Which country could you move to from the UK and not worry about learning the language?

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kwakimaki@reddit

Netherlands. They speak better English than us.

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Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit

The English is good, but it's not better.

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nathanherts@reddit

I never know what these people mean when they claim L2 speakers speak better English. How is that possible? Do they just mean they have more advanced vocabulary's?

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Slang and accents tbh. In my work there is me a Sctosman an Indian guy and a Nigerian guy. The Nigerian has to translate English > English between myself and the Indian as we both can barely comprehend each other.

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vicarofsorrows@reddit

Or “vocabularies,” as the Dutch would no doubt say…. 🙂

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fartingbeagle@reddit

Is 'alcoves' the right word? Maybe 'niches'.

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nathanherts@reddit

No, that is wrong, because that would be referring to two or more.

"Vocabulary' is correct. Not sure why it was auto-corrected to pluralised though.

[-]

nathanherts@reddit

Vocabularies is used when referring to two or more distinct languages. Vocabulary's is used when referring to one language.

Since I was referring to their English vocabulary's, vocabulary's is correct.

[-]

AnxiousAppointment70@reddit

We bits are lazy with grammar and pronunciation but people who learn English are taught to speak correctly and they don't know the many bad habits we have

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DreamyTomato@reddit

Up with this I will not put!

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nildro@reddit

It’s an Eddie Izzard joke that got warped into the fabric of society. It’s just hyperbole based on the fact the level of English is surprisingly good.

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nathanherts@reddit

I get that, but there are people who genuinely make this claim. Maybe it's just another way us Brit's like to self-deprecate.

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Alternative-Sea-6238@reddit

There are a lot of people who sleak.English as their first language but poor syntax, grammar and so on. For example, saying "I would of done that" or "it really effects me".

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RoonilaWazlib@reddit

Spoken like someone who doesn't really know what syntax is.

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Alternative-Sea-6238@reddit

I'm not sure what you are referring to. Can you please clarify?

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First_Report6445@reddit

There's a line how foreigners speak better English in My Fsir Lady (and, therefore possibly Pygmalion) which was written long before Eddie Izzard was born...

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EasyPriority8724@reddit

Used that very line on the GF today she's younger than me and never read the book or seen the movie lol.

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pumpkingutsgalore@reddit

You should still atempt to speak dutch though. Just rude to go to another country and not bother.

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FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit

You'll know when you're getting good at the accent when they don't immediately switch to English on you as soon as you say a few words.

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Scotto6UK@reddit

I got asked if I was German when trying to speak Dutch. I think that's a good thing.

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Ill_Condition_1496@reddit

That’s not a good thing, having dealt with the Dutch, Germans weren’t their favourite nation for historical reasons

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Scotto6UK@reddit

Yeahh you're right, but in this context I felt pleased that they didn't immediately know I was English from how badly I was likely butchering their language.

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celtiquant@reddit

English people often think I’m Dutch when I speak Welsh. Tells you a lot about English people.

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Snoo63@reddit

I've had one or two people think I'm Welsh when I was speaking English.

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Scotto6UK@reddit

Bore dag.

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Logical_Bake_3108@reddit

Maybe, but if you go there they will insist on speaking English to you even if you try. It's like they can tell and just think English will be easier for everyone.

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m1nkeh@reddit

I’ve literally lived here almost 8 years and hardly speak a jot of Dutch..

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pumpkingutsgalore@reddit

Appalling behavior. Even if you don't need to, why would you not want to learn the language of the country you're living in? It's people like you who make British people so unpopular with the rest of the world.

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Basketball312@reddit

Lots of them do but believe me, plenty don't.

Don't go there leading off in English unless you're exclusively talking to people in customer facing tourist jobs. .

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TheNinjaPixie@reddit

winners of the cutest accent too

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Ruff_Magician@reddit

Kenya

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IsOkay_No@reddit

Jamaica and lots of the Caribbean, it’s where I’m going if the shit ever hits the fan

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mokoe101@reddit

Don’t be so sure on that mate. Thought I understood a decent amount of patois until I went to rural Jamaica. They might as well have been speaking French to me

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IsOkay_No@reddit

Hahah my patois is weak but that’s why I’d live in the north and make my money from the tourists

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Icy_Attention3413@reddit

And you’ll be absolutely fine until the side of that mountain in Lanzarote, or wherever it is, falls into the sea. The tsunami will travel at 600 miles an hour and completely obliterate most of the Caribbean. I recommend a mountain in Peru.

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IsOkay_No@reddit

How long have I got? I need to brush up on whichever language they speak in Peru then

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eekamouse4@reddit

Spanish

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IsOkay_No@reddit

Está bien, I guess

[-]

Icy_Attention3413@reddit

About an hour

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Usual_Welder7059@reddit

Id start looking at tickets if I was you!

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IsOkay_No@reddit

I can be on the way to Kingston tomorrow for £400 if I don’t mind a few stops

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wotdafukwazdat@reddit

Kingston on Hull or Kingston on Thames ?

