Emigrating?

[Just here to say]

India sounds like a great option and would love to visit one day, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with living there long-term. I know a few people who visited and they said the most difficult was facing true poverty. Also, I don't want to sound biased, but violence against women seems to be quite preeminent over there and safety would be a big concern of mine.

We all face true poverty no matter where we live. In India like everywhere there are poor and rich, but you can avoid it if you want. In fact the poverty in the EU is the same rate as in India.

Regarding sexual harassment let's not forget India has 1.4 billion people so any statistic about rape as well as poverty etc. Is proportionate to the population. It does sound a bit iffy from your side because it is based on your own biases and assumptions. This happens everywhere and if anything I'd feel much safer in India than in some European countries. Statistically, an act of sexual violence happens every 70 seconds in the US. And in India? Every 16 minutes. Being anywhere in the world doesn't protect you from this, it's just the colonial mindset that makes people afraid/ look at others in a different way. The only reason why you would feel safer in the US is because its in the west, there are a lot of people that resemble you and your circles i.e. White people.

I'm not trying to change your mind or offend you, just wanted to point this out because it's a common misconception. I would highly recommend going on holiday there and experience first hand

 

[sewcute]

Dont know if this answer will interest you as it wasn’t my choice. But I’m from England and my parents decided to move to France when I was younger, and honestly best choice ever. They wanted to move to Australia originally but it was too far from our family.
moving country is great you learn so much. The only thing that bothers me is that I miss English food, like stupid things, I would kill for certain foods

 

[greenvelvet]

Mostly everything is imported. Unless you want camel's milk! Ha! .. Fresh produce goes stale very quickly (as it has been imported), as a result people tend to gain weight here. People lack vitamin D here which is hilarious. We spend most of our time inside. We also work longer hours here, work is pretty long & stressful. Of course, everyone's experiences are different.
The cheapest mango I could find (single pack?) is 24.50aed (5.00 British pounds). Stuff like toothpaste, shower gel etc. is $$$

Yes, this person I know said there’s a Dubai stone you end up putting on when you move there she said as well that people there work late there and that there aren’t unions or as many workers’ rights protections. Apparently it’s not uncommon for people to get screwed out of the last bit of their salary when they leave a job there and that being in debt is criminalised which sounds like a risky combination. Have you heard much about that? Is there any other reason (apart from living costs) you’re thinking to move back to the UK? this friend said the heyday has been and gone for expats in Dubai.

I have a ten year career/study plan and am thinking that the only time I will be able to live abroad will be in 2024-6 in between two of those “stages”. So much can change in two years but it also seems like hardly any time to save for and orchestrate such a big move, especially if I am thinking to work rather than just travel!

 

[Just here to say]

Are there lots of jobs in India, @Just here to say? I’m thinking to go to Mauritius - never thought of India as a possibility

I briefly looked on LinkedIn jobs section for my interests and there were jobs, mainly in Bangalore, where only language requirement was English. So I'm taking that as a positive but I haven't looked extensively.

 

[secretsquirreling]

Just an hello from someone who emigrated to Australia last year with 3 under 5 at the time and so far, no regrets. Yes we miss friends and family, but I LOVE the lifestyle for my kids and I don’t think I’d ever go back to the UK now?

My mum & dad we looking at the visa options after spending time out here with us, which would just make us feel even more settled

 

[Davena94]

Can see this thread hasn’t been used since 2022, but I’ll post anyway.

me and my partner are seriously thinking about Australia. We don’t feel like our children will have the opportunities / lifestyle we want for them in the UK. My partner is on the skilled list so we know we’d get in via him. But it just feels daunting. We’ve floated the idea to family, his side said they wouldn’t blame us if we went, which was surprising as he is an only child, so the only grandkids they have would be going too, where as my side told us not to.

