OK, a fair few of us, including myself, moan and groan about the UK but now imagine this scenario. You inherit a good sum of money, not a mega fortune, but enough to give you a good standard of living for the rest of your life. You're independent and can do what you like wherever in the world you want to be.
So where would you go and why ?
For myself I'm staying put in the UK. Yes we have problems but these seem to be inflicted rather than intrinsic and sometime this has to change, I hope !
The UK is a green and pleasant land, we have weather, I found waking up to constant sunshine and very high temperatures everyday unpleasant, I like a bit of rain and frost and snow and fog.
Most things I want I can get here, think about it, could you live without Marmite, Mushy Peas and warm British beer ?
Could you live somewhere where the language and culture are very different ?
Schools for the kids ? What about your family that you will leave behind here in the UK, a big wrench.
Will healthcare and dentistry be up to a reasonable standard and be affordable ?
Bear in my mind you may have Visa problems, I battled for years with this and really enjoyed the hassle !
Remember that spending a few weeks on holiday there does not give enough insight to tell how living there would be, seen many peed off ex pats desperate to return to the UK but they had burnt their bridges and were pretty much stuck.
For myself I quite enjoyed living in Seattle, cool city, nice countryside and pretty pleasant people. It has weather, lots of good microbreweries for some good ale and get 30/40 miles outside the city there is good affordable housing. A lot going for it but the big worry for me here would be the cost of healthcare, very expensive and the older you get the more you may need it and the cost will increase. Getting residence would be a nightmare so although very tempting I will probably never do it.
So think about this, forget the gut reaction of sun, sand, sea and cheap booze, how would you really do it and where would it be ? Or perhaps, like me , stay put and count your blessings ?
