Would You Stay or Would You Go

I’ve noticed that there are two type expats (excluding those who are on temporary assignments)

1st group in spite of having ties to Germany, job, family house etc hold to a desire to one day move back. I’ve already have several friends move away in the last year. Don and Bibi had been living here for over 10 years both had good jobs, spoke German had family (hers) yet they expressed a real desire to move back to Canada, I couldn't understand why, but last year they moved back. Others have expressed a desire to move back one day as well.

On the other hand are people who came to Germany, many many years ago, perhaps on a temporary assignment or an extended holiday, end up being here so long that Germany became home and the US or UK places you go to for holidays.

I have just as many friends in the same category. They’ve been here so many years they no longer have ties to “� home�. One lady in particular I remember from Pickwick's, came over 30 years ago on a temporary assignment and never got around to leaving. When she did have a chance to move back to the UK she turned it down. Saying I’ve been her so long I no longer have anymore ties there, Germany better or worse is my home.

So Brit Boarders I want to know, would you stay or would you go?

Can't you do this as a poll ?

well i have been here 30 years now and when my pension comes up im back off to blighty...still got plenty of years to go though

never thought of that, actually but to answer no interest in going home.

So, in summary, so far 50% would go home
50% would stay

I'll do the stats, ok ?

As much as I love Germany - apart from the things I think most people moan about... I would like to stay but as my wife is back in wales and does not want to move away from her family I feel obliged at some point to move back to Wales.
If it was just me I think I would stay in Germany - Convincing my wife to move out here is another story though!

I suspect I might get on everyone's nerves.
So I'll do the stats every 24 hours, if that's ok.

I like Germany for the most part-- although there are some things that drive me absolutely batty -- but it was the same back home as well! As for staying here FOREVER?? I have a problem with that word (which probably explains my marital status as well, eh?). I can't see myself living here for the rest of my life, but I don't really see myself going back to the States either.

So I guess I'm no help at all then, am I?? I'll just shut up now...

I don't know how long I'm going to stay in Germany. I'm quite sure that the day I leave it'll not be to move back to Denmark but to go somewhere else. Based on my current track record I'll be here for a couple of years but it mainly depends on the job.

Don't know how you're going to count this in your stats

Henrik

I will be staying for the long-term, although this has nothing to do wih "wanting" to stay here. Things have just panned out that way and i think it will be very difficult to move back to the UK. My job will probably take me on temporary assignments in other countries but Munich will always be my base, my "home" if you will.

I am the same as Henrik. When I do move it will probably not be to the UK. It will probably be because of my partner's work, and is likely to be somewhere Portuguese speaking. If I had my own way, I would live in Rome for a few years, then Portugal for a few years and would probably end up back in Spain.

I have been living in Germany for 30+ years, came for one year as I wanted to live abroad and learn a new language, I always intended going back to the Uk but another year passed and then another and now I'm retired and still here. But Germany still does not feel like home. Property prices in the UK as such I'm not sure I could or want to afford to go back and the Uk is not the same country as it was 30 years ago so the problem is do I want to stay here for ever if not where would I go. I visited New Zealand a couple of years ago and fell in love with the place but at my age they will only let me visit for a holiday. I am going to Oz on holiday this year, maybe I'll check that out. Lots of people go to Spain but I'm not sure about that and my husband is into mountain/rock climbing and ski-ing so has anyone any ideas?

My husband is American and I am English but we both feel 'foreign' in our respective countries. The UK frightens me whenever I go back, it seems like things are spiralling downhill in a very short space of time. Every time we go back we notice things getting worse such as the crime,schools lack of affordable housing. The US is cheaper to live but has it's own set of problems. We are actually thinking about Canada in a few years.

I love the way of life in Germany, I take the good with the bad and make the best of it. If I had a large pension I would consider staying here but I have no family here and that is what is pulling me towards settling in a community where I do not feel such an Auslander. If my German was really fluent this would help so I concede that I could do things to improve my situation.

So, right now undecided with leanings towards Canada

Cornwall is where we will be going, but i still have some time before going. yes uk has changed since the 70's and not always for the better. house prices are starting to drop i heard on the news the other day so we will just wait abit longer

I'd go back (to the US) in a heartbeat.

Yes, there are things I'll miss about Germany. Some people, too. Germany is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here.

Been here 20 months. 16 to go, not that I'm counting.

When we came to Germany, six years ago, it was my choice to try out living here.
My wife left her German life 'on hold' for 4 years. After a while she wanted to return to her family and horses - which we could never afford to take over and stable around south Manchester. So we (and our young daughter) moved over here to be nearer my wife's family.
My wife has decided she doesn't like the way the country (Germany) is going at the moment, jobs, economy, general mood, etc. I have similar issues with going back to the UK.
We are tending towards going back to Britain, but it all depends on the circumstances and opportunities in the next few years. We would return with another child(!). Another issue is the timing, my daughter is in the 3rd class at the German 'Grundschule', so one more year and she is off to the next school. My son will start kindergarten next year and he is just starting to talk (mostly German).

