Those who made the difficult decision to move from the UK to another country, how did that turn out for you?
Posted by PleasantlyPresent_45@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 39 comments
I’m curious to see if leaving everything behind, possibly even your family(?) was something you regret or not. I’m personally at a cross-roads of being able to leave the country for good but I’d leave my older family members here.
jimicus@reddit
Moved to Ireland three years ago.
Ireland is the absolute Noddy-in-toytown international move. Same language, similar culture, short ferry journey. Should be easy, right?
I’ve moved house many times. After that - never again.
I’m stopping here and if I get too old and demented and my wife can’t handle it - she’ll have to figure something out because I’m not moving so much as a toothbrush out.
Confident_Sky_1108@reddit
How much u moved house so much ?
Diligent_Pangolin_47@reddit
I left the UK in 2013 to move to the US for my husband’s job. We waver on whether to move back or not but he can earn way more here although everything else is more expensive (California).
Dr_Drapes@reddit
Would you mind sharing top 3 pros & top 3 cons please? Also which part of UK roughly did you live before?
Diligent_Pangolin_47@reddit
We moved from Surrey to NYC for 2 years, then Orange County, California. Pros are: it’s great if you can afford it. Yes, you pay a lot for healthcare insurance but I could get my daughter an allergist appointment and EpiPens the same week, whereas it took about 8 months on the NHS. It’s also easy to make dental appointments but again you’re paying for the health insurance. So that’s kind of a pro and a con.
Groceries in big cities are way more expensive than UK prices and general supermarkets here are not as nice as UK ones. It’s hard to find an equivalent M&S ready-meal type place.
Driving’s really easy, at least in California. The roads are generally in good shape.
Admin is quite hard, you have to do your own taxes, your employer generally does not do this. I don’t even know what to do as my husband does them for our family and it seems to take him days every year.
The weather in NYC is great in spring and autumn and sucks in summer and winter. Like, REALLY cold. The weather in California is generally pretty great although I live in fear of earthquakes and wildfires so…
Life is quite convenient here as everything’s more spread out so delivery services are the norm. But that also means that where I am at least, public transport is practically non-existent.
I’ve been here over 10 years now and I know the US is huge with much more affordable areas, I’ve just never lived in them. As everything’s kind of crazy right now we have thought about moving back but everything will be smaller than we’ve got used to!
Dr_Drapes@reddit
Thanks a lot for writing this out. It’s nice to read a true experience as opposed to random assumptions people make without going there :)
IndividualTell5083@reddit
I’ve lived in the USA, Italy and now the UAE. Even if just for the short term, I cannot recommend trying living in a different country enough. You learn so much about other cultures and so much about yourself! It’s been 12 years away and I am to move back to the UK next year. It’s hard missing family moments and there truly is no place like home :)
SomethingPeach@reddit
I used to live in Japan but wages and job prospects were grim so I moved back. I loved living there though and try to go back every year or two.
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Can’t say, I try not to leave the M25.
My grandfather on the other hand left Nigeria when he was in his 20s to go travelling Europe, and eventually settled here in England.
He was born in 1910 btw
londonsson@reddit
You need to write his memoirs or biography man, I bet he had some experiences
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Well, I usually get people calling me a troll or a liar by now because, God forbid an African man travel Europe pre-Windrush.
But as you seem kind, I’ll divulge a little more info about him: He was actually first in line to take over his family business in the farming trade, and came from Yoruba royalty. However he left to travel Europe a second time in the 50s with his Wife (my grandmother), and gave up the family business to become a carpenter in Stoke-On-Trent.
He was also a direct descendant of Oba Akinsemoyin
RelationshipLife6739@reddit
It’s a shame people are so quick to judge. I lived in a town in north east England, Cramlington, that’s basically the whitest place on the planet. Although thankfully starting to get more diverse in the past 10 years or so.
However my grandmas next door neighbour in the 60’s was a black Jamaican man who came here by himself as a young man. He was loved immensely in our town and everyone knows him as the first ever black man in our area. He was basically famous and a huge part of our community!
I’m really sad I never got to meet him as he seemed like a true inspiration and was apparently a very kind a gentle soul. Hearing of your grandpa just reminded me of this guy…
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Why would you be thankful that a place is becoming more diverse? What’s wrong with Englishness?
londonsson@reddit
Maybe he didn’t mean it in a bad way. Maybe he just values diversity full stop, no explanation needed. It doesn’t mean he hates Englishness
I meet plenty of folk who value homogeneity in a society, full stop. No explanation needed. It doesn’t mean they hate other races or cultures
Although he certainly didn’t word it in the best way
RelationshipLife6739@reddit
Exactly this, part of my family is Thai and my partner is Greek Cypriot. Got nothing to do with being anti English. I’m a huge patriot and extremely proud of my nordic, anglo and celt heritage. However, it’s just nice to see new folk around and the cool culture etc they have injected into our community. For the better may I add.
I apologise for the way I worded it I guess I didn’t mean it in some kind of pickme behaviour way.
