Has anyone with kids just sold up everything and left the UK?

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Caveman1214@reddit

I’d discuss it with your children, if my mum had tried to move me when I was either of those ages I’d have went nuts tbh

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Haunting_Village372@reddit (OP)

Luckily we don’t need to do that. Our kids are already grounded and understand the modern pressures of life and how it impacts them and us as a family. If we weren’t open and honest with them, we wouldn’t be doing it!

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Caveman1214@reddit

I mean, fair enough but do they fully understand that it could be forever?

Like the other commenter said, if you’re set on it I’d seriously consider the likes of Australia where the culture is similar

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Australia does not have a similar culture at all. You couldn’t pay me to move there permanently. Most openly racist country I’ve ever been to.

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Vegetable-Traffic283@reddit

I’d just like to add that my parents considered me to be grounded and I fully understood the reasons for the move and they were all totally valid. But I resented them and it has affected our closeness to this day. So please really do consider whether your children might be trying to shelter you from their deeper feelings as they might see it as the mature or benevolent thing to do.

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Vegetable-Traffic283@reddit

My parents packed up and moved us all to France when I was 8. I resented them for it for quite a long time and there were some long term impacts on my education/career. It was enjoyable and beneficial in many other ways, but if I were to make a move like that now I’m a parent, I’d do it while my child is younger or move somewhere where the education is more transferrable (e.g. Canada, Australia).

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Caveman1214@reddit

Completely agree, children will adapt but by those ages they’re their own wee people. I worked with 8/9 year olds for close to a year and honestly I was amazed at their level of comprehension and understanding, let alone 11. You don’t see what your children experience and go through during the school hours and often never hear the full tale but taking a child out of that environment would be very impactful

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

Don’t have kids but want them in the future.

I’m a top 5% earner and don’t see how I can have any decent lifestyle with kids in this country.

Tax wrecks any possible expendable income, 2+ beds are extortionate near any decent city.

Planning to save enough money and buy a house abroad, then work a normal job but have the peace of mind knowing my house is 3/4 beds and paid off than a lifetime of debt here living paycheck to paycheck.

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Top 5% of what? You need to get in the real world if you’re struggling as top 5% of the nation. Hope you don’t work in finance.

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Cruxed1@reddit

I mean that's roughly 90k.. depending where you are in the UK assuming your a single income household with kids 90k doesn't go that far when house prices are so ridiculously high, and 90k+ jobs are predominantly in london//the SE

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Some people buy too much shit is all you’re telling me there. Buying a decent place anywhere other than London would be a piece of piss.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

I don’t really buy much. I haven’t bought more than a pair of jeans and a jumper in the past year or so.

I haven’t really bought myself anything special this year so no big expenditure on items.

I barely go out, when I do I have a pint or two.

I eat out maybe twice a month at a chain restaurant.

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Sounds like you’d have a better live if you just didn’t live in the south east.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

Hence why I want to move out of this country.

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

You’d be fine moving out of the city.

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Cruxed1@reddit

Really depends what part of the SE..

Take somewhere like Guildford your looking at 550k median for a 3 bed

90k in Newcastle your living like a king.

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

So you’d have to survive on only £2k per month or so? Diddums.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

Key word “survive”.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

This is why salaries are so shocking in this country, terrible mentality to wage growth and other people doing “well”.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

But jobs at 90k in Newcastle are few and far between. It’s all relative.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

My job is in London though.

You don’t really find many top 5% salaries outside of London.

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proxima-centauri-@reddit

You are a top 5% earner and think it would be a struggle with kids??!!

Lol, I don't know what world you live in.

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

Genuine question, how much expendable income do you assume I have after tax/bills/groceries/transport ?

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Enough.

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No-Garbage9500@reddit

Lol, I wish I was as big a failure with my huge amount of money as you are

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skkkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr@reddit

It’s really not that huge.

Money doesn’t stretch far in London… I’m too busy making my landlord rich and paying tax for the 20% of people living in social homes in London.

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Witty-Ad5286@reddit

Doing that right now. House just gone on market. Priced to sell. Signed kid up to international school. 3 months to go and we’re outta here 😂

Kinda just going with the flow. Chucking things out and selling stuff has been cathartic.

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sleepyjean2024@reddit

Exciting! Where are you moving to ??

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Witty-Ad5286@reddit

Guess…

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redmamoth@reddit

STRAYA???

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Witty-Ad5286@reddit

No way! Far too many things that wanna eat and kill you there. No 😂

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Altruistic_Alpine12@reddit

Where are you going?

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Old-Communication141@reddit

What was the kids’ reaction when they heard they’d soon be switching schools and moving to another country?

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Witty-Ad5286@reddit

We told her we were visiting last October with the idea of moving there. Had already researched schools and had booked visits. Kept informed all the way. Have had some tears but it’s the start of secondary in September so it is a natural break point. Then over Easter we went back for nearly a month and the kid had a whole day there meeting new class mates etc … and was pumped.

There will absolutely be some tears when we leave our house and street as great memories and great neighbours. Just not reason enough to stay.

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SameCollege4578@reddit

No but a family with 3 boys from Michigan randomly rocked up in our local last month and casually announced they'd just sold up and moved over here.

