Which country do you think has a better alternative to British Lifestyle?

Not many people will agree with me but i love Greece.The Greek Isles( the ones the lager louts dont go too) are so wonderful and the layed back sytle of the Greek people make you feel welcomed.I would leave the UK to live in Greece

The yanks always say the British are friendly.
I,d disagree with that.

All depends on what you want.

If you want to live with a load of ex pats, talk about whats going on in Britain, then the costas of Spain are good for that. A lot cheaper and better weather.

If you want a total different culture and need to get away form everything, then France,Greece,Cyprus etc or remote Spain could be good.

Recently I have come across 2 people who have sold up and gone to Australia only to come back within 3 months because they hated it.

For me it would be Spain, but a slightly rural part, far enough from the big resorts, so I don't have to read the Sun and drink Watney's Red Barrell, but close enough to civilisation so I can get San Miguel for peanuts and an Internet connection.

I'd have to say New Zealand or Australia.

I'll now add my thoughts to this.

These are the countries that I think could match a UK Lifestyle.

Switzerland/Germany/Austria/Finland/Sweden/Norway/Denmark/Ireland/
Netherlands/Belgium/Australia/New Zealand/Japan/Canada/Singapore/US

These are all democracies with a similar living standard and in some cases higher living standard than the UK. The crime and drug problems are on a par of if not better than the UK with the exception of the US.

No country will ever be a utopia and all these countries would be on a par with the UK and a British person would not feel too much out of place in any one of them, possibly with the exception of Japan, who a family member tells me, it is very hard for a white man to fit in and be accepted by the Japaneese. Very curtious, but distant.


UK tax is 40% flat rate above £25,000 uk.
We also have higher prices on all luxury goods due to very high taxation.
Ciggerettes are £4 for 20
Beer is £2 a pint
Petrol is just under £4 a gallon.
+ points is all national health is free, even if it is the most expensive operation, but waiting lists are long, unless it is an emergency.
No medical expenses per week although we have to pay national insurance which is meant to cover this.

Singapore - yes is very strict, but quite a high standard of living, although no way would I pay the car fees there. Rip off.
Running a medium to large business in the UK is full of red tape and problems. Employment Laws in the UK are very strict and can restrict expansion.

Germany does have high taxes, but their safety net if you become unemployed is fantastic.
3/4 salary I beleive. I'm not sure how long for though.

Switzerland was an ideallic country when I stayed there and somewhere I would live, but I would soon go broke as there prices are unbeleivable for everyday goods.

I thought of South America but nowhere sprang to mind except may be Chile, but my knowledge is limited to a brief Michael Palin pole to pole documentry I saw on it which showed Southern Chile to be very wet. It also showed Santiago and it is a beautiful city. I don't think I would ever invest in a South American country though.

Originally posted by "alchresearch"

I'd have to say New Zealand or Australia.

id have to agree ;)

its one of the only places id consider emegrating to, them and iceland, japan and a scandinavian country

There is no contest, for me it would be a warmer climate than here, all my life I have been frozen stiff here most of the time, as we all know this country is three months winter and nine months of bad weather.

At the same time it would have to be a place where I could enjoy the conveniences as we have here, running water, flush sanitation, central heating for when it blows a bit cold, baths, showers, TV. etc. I would want to go better, not worse.

Originally posted by halevan
There is no contest, for me it would be a warmer climate than here, all my life I have been frozen stiff here most of the time, as we all know this country is three months winter and nine months of bad weather.

At the same time it would have to be a place where I could enjoy the conveniences as we have here, running water, flush sanitation, central heating for when it blows a bit cold, baths, showers, TV. etc. I would want to go better, not worse.

What about the people though? Would it not matter if they were not friendly?

i live in canada now and like it alot but i still miss sheffield i am coming to sheffield in aug i will have to bring lots of money with me and i do hope it will not rain it is so hot here now

Lickszz wrote:

No country will ever be a utopia and all these countries would be on a par with the UK and a British person would not feel too much out of place in any one of them, possibly with the exception of Japan, who a family member tells me, it is very hard for a white man to fit in and be accepted by the Japaneese. Very curtious, but distant.


