Really frustrated by UK weather, emigration suggestions?

[Miscellaneous]

If I had the money, I'd move to Jersey or Guernsey.

Interesting choice. Jersey, for example; 45 square miles (or less), over 90 000 people and 100 miles from mainland UK? No thanks.

Ideally 2 homes are required, one here to satisfy the need for Blighty and one in the sun to satisfy the desire to escape the Blighty weather on occasion.

Misc.

[Rob P]

You forgot to mention the infamous Channel Island sea fogs.

Rob P

[Dave Phillips]

Nairobi - I jest not.

[Sharpie]

I also have got completely fed up with the weather in this country but the (nice) trouble is family.
I noted in another thread that I would like to move back to California where I used to live but we now have our first grandchild on its way and so we will stay here and content ourselves with sunny vacations.

Some people do move far away and settle down OK - we have friends who moved to New Zealand and are happily settled but for others it's a wrench to far, especially if the parents are getting old.

[Miscellaneous]

You forgot to mention the infamous Channel Island sea fogs.

Rob P

Indeed, there are many points I could have added but thought better of it!

Misc.

[Sharpie]

Nairobi - I jest not.

I have friends who spend the winter there (they used to live and work there at one time). But last year they were driving along (broad daylight in the middle of town) and three men stood in the road flagging them down. My pal, being savvy, just accelerated and drove on but as they were passing the group fired at them. They got away unharmed but there were three bullet holes found in the car..

[Dave Phillips]

Nairobi - I jest not.

I have friends who spend the winter there (they used to live and work there at one time). But last year they were driving along (broad daylight in the middle of town) and three men stood in the road flagging them down. My pal, being savvy, just accelerated and drove on but as they were passing the group fired at them. They got away unharmed but there were three bullet holes found in the car..

Have you tried Belfast recently?

[garethep]

I can sympathise with the desire to escape this awful weather! While I enjoy travel, I do generally enjoy returning home. That said, I spent a month or so in South Africa a couple of years back and, although it has its problems, it was a place I could imagine living and working. (I would always keep a return strategy in my back pocket just in case though.)

[Paultheparaglider]

It's never really bothered me before, but this year has just got to me beyond belief.
Any ideas?

Whatever you do, don't choose Wales. We have now been flooded in 4 times in the last fortnight. Fortunately, it is our access only and not the house itself that gets it, but we can't get out tonight for New Years Eve, and we missed the local Flyer get together on Saturday for the same reason.

I quite fancy a desert somewhere.

[JonathanB]

I quite fancy a desert somewhere.

I'm sure a dessert would be better.

[Paul_Sengupta]

It's never really bothered me before, but this year has just got to me beyond belief.
Any ideas?

Whatever you do, don't choose Wales. We have now been flooded in 4 times in the last fortnight. Fortunately, it is our access only and not the house itself that gets it, but we can't get out tonight for New Years Eve, and we missed the local Flyer get together on Saturday for the same reason.

Don't discount all of Wales. Some of it is quite bumpy and all the water goes down to the bottom!

I'm not sure there's anywhere in the world that has our (UK, not Wales specifically) combination of architecture, culture, history, good television, language, seasons and easy access to so many other cultures. I still have a lot of exploring to do within these isles.

Don't like the desert for more than a visit. I like lush greenery, lack of dust everywhere, temperatures which don't bake, etc.

[AerBabe]

Would you stop talking about desserts and baking?

[squawking 7700]

I'd go along with AerBabe's choice (and probably MichaelP) of Canada - Vancouver area, mild enough on the coast in winter but readily available skiing, plenty warm enough in summer.
Great wildlife, lots of interesting flying, speak English (or French (and only French)).
The other side's not too bad but it's a bit flat around Toronto, up past Ottawa (have a cousin living there), Montreal & Quebec and up the St. Lawrence it gets a little more interesting.
The food's not too bad.
And their economy's held up quite well.

If I was emigrating, it would be Vancouver.

And nowhere near as brash as the US.


7700

[phillc]

I've traveled a bit, and although been living mostly in the UK for the last 12 years, am originally from Australia.

The weather in Australia is indeed a large improvement on the UK. The GA scene is reasonably vibrant, although not really a patch on the USA. Flying is reasonably affordable, given that salaries keep increasing rapidly. Avgas is around AU$2 per litre (up to AU$3 in really remote areas). A C182 can be rented for around AU$350-AU$400 per hour. I have a share in an aircraft maintenance business in a rural area of New South Wales, Australia. We pay qualified LAMEs in the region of AU$75k-AU$85k. At that price we find it tough to compete with the coal mines just down the road, where a new school leaver can be earning in excess of AU$100k after a year on the job, driving trucks.

I return to Australia as regularly as I can, a minimum of once per year. I rarely turn on the television, or buy a newspaper. It is a very parochial country, with a largely self-centred viewpoint. If I want world news when I am there, I just use the Internet. The cities are quite multi-cultural. I find the cuisine is heavily influenced by this and can be outstanding. In rural areas, you should really like red meat.

There are many positives about Australia, and I'd like to think GA is one of them, but you do need to understand the national psyche and not expect the ability to have a nice weekend away, emersed in a different culture with a long and distinguished history.

I've also been spending a lot of time, over the last 3 years, in southern Austria. Great scenery, great food, pretty good weather and generally friendly people. However, GA is expensive!

Slovenia (home of Pipistrel aircraft), I have read somewhere, has a problem with purchasing Avgas at GA airfields. I haven't really looked deeply into this, so could be completely wrong.

I lived in Southern Africa for a year or so in the 90s and loved it. Great weather, great scenery, again a lot of really good people and a real difference is the lack of Health and Safety mandate (may have changed by now). There are a lot of things one can do, which would be tied down in red tape elsewhere in the world. This is both positive and negative. You can do stuff if you want to, but more people die doing so.

If I could choose anywhere I think it would be Thailand. A little bit of the freedom to do as you wish, without miles and miles of red tape, fairly cheap cost of living, very friendly people, great food, some stunning scenery and what I would call an emerging GA scene.

[kingjame]

Ideally 2 homes are required, one here to satisfy the need for Blighty and one in the sun to satisfy the desire to escape the Blighty weather on occasion.

Absolutely agree as long as you have the time and money to keep two homes going.
Cheap houses going in Spain so I hear.