Moving abroad - where would you go?

[carriebooboo]

As long as you are really good at learning a language completely different to your own, with a different alphabet and pronunciations you'll be fine! I moved to Spain eight years ago to a rural village near the top of a mountain and the change in culture is what I value (coming here from south London). I have seen people pull up outside a tabac and leave their key in the ignition whilst they pop in. The driving is so easy, everyone has lane discipline on the motorway and outside lane hogging is illegal. The healthcare is far superior to the NHS too!

You're living my next big goal! South Londoner currently studying Spanish.

I've lived and worked abroad several times. I did a stint in the US and loved it but I turned down an offer to return during covid due to the politics.

A friend of mine has been all over the world working as an ESL teacher. (There's a paid program run by the British Council for English Language Assistants, if anyone is interested: https://www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad/outside-uk/english-language-assistants ).

The digital nomad subreddits on reddit are probably a good, current guide to what's still affordable/accessible.

 

[elliebee27]

I wouldn't want to live in LA

I'm from LA and trust me the traffic, you don't wanna live there I find it a place of 0 actual 'feel' of a solid singular place because it's so sprawling

 

[MyLittlePony25]

My parents live on a Greek island and it’s lovely for them and I enjoy visiting for a few weeks each year. Probably wouldn’t live there permanently myself, but instead would split time between UK and there.
I loved South Africa, but I was on a reserve in the a end of nowhere and have no experience of the city. but I did hear some horror stories which would put me off.

My parents lived in the USA for a bit and hated it. They didn’t feel safe and it was rather expensive.

I like the Netherlands and feel like I could fit get on well there and possibly Italy, but up in the mountains for ski season and then hikes in the summer.

 

[missgarcy]

Once upon a time Spain was a very easy country to live in. Low taxes across the board, cheap property, and cost of living was cheap as chips. Today, there is a 100% tax on all foreign property purchases, plus high local taxes and energy prices. Buying a car is extortionate! Food, clothing and petrol are all very expensive too. Low wages, mean low grade staff too, so that once very clean and friendly local restaurant may now be filthy, with substandard food and waiting staff that are useless. Education is poor. My children were bullied by the Spanish children in school and we had to move them to private school. High school education is known to be very low grade and there is nothing for the kids to do, there is a big drugs issue.

Sorry you had a rough time in Spain, but honestly, our education isn’t bad at all. Most of our top researchers (especially in science) came straight out of public schools and universities, which, by the way, don’t cost 9k a year and are way tougher than in the UK, where I did my Erasmus year and barely had to try. Private schools, on the other hand, have a pretty bad rep because their grading is weak and it really shows when students take the uni entrance exams.
As for the housing situation, that’s a whole other story. Part of the problem is foreigners snapping up houses as investments and gentrification pushing locals out of their neighborhoods. Instead of local stores now you get starbucks and burger king in every corner.
I don't know about the drug issue, when I studied we had no such problem at school. If you mean in the streets, there is a problem with people selling drugs in flats and stuff, but nothing I haven't seen in the UK already and it isn't a major security issue.

 

[GoSlap]

This might well be industry specific (investment banking or corp strategy) but balancing compensation, working conditions and living costs I'm yet to find anywhere that tops London. There always seems to be something you have to compromise on which I have little desire to do even if the weather is better.