('Cause £400 sounds way to cheap for a ticket to Jamaica)

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IsOkay_No@reddit

Kingston Jamaica but it goes via Portugal with a long layover

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Linf_ord@reddit

Ireland

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LaidBackLeopard@reddit

And it has the rather significant advantage that you don't need a visa or anything.

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butterypowered@reddit

Presumably you do if you want to move there indefinitely from mainland UK?

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LaidBackLeopard@reddit

AIUI for s bonus, if you stay 5 years you can get citizenship and the EU is your oyster.

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kiradotee@reddit

I would assume it's the same as in the UK. Some people in the UK never ever had a passport. You can get a job with a birth certificate.

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SarahL1990@reddit

I got my first passport at 26, but before that I would use my driving licence as photo ID. My mother has never had either.

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mind_thegap1@reddit

Nope

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GoodTato@reddit

Hell, don't even need a passport.

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

You need a passport to get through airport security. You technically shouldn't but practically you do.

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didsomeonesaycabbage@reddit

I've never taken a passport to Ireland

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

Do you pass through Dublin Airport?

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didsomeonesaycabbage@reddit

Yeah I've never been asked for it, wby?

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

I've always been required by an airline to have a passport to fly to and from Ireland and had to present it at passport control at Dublin.

I even had to get an emergency passport from the consulate to nip back for 2 days for a funeral.

I've also always found that the ferry companies require passports.

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kiradotee@reddit

There's always an option of going through Northern Ireland without a passport....

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Namiweso@reddit

You do if you fly from the UK

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SnooDonuts6494@reddit

Legally you often don't, but the issue is that airlines often insist on it.

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DescriptionSignal458@reddit

Driving I didn't even know I'd crossed the border, just that the speed limit had gone up to 120. Found out my car doesn't go that fast.

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BarbiePeonies@reddit

Singapore

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Really?

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Pyjama365@reddit

No hate, but I'm genuinely surprised at some of the replies not knowing how much history Britain has with places like Singapore and Malta. If you don't mind sharing, would you say if you grew up in the UK and roughly what age you are?

I would have thought Singapore was about as obvious as Hong Kong for having history with the UK.

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Sea_Worldliness_7525@reddit

I lived in Singapore for 2 years, no problems speaking English.

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SamSite-@reddit

What were you doing for work whilst there if you don’t mind me asking?

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Any-Tangerine-8659@reddit

Yes....

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Darwen85@reddit

Singlish is a thing.

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lifetypo10@reddit

Sul sul

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rebekha@reddit

Yes, totally agree with Singapore.

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Runny_Poos@reddit

Yes easy. I lived there for many years, ex British colony, multicultural society with a mixture of ethnically Chinese, Malay and Indian population, English is the official language they use in common.

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Deep_Pepper_5405@reddit

Yep, English is the official language. Street signs etc. are in english.

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iamabigtree@reddit

Malta. Zimbabwe. New Zealand. Canada.

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Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Explain malta please

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Nothin-on-the-telly@reddit

Malta is highly fluent in English primarily because of its history as a British colony for over 160 years (1800–1964). During this time, Britain established English as a core language in administration, law, and education. When Malta gained independence, it retained English as one of its two official languages alongside Maltese

Source : Googled it

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mantolwen@reddit

Malta didn't even want independence. They wanted to become full members of the UK.

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Snoo63@reddit

There's an alternate universe where it's the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Malta.

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Mental_Status999@reddit

English is the second official language of Malta.

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Kcufasu@reddit

Second? You'd struggle to get by in any other languages

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radikoolaid@reddit

Maltese? The language spoken by 98% of the population?

Even Italian is spoken by about 2/3rds of the population

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Isgortio@reddit

Only the older generations want to speak Maltese, and a lot of the newer words in the language are in English or Italian. The younger ones have no interest in the Maltese language. The majority of adverts are in English too.

I've never needed to speak Maltese in all of the 30 years I've been travelling to Malta to see family.

[-]

radikoolaid@reddit

I'm not doubting that you can survive in English, I'm doubting that it's the only language you can survive in

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Isgortio@reddit

I'm backing you up here :)

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AnxiousTerminator@reddit

Malta is considered a majority English speaking country by the Home Office, and citizens do not have to take an English proficiency test to move to the UK.

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ihateaseagull@reddit

Have lived in Malta for 10 years, English is fine.

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Volf_y@reddit

English, Maltese (a bit like Arabic) and Italian are the languages of Malta. Big British historical presence - see siege of Malta WW2.

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Baskham@reddit

My brother in law moved out there. He can speak Maltese now but he can get around with English

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

Malta was a crown colony until the 60s.

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wreckinballbob@reddit

English is the official language of Malta

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scotsman1919@reddit

It’s one of their official languages.

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strawberrychief@reddit

Zambia, Uganda.

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Akash_nu@reddit

New Zealand! The best place after the U.K.

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PeaceLoveCurrySauce@reddit

Ireland

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eatapeach16@reddit

Careful now

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ffordeffanatic@reddit

I hear you're a racist now Father.

