I've worked temporarily all over the place and have thought several times about making a semi-permanent move to somewhere other than the UK. My list in no particular order based on good experiences: Southern Ireland - Cork area. Great people, countryside etc, we nearly did this one and I had a job lined up, but Primary school teacher Lady Nasher couldn't work there without learning Gaelic. Netherlands Great people, good life balance etc, but boring as hell countryside and roads. Denmark Fantastic countryside, roads, history etc, but the people through no fault of their own take a bit of getting used to. Finland Can't think of anything really bad to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and went back several times, but I did enjoy the massive difference between summer and winter, which some won't. Malaysia. Again I can't think of anything bad really, apart from probably having to actually work in Singapore. Top of my list would actually be Canada. Fantastic countryside and opportunities to explore, great roads and loads of space, but like being with British people. In Canada I'd even live closer to somewhere like Toronto than a city in any other country. Nasher.
In a few: Milan, Amsterdam, Munich The worst thing about life in London: its overly expensive for what it is. Housing is either totally shit, or totally expensive. Good schools require you either leaving London or again totally expensive. Any decent outdoor activities are ruined by traffic and over-crowding, so you end up leaving the country anyways. Jobs yes, plenty for now, can't argue with that
Can’t think of many places worse than London. Well any major city really. No space, over priced housing, noise, traffic…
I arrived in France in 2018 and have to wonder if the main problem is where you are in France? They could not be more friendly here in Sant Robert with a great mix of French, Dutch, neighbour two doors down from Potugal, and ex pats from a diverse background. We have an ex ballet dancer, roofer, musician, shipyard worker, pilot, crane technician, teachers etc. Very mixed. Many new friends and more friendly than the UK. Work? My wife works from home and never been busier, picked up loads of work (UK clients...could not make it up.) I have a small gardening business and have Dutch and British clients. Biggest problem here is the never ending invites to social gatherings, even during covid! My work options probably limited by having beginner level French and not having a French Passport (but have a residency carte..) I am from the NE too, near Consett for many years. Not in a hurry to go back. The UK including the North East has become much much busier in the last few years. Brexit has divided the country too. It will take a long time to heal. From a motorcycling perspective, I was in gods country (for the UK anyway) Borders and Scotland in half an hour. Hartside, the Lakes passes and Dales etc close by. But speed cameras and the amount of traffic have spoiled things a huge amount. The place I did consider living was Dumfries and Galloway, got to be close to the sea on the south side because as you move inland it becomes much wetter and colder. Kirkcudbright very nice. But deep pockets required compared to this area in France. Plus the A75 gets very busy and, did I mention speed cameras? Any further North, despite fabulous scenery, the winters are too long and dark imo. Edinburgh..the roads can be nightmare for traffic. Too busy. Compare the population and size of the country to France, about 3 times as many people per square mile/kilometre! Somewhere else in France? As you know it is a very diverse country for weather, scenery and culture. Takes some beating here with a fabulous choice of roads. 3 hours Pyrenees, 4 hours med, 6 hours Alps, 5 national parks within an hour from my doorstep. Germany? Ravensbourg is rather special and well located for motorcycle roads in every direction. Plenty culture.
Haven't lived abroad but travelled most of Europe, very much not the same I'll admit. I was brought up locally and spent a few of my school years here and have finally settled on Cheltenham as my place to live for at least the next ten years. A good mix of culture, reasonably lively night life and good restaurants, great surrounding countryside, Wales is accessible for some great biking roads and the people I've met here are all pleasant. Continental travel isn't hard with Brimingham and Bristol airports equidistant and access to London should I feel the need is a train ride away for a weekend. Perfectly contented here TBH.
Provence area, near Nice etc is very expensive. South coast. Rhone Alps also very expensive. But there are some cheap options further inland. Paid a huge 70,000euros for this house. Then about 30k in materials and mostly my own work. Now have a very nice house with aircon, woodburner, big garage with space for motorcycles, trailer, mowers, 3 beds, new bathroom, kitchen etc. As mentioned by @Royal. it can get bloody hot near the med. We even hit 42degrees for a day or two last year and we are many miles from the med. Unusual for us that extreme. 30s regular in the summer. Snow in the winter, maybe a few showers or a few inches max is normal. Thats it. I got sick of digging snow off my driveway in sunny Consett! Had an interesting conversation with a Dutch friend yesterday about what brought us to this area. Quality of life, scenery and exiting the rat race were high on the list. They had moved from La Haye, expensive house, view of the sea. His friends think he has given up luxury and culture. That is not his view.