I would feel incredibly guilty about taking the children from grandparents, friends etc. but it’s also an itch we can’t scratch, if we don’t try we’ll never know, if we decided then it wasn’t for us then we couldn’t say we hadn’t tried. We are very tempted to visit Aus first. And go from there. But we know the UK isn’t where we want to raise our children, but to take them from everything they know, I just don’t know.

ETA - we are both mid 20s. So have years before we’d be too old to get in.

Can I ask how old are your kids? If you don’t want to say ages are they in school? We are considering moving to Portugal. We’ve a 3 and 2 year old and we think it might be best to move before they start school and at their ages it would be less of a big change. We don’t want to let them start school, make friends and then take them away

 

[dollydog]

Just an hello from someone who emigrated to Australia last year with 3 under 5 at the time and so far, no regrets. Yes we miss friends and family, but I LOVE the lifestyle for my kids and I don’t think I’d ever go back to the UK now?

My mum & dad we looking at the visa options after spending time out here with us, which would just make us feel even more settled

Where in Australia did you move to? I feel like I have one part of me saying I should do it for all the obvious reasons but another part of me just really doesn’t want to go!!! My husband wants to go on another holiday there next year but there’s so many other things I want to spend our money on!

 

[FlipFlop0706]

Loving this thread. I’d love to emigrate…one of the things that puts me off is the spiders in Australia. Does that make me sound stupid?! Probably.

I’d love to move abroad for sure. I feel like I’m UK it’s merely a case of existing. Like not much hope either!

Not stupid at all! I think we’ve grown up in England petrified of wildlife in Australia thanks to tv shows showing everything over there as deadly!

 

[Onecandream]

I retired to Turkey. All big white friendly smiles and lovely weather at first. The honeymoon period lasted about a year. Soon realised that away from the tourist area:

Any women alone is considered a whore (my neighbour used to follow me saying 'fucky fucky madam, madam fucky fucky')
terrible animal abuse;
cold winters and everything shut;
ex-pats gossiping and getting drunk because laying on a beach gets boring after a year or two;
just smiling at a Turkish man means you want to marry them;
many older ladies getting their life savings or property stolen by lover boys.

I could go on but think Australia or New Zealand would be great choice. I would always recommend spending 6 months renting before committing.

Interesting.
Did you stay or return?

 

[Be kond]

Hi!
So we are still in the UK. My partners family is very very small so he’s close to them all, but age is not on their side so he wouldn’t want to be far away during last years.
UK weather gets me down, we are a very outdoorsy family so we spend a lot of time outside, so nice weather wouldn’t go a miss, however we do get out in all weathers, it builds character as
I do believe there’s more out there, but we are trying (on a budget) to explore more, and see more, whether it be local, or holidays/experiences.
Basically, we are trying to make the most of what we have here, while we can.
Differently from you though, we wouldn’t know anyone out there. No family, friends, nothing. It would be a blind gamble for us.

Me and my partner are still young, we had children, bought a house young, so we have the advantage he’s a skilled worker, and we aren’t running out of time, age wise to go.
I still think about it, often weekly. But I think if it’s right or the right time for your family, you will simply know deep down, and as much as we’ve spoken about it. We haven’t had that “YES LETS DO IT” feeling.
Australia is on our list one day, we will get there, whether it be to travel or to live, who knows.

 

[Lady_H]

My dad has been in NZ for 5years now and he loves it and says he will never come back.

He does say the cost of living is pretty high though, but I think for him the lifestyle he now has compared to back in the UK outweighs it. He is a very outdoorsy guy and so spends his weekends surfing, skiing, walking, biking, canoeing and loads more. For him that is the dream to do that, and he couldn't do it in the uk really.

For me the distance is too much, he has never met his grandkids other than over video call which I know upsets him. But its too far to go without it being a big planned trip, and now we have young children its not something we will be considering for quite a few years until they are older.

I suppose everyone is different and each country is different too...I am fed up of the uk and am really starting to hate the way this country is run. But just not so sure I'd want to live anywhere else

That’s interesting your dad moved away, was there a reason he decided to go when he did?

