For Expats

[what]

If there was a housprice crash in the UK, would any expats actually go back.

I don´t think i would, i think i am out of the UK for good.

[this_prisoner_is_opting_out]

I'm not sure, I didn't leave the UK solely on the basis of HPI... and an HPC would probably not be enough to tempt me to go back - especially with such "generally" low wages, increased taxation and relatively poor standard of living vis credit.

But who knows what the future holds? I never expected to be away from the UK as long as I have (7 years and counting).

[desertorchid]

I'm not sure, I didn't leave the UK solely on the basis of HPI... and an HPC would probably not be enough to tempt me to go back - especially with such "generally" low wages, increased taxation and relatively poor standard of living vis credit.

But who knows what the future holds? I never expected to be away from the UK as long as I have (7 years and counting).

HPI was a major reason for leaving. Other countries have much more to offer and it is much better to watch the UK mess unfold from afar.

I dont think a HPC alone would be enough. A fundamental overhaul of the housing market is needed, because I could not go through another cycle of HPI with the roadshow that runs alongside it.

The UK still has some great things about it but its better to be a place to visit regularly than to actually be part of the 'miracle economy'.

Edited January 15, 2007 by desertorchid

[Pluto]

HPI was a major reason for leaving. Other countries have much more to offer and it is much better to watch the UK mess unfold from afar.

I dont think a HPC alone would be enough. A fundamental overhaul of the housing market is needed, because I could not go through another cycle of HPI with the roadshow that runs alongside it.

The UK still has some great things about it but its better to be a place to visit regularly than to actually be part of the 'miracle economy'.

I agree. I am due to go the UK next week for a month and I'm dreading it. THe whole get rich attitude of everyone I deal with in the south east is really depressing. Everything is an "investment" to them, and screw the guy next door. HPI has made the UK culture the way it is.

[MarkG]

I should be an expat in a few months, and I have no intention of ever coming back here, even if the average house price drops to 50p.

[Guest donall]

I wouldn't mind getting the sunday papers.

But i don't think that the UK offers good quality of life - and things will probably only get worse as the business cycle turns and recession hits.

Anyone here regret not being able to be hassled by drunk proles in city centre streets on weekend nights.

Community spirit is something that UK is lacking -

[what]

My biggest concern is that the Brits export misery to the rest of the world, look at whats happening in Spain,

Estonia and France, locals can´t buy houses in their own country because of the Brits snapping up property.

What happens if the Brits decide to export misery to YOUR country.

[i_godzuki]

I didn't move due to HPI and like it where I am. Also, I bought a house here now, so I guess I'll stay a while. Problem is, if I did want to return, there's no way I could have the same standard of living on my current salary.

Edited January 15, 2007 by i_godzuki

[MarkG]

What happens if the Brits decide to export misery to YOUR country.

Most countries outside the EU seem to be somewhat reluctant to let foreigners buy up all their housing and price the locals out.

[xavierpj]

No plans to return back to the UK now I'm over in Western Australia. Being sponsored by the organisation I'm working for. I rent half a large four bedroom house in Perth with a huge garden for 35 pounds a week - no council tax here for renting. Looking back to the UK now, its an awful place in comparison for so many reasons. I don't know why other youngsters don't follow suit and evacuate the sinking ship of UK plc if they've got skills other countries need and want. They can offer so much more than a mediocre survival existence. Good riddance.......! hello sunshine BBQ's friendly people, superb beer and wine and quality of life! Loving it people and not looking back....... (although I still touch base with whats going on back home and MY GOD hasn't it turned even more in the press.....)

[65243]

I should be an expat in a few months, and I have no intention of ever coming back here, even if the average house price drops to 50p.

your post (and the others here) are bad news for uk plc, we cant afford to lose good peopel - look who we're replacing them with

[Peter Knivett]

Would certainly not come back to the UK, even if houseprices were lower. Sold up in East Sussex at the end of November and now very happy in France. Return to the UK once a month for a few days with work, but apart from that I'm working in France. Pace of life, food, low prices, space, generally civilised and pleasant attitudes from people without the crime and aggression encountered daily in UK plc. Looking at buying three bedroom house in nice town near Poitiers for 65-70K GBP. Delighted to say that the property ladder is merely a memory now and don't miss the stress, hassle and weekends spent doing DIY one bit.

At 34 years of age, degree qualified, always worked, never claimed a benefit in my life, I'd never thought I'd be so happy to be out of the UK for good, but it's one of the best decisions of my life. If you can emigrate and earn a living overseas you have to try it.

[Guest donall]

I think that the exodus to OZ is something that we have been primed for.

Nobody I have ever heard has said that life is better in the UK than OZ.

And we have been brought up on the Austrailian way of life from Neighbours, Home and Away etc...

I'd like to live over there and probably will at some point.

Currently I am working with a multinational company and am liable to live anywhere for 4 years at a time.

