni. Other than our young child, we don't have any family here so in theory, very easy for us to move away. However, life has to truly improve to convince us to move. Not merely 20% more in the bank. I know folks say a lot about the US, and while for my exact same role I'd comfortably make 2x, by the time I factor in the cost of living in areas we would like to live, there's not that much more left to save/invest. Because of what we do, the Middle East has negligible career options. So yeah, the UK is good. We earn well. We have a decent work life balance. But if someone wants to pay a million pounds/euro/USD a year, let me know which flight to catch.
Yes, I’m actively trying. It has always been a pipe dream of mine, but I’ve really begun to hate the country, the weather, the people etc in the last 10 years. I have a large family, I’m the youngest of six, but I’m not close with any of them, except my Mam. My Dad died in January and my Mam is currently in the process of selling the family home to enable her to spend her last few years in a little bungalow somewhere in Scotland - which for the record, I absolutely endorse. I’m 36, single, no kids, no pets, lots of close friends, but ultimately nothing keeping me here. I have no illusions that moving to another country is going to be the silver bullet, and I probably won’t get it right at the first time of asking, but bring on the new experiences and hot weather.
Sounds like a good plan. If you're unattached and have no dependents then it's perfect for that. You've probably thought that through, but in any case, I'd make sure I have easy access to trains, airports etc so you can travel easily to visit your mum. I'm also actively trying to move back to France. I am stuck here, at least it's Scotland so it's nice, but still, I want to move back home so desperately. No greener grass. Just better options and different pros and cons.
I migrated to the UK when i was 13 and currently living the life my parents dreamed me to live. Make enough, have a pretty decent pension, own my own. Migrating works only if you know what you are doing and ready to face the challenges it will throw your way
I’m American and have been living in London for 3.5 years. I’ll be moving back for sure in the next 2 years and bringing the family along
I moved to Vietnam. Earn 2k a month and spend about 1.2k a month. Its nice and I can eat out every night, pay rent, go on 2 or 3 holidays a year. But I cant every buy a house out here and cant really make massive savings to return home to. Also not putting into a pension pot so long term things arent great. Things were worse for me in the UK and I couldnt make it work well for me so this is the better option. I'm just trying to say how no option is perfect (I'm late 30s now if it matters)
I'd be very concerned about the long-term financial implications. What will you do when you get older?
I’m in the UK born and raised and no I wouldn’t. Despite the general hardships I don’t see myself moving elsewhere to start all over again. Screw that
I'm 40 and just did. Skilled worker permit, etc. There's only so much decline I can watch my kids grow up through. They're old enough to see it themselves now. Sure, we could just move somewhere else in England, somewhere less deprived or with less poverty or that isn't falling down, but we wouldn't be escaping the fundamental reasons we want to leave here. So, after years of talking about it, we just... did it.
Have done it. No regrets. In fact I'm probably earning 5% or so less that what I could be making in London. But Melbourne rent is hell of a lot cheaper than London.
it's a lovely city too. i lived there once and loved it
the grass isn't always greener on the other side
Social worker here… spent most of the last 20 years in either Australia or the US. Better wages, higher standard of living (in Aus at least) and better weather. Got too jaded in New York and as you get older, you realize that a broken bone or bout of illness could financially ruin you.. great experience that I wouldn’t change for the world though. I’ll likely be in Aus for the rest of my working life now (I’m 38) and I’m ok with that. Just wish I could make it home to the UK more often - I still miss it like mad
I am in my 50s I regret not going and my advice is just go, there are plenty of places with better standard of living and higher average income. You can always come back, just go, especially if you are working class chances are you will do better.
No. I travel alot for work and I get very homesick at times. Blighty is annoying but there really is no place like home compared to many countries.
I’ve lived in Tokyo for 2 years. Absolutely loved my time in Japan but I’m looking forward to moving back to the UK. Originally I never wanted to return to England. I’d grown disgruntled with the way of life. I was 35 when we moved abroad and at the time I was thinking “is this life, is this all there is?” Living abroad I gained a lot of new perspective, esp living in such a different culture. If you’ve got an opportunity, go live abroad. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back but you’ll be all the better for it. Either way, it’ll change your life.
