leaving england?

Question

i am only 39 years of age ,married with 4 children.I very much want to leave the uk as i feel that the future here is very bleak,overtaxed,high immigration levels,rising crime,high cost of living,smog,etc..i have a house worth £160,000 (mortgage paid off) and i have no savings,if i were to sell up and move abroad which civilised/safe countries around the world can my family and i go live without great hassle of obtaining residency,i am a manual factory worker with no other trades.help?

note to:pensterx

if you read my post correctly you will see that immigration is just one thing i am concerned about as well as others mentioned-don't try to stereotype me as if i am racist.controled immigration is no problem to me but i feel that the uk government has no control of it in the uk.

Answer 1

Cyprus! We did it two years ago! Its safe , friendly and has year round sunshine. Of course, the rate of pay is nothing like you might have in the U.K., but it depends on what you want from life! Our council tax on our three bedroomed house is £60.00 per year, and our electricity for the year is about £100.00, and thats with the air con running most evening through the Summer ( we have had a real hot summer this year, with temperatures peaking at 45C!)
Although we don't have any children of school age, the schools are said to be very good, and I know there is an English school in Larnaca. Try and come over for a holiday.....look around....speak to people. We live in a village, Xylofagou, about 8K from Agia Napa. Obviously, the nearer you are to popular resorts, the more you will pay. House prices are rising ; we paid £47.000.00 three years ago, that included our furniture and white goods too; but you will probably pay twice that amount or more now for the same house. but it is very safe here, and very low crime rate. Where else would you see someone leave their car with the engine running while they go and do a supermarket shop, and still find the car there when they come back to it? We rarely lock the house or the car when we leave them.....its not a problem. Obviously....I'm biased, but give it some thought, and good luck for the future!!

Answer 2

I have set up a business in USA before but with a wife and children that would be too difficult and you would have visa problems going in and out after 3 or 4 times, they ask questions.

Your best bet is to go somewhere warm in Europe as you will still get Medical cover and will be legal with no problems, plenty of brit business people would employ you in Europe.

I would use you home cash to cushion your move and rent somewhere in Europe for 1 year until you get settled as home prices are falling so you will not gain anymore equity for years by not selling your home. Another option is renting it out for an income, probably 400 500 pounds a month but I don't think that is enough myself.

Once you deide on an area, gradually you will get to know the brits in the area and can network with them to make friends and create work opportunities.

At least you have the cash to take the stress out of setting up a new life abroad, I only had 9000 pounds when I did it, but there was just me.

Also depending on the age of your children, this may be the first issue that you need to overcome, especially their schooling.

Worst case scenario, you stay a year and have to come back for whatever reason, house prices will be cheaper, get a job and a new mortgage and you will have had the best holiday of your lives.

Best case. you meet new friends, get a good job, nice house, swimming pool, sunshine, cheper food, better and more relaxed way of life and maybe open your own bar or business.

Constant sunshine goes a long way to making people happy.

I loved California.

Good LUck

Answer 3

You can move around freely within the EU. Otherwise, as a factory worker, you will have a hard time getting a visa to go anywhere else.

You could probably retire on the amount of money that your house is worth if you went to some of the Eastern European countries, and a few of them (e.g. Estonia) have developed quite nicely since they ended communism and are safe, civilized societies. You might feel quite lonely and isolated, though, if you don't speak the language.

There are also places in rural France or Italy where you could probably retire if you are willing to be quite frugal. However, the only English speaking country you could move to is Ireland, and they have more or less the same good and bad facets to their society as England.

Your best bet, honestly, is to move to some other part of the UK (perhaps up north) where some of these problems are less prevalent.

Answer 4

You have posed a really difficult question. Without some special skill it would be hard for you to go to somewhere like New Zealand , Australia or the USA.
Have you thought about Ireland? The cost of housing in the south is very high, but in Northern Ireland you could buy a house , just, with that sort of money.
There's plenty of work available and it's one of the safest parts of the UK. There are great schools and you'd have no problem with the language, apart from the accents.
Good luck whatever you decide.

Answer 5

Well I am not to sure what the exchange would be in the US. I am guess roughly around$275,000.That is a nice piece of change but you can still run through that quickly with a large family and not be enough to buy another house for cash in the US.
There really is no manufacturing jobs to be had in the US either. My husband was a master machinist,trained in communist Hungary for 4 years of intense schooling and over 35 years of proto-type work behind him and he still can't find a job for a manual,general machinist in the US.
He drives a cab in Vegas, of all things!
Good luck but I really don't think the US would make you happy.
Edit: Just wanted to add, if you do move anywhere be ready to take on any sort of job you can get until you find what you like,you must be very flexable when you go to a new place. It is really hard at first.
I live part-time in Eastern Europe now since it is only my husband and myself these days.It is even getting expensive over here in Hungary.
If you do move to a eastern country and your kids are still in school, it will be hard for them.I know a man who was from here and his wife too. They tried to move back to Hungary to live two years ago with their two teenage sons. The boys hated it and the other kids made fun of their poor language skills and were jealous of them coming from the US.
International schools are very expensive here.The American school cost over $15,000. per student per year and the high school is over $22,000. per student and they want to be paid up front.I know I have some friends who have dealt with them.I also know they have an English school here as well.I would think the prices wuld be the same in any EU country, mostly rich dipomats are able to afford to send their kids to these schools or people who work in good paying office jobs.The working class always has the hard road no matter where they live....

Answer 6

You've left it a bit late. Your best option is France where you can have a good life and where your kids will get a good education. Start learning French today.


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Why France? France is our nearest neighbour and is also the country who's culture so dominates that of England, both historically and in the present world.

Answer 7

If you had savings and a better job then i would suggest France.It is a wonderful country,but very protective of its own workers.Taxes are also high but they are not wasted as in the U.K. The health system is first class but is not totally free and the inheritance laws are a mess,but living there is great.In most E.U countries a second language is essential.so make your choice carefully.I do agree with you that the U.K is an awful place to be.i will be moving to France shortly, so i wish you luck.

Answer 8

There are a lot of places to go but for the most part they all have similar problems and similar issues that you will still have to face.
Canada, Australia, south Africe are places that may have options for you. Canada is relatively safe and the cost of living is a little cheaper than the U,K unless you head to the major urban centres or popular spots where its more expensive.
Australia is similar but has a lot of poisenous animals in domestic settings and that not good with 4 kids.
South Africa has all manor of aparthied habgovers to settle I would avaid there for now.

Good luck...........you are going to need it.

Answer 9

If you have more money it would behove you to leave to escape taxation. But, if you have only the value of your home and virtually no savings you would have a very difficult time moving to another country, unless you can immediately find employment.

Answer 10

Don't run.
and don't come to the USA.
Despite of the fact that you're welcome in this country ( better than us) , I know that all things are not well here and a recession is coming just around the corner.
Globalization is affecting everyone and you don't want it to affect your patrimony and family.
I'd like to invite you to any country of Latinamerica, but all people there don't trust on " Americans" or white people" thanks to all "united statestians people" that have done a really big mess in there.

good luck