UK Emigration and Retiring

Nearly two million Britons have emigrated abroad during the last decade. This figure includes, predictably, a large number of retirees (but not all of them being at retirement age).   The rest of the emigrants include those who move abroad for a change in lifestyle, and those who gained citizenship in Britain, and then returned home.

The Office for National Statistics has released this news, which has caused even more speculation about the cost of living in Britain, low house prices and rents being one of the reasons why so many Britons can afford to sell up and relocate in another country.   houses in  Australia and Spain (two of the most popular destinations, with on in three moving to Australia) are significantly less expensive than they are in Britain.   With the increasingly addled credit market and rising levels of debt in their home country, it is perhaps unsurprising that over 40% of British first time buyers have said that they have seriously considered buying abroad, according to a fairinvestment.co.uk survey.

The rise in television programmes and lifestyle articles has definitely had a part to play in the exodus, but the globalisation of business has been an important factor too.   Many companies are moving abroad, either through expansion or in an attempt to manage costs, and as a result employees are either finding themselves having to relocate or even starting their job on foreign soil.   It remains to be seen whether the even higher numbers of immigrants (nearly four million in the last decade) can soften the blow to Britain's economy.

www.statistics.gov.uk