I currently live in South Africa and well, I want a plan for a place to move to in the next 5 years max. The problem is i can’t decide where to go and as much as I love Australia, it feels too far from the time zones where all my people are.
So I have decided that Europe/UK would be perfect but can’t find a perfect fit. I have a UK passport
I am looking for:
- mild weather. Not too bothered to be honest but not looking for a snow 8 months of the year or rain 8 months of the year. Ideally i just want a place that gets some sunlight, some rain, some cold and some hot days
- low level or low acknowledgment of corruption. I want my taxes to do something -low crime rate
- good work life balance with a decent opportunity for living. Currently working at a Big 4 consultancy so hoping I can have a nice enough lifestyle but not be working 24/7
I really like places like Netherlands, Scotland, Germany but have found various flaws. I also really like the Mediterranean
I don’t really like the UK but prefer something like Scotland. They just apparently get less sun than I’d like
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Unless you’re rich, it doesn’t matter where you’d prefer. First question is where can you get a visa.
This post screams of unworldly and privileged. All the way to asking everyone to do their leg work and present a case. Eff off.
This.
If op is working for one of the big4 as consultant/accountant etc (not HR, cleaning/cafetria etc) then it is probably not a very big problem to get a visum.
Norway is probably too cold for OP, But Denmark is vertainly possible if you are skilled
The only places with good weather would be the Mediterranean. I would say Greece, though there is a high level of corruption, but the people there are very friendly, and speak english well, and the weather is fantastic.
Some parts of Spain? Good quality of life despite lower salaries than other European countries.
Come to the US. It seems to have worked out for Elon Musk.
I won’t lie I can’t think of anything worse haha. The only city I would consider is Seattle but the time zone difference is really big. I might change my mind but feel uncomfortable about the gun laws and generally general code of ethics
Have you ever actually been to the US? I’ve been to South Africa and there is no comparison to the level of violence found there. Despite what you might read on Reddit, Americans don’t need safe rooms in their homes and jobs are plentiful. There’s a reason millions of people are literally dying to get in.
UK is no longer part of the EU, so it’s not trivial to get a permanent Visa for Spain or Portugal. Especially if you plan to work…
FYI, I live in the Mediterranean, but the winters here are not pleasant. Very rainy, cold winds, and poorly insulated homes. I always dread December - March. Otherwise, it’s fantastic.
If you have a UK passport and want to move to the EU within 5 years, you should consider Ireland. Yes it’s expensive and the weather is like the UK, but within 5 years you could get yourself an Irish passport and then move anywhere in the EU. UK citizens don’t need any visa to move to Ireland.
Alternatively, you have to search for jobs that will sponsor your visa. You’d have to start there, and once you find a job you like, then consider whether or not you’d move to that country.
Is it the same for Scotland?
Scotland is in the UK, I’m afraid.
Hm, it actually sounds like you’d really like Northern Spain. Amazing food and people, stunning Scotland-like green landscapes, mild weather (but warmer than Scotland), and they just opened it up to high speed rail from Madrid (route to a couple cities in Asturies).
I wonder if you’d benefit from hacking through some of your questions with a GPT like Expatriator. https://chat.openai.com/g/g-99vtlb7LQ-expatriator-gpt
Ok I am definitely going to look into northern Spain. I have gotten a lot of suggestions for that
Northern Spain is pretty beautiful! Although I’ve only visited for work trips.
I know people were downvoting you for the Scotland/ UK conundrum but I get what you mean, Scottish people generally seem friendlier than English people, it’s a different vibe
And you’ll make Spain work on a visa?
So I would have to look into the visas in Spain before I could make a decision but I really like what I’m seeing. Another potential is to go to Ireland for a while as people said and then see if Spain does a nomadic Visa like some other countries do though again, I am not clear on the logistics
Who will you be working for on this digital nomad visa?
Currently working with a big 4 consulting firm so will likely end up trying to transfer to an international firm internally
Ok, but a digital nomad visa won’t be useful for that. You’d need to work elsewhere and then only spend limited periods of time in Spain. You’ll also likely run into strict time limits set by your employer, based on the country where you are employed’s rules on tax residency.
I see, let me maybe ask this. If you were planning to do what I’m doing from my position then what path would you recommend and why? I haven’t gotten to the point of looking at Visas yet so I would really appreciate an early understanding of a route I could go down
You may not like the UK but you could move there tomorrow if you wanted. For EU countries the visa/language barrier should be your first concern before anything else. Is it realistic for you to find a sponsored job anywhere in Europe that you like? Are you bothered by living somewhere where you don’t speak the language?
They can move to Ireland as of right with a British passport
After the elections in Netherlands yesterday I can tell you Netherlands can be wiped of your ‘go to’ list.
What’s up with the elections and what does it actually mean for the people? Keep in mind I come from one of the most politically corrupt countries in the world
One of the biggest anti-immigration parties won with a hughe difference yesterday.