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dwhite21787@reddit

It was just resting in my account

[-]

Three_Steaks_Pam@reddit

Is there anything to be said for saying another mass?

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FinneyontheWing@reddit

"That would be an ecumenical matter."

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newjerseysuccesstory@reddit

DRINK!

[-]

FinneyontheWing@reddit

We're all going to heaven, lads. Wahey!

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SirGranular@reddit

More tea vicar?

Or is that in Oz?!

[-]

Disastrous-Fennel918@reddit

Down with this sort of thing!

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eat-my-rice@reddit

Dubai, UAE

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Fine-State8014@reddit

Ireland

Benidorm?

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WonkyRodent@reddit

You joke about Benidorm but I've found the spaniards that get significantly more pissed off at my horrendous pronunciation and bastardisation of their language is because they speak fluent English.

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Fine-State8014@reddit

Where my wife is from nobody speaks English.

In 9 years of going the only person to speak to me in English turned around and said "it's easier to teach Spanish to a monkey than to an Englishman"

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DreamyTomato@reddit

Likely to be empirically true.

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Srddrs@reddit

Sweden.

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Plastic_Length8618@reddit

Lots of people move to Berlin without speaking German. Sometimes German people feel a bit put out having to speak English in shops because the person working there hasn’t bothered to learn any German (which is actually quite an easy language coming from English, if you’re not bothered about getting the cases right.

If you don’t bother to learn the language of where you’re living though I feel like you’re missing the point.

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60sstuff@reddit

my friend is half german and actually speaks it but quit often when we were in Berlin the German person behind the counter would just switch to what i can only describe as “benny from wisconsin english”

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kiradotee@reddit

I'm surprised it's possible to get work in Berlin without speaking German. 😯

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Realistic-Muffin-165@reddit

I lived in Germany for a while and got by with basic supermarket German.

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Sutraner@reddit

Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, probably Finland, India in some of the major cities, Nigeria, Malta, a lot of the Caribbean would probably be fine, South Africa, Spain in the coastal tourist areas, Gibraltar

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jingleson@reddit

But if you were to move to somewhere like Malta , don't be the worst kind of immigrant , at least try and learn the local language like maltese

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Beneficial_Grab_5880@reddit

English is one of the country's two official languages, not just some language that's commonly spoken. It's like only speaking English in Wales or Ireland, not like only speaking English in Spain.

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jingleson@reddit

I'd still be of the opinion, that Wales ,Ireland , even Scotland you should learn the native language. It shows a effort to integrate

Heck if you move to Cornwall , why not learn Cornish

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GinatheGiraff@reddit

But they are dead languages and not really spoken?

Welsh maybe not, but its use is still declining.

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FireBun@reddit

Id say it's the exception to the rule. Apart from a few basic words it's very very hard to learn and English is an official language.

Even eating out most waiting staff are non Maltese.

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jingleson@reddit

Yeah true, but think it's just the thing to do as part of the community

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Toatkgstuff@reddit

No, you could be massively culture shocked in America Canada and Australia, the moment you think you have everything buttoned down then whoosh! Pants and garbage and sidewalks all abound.
The sudden appearance of the unexpected language phenomenon can really sideswipe you.

Norway or the Netherlands are more plausible. At least you expect things to be different and are pleasantly surprised when they are not.

[-]

JohnCasey3306@reddit

You could move to Norway ... Adoption of English is close to 100% and among the highest in Europe -- even in remote rural regions.

Of course, if you were to move Norway (which is beautiful country with a fantastic culture) you should learn Norwegian ... but whilst you're learning, English won't be a problem for the locals.

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Remarkable_Today_619@reddit

Belize , Guyana

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cal90265@reddit

The most obvious outside Anglo countries being Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands,possibly Romandy, South Africa

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Remarkable_Today_619@reddit

Many Caribbean islands

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AndrewHinds67@reddit

Ireland or Australia.

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SpectreSingh89@reddit

Punjab! And Mumbai.

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uffington@reddit

North Sentinal Island. I'd bring them a boatload of knives, bowls, mirrors and string.

Not a word would be said. They'd view my gifts with delight, before killing me with a wet branch.

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ClickerKnocker@reddit

Why not with the gifted knives or string?

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Organic-Ad6439@reddit

Ireland, France, USA, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco (potentially), Luxembourg, Potentially Algeria (less likely), Most Caribbean countries, Australia, New Zealand etc

You know what, the list will be too fucking long. Just Google Francophone and Anglophone countries or countries where French and/or English is sufficiently used in day to day life (locals use and understand the language).

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Aggravating-Sir-242@reddit

Denmark are Norway. Certainly met bar/shop/cafe/restaurant and tourist related staff in both Copenhagen and Oslo who didn't know Danish or Norwegian. Some were British but lots of other European employees who greated and chatted to everyone in English regardless of if they were local or visitors. I was rather surprised. But economiccaly they are both doing great and might need more workers than speakers of the languages and both languages are fairly obscure, and quite difficult to learn.

