More Than Money: Why Britons Expatriate
Published on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
I was recently asked to comment by a journalist on why Britons expatriate, particularly focusing on why we Brits have a passion for France. The answers just rolled off the tongue as they always do, because working daily on an expat resource such as Shelter Offshore means that you have daily dealings with people planning a new life abroad.
The same reasons for leaving their old life in the UK behind are cited time and time again – and now finally we have proof in the form of a ‘quality of life’ survey that it’s so much more than money when it comes to the main reasons why Britons expatriate. Of course, we could have told you this based on what we are told daily – but it is really positive to have it in the form of a proven resource.
The uSwitch.com ‘European Quality of Life Index’ surveyed the statistics and facts behind our lifestyles in the UK and across Europe in nations such as France, Spain, Germany and Poland and discovered that whilst we in the UK earn well on average, we have the worst quality of life in the whole of Europe.
Many articles have been written about the perfect retirement hotspot overseas by many different publications. However, in truth each recommendation is based on either the preference of the article’s author for what constitutes a nice place to live in in retirement, or certain assumed criteria about the would-be retirees that the author is writing the article about and for.
The comments made by readers in relation to a 
Following suggestions that Tony Blair, (harbinger of UK’s economic doom), is perhaps to become president of the EU, we feel that it’s probably time to move much further abroad because Europe’s clearly doomed!
Whilst Shelter Offshore as a publication is very much in favour moving to live, work, invest or retire abroad we’re also very well aware that not everyone is in the right place emotionally, financially or even practically speaking to make the move overseas. What’s more, for some people starting a new life abroad could be absolutely the worst thing to do at this point in their lives!
Well done to the labour government in the UK – their poor policymaking and damaging bank bailouts have resulted in a position where one in five young people under the age of 25 are unemployed in Britain and where up to 11 million Brits are actively contemplating going in search of a working life abroad.
Recent media reports about Britons struggling to make ends meet abroad highlight the one fact that we’re always trying to make clear here at Shelter Offshore. I.e., that you have to plan well and very carefully if you want to succeed abroad. The number one reason why expatriates ‘fail’ to make a success of their new life abroad is a financial one – pure and simple.
There was a strong increase in the numbers of people leaving British shores in 2008 compared to 2007; and as the recession continues to affect us all in very real terms, many of us are actively wondering if we wouldn’t be better off out of Britain altogether.
