Essential Guides & Advice Top Tips On Emigrating

Date Published:

07/07/2008

A Place In The Sun presenter Amanda Lamb gives us her advice on the considerations you should make before you emigrate abroad.

According to a recent report, 250,000 Brits are leaving these shores for sunnier climes every year. I get asked lots of questions about moving abroad permanently at A Place In The Sun Live, and this year we are going to Australia to do three relocation specials for TV.

It’s made me think about the reasons why so many people are leaving. I think there are numerous factors involved. A lot of people have become disillusioned with Great Britain – they feel it isn’t so great after all. The weather plays a huge part, too. Hands up who remembers last summer? Exactly!

It also used to be quite hard to get into some countries, whereas places like Australia are now actively looking for Brits with particular skills, so the whole process is easier and more appealing.

If you are one of the 250,000 Brits upping sticks and leaving for good, a few words of advice before you hold that farewell party. Emigrating can be a wonderful new start – so many exciting new opportunities – but you’re not just nipping over for a little holiday. You’re changing your whole life, and perhaps the lives of your family.

Before you even start the paperwork, it’s a good idea to think about the sort of lifestyle you want and how you envisage spending your days. If you plan to work in the country, research the employment situation there. In some parts of rural France, the unemployment levels are very high and you’d probably struggle to find work, especially if you don’t speak the language.

If you plan on moving somewhere and setting up a business such as a B&B or a restaurant, check out the competition. How many other people are doing the same thing? If there’s a lot, how are you going to stand out from the crowd? Is there a demand for the service you’re providing? Setting up a B&B in the middle of nowhere might be your idea of heaven, but try and be realistic – how many people would actually visit you?

You also need to ask yourself what type of person you are. Do you embrace new challenges? Would you be prepared to learn a new language? In Canada, Australia and New Zealand you won’t need to worry about learning the lingo, but if you fancy France, Italy or Spain you need to get those textbooks out. If you plan to retire to your place in the sun, spare a thought for your friends and relatives. How long will it take them to fly out and see you? If you move Down Under you might only get to see them once a year. Could you handle that?

One final piece of advice I would give you is to think about renting in your country of choice before you take the plunge and sell your property here. Hopefully, you’ll get out there and love your new life, but what if you don’t? Living abroad is very different from having a holiday home. If you sell your property in this country and decide after a few months that you don’t like your new life, getting back on the UK property ladder could be tricky.

My suggestion would be to rent out your place here and rent where you want to buy for at least a year. That way you can make sure you (and your family) really like it. If, after that time, you feel it’s for you then put your property on the market and start house-hunting.

Once you’ve considered all the options and made an informed decision, there’s an amazing new life out there just waiting for you to discover it. Good luck.

Why not see how far your money might go if you buy abroad? Search for your dream overseas property on aplaceinthesun.com

Back to top