[-]

FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit

Native-born Danes under about 40, or older ones with a professional / university education pretty much all speak English.

Older people without that education (especially in rural or small-town areas) often don't (or their English is not very good), and these days you also get immigrants to Denmark who speak fluent Danish as well as whichever languages they brought with them, but don't speak English (because you don't have to speak it to live in Denmark and you do have to speak Danish to function).

It's not easy to get around in general life in Denmark without speaking at least moderate Danish.

(source: I am Danish)

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Aggravating-Sir-242@reddit

I'm sure you are correct. Not knowing Danish or German made some areas of Denmark a little more challenging... But Copenhagen was very easy.

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listo-@reddit

Sweden and Germany, it's obviously best to know at least some of the local language, but there's a reason people say they speak English better than we do

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Kapika96@reddit

South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Guyana, Jamaica, Belize etc.

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chief_bustice@reddit

A blue part of the US. Probably Chicago.

[-]

heyylisten@reddit

Namibia 🇳🇦🇳🇦 South Africa 🇿🇦

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FenianBastard847@reddit

Fiji

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talligan@reddit

Having moved here from Canada, sometimes it does feel like a different language!

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PralineAwkward8065@reddit

Everywhere speak English tbh these days

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vicarofsorrows@reddit

Spain.

Just speak louder….

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louilondon@reddit

All most anywhere

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EasyPriority8724@reddit

Gibraltar.

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signol_@reddit

3 EU countries have English as an official language: Ireland, Malta, Cyprus.

Plenty of other countries mentioned, but I'd highlight South Africa. Despite a small minority speaking English as a first language (~4%) it's understood by almost all and is one of the official languages, and lingua franca amongst almost everyone.

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Phil1889Blades@reddit

More people in Sweden (per capita) speak English as a second language than anywhere else. Tak.

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EchoesOfZhivago@reddit

Ireland 🇮🇪

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Fit-Mistake-4390@reddit

Sweden. Most of them speak English

The most learned language on duolingo in Sweden is Swedish

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MattWillGrant@reddit

And that's because....

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SnooBooks1701@reddit

Immigrants want to integrate while everyone else is divided on what language they're learning

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fluorine_nmr@reddit

You should absolutely learn Swedish if you move to Sweden (according to a lot of Swedish people. I am considering moving/trying to move to Sweden). But initially you absolutely don't have to know it, in the bigger cities. My friend in Gothenburg claims she's not good at languages; she's lived there maybe 3 years and I strongly suspect my poor Swedish from a year or two of Duolingo is better than hers 😬

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Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit

It'll make your life easier if you speak Swedish, sure, but also you could live there for 20 years, speak it fluently and you'll still be treated like an outsider.

[-]

foxhill_matt@reddit

Malta

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SnooBooks1701@reddit

Spain, if you're a prick and retired

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Warm_Stress_1654@reddit

Myself, I'd only do that if I were moving to an English-speaking country. I'd include various Asian and African countries in that category, mind you. Otherwise, there's Duolingo.

But many of my compatriots merrily live in Spain, France and Italy without learning a word of Spanish, French or Italian and survive by raising their voices and speaking slowly and deliberately.

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Logical_Bake_3108@reddit

Judging by certain people's attitudes, Spain.

[-]

OK_LK@reddit

New Zealand and Belize

[-]

CumUppanceToday@reddit

Malaysia. I'm a Brit who worked there. The 3 main ethnic groups didn't like using each others' languages, so they used English.

[-]

paul6057@reddit

Singapore, South Africa, lots of the Middle East.

[-]

Repulsive-Note-112@reddit

Belgium

[-]

Lobstah-et-buddah@reddit

Malta

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desolateheaven@reddit

Virtually any European country. You can get your basic business done in English but you will never ever be accepted unless you pull your finger out and learn the language.

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IdioticMutterings@reddit

Nederlands.

My best friend moved there, when she married a Dutchie. I miss her company.

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Gryeg@reddit

Isle of Man, a crown dependence so not part of the the UK.

[-]

snowdrop0901@reddit

They also have wild wallaby

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Mr_Biscuits_532@reddit

Also Jersey/ Guernsey. My dad has lived both on Mann and Jersey - whilst all three have historically spoken local languages (Manx, Jerrais, and Guernesiais), they now pretty much exclusively speak English.

Jersey has more to do than Mann, despite it's smaller size. Can't say for Guernsey. I get the impression it's more expensive to live there though.

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MrsTheBo@reddit

I used to live on Guernsey. Expensive with very little to do - ideal!

[-]

Craig_1988@reddit

Probably Netherlands, they are extremely proficient in English and the bits you need to learn would be easy enough to learn over time.

I have a Dutch friend and from years of talking to me he sounds English more than Dutch 😂

[-]

KimonoCathy@reddit

Belgium, Singapore.

[-]

Amddiffynnydd@reddit

The Philippines

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ReceptionNo4565@reddit

Ireland, New Zealand, Gibraltar. I could think of a few places

[-]

massie_le@reddit

Bahamas

[-]

lucalucasita@reddit

Malta?