It’s doubly hard when you are the one to have kids abroad, there is a lot of guilt about the long distance away from “home” and family. Well for some people anyway. I guess it depends on your relationship with your family of origin.

It’s weird the way life works, some people are absolutely desperate to get into the U.K! There is so much here to appreciate but I absolutely know that sometimes you need to get away to see that.

I sold my flat and came back. Inspite of the bad experience I would do it again if I was younger, but somewhere different.

Good for you, that’s quite an undertaking! And it takes courage and determination to see when something isn’t working and fix it especially when international moves are concerned.

 

[Geranium]

I found NZ lacked culture generally. It was a weird mix of British and American. Then the Maoris kind of shoved to the side. It felt like 20 years behind the UK in everything. I can imagine it would get quite boring to live there for long period of time. I did 7 months and came back.

This is all just my perception and opinion of course!

Yes, that’s another thing my SIL said. Unfortunately their daughters who were about 10 and 8 never really settled and pined like crazy for the UK.
A couple of years before they emigrated they had moved to a lovely village near a very nice town. Their house was beautiful and the girls loved their little village school. And suddenly out of nowhere the emigration plan was announced.

 

[FlipFlop0706]

Loving hearing everyone’s stories! Thank you all for sharing.

Yep I’ve also been thinking about moving to Australia! I don’t currently qualify for any visas except the working holiday one but only for another few months before I’m too old for it lol. I’m hoping that in a few years time I’ll have a career that will allow me a more long term visa, possibly with the option of permanent residence. I know so many people that moved out there when we were in our early 20s and I kick myself for not doing the same. I do love Scotland but the winters are really taking its toll on me now. Just feel like there’s not a lot to do here either which sounds silly but we’re such a small country I feel like I’ve ‘been there done that’.

I’m single and don’t plan on having children so we’ll see what the future brings!

The visa thing takes some getting your head around doesn’t it! I think I would be able to get a skills based visa. I have a background in special education, but only problem is I haven’t completed the final stage of initial teacher training. I’m not sure if I could go and then complete my teacher training over there or whether it would be better doing my teacher training here. Seems a bit silly though doing teacher training here though if I won’t be following a UK curriculum!


At the moment, it’s just a loose idea but as time goes on, I’ve realised if I ever want to make it a reality and seriously have the option of making the change then I need to research and organise the feasibility of actually going out there. Where do you even start?! So far, I’m guessing it’s by saving a hell of a lot of money!!!!

 

[Erling Haaland]

I’ve written off buying a house with the way things are at the moment. My brother feels the same way. It’s completely unobtainable for us and any houses we would be able to afford are nothing more than overpriced new build boxes in shitty areas. Not to mention all the associated bills that come with being a home owner at the present time. All of my friends who own houses relied on family support/inheritance and are now doing the 2.4 children thing and struggling to pay the bills.

I refuse to spend the best years of my life scrimping and saving to them go on to be tied to a mortgage. I find it hilarious that we spend most of our time at work here in the U.K. leaving for work at 7 and not getting in until 7pm, I’m that knackered that more often than not I’m in bed by 9pm so I would effectively just be paying a mortgage just to sleep in my house.

It’s one of the reasons I have for emigrating. I’m not fixed to anything in the U.K. and have the freedom to go wherever. The only thing that is currently holding me back however is leaving my mum on her own. She would love to join me in a new life in Australia but she’s in her sixties and as I understand it, I don’t think she would be entitled to a visa/residency.

Theres parental visas for people who have more than 50% of their children living in Australia. I was chatting to a girl on Sydney a few months ago who’s mum is applying now.

 

[secretsquirreling]

Where in Australia did you move to? I feel like I have one part of me saying I should do it for all the obvious reasons but another part of me just really doesn’t want to go!!! My husband wants to go on another holiday there next year but there’s so many other things I want to spend our money on!

