I've had enough....

Zed Five said:
rhys4 said:
Close friends of mine spend sept to march in Brisbane and the summer in England IT seems perfect.Thinking of doing the same.
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I used to live in Brisbane.. Christ, talk about the cost of living...

Prefer it here.
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I do live in Brisbane, and agree the cost of living is insane! I read a report a couple of months ago that ranked Brisbane as being a more expensive place to live than London, and I can believe that.

Great weather though ;-)


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France does not look that attractive anymore tax wise ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19754016
 
Housing, groceries, vehicles (particularly anything Euro), taxation, healthcare, schooling.

I think that probably covers it :-)

I really don't know how people on an 'average' income survive.


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Have thought about moving abroad ( mainly because of the weather ) but now we're retired with grandchildren the emotional wrench to be away from family would be really hard. We're lucky to live here on the IOW so we are compensated with the quality of life we have down here. We are lucky to have a lovely home and no debts ( after a lifetime of working ) but it is so much harder for young people these days and I can understand the attraction of bailing out so to speak but as many others have pointed out things are not always greener elsewhere. Our real love is a Greek Island called Thassos but whilst we love going there and love the people if we lived there ( like other places abroad ) we would feel
vulnerable as foreigners living somehere other than the UK - you hear horror stories of landgrabbing in spain , riots in France and Greece - I would be concerned about a possible backlash against peceived rich people from overseas who have bought property there.
 
We came very close to emigrating to Canada a few years ago, however having been brought up by the army and moving every 3 years and knowing the upheaval and hurt that it can cause your kids I (not swmbo) said No.
For all the crap we have to put up with in this country it also offers major benifits, as others have said the grass always looks greener but on the whole when you taste it it tastes like crap.
I had a long, long discussion with a friend who emigrated and returned after 2 years, he left a well paid job, nice house, etc to return to the UK. he said that pretty much what others have said, for all its faults the UK has far more to offer than alot of other places.
Remember, move abroad no NHS.
 
I'm a yank temporarily living in Germany. But come from and still own a home in Walla Walla Wa. To which we will return to and retire. While we do love it here in Germany. (I was taken aback by Scotland too. Good folk up there. Very brash, But! One will not leave a conversation wondering what they really think) We surely wouldn't give up the USA even with all of it's issues. We (the USA) are going down the same road as the UK/Europe. I.E. A quasi socialist state. Which at first glance LOOKS like it would work. But remember what the iron lady said. "and Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They [socialists] always run out of other people's money. It's quite a characteristic of them." For the young wanting to escape. While it may be tempting. I would think it better to stay and fight the good fight to change the UK back to the core values that made the UK such a great country. The great experiment of the British people in the American colonies were won through hard work and doing what was right. And when the King refused to do the right thing. Well! You know the rest of the story. There has never been a time when a problem was solved by running from it.
 
At least in the far south we get more decent weather than the rest of the UK ...

Not sure if I would want to be in the North because of that.
 
May be in the minority here, but I honestly don't think we have it all that bad...

As RichardG says, once the novelty wears off all the same gripes return no matter where you are in the world... Sure things are tougher here at the moment, but try going to Greece or similar & I'm sure you'd find things much worse!

Go Team GB! :rofl:
 
I don't think you're in the minority Owen. There is an awful lot that is good about the UK. The only things which really bug me are a) the lack of a proper summer and b) the socialist mentality of most people here.

I am very proud to be British.
 
paulgs1000 said:
Do you think it might matter which part of the UK you live in?
Don't tell anyone but some areas of the North East are brilliant....open spaces, great city with amazing facilities and world class quayside and night life, good air road rail sea links, cheap housing, fantastic unspoilt coastline, Nothumberland is amazing, Lake District less than 90 mins, Northern Pennines with fabulous roads and little traffic.
Visited Kent for a few days this summer - what a mess of a place - so busy wherever we went, everyone in a rush, traffic ridiculous, no thanks - couldn't wait to get back to wonderful scenery, space and open roads and less of the problems faced 'down south'. Take a deep breath of fresh air and move up 'ere.
Like I said....don't tell anybody :roll:
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What are you on? In winter there is hardly any daylight whilst in summer the days are longer but forget having a BBQ in the evening unless you have a patio heater. Then there's a great selection of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country to live in and some of the worst health equalities because the folks eat and drink themselves into oblivion. Great for the kids if you want them to pick up an accent that prevents them working abroad cos they won't learn much else at school ;-)
 