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Really?

[-]

jingleson@reddit

Former British colony, like 90% of the population speaks english

[-]

JourneyThiefer@reddit

First or 2nd language though?

[-]

jingleson@reddit

Technically 2nd. But most business is done in English (lots of Brits there, also English is a more global language than Maltese)

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JourneyThiefer@reddit

To fully integrate you’d probably need to learn Maltese though maybe?

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jingleson@reddit

Yep, and I made another comment using Malta as an example of country where even though English is very common you should learn the main language.

But with Malta being commonwealth so much is in English. Heck Lidl the radio announcement were in English, the labels were in English, all the staff were communicating in English. One the staff was from Sunderland and didn't speak Maltese, but was still working the tills

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badnewsgoat@reddit

Yep. Everything I saw was in English first. They even have British double decker buses and red telephone boxes, iirc.

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CAJEG1@reddit

2nd, but you cannot tell. Like Denmark, everyone speaks it so fluently that you're surprised that they don't speak it at home.

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lil-smartie@reddit

Schools teach in English, but officially 2nd language. Not met any Maltese who genuinely don't speak English, plenty of Italians here on holiday who don't speak either official language though. Many Maltese speak Italian as TV was more common in Italian than English.

[-]

BlackUnicornUK@reddit

Trinidad and Tobago

[-]

badnewsgoat@reddit

Malta.

[-]

yellowsapphire88@reddit

The Netherlands, definitely. I'd also go with the Nordic countries too, most speak better English than we do, especially in the more metropolitan areas.

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Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit

I lived in Stockholm for a while and no, the locals do not speak better English than we do. Many people speak good English. Lots of people have a functional level of fluency. Many have worked or lived abroad in English-speaking countries.

But no, if you were to stick the mean Swede in a room with the mean Englishman you'd very quickly find out who speaks the better English.

It's such a rude myth about English people, too. What people mean when they say this is "working class people in England have accents and ways of speaking I find embarrassing".

[-]

yellowsapphire88@reddit

There are a lot of companies across the Nordics, especially in Sweden that do business in English. Quite complicated business. Sweden and Finland both have a wildly disproportionate amount of tech and gaming companies, all of which require English to an extremely high level.

"Knowing English better" is not about accents. As I'm sure you're aware, a language like Finnish, for example, has 15 noun cases. Maybe it's different for the Nordics you know, but many Finns I know speak three languages: Finnish, Swedish and English, and thus many know English on a grammatical level in a way we just don't. Maybe it's because the Finns have to master such a complicated grammatical system of their own, but that experience of so many Nordics, not just Finns.

[-]

xander012@reddit

Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Isle of Man (not a part of the UK just like the channel islands) pr Ireland

[-]

ShadsDR@reddit

Trinidad and Tobago

[-]

combabulated@reddit

India

[-]

SnooDonuts6494@reddit

New Zealand and Ireland.

Also various smaller ex-colonies like Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Malta.

And then many others, depending on exactly where you live and your lifestyle - where some people mostly use English. Such as India, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Pakistan, Philippines.

And lots of European countries where people often have excellent English ability - such as Netherlands (especially), Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland.

[-]

AfricanLad@reddit

Anywhere, they should learn to speak English! /s

[-]

Stefgrep66@reddit

Somewhere in Scandinavia.

The swedes and Norwegians particularly just speak amazing English.

Also shout out to the Dutch.

[-]

BroodLord1962@reddit

It's no longer just about language, it's what countries would you be allowed to move to

[-]

Guy_Incognito97@reddit

Benidorm! Lads on tour! Lads on tour!

Malta, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands.

You can probably get by in Hong Kong.

[-]

FireBun@reddit

Bermuda, Cayman Islands, BVI and other Caribbean islands too

[-]

mierneuker@reddit

Hong Kong English can be pretty hilarious. I had a bus driver get very irate at me for not understanding that exact change was required, it took me fully 20 seconds to realise he was yelling at me in English. The office based professionals have excellent English though.

[-]

blue_rizla@reddit

Brother you need to do like a teensy bit of research before asking other people to take time to give you information. Did you seriously not google “English-speaking countries” at any point before this

[-]

AccomplishedQuail770@reddit

Hardly anyone mentions Australia or New Zealand.
Hard to get in, but language is not the problem. 😄

[-]

l0stlabyrinth@reddit

Netherlands is pretty chill for this. People are pretty friendly.

I'm in Berlin at the moment and have gotten by without issue speaking English

[-]

pumpkingutsgalore@reddit

Please try to speak a bit of german though, its just rude not to.

[-]

Alert-Art-2618@reddit

Are you German native or an immigrant to Germany? I ask out of interest for who is more likely to be bothered.

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pumpkingutsgalore@reddit

No, I've lived my whole life in Britain.

Are you a British person who would be annoyed if a foreigner came here, and expected you to speak any language other than English? I ask because the double standards some people have is truly shocking.

