tigerbolt

Hey everyone!

I'm originally from California, but for the past year and a half, I've been living in the Netherlands with my husband. I do like the Netherlands a lot, but I just haven't ever felt like it's where I belong if it makes sense. It's impossible for me to find a job here (Learning Dutch at the moment but it's taking a while since it's a difficult language), and I could never connect with the people here since they have a different personality than English speaking countries. I felt like Dutch people can be critical, judgmental, not very friendly, stubborn, and a bit closed minded. I'm not saying all Dutch people are like this, but I noticed it's the mindset of most Dutch people in general. Besides the obvious language barrier, I just never felt comfortable or connected here. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the Netherlands and have met a lot of wonderful people. But I just feel trapped here and that I have no solid future.

I would love to move back to the U.S. in the future, but it won't be for a long time since there's a lot of expenses and preparation. I really wish I could move to a warm country in Europe like Spain, Portugal, Greece, or Italy since I'm the happiest in warm weather and absolutely late cold weather. But unfortunately the economy/job market isn't doing so well in those countries and the obvious language barrier. So I've been considering the thought of possibly moving to England. Me and my husband visited a few years ago and I absolutely loved it there. I thought it could be a better change for me since I could get a job and I feel like I connect with the people more. I know England isn't the warmest country, but I would love to move to the driest and warmest city in England (It being Sunny would be a extra Plus) since I don't like the cold very much. I absolutely hate cold winters, so I would love to live somewhere that had mild winters and possibly no snow or a lot of rain. I wonder is England a bit warmer than the Netherlands (partially Den-Haag)? Please let me know for your suggestions for the driest and warmest city in England would be and why you pick that city. I've done some research and found a lot of people said Devon, Cornwall, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, Bristol, Sussex, and Dorset. Do you think any of the cities above fit my criteria, or is there a better one? Thank you guys!

BritInParis

The best weather in the UK on average is likely to be found in the Isles of Scilly. You could also try one of the Channel Islands (although they're not technically part of the UK).

For cities London is the warmest thanks to the urban heat island effect. Anywhere in Cornwall and Devon is also likely to be pleasant through most of the year as is the south-east coast - Kent and Dorset. The further north you go then generally speaking the wetter and colder it becomes. Yorkshire can be very wet and is usually under several feet of snow during the winter so not sure why it was recommended to you.

tigerbolt

Wow thank you so much BritInParis! Your advice really is so helpful I did see the Isles of Scilly had good weather, but I would prefer to live on the mainland rather than be isolated on a island

I didn't know that London was the warmest and that's great to hear! I really like London a lot, but it is just so crowded and expensive. I'm not sure if it's like that every where in London, so it is a tough decision. Cornwall and Devon really do look beautiful! So I'm glad to hear there great year round. I'm glad to hear Kent and Dorset are pleasant as well. Thank you for warning me about Yorkshire! I absolutely hate the snow and rain ha ha

BritInParis

To be honest the whole of the UK has a mild but changeable maritime climate thanks to the Gulf Stream so you'll never find a spot that has guaranteed sunshine - there's no UK equivalent of Phoenix, AZ - but there are some places that are better than others.

tigerbolt

Yeah I heard the UK had a mild climate which is great! I also know there's no guaranteed sunshine there. But what I would give for a place like Phoenix or San Diego there ha ha

not2old

It doesn't always rain – a rough guide to the UK's sunniest, warmest and driest locations - News from uk.weather.com

or this

They know all about lack of rain in the East Anglian village of St Osyth. After all, this is officially the driest place in Britain. For decades it has recorded the lowest rainfall in the country – just 20.2in last year, compared with the national average of 45.9in.

http://www.myweather2.com/City-Town/...e.aspx?month=8

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Osyth

Novocastrian

There's a great deal more to think about than the weather when considering relocation to a new country.

If stupidly hot climates are so important to you , then go back to SoCal or try Botswana (many people speaka de inglish there).

Englishmum

I grew up in central England, moved to London and then moved to a village in Essex to raise our children (but within commuting distance of London).

