my wife always says to people here about the class division in the uk, its not as obvious as it used to be, but it still exists and its madness if you think about it... my nan is upper class (guildford-dont you know..) and my grandfather was proper lower class (traveller!)... these days the class divide is more working and unemployed.....AndyB wrote:Biker_Mike, it's easy to get sucked in by the idea of sun and the wide open spaces but you've still got to live there and my argument when I was there is that you can't live a normal life in an abnormal society no matter where in the World it is.
South Africa has a lot going for it and going there on holiday is great but when we were there about 5 years ago it was still a divided country with the only visible difference being that money rather than colour was the division and that's never going to change.
I hope things work out for you and you find what you're hoping for over here but the UK is also a divided country and it's not getting any better which is probably more of a reason to go than living in the sun. I still think we've got a great country here and having been to a lot of different places over the years I've yet to find one I'd sooner live in.
expat does it meet the dream
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
Bloody refugees !! Coming over here n stealing our cheese !!!Philiptigerrice wrote:Well, I left Yorkshire and moved to Lancashire a few years back - and its shite.
Are we stoppin for a brew !
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Braaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppp
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Braaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppp
Re: expat does it meet the dream
We moved to France 10 months ago. Loving it. Yes, it's not perfect (nowhere is) but for us it has a lot more going for it than the uk. We are in the Limousin & no I wouldn't want to retire here because where we are is too quiet in the winter but we also have a place in Spain for when we want a bit more life...and sun......and trackdays. We rent it out in the summer and then use it ourselves in the winter.
In the meantime we are enjoying the quality and quantity of roads and trails here in France. Friends are not that far away and we've made plenty of new ones in both locations.
In the meantime we are enjoying the quality and quantity of roads and trails here in France. Friends are not that far away and we've made plenty of new ones in both locations.
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: nice one Nethen
I'M HERE FOR A GOOD TIME NOT A LONG TIME
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
Ill be in the bournemouth area. Living more towards the farm sides (thumbs)scubabiker wrote:come to norway biker_mike, its less people, better pay, bigger houses, cleaner water, the list goes on.... the uk does suck, especially big cities....
my ex was from SA, she told me a lot of storeis about growing up there, is it true that there are mailbox things for people to put unwanted babies in?
i think if i HAD to move back to the uk i would have to live out in the sticks in rural wales, i liked living in wales, but i didnt like the cities... the uk just has too many damn people all crammed into small spaces, thats why council estates are so bad, its just such a shame that they cant open up the uk a bit and spead people around a bit more....
statistics time, there are more people in central london than the whole of norway, and i dont think that even includes tourists!
is there anyone here who also lives in a non EU country? (norway is EEA, not EU)
Yes, our local baby postbox was commissioned last year. The first baby arrived and was left outside the postbox and not even in the postboox. Three years ago a woman found a baby dumped in the local parks dustbin in the middle of winter. Lucky for the baby the municipality doesnt clean up and the bins rubbish protected the baby from the cold and kept it alive for the night. Yes, any outrageously far fetched story about South Africa is actually a true story and not a joke to pull your leg.
This mornings headline news was "violent protests from locals against eskom (energy supplier) who is removing illigal electrical connections" They have wired up and stolen electricity and are angry that the supplier is removing the connections. Amazing isnt it. But hey, at least theres sun.
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
Personally speaking rather than emigrate any one place in particular, if I had the means I'd by a nice RV fully equipped for off-grid living and with a compartment for the bike(s) (maybe an ex-race transporter) then live everywhere and nowhere. Can't imagine anything finer...particularly if I could sort out a nice young eastern European lady to escort me on my travels and be my muse.
That would be living.
That would be living.
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
We will have been in Austria 6 years next month and still loving every minute of it. There were teething problems and at times we thought the financial drain was never going to end. A motorcycle accident just before we emigrated meant I had to employ people to do necessary work to get our B&B ready (very expensive) Hidden Taxes, Tax Liabilities etc, etc but we have crested that hill now.