The UK is not that attractive a place - how many people do their gap year in Cornwall or Nrthunbria compared with the well-worn trails in Austrialia

[DONT PANIC !!! DONT PANIC !!!]

Eventually i will return to the UK and even if there is a HPC it will only be a small part of my reasons for returning.

However, i will follow UK house prices and would consider buying somewhere to rent out until I return to the UK.

[patprimer74]

If there was a housprice crash in the UK, would any expats actually go back.

Yes, probably.

p

[patprimer74]

If there was a housprice crash in the UK, would any expats actually go back.

Yes, probably.

p

[Smell the Fear]

Yes, probably.

p

Are you an ex pat, Pat?

Where are you? In China looking for new political ideas and methods of suppressing populations?

[Guest d23]

I think that the exodus to OZ is something that we have been primed for.

Nobody I have ever heard has said that life is better in the UK than OZ.

And we have been brought up on the Austrailian way of life from Neighbours, Home and Away etc...

I'd like to live over there and probably will at some point.

Currently I am working with a multinational company and am liable to live anywhere for 4 years at a time.

The UK is not that attractive a place - how many people do their gap year in Cornwall or Nrthunbria compared with the well-worn trails in Austrialia

errrr

how about several thousand australians? relative to its size Oz has one of the largest disaporas in the world (a million people, around 5% of the population), over 200,000 of which choose to come to the UK and many of whom don't return until they retire (if ever). If it's so great on every level why do so many emigrate?

i lived in sydney in in 00 and 01, enjoyed the olympics but other than that found it parochial, pretty dull and very remote. Enjoyed the weather but found it pretty unrelenting in summer (altho not a big fan if UK winters either tbh), good food etc etc but for me it just lacked an edge and even in it's most supposedly metropolitan cities it just seemed a bit of a dull fest.

horses for courses i guess, but I love london (as is my right before I get slated for stating my preferences) as does my australian wife and nearly 100% of her australian friends, most of whom are trying to find ways to stay over here (as desperate as fake marriages etc). Me and the wife could move to Oz tomorrow (she still has property over there) but have absolutely no intention of doing so. Maybe a more attractive proposition when we retire so I'm not ruling it out entirely.

the unremitting slagging the UK gets on here is pretty depressing, i'd just like to point that out that for all it's faults there are people who love living here, they're just not very well represented on here (unsurprisingly i guess).

imo the grass is not always greener, guaranteed wherever you move to there are people living there who are as negative and victor meldrew about their home country as the people who post on here.

p.s. i wouldn't base any emigration plans on a day time soap opera if i was you

[lordshine]

I am sure that the rest of you expats enjoy watching the UK on bbc.co.uk and reading the weekly telegraph and watch HPC and the state of the UK economy with the same morbid curiosity as I do. The high house prices are all part of the complicated equation that keeps us staying out of the UK.

UK Salary x 1.5, and tax free. I was trying to explain to the in-laws (who want to see more of our new-born) who were out visiting over Christmas, that if I moved back to the UK I would earn 40k working in Hammersmith and we wouldn't be able to afford a house (try small flat) or any more grandchildren for that matter.

So, yes - if the UK was better value and less 'rip-off Britain' - it would def make the equation tip more in favour of moving back. But for now - No way José, we're staying in the warm sandy place that is Melanoma City!

[crash-and-burn]

Hi Peter. Glad to hear somebody's enjoying it out there. I'm looking to move out to France in a year and half (girlfriend is from Paris and can't move here for work reasons). Any good advice or tips for anybody looking make a life across the channel?

In answer to the main question posed for this thread. Even if prices crash here in the UK I'll still be shipping out regardless. I don't like generalisations, but I tend to see the intelligent part of the population holding off (sometimes indefinitely) having children, whilst the Wayne's and Waynetta's multiple. Call me elitist, but I don't like what has become to British culture - it's decadent and can only get worse in coming years before there's any chance of getting better.

Would certainly not come back to the UK, even if houseprices were lower. Sold up in East Sussex at the end of November and now very happy in France. Return to the UK once a month for a few days with work, but apart from that I'm working in France. Pace of life, food, low prices, space, generally civilised and pleasant attitudes from people without the crime and aggression encountered daily in UK plc. Looking at buying three bedroom house in nice town near Poitiers for 65-70K GBP. Delighted to say that the property ladder is merely a memory now and don't miss the stress, hassle and weekends spent doing DIY one bit.

At 34 years of age, degree qualified, always worked, never claimed a benefit in my life, I'd never thought I'd be so happy to be out of the UK for good, but it's one of the best decisions of my life. If you can emigrate and earn a living overseas you have to try it.

[winkie]

Would consider moving back but don't want to meet my big brother.