[-]

Alert-Art-2618@reddit

Oh, I assumed you were in Germany. I guess you were just chastising strangers on the internet on behalf of a culture you’ve never been a part of? Whatever keeps you entertained, I guess.

As for whether I am British originally or not, I don’t think it’s relevant. I’m not German though.

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pumpkingutsgalore@reddit

Well I am half-german but I don't think it's relevant.

[-]

l0stlabyrinth@reddit

I have tried to just to be polite to the locals. I do try to speak the native language a little bit whenever I go to a country with a different native language. The people in those countries have been mostly cool about it however

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

But in terms of working?

[-]

JamOverCream@reddit

I’ve worked in Netherlands and Germany (although not worked in Berlin) with only English as a working language. This has been for international organisations. German smaller organisations (mittelstand) are very much German language only in my (limited) experience.

[-]

-Rhymenocerous-@reddit

Canada.

British Columbia to be specific.

Great place.

[-]

BikeProblemGuy@reddit

Denmark

[-]

Heathenry2@reddit

Hvad siger du?

[-]

BikeProblemGuy@reddit

Well, you don't have to learn Danish, even though it's helpful. I lived in Copenhagen for 5 years. Started learning from month 2 but then covid messed up our lessons and my wife's job meant we couldn't stay permanently, so I stopped formal classes and just learnt what I needed for shopping, serving customers, everyday things.

[-]

Heathenry2@reddit

Fedt. You have PR under the WA? Remember to visit more than once every 5 years (and keep proof) to retain the status!

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BikeProblemGuy@reddit

I do but my wife doesn't, but that's good to know.

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Heathenry2@reddit

Yeah, been struggling understanding the rule etc. Been speaking to British in denmark's admins etc, clarification from EU comission. Good to keep it open and highly reccomend you keep a possible footing there.

[-]

Sea-Still5427@reddit

I speak French, German and Dutch as well as English, so over 100 countries.

[-]

MapOfIllHealth@reddit

Poor NZ left of the map again?

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Specialist-Crazy8541@reddit

New Zealand

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

Ireland.

The Netherlands, particularly Amsterdam.

Probably most Nordic capitals.

If you work for an American company in most European capitals you can get away with not picking up much of the language.

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Really why is that

[-]

squigs@reddit

It's not just American companies. Any company with offices in several countries will use English because it's the most commonly shared language. It allows for easy communication and, at least for EU based companies, allows for recruitment across Europe.

[-]

Espresso-Newbie@reddit

Because most don’t bother to try and learn the language if English is the official language of your workplace

I grew up in Brussels and it still surprises me how many people there don’t even try and learn 1 or more of the 3 official languages there. Even though I had a British education there, I can still speak good Flemish , French and some German

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everybodyctfd@reddit

You will be working for and English speaking company and most of your social circle will be also, so English is easy to get by on. I would still make the effort to learn the local language though.

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DamoclesBDA@reddit

Well you'll speak English at work, you'll socialise with your colleagues and you can shop in supermarkets without really talking to people.

[-]

London-maj@reddit

India

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

No way?

[-]

InternationalRide5@reddit

India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.

10% of the population speak English as a first, second or third language. Hindi is the biggest with 43% first language and 57% 1st-3rd language. English is second. Bengali is third at about 8%. (Those stats are from 2011 census I think, and now probably outdated.)

It's the number of second- and third-language speakers that puts English so high. English is also an official language in eight states and seven union territories of India, and the additional official language in five other states and one union territory.

In areas where there are multiple languages used, English is going to be more common as a lingua franca than areas where there is a dominant Indian language.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/w5sen7/english_speakers_in_india_by_state/

[-]

strattad@reddit

None. There isn't a single country I would move to without at least attempting to learn the language.

People who often jump straight to talking about whether you "need" to learn the language in a particular city or you can simply "get by" in English, never stop to consider whether it's actually respectful? And does it help you feel integrated being surrounded by signs, billboards and train station announcements in gobbledygook? Abd would learning the language not mitigate a feeling of loneliness?

An Aussie colleague we have at work, who had lived in Copenhagen before moving here, basically said that to make any friends in Denmark you had to learn Danish, showing no indication that she ever bothered. Danish pronunciation can admittedly be tricky but she didn't even try.

Also. Partly the reason the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries are so good at English is because all our languages are Germanic. Common colloquial expressions can often be very familiar to English speakers and some even literally translate. Every language is a challenge to learn of course, but Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish are basically the bottom tier in terms of language difficulty for a native English speaker. Unfortunately though the monolingual worldview we have in the Anglosphere is incredibly defeatist about learning languages and so completely overlooks this fact.

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Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit

The term for literally translate is "transliterate_

[-]

PaulaDeen21@reddit

South Africa not seen mentioned yet.

But genuinely most large cities in Europe, you’d be totally fine.

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Icy_Attention3413@reddit

The Netherlands, where around 95% of people speak English virtually fluently or fluently.