They want to stop immigration as soon as possible since our small country is literally becoming full.
We have a major housing problem and in current laws refugees even get priority in social housing. There will be a wind of change incoming on several immigration laws that will be less interesting for foreigners to work and live in the Netherlands.
I see you fell into the trap of “the housing problem was the fault of immigration” rhetoric of said party
Well, in The Netherlands it actually is.
We are (after Malta) the country with the highest population density in the EU.
That means there is not very much space left for building houses, more use of infrastructure etc.
And our population growth is coming almost only from immigration. In 2023 we had -900 natural growth (births vs deaths) and +110.000 from immigrants.
We just can’t handle these numbers anymore in such a small country with already a lot of housing issues.
Well, in The Netherlands it actually is.
The population growth rate in NL has actually decreased in the last 70 years, not increased. And even in the last 20 years. It’s a supply problem not a demand problem.
There’s plenty of space to build both out and up. But for politicians that’s less popular and easy than just blaming immigrants.
Yep this. Housing crisis fully caused by 12 years VVD but the smallest group of immigrants who actually flee from war are blamed. Oh also sending everyone one with a different skin colour back ‘home’ even if they were born in NL is apparently a good idea. Depressing af
Have you ever travelled outside of the randstad? Its not the space we’re missing. It’s the fact that we stopped building cheap houses ages ago and are just now starting to attempt to catch up. Stef Blok ruined our housing market by allowing investors to buy up huge stocks of social housing. Add to that the fact that we now have a high interest rate which makes it the worst possible time to be building houses. The fact the we ‘lack space’ is another big myth. Did u know that if every municipality builds 1 street worth of houses our whole problem would be fixed?
I know the housing market is fucked up, especially the ‘huisjesmelkers’ had golden times the last decades. To give you some more insights in the migration dilemma, see this post. Hope that clears up some questions.
Portugal is lovely, but you need at least 3000€ per month to have a decent life. You will always depend from a job abroad as the minimal wage is 800€
I’m a saffa that just moved to Ireland, it’s lekker here, weather’s good, people are lekker, foods good, elec is on, crime is low, salaries are lekker
Just gloss over the elephant in the room
Which elephant?
Housing
I mean that’s largely an entire EU problem but yeah housing is an issue
Define weather is good haha! I’ve heard it’s really rainy most of the year
It rains often but not nearly as much as I expected, it’s chilly now but a clear day where I am, no where in eu will be like SA weather
If all those are lekker then SA mustn’t be all that great tbh 😆 (Irish person here)
Maybe southern France?
As a Saffa that moved to Europe, just accept that “mild” weather here is pretty shitty and it rains quite a bit. We are blessed with great weather in SA.
That being said, Netherlands is your best bet I reckon. Soooo many South Africans here. I have many friends working for the Big 4 in and around Amsterdam, getting a job shouldn’t be tough.
However, there is a housing crisis here and elections are going on at the moment. It basically looks like Netherlands are getting their own Dutch Trump that hates immigrants, so that’s all a bit up in the air at this moment.
Yea I can hopefully transfer through the company internally. I heard politics there arent looking great at the moment though.
I dont mind rain I think I just want some days where the sun shines. Especially for my partner who would probably get really depressed otherwise
In winter I go to work in sub-darkness and leave in complete darkness working a 9-5. It can be extremely tough with no sun. I sometimes go days without sunlight
In Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal…) you’d need to learn the local language or else you won’t really be part of society. Same in France.
Lack of sunshine and overcast, cloudy weather does affect some people more than others, specially if you come from a sunny region.
Also, salaries are much lower in Southern Europe and unemployment is higher. If you work remote and don’t have to rely on local wages and local job market, then you’ll have some interesting options such as Romania, beautiful country, four seasons, affordable…
But if you need to work locally and earn local salaries, then you’d be better off in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands. The weather is mild in all three but they all lack sunshine for most of the year, though you can take short trips to sunny location as many do. One advantage to living in Europe is how close you’re to tons of interestuig destinations, by land, sea, air…
My pick would be: The Netherlands, UK, Ireland… Housing is an issue in the Netherlands for sure but its infrastructure is far beyond that of Ireland. I just like the vibes in the Netherlands!!!
I’d also take a look at Brussels.
All that being said, I’d recommend the US over Europe! Despite the bad rap it gets, its such a diverse and amazing country with many states and cities to choose from.
Thank you for the advice!
My pleasure!
i would recommend croatia. easy to immigrate, low cost of living, pretty, chill vibe etc.
What is the politics like in Croatia? Is there a high sense of corruption?
Do you live in Croatia?
…you don’t sound like you live in Croatia. It is not that easy to immigrate, and cost of living is SKY HIGH right now. The vibe is not chill when you’re a foreigner dealing with the bureaucracy.