[Gtr London FTB]

errrr

how about several thousand australians? relative to its size Oz has one of the largest disaporas in the world (a million people, around 5% of the population), over 200,000 of which choose to come to the UK and many of whom don't return until they retire (if ever). If it's so great on every level why do so many emigrate?

i lived in sydney in in 00 and 01, enjoyed the olympics but other than that found it parochial, pretty dull and very remote. Enjoyed the weather but found it pretty unrelenting in summer (altho not a big fan if UK winters either tbh), good food etc etc but for me it just lacked an edge and even in it's most supposedly metropolitan cities it just seemed a bit of a dull fest.

horses for courses i guess, but I love london (as is my right before I get slated for stating my preferences) as does my australian wife and nearly 100% of her australian friends, most of whom are trying to find ways to stay over here (as desperate as fake marriages etc). Me and the wife could move to Oz tomorrow (she still has property over there) but have absolutely no intention of doing so. Maybe a more attractive proposition when we retire so I'm not ruling it out entirely.

the unremitting slagging the UK gets on here is pretty depressing, i'd just like to point that out that for all it's faults there are people who love living here, they're just not very well represented on here (unsurprisingly i guess).

imo the grass is not always greener, guaranteed wherever you move to there are people living there who are as negative and victor meldrew about their home country as the people who post on here.

p.s. i wouldn't base any emigration plans on a day time soap opera if i was you

hear hear!

[ChinaReader]

your post (and the others here) are bad news for uk plc, we cant afford to lose good peopel - look who we're replacing them with

You charmer you. But you're right - it's called the brain drain. For years now service industry (particularly "the city") has "brain-drained" the production industries and our best have been snapped up into management consultancy, accountancy, insurance and investment banking. The top engineering graduates can expect a 20-24k salary in engineering or apply to accountancy (the dark side ) and get 28-30k for punching a calculator and taking exams that are a lot less difficult than Fourier transforms and Fluid mechanics. And if you're willing to sleep under your desk and play investment banking, add another 5-10k plus bonusses. Not a lifestyle choice I'd make, but it was tempting for a lot of my contemporaries.

So UK industry potters along not really innovating massively or developing all that much with the best of the rest of the graduates. That's been happening for a couple of decades (I'm told).

More recently Australia, notoriously difficult to get a visa for, has offered fast-tracked visas for certain skill-sets, has advertised in the engineering press with half-page and full-page shots of sunlight glinting off Sydney harbour, and has started to redress their shortages by importing expertise. Will the UK pay premium to import them back? Where else might the UK import from?

To answer the thread, I might move back to the UK at some point, but the most important advice I had was not to leave a big debt behind in the UK when I left the country (to come to China). With currency exchange rate fluctuations and varying interest rates, that's a level of uncertainty that you don't need while exploring new cultures, and can drag people back in the end just to clear up the mess (negative equity). Already while I've been here the pound has gone from just below 1.8 to the dollar to 1.9x to the dollar, so subsidising a tenant back home would be getting worse if I'd done that.

HPI didn't make me leave, but it removed one possible reason for staying (i.e. I went from uni to renting a while to flying, rather than having to sell up / buy a "foothold on the ladder" before leaving). You can get books a centimetre (or two) thick to help you evaluate reasons for staying, reasons for emigrating, reasons for going and coming back, etc etc.

Basically adventure was my biggest interest at age 25 (and an inkling that engineering seems to have moved to China so I probably ought to go with it!), family pulls in the other direction (almost all UK-based, though one in Spain and one in USA), HPI pushes away, familiarity (/linguistic simplicity) pushes towards UK, but bargin housing (post-crash) would be a slight pull back again.

I read a story from Shanghai this week - someone had dropped a few small coins in a beggars cup and carried on walking, only to be chased down the street by them... brandishing their mobile phone which had dropped out their pocket, eager to return it to its rightful owner. Stuff like that makes me pause a moment when I remember our green and pleasant land!

But as lordshine said, we all trawl the internet for news and remember it with a bit of a halo-effect.

If you still support the cricket team, even whenbthey get thrashed by the Aussies, it's still home.

[Te Mata]

I think that the exodus to OZ is something that we have been primed for.

Nobody I have ever heard has said that life is better in the UK than OZ.

And we have been brought up on the Austrailian way of life from Neighbours, Home and Away etc...

I'd like to live over there and probably will at some point.

Currently I am working with a multinational company and am liable to live anywhere for 4 years at a time.

The UK is not that attractive a place - how many people do their gap year in Cornwall or Nrthunbria compared with the well-worn trails in Austrialia

Australia is a fantastic place if you like beaches/water sports, backyard BBQs, posing down the cappuccino strip and asinine conversation... truly, if you like these things you will love it here.

Most Poms I know, whose interests extend beyond this narrow set of activities, end up going back to the UK... and as mentioned above, there are 200k Aussies over there and it would be a hell of a lot more if they were able to get visas/didn't have to be so far away from family.

This is basically a nation of rich chavs. Don't bother mentioning anything apart from footy, cricket and beer.

[Xurbia]

England is so beautiful in part but it's too small and expensive. I'd never return..... besides I don't speak Polish so I wouldn't be able to intergrate again.