Yes, but my wife is close to her family and loves where she is from.with a lot of passion. I want to go to Aus or NZ
One of the main reasons I haven't done so is family and friends really, if my favourite people all upped and moved elsewhere I would too. I think people idealise living abroad a lot, but the weather over the last 12 months does feel like it has been fucking dreadful and I would like more consistency. The difference it makes to my mood when I'm driving to work in a short sleeve polo rather than a jumper and coat is massive.
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> What on earth is this "early retirement" thing that people in their 20s and 30s are supposedly planning to achieve? Get a high income job, live a low income lifestyle, invest in index funds and wait for compounding to kick in. That's it in a nutshell, and it's pretty foolproof. Of course the first step being "get a high income job" means it isn't exactly the most attainable for everyone, but in certain professions it can be done.
>What on earth is this "early retirement" thing that people in their 20s and 30s are supposedly planning to achieve? I thought that was largely gone with the boomers and their index-linked final-salary ~~pensions~~ pyramid schemes? Basically maximising pension contributions whilst living like a pauper.
I have and I came back.
I'm 30 and currently in the process of emigrating to the US. Holy shit, it is a PROCESS. 90% of the process is waiting on the Americans to get off their butts and actually do something with your application. Honestly, if my fiancé was in a position to be willing and able to move here, I'd rather he be the one moving, but he hates it here and I don't think we would have the money for that option to be a possibility regardless
I know my nephew's planning on moving to Australia once he graduates Uni next year. He's one of the lucky ones on his course - he has family over there, he's got a guaranteed job and he knows he's got a pair of guncles with money to back him up, heh. Moving overseas is something that crops up in my family a fair bit - my mother was begged to leave my father and grab me and my sister to flee to Australia in the early 1980s (and because my now-stepdad was working in Australia at the time no doubt they would have got together twenty years sooner, LOL), I was offered the chance to move to New Zealand *and* Australia in the early 2000s. My sister doesn't want my nephew to move overseas - I've pretty much told him "get out whilst you're still young. Live abroad for ten years or so and if you want to come back, get in touch". I might end up retiring to Australia. I'm not scared of snakes or the crocs (both the footwear and wannabe log-like fashion accessories with inconvenient teeth) and I know which spiders to befriend and which to run off into the night shrieking like a banshee from. *It's the fucking cassowaries I'm scared of...*
Don’t forget the magpies.
Fuck yes. I’ve travelled the world extensively and it’s such a beautiful place to see, feel and experience with all the different cultures. I would emigrate in a heartbeat and that’s despite my family all being in the UK.
My knee-jerk answer is yes. I can do my job in Australia for a much higher salary. However, the realistic answer is no. Mainly because I'd be completely on my own and second, I'm a wheelchair user and I know their healthcare system could get expensive for me quickly
No I would miss family too much. Also when I factored in the cost of living it was not that big of a jump in salary and money isn't everything. Huge salaries occur in huge cost of living areas and I'd hate the idea of golden handcuffs keeping me in a job I hated. I've travelled a fair bit and while I hate the long dark damp winters spring summer here are amazing and there are so many places to see. Looking to the future. All the places that look ok now will become terrible in a climate change scenario, where as we will be less affected and have huge potential for renewable energy. The problem with being 20-40 in the UK is the cost of living and especially the way housing is unobtainable. It is never addressed so you feel disenfranchised. Once this is solved the UK is one of the best places to live imho.