In Scotland we have BBQ all year round, if the suns out and its above 5c we are good to go :headbang: :headbang:
 
zebedee said:
mr wilks said:
pvr said:
But would you really want to have to bribe the French mayor to be able to build something? Their corruption is not something I could get on with.
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pretty blinkered & antiquated opinion :? why not follow it with the old classic " the french hate the english & smell of garlic "
just about to complete my fourth renovation & have never had issue with planning consent ,connection of services ,buying or selling process or the french in general.
have always found them over helpful if anything
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Cannot agree mr wilks, pvr is pretty much cock on. Who would think that you would have to send letters to councils and official bodies recorded delivery as civil servants & officials will deny receipt and you have to prove you sent the thing !! The French in all truthfulness tolerate the British and that's as far as it goes. When you arrive they are always happy to help & have you over for 'apero's' as they are intrinsically nosey and want to know the ins and out ands of a cats arse and to know why you are living in France.

You are a lucky fellow not to have had issues with planning etc. probably they are happy to take your euros and know more are on there way as you buy and restore then sell your projects. I take it your a registered artisan and in the system of paying your huge cotisations to keep the elderly ,'manoche', the commune clean and tidy et al along with the miriad of things that go with having a business ?? Good luck my friend if you are good luck indeed.

We lived in France for seven years and what a joy to be back.

Individually the French (rural) are fine but collectively they are a nightmare. Beauracracy is second to none, tax's ???? we wont go there. Utilities so so expensive €3000-00 for two months electricity and heating (yep you read right and it wasn't a big place) without water.

I could ramble on and on but i won't, good and positive points are we learnt French, the wine is cheap and the sun shone and we did have fun. Oh I was 44 and my wife 42 and we took our sons then 7 & 11 and we are alll so very pleased to be back as England really isn't that bad at all.
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a fine rant there but my point was the days of the drunken mayor being the man who decides all & bribery will get you what you want just isn,t the world now .
been through 1 new build & 3 renovations & all were painless . just followed the rules .
as for the 3000eur / 2 months electric & heating ? Nonsense !! a 12 month supply of oil is around 2000eur & electricity & water is approx the same as uk .
maybe you were supplying your neighbours ?
am well aware of the financial ins & outs of the french tax system , cotestations & bureaucracy which is why we didn,t opt to move there with dependants & seek work there .
to me you work harder in france to gain less so we will only make the move when financially secure .
 
:o :o :o :o :o :o
Whyaye yer buggerman...born in the North East or did you move up? You must be a coupe driver....? Divvent marrer where yer ganin ye naw it'll be rate marra.
(PS The North East accent is seen as one which conveys the most trust and calm - companies are being advised to use such regional accents in their promotions...North East does have one of the highest underage pregnancy rates but low on drug crimes, don't have the levels of gang and gun crime in other cities - Most of the kids are great - I've been in education 32 years - want me to outline the success of the kids from my inner city school? But yes, you're right, we do have a patio heater.....and jumpers :fuelfire: )
 
paulgs1000 said:
I've been in education 32 years
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QED most of us leave school at 18 and you're still there after 32 years :-)

I've been up here more than 20 years even married one of the natives, i'm almost acclimatised now - i've dispensed with an interpreter and drive topless if over 8 degrees and dry!
 
Early retirement for me just this year - more time to enjoy the area. I moved up here 1975 and stayed. Never regretted it and don't want to go back to South Yorkshire. My sons feel much the same as many on this string - one working in London, one in Scotland all looking to travel after visiting USA and Australia. We shall see . . .Gan Canny as they say up here.
:thumbsup:
 
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