I settled in Germany back in 2011 when I left the forces. for me Germany is now home, even though I didn't get the dual passport due to working away and missing the ability to get a formal language qualification.. ( I Speak German on a reasonably high level though) to give you my experience, if I may, resettling overseas is like pealing away the skin of an onion, a slow process which is impacted on your language and integration abilities and opportunities. I think there is a kind of honeymoon period as we can only see the positives and the negatives can be hidden, and as time and language improve you start to see hidden or annoying parts of the county or area you have settles in. Brexit has soured me slightly, maybe due to my own attitude (possible lol) but being treated like some kind of Benefits scrounger over the last 2 years when I was interfacing with the local authorities has shown up some ingrained racism/ blinkered thinking that I thought I would never have to deal with. But I can whole heartily recommend Germany as a place to live, not sure about the big Cities as that was never my thing ( i grew up in North Devon), and the outer lying communities are well equipped and life is good, but the downfall is the times you will have to run around the various local civil authorities as they seem to be not fit for purpose ( area depending) and 'job for life' civil servants lead to some strange engagements for sure.. and dont get me started on the German Tax system....
I was a gnats ball bag away from moving to the dark peak area of the Peak District in March until my dickhead buyer screwed everything up at the last minute. It's perfect for what you like by the sound of it. Stunningly desolate when you want it to be, decent biking routes and you have Manchester Sheffield and Nottingham no more than 40 minutes away when you want/need some civilisation. Im still a bit down about it all tbh.
Herefordshire. Lived and worked all over the world. There's some spectacular places to visit/enjoy/experience temporarily, but to really live?.... Nowhere else beats the UK. It's too personal a choice to 'recommend' the right place where you'll 'fit', and for me it would be even more rural, but Herefordshire ticks most boxes. That said, I'm very happy living in the East Midlands.
Leaving for two months to escape the weather or leaving for eight months to escape the weather in the UK? LOL Your French must be fluent, you like the country save for a little too warm in Juillet et Août and your dour town... I'd try for a different town in France maybe near Biarritz - less upheaval for those sixteen year olds. Biking/ skiing in the Pyrenees, surfing in the Atlantic and its cooler there...
Not sure about the “friendly” bit in Scotland if you have an English accent, maybe OK with a North East accent. I was born in Scotland and seen a fair amount of trouble with the English walking in to a Scots bar.
There’s an element of truth there, although #1 son and family who live in Helensburgh say they’ve not experienced it. However I don’t think Helensburgh is representative as it’s a town full of “navy migrants” from around the world. Houses are very cheap in comparison to England though. This is #1 sons place……..£350k three years ago!
I was going to suggest Herefordshire too Far away enough to be private Coffee shop culture in Hereford Great biking roads Wales not far All major cities reachable Most tracks couple hours away I felt at home in Ypres reminded me a bit of Hereford Would happily live in the rainforest of Sri Lanka
Like Glasgow but expensive. So expensive shithole like Bristol may be some other parts of France as mentioned above? I’d probably be looking Spain but that’s because I crave a warm climate with great winter sun. Spanish seem very family/community driven, old school values, in my limited experience. But if you find France hot chances are Spain will be hotter in summer months. If U.K., I’d be looking mid-Wales Welsh coast. Nice enough people, great for outdoors and biking generally, ok bit wetter but no more than much of England.
Have to say I agree having lived in a fair few countries from Denmark to Singapore with a load in between... I always find it amazing how quick the English diss their own country while having limited exposure to other cultures and countries. It is not perfect, and in the SE hugely overcrowded (probably a reason for that..). Ideally I would split my time between the UK (Cotswolds - I am from Cirencester, or the SE - Surrey Hils) and somewhere warm and sunny for the winter months...
My ‘job’, with a large UK based engineering company was mainly a succession of consecutive overseas assignments of 3 to 4 years duration, to major or capital cities, all over the world, with a few shorter (3 to 6 month) assignments in between. Some places first world, some places third world, some places not of this world..... Pros and cons for each assignment, but from this, IMHO, 1) Going on holiday somewhere is completely unrepresentative of living there. 2) A UK or EU passport shouldn’t limit where you can live or work, if you have a skill or talent in demand in a country, work and resident permits/visa should be available. There’s a big world out there! 3) The grass is not always greener on the other side, sometimes there is no grass... 4) Again, imho, most people I’ve met who moan about life in the UK have no idea about how fortunate they actually are to live here. Many of the things taken for granted here are only available as ‘optional extras’ overseas, and only to those well minted. 5) There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Of all the postings, Canada took some beating, even though it could be a bit nippy in winter. I did have a great employer with a global HR, so not the same as going it alone. I also have a very understanding wife, who put up with moving countries every few years without too much complaint, without whom, etc, Just my 10k Yen...
My retirement plan: rent my home in Cotswolds where I live and spend 6m somewhere warm over winter to split the two places
All the more reason to allow an independence referendum and let the Scots decide their own fate...maybe then at least some of them will stop blaming the English for all their problems.
OP, what are you calling too hot? Before the 2nd lock down, I was on the verge of moving to southern Spain. Ace roads, all the culture you want, friendly, mostly English spoken in major places (even in smaller places too, and Google Translate app is great when you need it), relaxed, warm all year etc. I was looking about 30 mins inland from Malaga at a higher altitude so it's warm in winter but only 30degCs in summer.
North East Italy on/near the Adriatic coast. Lovely scenery, wonderful climate, delightful people, amazing roads, all sorts of cultural towns and cities within striking distance, plus it’s Ducati and Ferrari country. I’d move there in a heartbeat if I could, but, “Brexit”.