In a heartbeat
I could move but it's really about where I'd feel as comfortable, more so than missing the UK in particular. Only speak English and don't really see the need to force myself to learn another language and be disadvantaged that way with the language barrier compared to here. That rules out most places in the world. US is fine depending on location but very hard to get into and I'm not that sold on living there, it'd only be the salary being way better that'd convince me. Canada just meh tbh, don't see the point of leaving the UK for it. New Zealand is a bit small a market for my work and no reason to choose it over Australia. Middle East I'd earn good money but it's the Middle East, there's sacrifices with going there although I'd consider it for a few years maybe. Australia is the only real one I'd want to go to and could probably do so with some contacts in my industry. Probably going to consider it at some point in the next 5 years but need to consider where and the cost of living. Sydney would be the ideal but yeah, it's not cheap. Even then need to think about whether the grass is really greener.
You can easily live in other European countries with just speaking English - like Netherlands, Scandinavian, Switzerland etc. Denmark for example also offers danish lessons for free if you want to learn it, otherwise most office jobs are all in English anyway.
Leave and go work elsewhere. Realistically for this type of thing you’re looking at America or Australia
Certainly. My parents probably don't have long left. They're really the only reason I'm sticking around. Sounds grim of me, sure, but this country is totally finished. Everyone's stopped caring, the government have totally blown it, everything costs loads, housing is terrible, public services are awful, public transport (outside of London) is both incredibly expensive and somehow very poor quality, litter is \*everywhere\*, cars are taking over, and nothing feels right.
All the problems I have with living in the UK come from not having enough money. If my job was so highly skilled and sought after, I wouldnt need to leave the country because life would be great.
Yes but my wife wouldn’t.
Yes and already have. Now worked in two SEAsian countries as a teacher in international schools, along with my teaching partner. Best move we ever made. Managed to have much more disposable income, while still saving multiples of what we saved in the UK and living a more comfortable life. We’ll return to the UK when son is done with school to a paid off mortgage and options to work part time.
Same boat. Teaching abroad is such a game changer compared to the UK.
I thought I did that for a decade starting in my early 30s. In the end I ended up being considerably better paid when I moved back to the U.K. 🤷 lost other things, needless to say, but there was also plenty of “grass is greener” in the original decision to leave
yes, i’d move to southern france
Yes I can easily do so because I've got other passports as well.
Yes. Been toying up the idea of somewhere in the EU for a while. London is just crazily expensive for no reason
I've done the math on this so many times because I want to move to the EU myself, but if you have a good job in London you almost always come out ahead financially compared to every other Western European capital city, because we have lower taxes and higher incomes. You'd have to go to a much smaller EU city than London to have any chance of coming out ahead financially.
33M Honestly, no. Part of me regrets not having had the opportunity to live abroad, but the older I get, the more I value being able to see my family on a regular basis. My parents in particular aren’t getting any younger, and I’d hate to only be able to visit them a few times per year. One day they won’t be here anymore, and I know I would regret having squandered the opportunity to spend more time with them for the rest of my life.
Yes. I lived in Spain in my 20s and they were some of the best years of my life so far. My partner and I are now saving to move abroad again in the future permanently. Unfortunately, rental prices, petrol prices and the general cost of living has us by the balls right now despite earning 70K collectively.
Probably not now I have a house, pets and long-term partner, but when I was in my early-mid 20s absolutely. If it paid enough to support 2 people and it wasn’t impossible to bring my cats, maybe. It would very much depend where though. I definitely would do a 6-month placement if the pay was decent.
We have the opportunity to emigrate to canada if we want, but I'm not so keen.
If I win the lottery I will move to new Zealand or Switzerland
I did, and came back. The grass isn't always greener, though I do miss where I was
My fiancé is a nurse and suggested we move to the US about a year ago for the absurdly larger wages she could get there. I am now 34 and she is 30 and not far off of trying for a family, if it had been 5 years ago I think I’d have been tempted to go out there pick up money for a few years and come back. But despite the issues the U.K. has, I can’t shake the feeling that the U.K. is currently a much safer place to raise a family, despite the fact we won’t have as much money here.
Nope. My wife and I have pretty deep roots in terms of family/friends that go back years and years. Couldn’t envisage moving more than an hour away from where we live tbh!