To add, I grew up in the town where, other than the few people in my family and one or two other families basically 99.9% of our 30k population town is white. I grew up without a culturally diverse area and other than what I saw on the tv in the early 2000’s didn’t really know much of anything. Was a big shock when I moved to the city and things were much different. Furthermore, I value the diversity for how my kids will grow up around it, as my kids will be ethnically diverse also. I don’t want them being brought into a town where they’re gonna receive abuse because of it…
Thankfully up in the North east and around Newcastle and South Northumberland specifically (can’t really speak for Sunderland or borough sadly as everyone knows their EDL rep) we have an extremely tolerant and respectful community that celebrates diversity and new comers so it wouldn’t really be a problem anyway. But it’s nice to see the changes for the reasons I stated above anyhow.
londonsson@reddit
Yeah I understood you bro, I just butted in because people are sensitive these days about race/culture and I really wanted to hear about Nigeria granddad’s travels instead of a culture war comment section
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Yeah..just felt like the intellectual equivalent of when girls start playing rap music to impress me because I’m black…
Sea_Appearance6837@reddit
It’s a great thing that people are becoming more open minded, but being thankful that a place is becoming less white is a bit wild haha
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Freudian slip
londonsson@reddit
What a life to live. Thank you for sharing mate
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
Your welcome.
Stories about my family usually get ridiculed for being fake, so good to hear appreciation I guess.
londonsson@reddit
May God rest him
Reeelfantasy@reddit
M25 boy!
MiserableSympathy230@reddit
West London boy
Putrid_Food_3694@reddit
Fabulous moved to Switzerland over a year ago tripled my salary and everything is just better.
Kapika96@reddit
"difficult"? It was easy for me. Moved to Japan 7 years ago. No regrets. Not sure I'll stay here forever (especially now the country's becoming more anti-foreigner), but I have to plans on returning to the UK either. Probably go to the EU or somewhere else in Asia if I left.
AshamedTranslator892@reddit
I moved to Middle East. It's alright.
Wide-Sprinkles3153@reddit
Moved to NZ, no regrets.
FlatsInDagenham@reddit
Great. Went from middle class to upper middle class doing the same job. Girls are not as obese here as in UK, Wales especially.
HeadBat1863@reddit
Missed out a vital detail there, Flats.
CedarClove@reddit
where is this?
Esexboy101101@reddit
Moved to the Canary Islands in 2014. Not a day have I've regretted it
As for family... Strange as it may seem I see more of them now than ever as we all make more of an effort.
cheesecake_413@reddit
I'm on day 3 of living abroad... not going to lie, it's been quite a hassle so far (and would be much harder if I didnt also have Irish/EU citizenship anyway). Hopefully it will all be worth it in the end
farraigemeansthesea@reddit
I moved to France is 2018. Not to retire, but for work. Salaries are not vert good in Southern Europe, but at least I own my house on 3 acres of land outright. My children are bilingual and they will grow up experiencing freedom of movement, the Erasmus programme, and a more outward-looking attitude. As a vegetarian family, we're quite sorely disappointed in the "gastronomic capital of the world", but it saves me a lot of money not being tempted to go out to eat the whole time. I am pleased I've made a different culture work for me.
JimBowen0306@reddit
I work in the US and China. Both.. take mental adjustments?
CommercialPizza434@reddit
I left UK to live in Zambia for a while. I can’t lie I enjoyed Zambia a lot because the weather, food, animals and people were great. Got my vaccines and malaria pills so I had peace of mind. Nothing bad happened. Also of the exchange rate I lived a good life (1GBP was 35 kwacha)- rent, food, power, necessities were cheap. That being said my experience is not normal, there was load shedding because of the draught and most people didn’t have electricity. But it’s tough, I couldn’t stay because the job market is too bad and I was living off savings from having worked in U.K. Would love to go back once it develops a bit more. Life was slower in Zambia too so I missed the “business” of the cities in the U.K.
One thing I will say is the English proficiency in Zambia is genuinely amazing, the vast majority could speak english very well, I would say better than in Europe especially young ones as English is prioritised in schools. The premier league is also adored in Zambia so as a Wolves fan i could watch all the games for much cheaper in Zambia than in uk.
nicetoursmeetewe@reddit
I've been living in Japan for about 3 years now, I love it. I value punctuality, orderliness and politeness quite highly so I fit in quite well. The food is great, so is the weather. The yen is a bit weak at the moment and the towns/villages are pretty ugly and I do miss the english countryside and my family. The missus wants to try living in the UK though (I don't think she realises how different it actually is) so I'll probably come back soon
VolcanicBear@reddit
Yeah my brother moved to Japan 20 years ago.
I don't think it was a difficult decision at all lmao.
Where (roughly) do you live that's ugly? I find Otaru quite nice tbh. Might help that I only visit when it's under 3 foot of snow though.
barryfromthebloke@reddit
Moved to the USA in 2018, moved back to the UK in 2025. I think we missed the ‘golden years’ of the USA. I’m not going to bash it as it’s a beautiful country but living there now as a non citizen became near impossible, I was lucky in that we fulfilled what we want there to do, it was work related we kept our home on in the UK so the transition back was not too bad, I’d always recommend trying new things I would say though don’t cut all ties with the UK, go into it with an open mind, if your running away from your problems they will only follow you wherever you end up. I enjoyed my time abroad but very glad to be home, and in all honestly living abroad has only made me love where I live now even more.