No house, car job or anything. They rented a room in the pub while they figured out wether they wanted to be in York or Norwich. Seriously brave stuff 🤷‍♀️

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JabbaTheHuttsCock@reddit

Seriously brave / fucking stupid

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dprophet32@reddit

Rich

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JabbaTheHuttsCock@reddit

If they were rich they wouldn’t be renting a room in a pub

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dprophet32@reddit

There are pubs with rooms and hotels with pubs attached. Theyre it remotely the same.

If they are renting a room in a pub on the outskirts of say Hull then fair enough but they could just as easily be renting a room in a village pub in Berkshire while they look for a property

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QuickCloud19@reddit

Yep, we moved last summer to Germany, permanently. Kiddo and mum are both citizens, my visa just came through after a 10 month wait.

Reason for selling the house and uprooting was simply we could get better public services here. The NHS saved our kiddo at birth but all the follow-up like Physio, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language basically don’t exist unless you pay privately. Here it’s part of the health insurance system and we got appointments for all three the week after we moved, not on a 1-2 year waiting list.

Schooling was also a big one, kids don’t go until they’re 6-7, and that’s down to their kindergarten teachers and doctor who monitor if they’re ready. If we were in the U.K. there is no way kiddo would be ready for school in September, but they’d go and we’d spend a year looking for a special school to cater for their needs whilst they try and cope with a normal school.

Regrets boil down to being far from family and friends, pub culture isn’t a thing but that’s a very first world problem. The bureaucracy has been difficult, waiting on the visa which took twice as long as it should meant no trips home and obviously can’t work here, and remote work in my industry isn’t a thing so that’s been problematic. But a year of watching kiddo grow up, wouldn’t swap that now.

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TheLittleSquire@reddit

My step dads brother did it, went to Spain, took the kids out of school, sold the house and 9 months later he's back because the kids hated and and I don't think he could find great work. Horrendous idea with kids to do if you don't have a solid plan, so unfair to the kiddies

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Bull333t@reddit

I've seen a couple on YouTube who moved to Bulgaria with their kids.

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Haunting_Village372@reddit (OP)

I follow them! They are very brave !

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

Might be the same ones that Ben Fogle went to see. Their gaff was pretty ramshackle on there it they seemed much happier than they suggested they had been in the UK.

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Enough-Equivalent968@reddit

We moved to Australia with kids. They were very young though (under 4) which I think makes things substantially easier.

Miss family/friends but many of them visit us. No regrets about the kids growing up here. We lived in a rougher area in the UK than we do in Australia. I have a trade so earn a fair bit more

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donalmacc@reddit

Everyone should spend 3 months on the subreddit of the country and/or city they’re about to move to before they move. If you think gangs of youths, cost of living, a breakdown of trust in society, decaying healthcare, aging elderly population combined with a rinsing immigrant population, stagnating wages, rise of the hard right, are unique to the UK, you would be incorrect

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T-eighty@reddit

Not yet but planning our exit over the next year or two with three children.

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TimedDelivery@reddit

We’re moving to Australia in August after giving it a lot of thought over the last year. I’m from there originally (liked in the UK 13 years) so we have a lot of family there. The kids (8 and 5) are very excited, although my oldest occasionally gets a little melancholy about leaving his friends and favourite teachers.

We have no plans to ever come back permanently, although we will visit often as we will still own a business here. We don’t want to keep uprooting the kids, my oldest especially as he’s autistic and can find big changes challenging.

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nhilistic_daydreamer@reddit

We did the opposite a year ago, kids are 7 & 10 and have adjusted well, I think it’s great for kids to experience these type of things.

Where about in Aus are you moving?

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dugerz@reddit

3 months in Portugal with kids age 1 and 3. Home for Christmas then 2 months in Thailand. No regrets. Do it. Go as long and far as possible. And don't let the kids eat Burger King when in a foreign land. Street food every time 😄

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External_Violinist94@reddit

This sounds pretty sick. How old are your kids?

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b3ta_blocker@reddit

1 and 3 i reckon.

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BigLittleSlof@reddit

And I wonder how long they spent in Portugal.

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Stunning_Buyer_64@reddit

Not long just for Christmas

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showusyatackle@reddit

Great guess mate

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OldHelicopter256@reddit

Pure speculation.

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Due-Persimmon1447@reddit

I think so too, just because I read the post

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Organic-Violinist223@reddit

3 months in Italy last year! Wonderful!

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jimicus@reddit

I've done this. No kids but two pets. And I did the ultimate Noddy in Toytown move to Ireland - it really doesn't get much easier than that. Same language, similar culture, relatively short distance.

You know how moving house is stressful, right? An international move is ten times harder. On top of all the bullshit that goes with a house move, you have to add:

You may not qualify for a mortgage straight away, so you'll be renting for your first year. Which means you'll likely have your posessions in storage for that year.
It's incredibly expensive. I estimate the cost of moving wound up being close to £30-40k (including renting a flat for the first year).
There are inevitably subtle cultural differences that you don't even know exist.
Britain - for all its faults (and it has quite a number) actually does a lot of things remarkably well. But most Brits have no idea of this because we're really much better at talking about how terrible we are.

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sleepyjean2024@reddit

I would love to escape with my young children but my partner and I have ageing single parents and we feel too bad to leave them as they’re getting older (plus taking the kids away from grandparents :( but really do wish we could go somewhere for better quality of life, probably Europe as want to avoid US LOL

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