Kenya and Uganda. I can’t speak for Uganda but certainly, in Kenya virtually everybody speaks English. They’re also really lovely and the country is beautiful. That would be my first choice if it wasn’t Europe.

You could probably live in Switzerland, but you’d look like a complete cock because most of them can speak at least two, and commonly three languages. I was there and I am embarrassed to report that a nine-year-old boy spoke French English Italian and German exceptionally well. I am considerably older and can speak English fluently, with a reasonable amount of German, French, a tiny amount of Spanish. But then I was taller than him and could’ve drunk him under the table.

[-]

be_sugary@reddit

Norway.

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tobotic@reddit

Germany

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neilm1000@reddit

The Phillipines, at least around Manila.

[-]

AvoidsAvocados@reddit

Philippines, with thanks to the US colonisation of the country.

It's certainly useful to know some of the local language, but unless you are stranded in a mountain village miles away from any major settlement, you would be unfortunate to encounter someone who doesn't have at least a basic grasp of English. Shops, service workers and government offices will generally be staffed by people with good levels of English.

[-]

Klakson_95@reddit

Netherlands

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Do you not need to master dutch to work there?

[-]

untoldrain@reddit

Dutch as a language is very similar to English (it’s where the Anglo-Saxons) originated from, so it’s always at the top of lists for easiest languages to learn for English speakers.

Also, I think >90% of Netherlands speaks English anyway. They get taught it in school and consume a lot of English/American media so the vast majority speak it fluently.

[-]

HauntingPoetry7870@reddit

Dutch and English have a lot of similarities, sure, but it is definitely not among the ‘easiest languages to learn’

[-]

FelisCantabrigiensis@reddit

Amsterdam: not really. Many international companies.
Other cities: yes, for proper functioning.
Small towns: very much yes.

[-]

svtlngreize@reddit

unless you work in healthcare or the public sector you can absolutely get a job without knowing dutch (especially big cities like amsterdam, rotterdam, the hague). it's always best to learn the language of the country you live in though, it's basic respect imo

[-]

scouse_git@reddit

It depends on what you can offer. For example, a lot of university level education is dependant mainly English language textbooks which is why graduates are so fluent.

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Djinjja-Ninja@reddit

Pretty much any of the members of the Commonwealth of Nations. English is either the official language, or a recognised language.

My personal choice would be Antigua and Barbuda. I went there a few years ago as part of a cruise and I didn't want to leave.

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juicy_steve@reddit

Netherlands. Singapore. Hong Kong.

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FloydEGag@reddit

You have to pass exams in Dutch to get citizenship in the Netherlands though

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ChoakIsland@reddit

Belize

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Less_Local_1727@reddit

Pretty much any commonwealth country or ex colony. But if there’s a national language I’d try to learn as much as I could of it.

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redseaaquamarine@reddit

South Africa

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fudgelover2019@reddit

The Netherlands.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

Gibraltar.

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himit@reddit

Most places tbh, English is a lingua franca now.

Life is always richer if you learn the local language, but I doubt there's a single city left in the world where English won't get you through the day-to-day basics.

[-]

m1nkeh@reddit

Netherlands

[-]

MainGeneral4813@reddit

Learning pretty good french in my 20s really opened up some paths to me

Would be happy to live in Japan, I'd have no idea what they're saying but love every second of it

[-]

pistachiocarpaccio28@reddit

Singapore

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Baskham@reddit

Germany. Unless you go rural, most Germans speak better English than us. Really annoying as someone trying to learn German, they always reply in English.

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Are they not fussed that you do not know german?

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Baskham@reddit

They get annoyed because they like having a straight conversation. Faffing around with me stumbling my words is worse than them speaking English. Unless of course they don’t speak English then speaking German helps (I’ve found it quite easy actually, better than French or Spanish at school.

Obviously it’s preferred in any country to give their language a go as we probably would if someone came here.

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Velo_Rapide@reddit

I lived in Switzerland for years, they only teach German there, but the locals HATE speaking German and only want to talk in local German dialect which makes things really bloody difficult...

[-]

Baskham@reddit

Yup, remember being in the mountains near Sion and this old man with the strangest dialect I’ve ever heard. We could barely make a conversation, I don’t know if he was a tourist too but it was the first time I’d heard it in person properly. But my friend is from Konstanz so I’ve sort of learned with a bit of Swiss German as she isn’t Hochdeutsch at all

[-]

National-Falcon2284@reddit

In the Caribbean/Americas, you've also got Guyana, Belize, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands, to name a few.

[-]

kernowgringo@reddit

Netherlands would be doable

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Dutch needed?

[-]

kernowgringo@reddit

Oh sorry, I deleted my comment because I'd seen others suggesting the same.

I've not spent a huge amount of time there but I've never had a problem in the towns and cities. You could live there comfortably speaking only English, I've tried to speak some Dutch before and hot some looks like why are you doing that when we speak English?

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marlonoranges@reddit

To a degree, Spain and the Canaries. There's so much tourism that the locals know a good bit of English.

