lynnxa

exactly - everyone I know who has returned has virtually walked into at least one job - & not the commission only sales jobs that a lot of expats end up with here

bobd22

Probably depend where you re locate to in UK

Lynn R

One of the couples I know went to Grimsby (not exactly renowned for it's booming economy) and both got jobs - the wife as a classroom assistant and the husband in a factory. Not very well paid, but with working tax credits they do OK.

bobd22

We are in the North East which is not the best place to be for work due to in Labours day there being massive public sector employment which has now been cut right back. Very difficult up here in particular for youngsters. Off course there as always those that just don't want to work that's anywhere.

Jenny22

We (or at least my husband) are doing the opposite and I am very concerned about the future.
When I go back to the UK in a few days time, my husband will remain here. He has already signed on the Oficina de Extranjeros and received his certificate, plus has applied for his S1 to receive state health care and has employed a gestor to help him sort out his taxes. He has now effectively declared his permanent country of residence as Spain.

I will be returning to the UK to sort out all the final paperwork on exchange of contracts, paying debts, and then using some of what is left to put a large deposit on a UK rental flat. This because I do not intend to leave the UK permanently. I have work there, family and friends there and, for many of the reasons stated about why expats return to the UK, I want to continue to live there.

However, things are not that good in the UK either. We had to sell our house in the UK because we could no longer afford to pay the very high mortgage when our monthly salaries were taken up with rising costs from all corners. My husband is now recently retired and my wages, together with his pensions, would not be enough to get a further UK mortgage, especially as my husbands age would be taken into consideration. For us, it wasn't so much about unemployment as we both had jobs, it was about the high cost of living leading to our salaries being unable to keep up with our outgoings.
But unlike others, we were lucky enough to own a small house in Spain.

So now we are stuck. End up in rented accommodation in the UK after years of being property owners, or live in a property in Spain we own outright. To my husband its a no brainer, as a UK state pensioner and property owner, he can live in Spain better than he can live in the UK. To me its a risk I would prefer not to take at this time, so I'm renting a small flat in the UK. Luckily for me, my job allows me to take extended holidays, so I can visit my husband fairly regularly.
But it isn't a good situation and to be frank, I worry about him living in Spain as the economy continues to plummet.

Sorry if any of that was off topic.

bobd22

Jenny we are similar to you and your husband with a couple of differences. We managed to sell our Uk property and buy another smaller one outright (we still have a daughter at home needs somewhere to live) however when we sold our house we did not get anywhere near what we thought we would and could have got before the crisis. I am retired but not of state retirement age. As you say the UK or parts of it are nothing like they were pre crisis with no pay rises and as you say cost of living fuel. I am not saying we are in the same plight as Spain but a lot of people are struggling they may not admit it but they are especially elderly who relied on income from their nest egg they get nothing now. We had planned for my wife to work for another year 18 months after my retirement to get the house in Spain sorted out for us to retire to but she has now been made redundant, out of the blue. You just have to try and make it work somehow and I feel for you the fact that you are going to have to live apart. Like I said earlier a lot of people thought they had it worked out but along came this mess.

amideislas

We are pensioners and own our home outright. And yes, the economic situation just keeps getting worse: Taxes keep going up, new fees and regulations for everything, inflation, cost of living increasing all the time. I honestly don't know how young families cope. It's getting pretty ridiculous, with no apparent end in sight.

We live on a fixed income, and none of this was ever in our original plans, but...

...to consider going back to the UK is completely out of the question. In many ways it's even worse there, with the exception of the generous benefits provided, not one penny of which have we ever taken (despite contributing huge sums over the course of our lives). (You're welcome, CMan).

No, if the cost of living increases to unsustainable levels, we'd likely set our sights on somewhere outside of Europe - where taxes are far lower and cost of living is lower. The US? perhaps, but central America or the Caribbean would be the more likely candidates... I've been looking at Costa Rica, Belize, and Panama lately. Very interesting.

JnK

Nice if you're lucky enough to be able to afford to move to those wonderful exotic countries... good for you, wish I could.

Jenny22

Thats the trouble, the grass may seem greener on the other side, but really it is pretty parched on both sides.
We know quite a few families from the UK who have given up and gone back. They have managed to find work but much lower paid than the work they were doing before they left to live in Spain. We know one guy who was an accounts manager at a large international company based in the UK. He has returned to work in his local coop. Others are doing minimum wage jobs and although their wages are made up with working tax credit they would much prefer to be earning a decent wage in the first place.
Sorry to hear about your wife being made redundant, that must have been a real blow to all your plans. This really is one hell of a mess for everyone.
I work in a part of the health sector that is reasonably secure (theatre technical staff - they need more of us not less), but who knows when an accountant somewhere, either in the state or private sector, will decide that our work is unnecessary?

amideislas

Well, not really... aside from the incremental cost of flights and a container on a boat, the cost of moving to say, Costa Rica wouldn't really be much more expensive than moving to the UK. Properties are certainly more affordable, presuming you can sell your Spanish casa for not too much underwater. There are lots of English living throughout CA & the Caribbean. A few are very wealthy, but most are just pensioners like us.

Despite the moderately higher costs of the move, the cost of living would be less than half over the long term, and most of central America is very modern and stable these days (I was a bit surprised to discover that most of mexico is actually very safe, modern and serene, despite the infamous drug wars in some regions).

Have a look at Panama, for example:

Jenny22

Whoops, someone objects to you piggybacking on their bandwidth.

Panama does look nice I have to agree. And I have friends living in Mexico, on the outskirts of Cancún, who say the same as you about some areas of Mexico being safe to live in. However, they still take great care when going into the city and one of them has recently returned to the UK for heart surgery because the operation he needed was not available where he lives. He also had to pay as a private patient because as a long term resident in Mexico, even though he is a British citizen, he had no immediate right to receive treatment on the NHS.

But many of the reasons stated for expats to return to the UK (missing family, knowing the culture for example) would not be solved by moving to another country.

amideislas

Well, like I said, we wouldn't move away from Mallorca, unless over-regulation, taxes, inflation and cost of living become unbearable (and with the EU dictating terms, that may well come to pass).

But in any case, wouldn't move back to the UK. Certainly not any better there.

jackytoo

We viewed Belize and Panama. Hated Panama but loved Belize although I wouldn't like to live there. I really love St. Lucia and Barbados but you don't get much house for your money in decent locations and the cost of living is high, except for booze and cigs. Overall I don't fancy island life unless I could make frequent trips to Miami. I am waiting for the day the USA introduces a retirement visa We have a house on the gulf coast and did a couple of 6 months there for winter but it was too much of a hassle for the pets and expensive. We now rent it long term.


I don't understand why people in the UK say they are finding it difficult paying their mortgages (unless they have lost their jobs). Rates are lower than they have been for decades

Domino

The over riding factors for a good proportion of those who are living in Spain is that they can still draw their pension and that it won't be frozen.
The list of countries where this applies appears to be shrinking towards just EU members

There are people living in "civilised" countries like Canada, South Africa who retired a couple of decades ago who are being paid silly amounts such as £19.50 per week because that is what it was when they retired.

anyone wanting to retire outside the UK/EU should have a careful think about the future and where the money is going to come from to allow 2 fried eggs for breakfast every morning.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/BritonsL...oad/DG_4000013

also, for those who are interested, after 15 years you will lose your right to vote in UK elections. Many countries have restrictions on non-nationals voting rights in-country.

jackytoo

Yes Domino, also the health service. Even if you have private medical there may not be very good facilities available in some countries. When we lived in zaire we were medivacted out to S. Africa for hospital treatment.