Having done that, in terms of working in London during the week by living outside of it (only Gloucestershire) at weekends, I can say (with some certainty) DON'T! I gave that up shortly before my accident, as I had a dog to look after (and walk every day) and started to work locally for much less money, but no long commute and I could motorbike it! Best thing that I ever did. I like London (I was born there) but working there may pay well, but spoils your life! Paddington Station and the underground - ehhhkkkkkk!!! Just bad memories! +1 for Italy, around Lake Como!
Not to mention the suffocating surveillance and that driving or riding on the roads feels like a nerve racking game of Mousetrap, but if you don’t want to risk your licence every day and take out a second mortgage for parking, congestion charge, ULEZ, LEZ and all the other little money making schemes dreamed up by a succession of motorist-hating mayors, you have to endure the appalling rush hour crush on overpriced public transport which, just to add to the experience, subjects you to an unrelenting barrage of threats and nagging “don’t forget your luggage, don’t forget your children, don’t forget to drink water, don’t forget to breathe in and out” tannoy announcements at ear splitting volume. I moved out of London for the countryside 18 months ago after living there for 30 odd years as I’d just about had enough. When it comes to London, I’m with Alan Partridge I’m afraid.
This is kinda the idea, live somewhere good, work somewhere else... I work so much online now that I'm sure it is doable..
Agree with you on everything except "overpriced" for London Transport. I thought it was cheap! Mind you, a train ticket to London from Bristol Parkway return would cost more than a flight to Italy! And when I had to do jury service once in Bristol and you had to take the bus for they would pay you for bringing in a car, second mortgage time!
Regarding London life, I do remember reading a while ago that London has the lowest suicide rate in England and Wales. North East worst apparently closely followed by Yorkshire. Sad topic but London must have something going for it.
SE England is poor for motorcycling. Roads are congested and in poor state. Cameras everywhere. Its shit. Everythings fucking expensive. Personally I love France. I like the French and their attitude. Rural France is beautiful and the roads are ace. I've really missed our jaunts over to the french alps because of lockdown. The Juras are my fave as are the roads from Le Puy towards alps. My only minor gripe is ale, its all lager. Guiness is hard to find too. But I can live with that.
I'm just going by the last time I was buying monthly travel cards from Zone 4. It was costing me £200 per month to stand on a platform listening to dissembling and often contradictory excuses for why the train was delayed or cancelled (often, one announcement would say "signal problems" then the next a few mins later would say "unavailability of train staff" ie: the malingering driver fancied a lie in), and then when one eventually did arrive it was often too crowded to get on.
TBH, I think the reason I have lasted so long here is due to the motorcycling, but there comes a time you decide it just isn't enough, and you need a more well rounded life!!
it was easy to find at the time I was staying there but not so in my memory banks they need a nudge at times
It’s a little more complicated than you think and should be better organised with train drivers as you can’t just grab a spare train driver and stick him in a train. They actually have to have knowledge of the line/route they’re on if a manager hasn’t rostered correctly then he may find himself without a driver. I knew a train driver a while back, the restrictions on your social life wouldn’t have been for me. He has had through his career 2 suicides under trains he’s been driving. It’s not always the actual driver who’s malingering but just the inefficiency of managers.
[ That was a big factor for my wife. Good mobile phone signal (could be better..) but broadband internet connection. As you know? France has been uprating all rural areas recently, so even here, out in the country we have fibre broadband which makes working from home so much easier for a lot of people. Commuting by car in the UK to be avoided at all costs. The A1(M) from the airport down past Durham was horrendous in 2018 when I left. A68 down to Burtree gate was noticeably busier from 2013 to 2018. I used that road a lot. A19 frequently a joke. If work from home/remotely is possible, then great. More choices too for location.
I understand that there are complex logistics involved but it was notable that "driver unavailable" always seemed to happen more often when it was a bank holiday Monday or a sunny day or there was an important football match showing or there had been one televised the night before. It was particularly bad during the World Cup and the European Championships. And I hear you that it may be a back office issue rather than a driver's fault but tbh that's not much of a comfort when it leaves you and hundreds of others stranded in the 'burbs because the trains were at capacity during peak times so any cancellations meant that by the time they reached my station there was no space on the next two or three trains. I also hear you about the anti-social hours and having to deal with suicides etc, but that applies even more so to Police officers and they don't get paid £50k PA for sitting on their a*ses all day.
Re. London; lived there from 18 to late-ish 30's and for that time in my life it was great, glad I left when I did but still enjoy visiting every now and then. Spent a few years in the eighties working as a courier for West One, no concerns for cameras, zones or for that matter issues with parking etc. Great way to see how the place ticks.