We were never going to do the Ex Pat Community thing and I think we upset a few ex pats out here because of that. I enjoy visiting but don't like the large regular gatherings some seem to have.
The pace of life is much, much better, mind after 32 years of shift work anything would be. The weather is better for us. We love snowy winters and we get a lot of winter sunshine. The rest of the year is on the whole superb and it can be as hot as the Med. Yes it does rain a bit but grey, wet and windy days are few and far between. It is usually monumental storms which are quite entertaining in themselves. To be quite honest, the nature of the houses out here are such that once inside you are oblivious to the weather outside.
Running the B&B means we get to meet people from all over the world and almost without exception it is an enjoyable experience. I do miss all year round Biking but my Quad gets me through the winter months and the summer more than makes up for it.
The wife visits family in the Uk every year but is only there for a day or two before disappearing off elsewhere on holiday with all her girl friends. (I don't do beach holidays ).
The only time I have been back was at the end of the first year to do the NEC for a friends hotel. Next month will be my first leisure trip back and that is only because I am so deep in my dear old mums bad books I need to earn some brownie points.
We will probably only run the B&B for another 6 - 8 years before retiring full time but as things are we will probably just downsize and stay put.
We were never going to do the Ex Pat Community thing and I think we upset a few ex pats out here because of that. I enjoy visiting but don't like the large regular gatherings some seem to have.
The pace of life is much, much better, mind after 32 years of shift work anything would be. The weather is better for us. We love snowy winters and we get a lot of winter sunshine. The rest of the year is on the whole superb and it can be as hot as the Med. Yes it does rain a bit but grey, wet and windy days are few and far between. It is usually monumental storms which are quite entertaining in themselves. To be quite honest, the nature of the houses out here are such that once inside you are oblivious to the weather outside.
Running the B&B means we get to meet people from all over the world and almost without exception it is an enjoyable experience. I do miss all year round Biking but my Quad gets me through the winter months and the summer more than makes up for it.
The wife visits family in the Uk every year but is only there for a day or two before disappearing off elsewhere on holiday with all her girl friends. (I don't do beach holidays ).
The only time I have been back was at the end of the first year to do the NEC for a friends hotel. Next month will be my first leisure trip back and that is only because I am so deep in my dear old mums bad books I need to earn some brownie points.
We will probably only run the B&B for another 6 - 8 years before retiring full time but as things are we will probably just downsize and stay put.
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
French education system is a damn sight better than ours and kids that age will learn a new language in literally a couple of months.Africa John wrote:Must admit now I'm 51 and able to retire at 55 (40% pension hit) or 60 (18% pension hit) and not 67 like Mr Osborne wants (bastard!!) the lure of living on mainland Europe and being able to travel the continent without ferries appeals and the missus loves the sun ....... BUT ...... starting a family late at 40 means two kids of 7 and 10 have to be factored in.
Why isn't life simple?
The only reason me and my family are not in France is you are better off working in the UK, and the money made here will allow us to retire there with no worries. If I worked in France I'm not sure how I'd ever be able to afford to retire. Money would be a worry whereas here its not.
I wouldn't let the kids stop you if that's what you want to do, but you'd need to find a way to retire earlier and do it fairly pronto before the older one needs to start getting serious about his education. If he's started his GCSE studies (another 3-4 years) then it would be too late IMO for me to move my kids, then you have to wait until they are old enough to stand on thier own two feet.
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Re: expat does it meet the dream
If you want to emigrate because you expect life will be better you are standing on the wrong foot.
All you can expect if you emigrate is that life will be different.
I like that and I'm totally outside the expat scene as I hate it.
People who move abroad and try t hook up with things they know will probably move back to their home ground given time.
All you can expect if you emigrate is that life will be different.
I like that and I'm totally outside the expat scene as I hate it.
People who move abroad and try t hook up with things they know will probably move back to their home ground given time.
It'll end in tears I tells ya.