....My partner lived and worked in Japan for a very long time and never found it that difficult to fit in at all......they absolutely love Westeners and are fascinated by their "Western" looks

Lickszz wrote

What about the people though? Would it not matter if they were not friendly?


NO MATTER what country you go to you will always get the same type of people......nice people, idiots, etc etc ...why do your posts always come back to the discussion of culture and race ..........hmmmmmmm

Originally posted by Miss_60
Lickszz wrote




NO MATTER what country you go to you will always get the same type of people......nice people, idiots, etc etc ...why do your posts always come back to the discussion of culture and race ..........hmmmmmmm

I beg your pardon? Perhaps this is because you read the wrong things into my posts. I never mentioned culture or race, YOU DID! read my post earlier about my brother living in Japan. They found it difficult to fit in and felt they were not genuinely accpeted by the Japanese people. They felt that they were extremely curtious but distant towards them. I never said they treated them badly or were racist. When I said that about the people, I meant....what if you were living with a load of idiots/criminals, would that not matter? These are generally not considered friendly people, are they - please note the emphasis in on the word FRIENDLY here which was what I did say. Nothing to do with RACE, I was talking about types of people, OK!

Originally posted by marie1951
i live in canada now and like it alot but i still miss sheffield i am coming to sheffield in aug i will have to bring lots of money with me and i do hope it will not rain it is so hot here now

I enjoyed my time in Canada very much, although it was very cold.

Originally posted by marie1951
i live in canada now and like it alot Had a holiday in Vancouver (and further North) Feb last year. Loved it, felt I could live there. Cold winter isn't a problem as long as you are equipped for it. On the whole the Canadians seem more like Europeans than Americans (I regard that as "a good thing"). Now just find me a wife who might think the same (+brains, humour, looks, aged between "you must be joking" and 50ish) and I'll be on my way.

But seriously - the local gripes I heard were about cost of living, taxation and americans (and being Vancouver the requirement for civil servants to be bilingual in French - the local languages being mostly English, a lot of Chinese, very little Native/aboriginal, French only amongst the civil servants).
From what I saw prices & housing were significantly cheaper than here even comparing a big modern city like Vancouver with, say Sheffield. Quality of life seemed quite good, crime figures not too bad, safe clean effective public transport, little traffic congestion, seemingly clean environment. How open is Canada to UK migrants?

NZ is very choosy, you need to be young, have a firm job offer, some personal wealth, paper qualifications and a skills in an area where there is a local shortage.

Australia - I knew someone who emigrated and came back after 2 weeks, I asked if this was a record and heard of someone who arrived and promptly got the next plane back. Doesn't really sound as if they were ready for such a big step, you have to be there months if not years to give it a fair trial. And on the other hand there are plenty of migrants who will tell you it's the best thing they ever did (even if most of the local wildlife is seriously poisionous/dangerous and out to get you!).

USA - not all that expensive if you miss out places like NY and never need any medical care - but it's full of Americans and their attitude towards firearms is questionable.

Non-English speaking countries - it would be so much harder to assimilate if you have to struggle with both language and culture.

What's wrong with UK? The economy is going to go legs-up big-time.

I have to say, I found the lifestyle of living in America more to my liking that that of here. Then again, isn't the grass always greener? I just like the culture of entertainment. I like going out and doing alot more than getting drunk... weird I know. I find the pace of life there more to my liking.

I'd move to France or the Netherlands.

Originally posted by Snook
I have to say, I found the lifestyle of living in America more to my liking that that of here. Then again, isn't the grass always greener? I just like the culture of entertainment. I like going out and doing alot more than getting drunk... weird I know. I find the pace of life there more to my liking.

I went to America for 4 months for training and after the initial excitement of being in a different country I soon got to the point where my life wasn't much different to here, you get up, you go to work, you come home same as here, you don't have time to do the things you do when you're on holliday.

I also know someone who lived in New York for a year and had to move back to London as New York was too hard, the American mentality of your job being the most important thing in your life (10 hour days, 6 days a week) didn't work for him.

what ever life stylle ''they'' all want to live here. enrichment or what?

Originally posted by nick2
I went to America for 4 months for training and after the initial excitement of being in a different country I soon got to the point where my life wasn't much different to here, you get up, you go to work, you come home same as here, you don't have time to do the things you do when you're on holliday.

