dbd33

"Net migration to Britain rose by 20% to 196,000 last year, fuelled by a sharp increase in the number of overseas students coming to the UK to study and a 13% fall in the number of Britons leaving to live abroad."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/au...o-uk-increases

Dogs. Going. Not?

Madmac

Heretic!

Jingsamichty

And, according to the BBC, a significant proportion of the "immigrants" to the UK were actually British expats returning home.

dbd33

Loath as I am to question the orthodox view, I can't help but think that I read on here somewhere that there's a stampede out of the UK. That doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps people have been happy with the leadership of the country over the past eighteen months or so.

Atlantic Xpat

Good grief, I know you are a Graundiad reader, but in case you didn't notice, a signficant proportion of the country were unhappy with Gordo so Labour lost the election. So it's now the Dave and Nick show, which seems to be doing reasonably well so far.

Perhaps the reduction in emigration has more to do with the general economic downturn - more risky moving to another country in the depths of a recession if you have a decent job in the UK. I'd also hazard a guess that the weakness of the pound vs. some other currencies would have an impact. Leaving the UK to move to Canada now doesn't automatically mean exchanging one's semi in surbiton for a 4500 sq ft pile in Canada. Not without a sizeable mortgage it doesn't and I refer you back to my first point.

Auld Yin

As Martha Stewart would say, "and that's a good thing".

dbd33

Oh OK, maybe that's not the reason. Maybe people in the UK now have better access to climate data for "abroad", Canada in particular.

Atlantic Xpat

That and the price of cheese....

macadian

Would tend to agree. Perhaps the fear of 'jumping from the frying pan into the fire' looms large in the minds of many potential immigrants at this time given the UK economy and current/projected exchange rates....

Looking back, if the economy had been as poor (from a personal point of view) in 2004 as it is now, I would not have been able to make the move....of that I have no doubt.

Atlantic Xpat

Same here. My house in Nfld is now worth almost twice what I paid for it in 2004 and the exchange rate is 1.65 vs. 2.15 or so. We simply couldn't have afforded to move over.

gary123

I agree we moved 2 years ago , just as it was turning, another six months and we would of had to wait...

Perhaps less uk persons moving out is to do with other countries less open to new persons?

I know we can move around the EU, but as a most guys move to canada /Australia , and they have made mods to the process ,perhaps as many just can't get, so stay put?

G

mattieuk

Haha, I like the misspelling of a joke about the poor typogaphy of others!

And perhaps people can't afford to get out of the UK at the moment. The weakened nature of the pound at present must have put paid to some people's plans for sure.

flashman

Are they returning for treatment for Marmite addiction ?

Zoe Bell

Along with the fact that selling your house to free up equity is a lot trickier ( if you have any equity left)

We would have had problems if we'd left selling ours even a few months.

Souvy

<wanders off for a ciggy>