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swibbles_mcnibbles@reddit

Hong Kong

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GalacticDoc@reddit

It's pretty shocking to say that most of Europe and most notably the Netherlands and Germany as well as the Scandinavian have excellent English, even at 3am when ordering beers.

Many of the southern African countries are India/ Nepal/ Pakistan are all accessible to us lazy English speaking folk.

That said I would hope you or anyone would at least learn enough local language to go out and not need to need English if you actually lived abroad.

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sbaldrick33@reddit

Ireland

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mad_saffer@reddit

South Africa, Namibia, Canada, US,... Even Germany! A lot of countries speak English even as a second language

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3knuckles@reddit

Mauritius! Let's go.

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DiamondMidgar@reddit

UAE

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FrogfFrogger@reddit

Sweden 🇸🇪… everyone ok ok almost everyone speaks English in Sweden

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

So you dont need to learn local language?

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acabxox@reddit

The Netherlands

[-]

Deep_Pepper_5405@reddit

Tons of places in Africa such as Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini

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EasyCheesecake1@reddit

I love Berlin and can speak a bit of German but you most people speak some English.

[-]

decentlyfair@reddit

Mauritius

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BlackberryNice1270@reddit

Nowhere - if you're going to live somewhere else, learn the language! We are incredibly lucky that in lots of countries English is almost a second language, but we should not get to go to live there and not learn theirs.

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JourneyThiefer@reddit

Well there’s all the English speaking countries lol

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BlackberryNice1270@reddit

I presumed OP meant countries where English isn't the first language, but it is widely spoken.

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nevercommnt@reddit

Most countries honestly. I’ve lived across a few continents and never had issues unless I’m in more rural locations. Even then rarely a problem

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Can you give examples

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nevercommnt@reddit

I don’t want to put the specific countries because they would make it very easy for anyone who knows me to personally identify me. But multiple South East Asian countries, European & sub Saharan African countries

[-]

Emotional_Pick9327@reddit

Scotland

[-]

Neither_Employer9000@reddit

As much as id like it to not be the case, scotland is still in the uk

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Velo_Rapide@reddit

You can live anywhere without learning the local language. The only times you NEEEED to speak to locals is when your internet stops working or you have a problem with your taxes or boiler and if you're lucky there will be someone in the shop who can speak English..

There's literally millions of Brits living this exact life.

Otherwise - Switzerland and Germany are easy, most people speak enough, and lots speak very good English.

[-]

Neither_Employer9000@reddit

Cyprus, although learning greek would definitely make locals like you more, same as everywhere where english isnt the first language, even just a few basic phrases in most countries will get you so much further for actually bothering to try.

[-]

Stunning-Profit8876@reddit

New Zealand, Ireland

[-]

Espresso-Newbie@reddit

Singapore , Hong Kong, some of the African countries (SA, Kenya , Namibia etc where English is widely used ), Caribbean. Quite a long list actually

However …..

I would always always try and learn at least conversational language even if you’d be using English most of the time. To show you are at least trying makes the world of difference to the locals.

Source : lived overseas for 18 years.

[-]

Soniq268@reddit

Singapore and Hong Kong

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Frankwizza@reddit

Any if you weren’t fussed about speaking to people

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Volf_y@reddit

Bahamas, Jamaica, Belize, Bermuda ( and many other Caribbean countries) Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya.

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fififolle79@reddit

I know quite a few Brits in Luxembourg who manage without speaking French/German/Luxembourgish.

[-]

Ok_Medium9389@reddit

Bahrain, uae - stayed for 10 years didn’t learn a single Arabic word. Except “sukhran habibi”

[-]

Shangos_Wolf@reddit

South Africa

[-]

living2late@reddit

Argentina.

As long as I went to Chubut or one of the other Welsh-speaking areas.

[-]

iimMrBrightside@reddit

Australia

[-]

ToughImprovement276@reddit

The nordics, the Netherlands, English speaking Caribbean islands, Belize, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines

There’s loads of options

[-]

ab3lla@reddit

Sweden

[-]

amanset@reddit

There’s getting by and truly not having to worry.

In Sweden you would get by.

[-]

Desperate-Drawer-572@reddit (OP)

Why?

[-]

PopularBroccoli@reddit

Sweden

[-]

BalthazarOfTheOrions@reddit

A lot of countries are options with English only, even if they're not native English speaking countries. For example pretty much all Nordic countries and Germany would be options.

That said, not learning the local language would also limit how much you can truly integrate to the place you go to. Live and work? Sure. Be a full member of society, with friends and regular social life outside of the immigrant/expat community? Limited, unless you marry a local which is what I did when I moved to the UK.

For example, in my home country (Finland) virtually every person past a certain age speaks passable English but your daily life would still be restricted to cities mostly and Finland/Finns/Finnish culture is notoriously difficult to integrate into - so learning the language can go a very long way in alleviating that.

tl;dr The ability to speak a language can be a barrier or a bridge.

[-]

moonfarmer89@reddit

New Zealand. Singapore

[-]

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