The weather was/is definitely more dry in Essex compared to the Midlands. The only cities in Essex are Chelmsford and the old Roman city of Colchester (which for a time was the capital city in Roman times). Colchester is near the coast and as it is further away from London is cheaper than Chelmsford for housing. Actually St. Osyth isn't that far from Colchester.

There is definitely more rainfall in the west of England/Wales and Scotland so in that case you might want to rule out Devon and Cornwall.

not2old

I agree and likely some of the wettest or colder climate places (excluding the best watering holes) can be the better places to live

You have choices in the small islands of the UK

For me it would be more about the people, places, culture, safety & things to do that living in the UK has to offer

Compare some of the 'wettest' places, which can be spectacular countryside

Ten of the wettest places to live - Telegraph

Of course you may want to take a look at places such as 'benefits street'

tigerbolt

Thank you guys so much for the help! I really appreciate it A little more information about me. I am a city person. I love having fun things in the area to do like going to the mall or movie theaters. I would perfer to be near a airport (1 hour away is okay). I really like England since I love the atmosphere, the people, the country, the culture, just a lot of things in general. England does remind me a lot of the U.S. which I appreciate since I miss home a lot. Southern California is just overly expensively and it's difficult to survive there. Even with 2 incomes, you can't really get by, so it's not really a option at the moment. Although if I could, I would move back in a heart beat! Really the biggest factors for me though are weather and language. It might sound silly that weather is such a huge factor, but I would rather be somewhere that is a bit warmer and drier since i know I will be so much happier. I was reading some sites and a lot of people recommend Cornwall. London, Essex, and Sussex which is great since it helps me narrow down the search a bit. Thank you Englishmum for letting me know about Essex. It's great that it's a lot drier. It is sad to hear that Cornwall and Devon get a lot more rain since I heard they were really nice areas and warmer than other areas. Someone said London is warmer in the summer than other places, but I was also wondering if anyone knew what the warmest city is in the winter? Winter for me is the worst season. I do like the idea of living in London, but I'm worried all of London would be expensive and too crowded. What do you guys think? Also is it true you only need 5 or 10% down payment to buy a house?

Sally Redux

It would be somewhat pointless to move to London to save money. You like cities, and they tend to have high population densities so not sure what would be 'too crowded'. If you like SoCal weather then quite honestly the UK isn't going to work.

tigerbolt

We would save up money before we moved to England of course I do like cities since there is normally more to do, but not over populated like L.A., Paris, or San Fransisco. Normally the capitals are always the most over populated and expensive. Although I don't know if this is true for every part of London. I'm also sure there are places that might be cheaper, but still great like Essex, Kent, Cambridge, suffolk, or Dorest, or Sussex. Also I do love the SoCal weather, but I know it's impossible to find it in England and that's fine with me. I really just want a place that's a bit more dry and a little warmer. I just don't want to be in the coldest and rainiest part of England. Besides, I've lived here in the Netherlands for 1 in a half years and enjoyed it a lot! Even better is I heard England winters are more mild than the Netherlands which makes me happy.

Sally Redux

I'm not understanding the thinking behind moving to the UK first. Personally I love it here, but if you'd rather be in SoCal, why not concentrate on that? Or am I missing something?

tigerbolt

Like I said, SoCal is just too expensive even with 2 incomes and we wouldn't be able to survive there. It would be nice though to live somewhere else in the U.S. like Oregon or New Mexico. But I rather not rush things since I rather be prepared. I'm also not 100% sure I do want to live in the U.S. I do love the U.S., but there are also things I don't care for. Like the health care, amount of crime, getting only 10 days unpaid off from work a year, food quality, ect. I do think we could have a better future in Europe, but I'm just not happy in the Netherlands. So I would prefer to move to a English speaking country. But not just the language, I love the culture, people, country, atmosphere of the UK. It also reminds me a lot of the U.S. which is great. I mean I'm only 22 years old, so it would be awesome to live in a different country and see how things turn out.

Sally Redux

Oh I see. Well in that case I would go London or the South East and just have fun in a house share, enjoying the access to entertainment and culture. Have you looked on Rightmove? It has a street view link for each property and you can play around with it to you heart's content.

UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent