Do you think you'll spend the rest of your life living in the UK?

Would like to but the wife is happy here and wants to be near her family. We've talked about moving later in life though to Spain or France maybe.

Leaving the UK was the best thing I ever did, and I should have done it years ago. I currently live in a city of permanent, sunny autumn. If I want to see glaciers, I drive 3 hours in one direction to higher altitude, get a cabin with a log fire and go hiking in the paramos. If I want a hot summer's day, I go 2 hours in another direction, lower in altitude and just hire a house with a pool for the weekend. I get paid the same as I did in the UK but my rent was 100GBP per month and gas bill 2GBP. Now I've chosen to live in a penthouse apartment with an indoor pool, cinema room (perfect for games nights), roof terrace, gym and a beautiful view of the mountains. Rent is a whopping 325GBP. Not a bad place to spend lockdown. Cost of living is so low that I can save half my income, minimum.

I miss my family and friends back home but 3 months of the year, I'm on holiday. So I can go home, guilt free for 2 months of the year (when the borders aren't closed) and then spend the 15 bank holidays here exploring waterfalls, swimming in rivers, going to tropical islands and such. The very idea of moving back to the UK terrifies me. Life there is so stressful. There is no work-life balance at all. However, this country is at war again, out in the sticks. So I give it another couple of years and it might not be safe to live here. We'll see. Then, I guess I'll find another country to explore.

We have talked about actively moving to Canada ASAP.

Sure I'm not the only one trying to work out where you live

Tomous wrote:Sure I'm not the only one trying to work out where you live

That can be read in a far creepier way than I think is intended!

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:Leaving the UK was the best thing I ever did, and I should have done it years ago. I currently live in a city of permanent, sunny autumn. If I want to see glaciers, I drive 3 hours in one direction to higher altitude, get a cabin with a log fire and go hiking in the paramos. If I want a hot summer's day, I go 2 hours in another direction, lower in altitude and just hire a house with a pool for the weekend. I get paid the same as I did in the UK but my rent was 100GBP per month and gas bill 2GBP. Now I've chosen to live in a penthouse apartment with an indoor pool, cinema room (perfect for games nights), roof terrace, gym and a beautiful view of the mountains. Rent is a whopping 325GBP. Not a bad place to spend lockdown. Cost of living is so low that I can save half my income, minimum.

I miss my family and friends back home but 3 months of the year, I'm on holiday. So I can go home, guilt free for 2 months of the year (when the borders aren't closed) and then spend the 15 bank holidays here exploring waterfalls, swimming in rivers, going to tropical islands and such. The very idea of moving back to the UK terrifies me. Life there is so stressful. There is no work-life balance at all. However, this country is at war again, out in the sticks. So I give it another couple of years and it might not be safe to live here. We'll see. Then, I guess I'll find another country to explore.

I don't care if this is Baghdad, it sounds amazing!

Dat post Skarjo life boost

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:Leaving the UK was the best thing I ever did, and I should have done it years ago. I currently live in a city of permanent, sunny autumn. If I want to see glaciers, I drive 3 hours in one direction to higher altitude, get a cabin with a log fire and go hiking in the paramos. If I want a hot summer's day, I go 2 hours in another direction, lower in altitude and just hire a house with a pool for the weekend. I get paid the same as I did in the UK but my rent was 100GBP per month and gas bill 2GBP. Now I've chosen to live in a penthouse apartment with an indoor pool, cinema room (perfect for games nights), roof terrace, gym and a beautiful view of the mountains. Rent is a whopping 325GBP. Not a bad place to spend lockdown. Cost of living is so low that I can save half my income, minimum.

I miss my family and friends back home but 3 months of the year, I'm on holiday. So I can go home, guilt free for 2 months of the year (when the borders aren't closed) and then spend the 15 bank holidays here exploring waterfalls, swimming in rivers, going to tropical islands and such. The very idea of moving back to the UK terrifies me. Life there is so stressful. There is no work-life balance at all. However, this country is at war again, out in the sticks. So I give it another couple of years and it might not be safe to live here. We'll see. Then, I guess I'll find another country to explore.

Are you intentionally making us play the guessing game? Ukraine?

Oh I just checked your posts, somewhere in south America.

I was thinking South America. Peru or somewhere like that

Oh yeah I missed all the weather and island stuff, that was a shite guess

Rocsteady wrote:

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:Leaving the UK was the best thing I ever did, and I should have done it years ago. I currently live in a city of permanent, sunny autumn. If I want to see glaciers, I drive 3 hours in one direction to higher altitude, get a cabin with a log fire and go hiking in the paramos. If I want a hot summer's day, I go 2 hours in another direction, lower in altitude and just hire a house with a pool for the weekend. I get paid the same as I did in the UK but my rent was 100GBP per month and gas bill 2GBP. Now I've chosen to live in a penthouse apartment with an indoor pool, cinema room (perfect for games nights), roof terrace, gym and a beautiful view of the mountains. Rent is a whopping 325GBP. Not a bad place to spend lockdown. Cost of living is so low that I can save half my income, minimum.

I miss my family and friends back home but 3 months of the year, I'm on holiday. So I can go home, guilt free for 2 months of the year (when the borders aren't closed) and then spend the 15 bank holidays here exploring waterfalls, swimming in rivers, going to tropical islands and such. The very idea of moving back to the UK terrifies me. Life there is so stressful. There is no work-life balance at all. However, this country is at war again, out in the sticks. So I give it another couple of years and it might not be safe to live here. We'll see. Then, I guess I'll find another country to explore.

Are you intentionally making us play the guessing game? Ukraine?

Sorry, didn't mean to play the guessing game. Colombia. The only country in the world that has all of these things in the same country: glaciers, paramos, deserts, the amazon, and both a pacific coast for whale watching and a Caribbean one for island hopping. If you can work online/distance - I'd highly recommend it. Just not now, obviously. We were doing really well on the old covid count until the president planned a tax-free day and, well, black friday is tame in comparison, so the virus had a field day. Still waaaay behind you guys though.

I was going to say Colombia but didn't think it had glaciers for some reason

Tomous wrote:I was going to say Colombia but didn't think it had glaciers for some reason

Probably only for another 20 years or so, unfortunately.

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:paramos,

I misread that as "parmos", and was surprised they had made it to Colombia, yet hadn't made it to London.

I can't see myself ever leaving. Too many ties to this place to ever really leave.

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:paramos,

I misread that as "parmos", and was surprised they had made it to Colombia, yet hadn't made it to London.

Interestingly, you can absolutely get parmos here. In fact, when you're stuck in a little pueblo, often fried chicken with various things on top is one of the only foods available. There are parmo options. They've branched out. It's called milanesa de pollo and you just choose whatever you want on top from the options they have.

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:

Naomi Marazzamataz wrote:paramos,

I misread that as "parmos", and was surprised they had made it to Colombia, yet hadn't made it to London.

Interestingly, you can absolutely get parmos here. In fact, when you're stuck in a little pueblo, often fried chicken with various things on top is one of the only foods available. There are parmo options. They've branched out. It's called milanesa de pollo and you just choose whatever you want on top from the options they have.

So you can get parmos in Colombia, yet if you ask for one anywhere in the UK south of Scarborough, they look at you like you've asked them to dance naked on the countertop.

Jenuall wrote:Dat post Skarjo life boost

I mean, it all worked out for me. I just wish I'd done this sooner.