I also know someone who lived in New York for a year and had to move back to London as New York was too hard, the American mentality of your job being the most important thing in your life (10 hour days, 6 days a week) didn't work for him.

Well I lived in North Carolina, and trust me, they don't have the view of a job being the most important thing in your life. :)

I suspect I wouldn't want to spend any length of time in New York.

Originally posted by Snook
Well I lived in North Carolina, and trust me, they don't have the view of a job being the most important thing in your life. :)

I suspect I wouldn't want to spend any length of time in New York.

It must vary depending on where you live but my mate said they were totally obsessed in NY, all they did was work and sleep.

Originally posted by Lickszz
UK tax is 40% flat rate above £25,000 uk.
Just have to disagree with this point - it's above £32k a year the 40% bracket :D

Originally posted by Lickszz
Which country do you think has a better alternative to British Lifestyle?

Italy or France.

Originally posted by Lickszz
Which country do you think has a better alternative to British Lifestyle?
id def say viva espana! my gramps lives there and i spend tonnes of time there. bottom of a mountain overlooking the sea, its heaven. not too many tourists either - its ace. ill be there by the time im thirty hope they dont mind immigrants!!:D

I would say one of the scandinavian countries - though if you really want to get in on the ground floor on what will be (I think) the up and coming countries the easter european countries like Hungary and Chzechoslovakia

I'd have to say either Sweden or America. I work a lot with guys in Sweden and they have an absolutely fantastic lifestyle.

I would have to say, Botswana, Swaziland or Kwazulu.

All these countries have great weather, low rates of taxation and although you pay for medical insurance....the health service is second to none.

Work is readily available to skilled people and a more than average lifestyle available.

Originally posted by evildrneil
I would say one of the scandinavian countries - though if you really want to get in on the ground floor on what will be (I think) the up and coming countries the easter european countries like Hungary and Chzechoslovakia I have been looking at house prices in Hungary......I am going there this year to for a limited company so that I can buy land as well as the properties on them..
Places beside the river Danube look great!

Labour is cheap too...only 1.34 euro's an hour...........They become part of the EU in 2007

Hungary is already in the EU, it joined with 9 other states on 1 May 2004. It's Romania and Bulgaria that are joining in 2007.

I think all the countries listed have similar lifestyles to´the UK. Of course, other countries in Western Europe have fantastic infrastructure (public transport, roads, services) and the night life is excellent (24 hr drinking). You don't need a watch, you can tell the time by the buses and trains. It's clean. Also, almost everyone is middle class regardless of what job they do, so there are fewer "chavs" than in the UK.

Some people have said things about prices and tax. Here in Germany prices are cheap in comparison to the UK (but wobble due to exchange rates). Alcohol and petrol are far cheaper, shoes and books more expensive and VAT is lower. However, income tax and all the silly compulsory state insurances (for health, unemployment, pension, incapacity) are higher. :rant:

It's all swings and roundabouts really.

Without a shadow of doubt: Spain. Everything about it is so just right.

I love the country, the people (seruios smokers) , the food, the weather and even admire the way they park bumper-to-bumper and in the middle of the road.

Yes, it's Spain for me.

Un dia, si yo gane la loteria, voy a vivir alli!

Originally posted by fhain29
Hungary is already in the EU, it joined with 9 other states on 1 May 2004. It's Romania and Bulgaria that are joining in 2007.

I think all the countries listed have similar lifestyles to´the UK. Of course, other countries in Western Europe have fantastic infrastructure (public transport, roads, services) and the night life is excellent (24 hr drinking). You don't need a watch, you can tell the time by the buses and trains. It's clean. Also, almost everyone is middle class regardless of what job they do, so there are fewer "chavs" than in the UK.

Some people have said things about prices and tax. Here in Germany prices are cheap in comparison to the UK (but wobble due to exchange rates). Alcohol and petrol are far cheaper, shoes and books more expensive and VAT is lower. However, income tax and all the silly compulsory state insurances (for health, unemployment, pension, incapacity) are higher. :rant:

It's all swings and roundabouts really.

Sorry about that.....It was Bulgaria that I meant to post not Hungary..........River Danube says it all......