gad33

Canada is such a great place that you have to spend 6 months of the year not living there. (Not a personal you but a general one.)

Better not tell you where we're going.

feelbritish

that is why we also want to retire back to UK and not stay here, watching the country change under Harper and Liberals in BC is painful and sad. Not to mention how fast the prices are rising for basic foodstuff. We figured we would have a much better standard of living retired in England! Our year to move should be 2015

Novocastrian

I suspect that even if we lived on Vancouver Island (climate not so much an issue I'd imagine) the presence of Harper in a majority would be anyway more than enough reason to leave for us too. But I've been away from the UK too long to feel any real ties with there (apart from footy) and it's anyway about time for another challenge, so France it is.

iaink

Politicians come and go, it always seems a somewhat drastic and expensive reaction to quit a country over it politics, just like people moving from the UK due to Thatcher or New Labour etc.

Can you still vote him out from overseas?

Novocastrian

They'll be in power until 2015 which is when I retire. If they're kicked out then jolly good but I'm buggered if I'm staying to find out.

I can vote from overseas but I doubt I'll bother.

Atlantic Xpat

Idly curious, what about healthcare when you retire to France? Can you access French public healthcare, are there private options etc etc? Or do you get coverage for being a British Citizen?

feelbritish

I agree you don't leave a country because of politics, but they help to push you on a bit and to question your life? Watching tv here is painful, we have taken to sitting on the internet! For us it is a combination of a lot of things mainly family and friends and cost of living. Here in Canada we would always be the poor relation amongst our Canadian friends who are fetching great pensions and we do not qualify for any pension of any worth here and we want to travel to Cape Town regularly (we have a place to stay with family really cheap) and take in the sunshine so England seems the best place to be! No jet-lag either! In France you have the best of everything as well, close to UK, climate, great wine and food! It may have been a different story if the pound was still 2.25 to C$

Novocastrian

You get access to the French health care system as a recipient of a state pension, no matter how paltry, from any EU country. The 19 pounds a week I'll get will be worth quite a lot in practice. Even better, either spouse covers the other and Mrs C will get hers next summer. So even if we retire a bit earlier, we're covered. Like the majority of French people well need "top up" insurance (mutuelle) since the state system only covers 70-80% for most situations. It's not expensive though.

Atlantic Xpat

I see. One wonders whether the coming economic collapse in Europe will materially change the healthcare provision during, what I trust is going to be a lengthy period of autumn years. Do you see yourself ending your days in France?

Novocastrian

Let's just say we have no further plans at the moment. My main income stream will be in C$, with smaller ones in both sterling and euros. Same currencies apply to capital.

Obviously a euro collapse is not desirable but we'd be better protected than most. The nightmare scenario would actually be a collapse in the C$ accompanied by high inflation in France.