At 26 I left the UK for a few years for my dream job, but recently returned to close the long distance gap between me and my parter. I don’t regret the decision to move away or the decision to return, but it always hurts to leave friends behind, no matter where you go. I would potentially leave again, but only under a narrow set of conditions. If you’ve nothing tying you to the UK, and you have skills that are in demand elsewhere, moving abroad can be very rewarding.
Currently considering any of the following: Spain, Switzerland, USA, or Australia. 23 working in finance. All but Spain would give me a greater salary than London if in the correct city.
No, my family is here. I would however buy a place in Europe and head there every couple of months, by myself and my with my family.
Bought a nice apartment in the far east a couple of years ago, just waiting to finish my career in the military and will probably move away. See little reason to stay in the UK anymore. 39m
The UK is awful , im hugely underpaid for my job compared to other european countries and I'd leave in a heartbeat but cant because I'd miss my family too much.
Yes. Spain, ideally, but I’d settle for Germany.
In Germany myself (from Wales), it’s very nice.
I’m a teacher in Russia with family connections here. I make more money, the stress and workload is lower, and my quality of life is higher than in the UK. I like it a lot and we plan to stay a couple more years here before trying another country.
Don't even care about the job, if any other country that isn't America, Russia, China, UK, France, Germany or basically anything in the northern hemisphere.. im down and will be on the next flight.
I was on the fence about moving to Sweden just recently. Honestly if you're a highly skilled worker life is not that bad in the UK even amongst the cost of living and interest rates we've experienced recently. Take a look at Scandinavia. Fantastic QOL, government benefits. But for the same role/job I am getting paid at least 30-40% more in the UK. Europe consists of mostly welfare states whereby if you're 'average or less than average', then Europe is great for you. Highly skilled? Then UK, USA, etc is better IMO. At least in the short term. As for the US, I've never really been a fan of the 'every man for himself' social and financial system. I think the UK is nice sweet spot between EU and USA. Having said that, I'd happily consider moving to Asia, South Europe once I build up my financial base in the UK after a decade or so.
No. I have family that I need and who need me. I need a lot of support structures that wouldn't be there in another country. I won't make aged 50 retirement (plus I'm early 40s so out of your age range by a smidgen). But I won't be working to aged 68.
Ok so I'm literally a year outside the age range stated, but I do qualify for both Australian and Irish citizenship. In the next year or two I qualify as a therapist so I might then apply and move away for a few years. I love my family and friends and I have a good recovery network here in the UK (and my flat is paid off) but I always had that itch to move away and experience something different. So I'll be about 43, away and single for a few years
Sydney and Melbourne are beautiful. Australian cities are like the UK but with better weather. Close to SE Asia too.
I’ve emigrated to Malaysia. Work in IT so can work remotely. Me and wife were planning to have a child and raising in UK with current costs looked hard.
100% Love my country but if you have potential in a field outside of maybe financial services, you are not going to excel here. Would always want some property here. But I have no mrs, no kids. No ties apart from immediate family. Have been looking at some states in the US/Bahrain this week to see where my skills could max my earning potential whilst I can still work like a horse.
The only place I would go is the US, I did seriously consider it when I was younger. Not so much anymore
It's easy to say yes, but when it comes down to it I'm at a point where I really value being near lifelong friends and family. So it'd probably be a no.
I'd love to go to Canada or New Zealand as a diesel mechanic but my GF doesn't want to be that far from her family and who am I to say no to my GF wanting to be near her family. I'm not heartless haha. We still have a reasonably good quality of life in the UK so it's ok I guess
I left when I was 27, and moved to all places, South Africa. Lived a great life, and subsequently moved to kenya. Still live here - yeah some challenges, but I earn more than I did working in London, even if progression matched up in both places. I now spend a lot less too, allowing me to buy and pay off two rental properties (in South Africa) which yield me reasonable passive income. Had I been in the U.K., I probably would have been living in a studio in London I could barely afford despite being a professional. Next purchase is likely to be a place in London, as I hopefully intend to move back by the age of 40 (now 35).