your home country?

Hi, I assume you are aiming that question to all !
Our reasons for leaving the UK are mainly :
Fed up with the government ripping off hard working folk to keep "dole dwellers" !
The influx of "non working" immigrants who automatically get to be at the top of council house lists, hospital waiting lists and seem to get more rights and privilages than people that were born here. (even the ones in prison, which we are paying to keep !)
Also local jobs now advertise for polish speaking supervisors ???
Council tax !
The fact that everything has shot up in price, but the wages have not gone up !
The weather !
Youth culture has gone to hell, "bring back smacking & the belt" !
(no fear, no respect) didn't do me any harm, and I have never been in trouble in my life !
There is no quality of life in the UK anymore, I feel so sorry for people bringing up children in cities now, I moved to the highlands when my boys were in their early teens and I am so glad I did, they are better for it too !

I could go on and on, but I won't I am sure many folk will say very similar things in response to your question..........not good is it !!!

OH ! and I love the sunshine !!!

Good question! Let's get everyone chiming in here.

My reasons for leaving are long and complicated. The quick version is that I stumbled onto a chance to go work in Europe (based in the UK, but with travel throughout Europe) for a year with the company I was with in the US. Had a terrific time there and suffered from the (inevitable) let-down on my return - both personally and professionally.

When I went looking for a new job (somewhere they would "appreciate" me) I found that even just the one year spent overseas was opening up vast possibilities, especially having a couple languages to work with. So I got me a job in Germany, and ultimately wound up marrying the nice French guy I had been spending time with (a former colleague from my first stay).

No real quarrel with "the old country" (US) but I now see it as a strange and foreign culture in many ways.
Cheers,
Bev

Its a question I ask myself from time to time and I find it difficult to define the exact reason.

I actually like the UK, and although I did get a little peed off with being ripped off by the government, we didn't actually experience too much yob culture as we lived in the Warwickshire countryside.

I guess the overwhelming reason was that we were retiring early, and we found that Spain gave us a much better quality of life and cost of living than the UK.

I have to add though, that if I had to work here for a living I dont't think I would be so happy .... it seems to be a bit of a struggle for ex pats working here.

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I'm originally from Zimbabwe. So my reasons are different from some people. Wasn't really my choice to leave as with many Zimbabweans was forced to leave, which was heatbreaking and hard to re-settle. Then moved to the UK, was actually born there. Couldn't settle there as was soooooo different from Africa (was brought up in the bush). Also found medical system terrible. And like someone said, getting up everyday to go to work and living around people on the dole who had the same as us but didn't work for it. Anyway now in Aussie but still finding it hard as hubby and I have no family here. Be interesting to hear other people's reasons.

I've been an expat for a couple of different reasons. The first time I had just gone through a divorce and was offered a job in South Africa when I was there on business.

The second time, we had several people die where I worked, and they were younger than I was. So I started to think I wouldn't get to do the things I wanted if I didn't do them right then. So I traveled, and taught English in Japan, then traveled somewhere.

This last time, I lost my job, couldn't find another, so decided I must be retired. It's a lot cheaper to be retired in a lot of countries.

I am in the UAE because my parents moved here in the 90's, I just sort of followed, met husband here etc.

Byo - I agree - the dole monsters!

Synthia! Nicaragua! how on earth did you end up there and what's it like for your retirment! not the normal place to retire too!

She is very brave, as I told her before ..... she's been places I wouldn't even think of .... if you see what I mean

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Ours reasons for leaving the UK are similar to Wils & Nance...

No quality of life since most of our time was spent in traffic

As small business owners we had high taxes and weren't treated the same as the big companies

No respect and I think that goes across all ages not just the youngsters

Stealth taxes from the government so that you'd do something one year that was legal and next year it wasn't!

Fed up with the government wasting millions of pounds every single year and not doing anything about it

A system where some immigrants aren't allowed to work and so have to go on the dole whether they want to work or not

A system where teachers are told EXACTLY what to teach with no variation

The weather - it's cold and you can get those long grey days which we found depressing

My husband has bad circulation so the cold wasn't good for him

Lack of community (but that could be because most people are stuck in traffic! )

In Australia the cost of living and taxes can be higher than the UK, but at least you know where you stand and there are legal ways to minimise your
tax.

Regards,
Karen

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I suppose my main reason for leaving the UK was the fact that both my sons were mugged, the youngest being only 12 at the time and it was only 1.30 in the afternoon and almost outside my house.

I would say most of what Kaz has posted are our reasons for leaving also.

Wherever you go there are always going to be different problems, but I think the quality of life is really important and freedom for the children, which is what we have now.

Michelle

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