We’re in Brisbane. I think of a part if you really doesn’t want to go then, in the nicest way, don’t. I’ve seen people who moved at a similar time to us or longer move back because their heart wasn’t in it and it’s so hard being the other side of the world

 

[Erling Haaland]

Yep I’ve also been thinking about moving to Australia! I don’t currently qualify for any visas except the working holiday one but only for another few months before I’m too old for it lol. I’m hoping that in a few years time I’ll have a career that will allow me a more long term visa, possibly with the option of permanent residence. I know so many people that moved out there when we were in our early 20s and I kick myself for not doing the same. I do love Scotland but the winters are really taking its toll on me now. Just feel like there’s not a lot to do here either which sounds silly but we’re such a small country I feel like I’ve ‘been there done that’.

I’m single and don’t plan on having children so we’ll see what the future brings!

If I were you I’d get the working holiday and go!! It’s not too late. My friend is on one and she’s 35

 

[dollydog]

Can see this thread hasn’t been used since 2022, but I’ll post anyway.

me and my partner are seriously thinking about Australia. We don’t feel like our children will have the opportunities / lifestyle we want for them in the UK. My partner is on the skilled list so we know we’d get in via him. But it just feels daunting. We’ve floated the idea to family, his side said they wouldn’t blame us if we went, which was surprising as he is an only child, so the only grandkids they have would be going too, where as my side told us not to.

I would feel incredibly guilty about taking the children from grandparents, friends etc. but it’s also an itch we can’t scratch, if we don’t try we’ll never know, if we decided then it wasn’t for us then we couldn’t say we hadn’t tried. We are very tempted to visit Aus first. And go from there. But we know the UK isn’t where we want to raise our children, but to take them from everything they know, I just don’t know.

ETA - we are both mid 20s. So have years before we’d be too old to get in.

Again, I know this is an old thread but really interested to see what you decided? We’re in a similar position…

My husband has always been keen for an Australia move but I’ve always said no. Until we went for a big holiday late last year to see his siblings who live there (one permanent, one on a working visa) and I nearly sold myself the dream. We have 2 kids, 4 and 2 and my eldest just loves being outdoors. The weather was great, felt like a laidback way of life, and I thought maybe I could see myself here.

Towards the end though I was ready to come home. We landed in England and I just had the sense of being home. Walked into the house and again, just this sense of this is where I live. Since being back my desire to relocate is slowly slipping away and I feel so uncertain about uprooting my life. Even if it’s temporary, I’ve been building a business based on my profession in the last year, kids about to start school, the thought of going back and forth and starting again unsettles me. However husband is still keen and I now feel I’m avoiding discussions.

my head says it’s a better option for the kids but I don’t just want to equate a better childhood with trips to the beach. We’re outdoors a lot here in the summer anyway, i have huge dreams for a holiday home in Italy and I parent a lot on my own as husband works long hours. The thought of being alone out there terrifies me.

Feeling overwhelmed with it all at the moment so interested to hear more views!

 

[Millais]

Theres parental visas for people who have more than 50% of their children living in Australia. I was chatting to a girl on Sydney a few months ago who’s mum is applying now.

I don’t know if it’s the same visa I’m thinking of, but the one I’m aware of the ETA for mum arriving in Aussie is 30 years from when her name is put into the visa lottery. The idea is that they die before Australia has to start looking after them.

 

[FlipFlop0706]

Dont know if this answer will interest you as it wasn’t my choice. But I’m from England and my parents decided to move to France when I was younger, and honestly best choice ever. They wanted to move to Australia originally but it was too far from our family.
moving country is great you learn so much. The only thing that bothers me is that I miss English food, like stupid things, I would kill for certain foods

Ha that’s seriously one of my considerations! I love marmite and Vegemite simply is not the same!

 

[FlipFlop0706]

I sold my flat and came back. Inspite of the bad experience I would do it again if I was younger, but somewhere different.

Where would you go and what’s influencing your decision on where to go next?