So, it's 'tricky' to decide. I can't really say we will stay or we will go...

It's more like going with the flow, blowing in the breeze, or is that p***ing in the wind? :$

I don't wanna go back. have no intention of going back except holidays and relations visting and of course Tewksbury (for bredon hill and glow-worms).

but .. but.. daft question but when its time to push up daisies, then not sure if Germany is the place I would wanna do that.

So I aint going back alive (unless i'm dragged / deported)

Well,stay or go? I'm unemployed with no social help or unemployment money i don't care if i starve to death i'll never go back to Britain cos i hate the place that much. Britain as far as i'm concerned "ist die Groesste toilette die ganze welt"

You really didn't enjoy being in Scotland, did you ?

That's for sure i didn't like it there either. Germany no matter what state it's in at the moment is much better

Wow, you went to Wales and Scotland.

: :$ OOPS sorry wrong bloke!!

OK I lived in England for twenty odd years, ive lived in Canada for nearly twenty years and now Germany for three years. We are spoiled because we live in Heidelberg. We both work for the U.S Army and are in an english speaking enviroment all the time. We really dont have any problems living here alright
customer service is pretty rare and there are one or two other things that bother us but the grass is not greener on the other side anymore either . We like to get in the car and travel alot and while we can earn our pay and see Europe we are happy here. In fact I have had more holidays since working in Germany than I ever had working in Canada or England.I think as long as we have jobs with the Army we will stay here. When its time to retire i think we will go somewhere warm. At this moment who knows where but it wont be England thats for sure. Canada is getting very expensive and we would never be able to afford a house again.
So put us down as... will stay for now but retire elsewhere.

Boy, you lot really did have nothing to do at work today! I've been working my way through today's post for 1 1/2 hours now and I'm only about 3/4 through!

To get back on topic, before I finally arrived permanently over here in 1987, I had spent only about five of the previous 25 years in the UK, so I was already "(semi-)detached", so to speak. Since my wife is German and all her friends and family are here, I'll obviously be staying here.


At the price they charge for the plots here - no wonder! I'll settle for cremation or the university medical department - tight Scottish git that I am!

(Not sure if they do cremations here - got a funny feeling they might not.)

Home.
I want to be buried under Welsh soil.
In the meantime...
I'll make the most of it.
: )lb

Even after having German as the first (and last) language I learnt, 20+ years here, building a house and yet Germany is still not home. I'll not grow old here, don't know where I'll end up, but I am really not settled here.

I would like to return to Essex, to a nice quiet country life.

Great thread, and interesting and amusing responses.

Put me down as STAYING. I agree with Nicole ... the UK is in a downward spiral.

Raffles.

Well..I went...does that count

To be honest with you..I think home is where your heart is. It doesn't matter where you live or where you have lived you can always find advantages and disadvantages and if you sit and write them down, it kind of levels itself off.

I for one am glad I came home..I should have done it a long time ago. I admit though there are things I miss about Germany but nothing that would make me rush back...whereas, there are things I missed about the UK that made me want to come home...mainly because it was my home and always would be.

Given the choice I think most people would choose to live somewhere that they aren't living or have never lived...the excitement of the unknown..but give them a few months or a year in the new place and I am sure they!ll be moaning again...it's human nature.

Why anyone should wish to live in Cornwall is beyond me. The most miserable bunch of people on earth live there ... unless you are pushing money into their hands... then it's " proper job bahy." UGH. Scenery 'aint bad though.

Raffles.

Anyone reaching the conclusion that living abroad can be unsettling??

We expect to be staying here. We've been here too long to go home and we know that the grass is not always greener. However, the Germans deal with death in a strange way. In Oz we can be cremated and scattered end of story but here you can be cremated but your ashes then have interned in an Urn and buried.

I really liked the Clash. But there was one of their songs which really got on my nerves. If only I could remember its name.

@raffles none of my relatives in Cornwall are miserable and i never give them money (tight bastard aint i)

what happend to the will stay now but go later button

Well I recently had to decide in which direction I wanted my life to go. Would it be here, would it be in the UK or would it be Sweden (where my other half is from)

Let's just say it wasn't a difficult decision!!! Off to Sweden in 10 days. I'm not saying that the UK and Germany are completely down the pan yet, but it's slowly heading that way. My intention was never to retire here. At the moment, the motto within my circle of friends here is "If you can, then get out now!". And I'm afraid to say that a lot of them are, German as well as expats!

I used to belong to the first categaoy, now I'm in the second.

I came over here in 1987 with an open mind, but soon decided I would go back to Blighty, given the opportunity. That came along in 1994 and I really thought that was it.

The job didn't go too weel and I reluctantly took another offer back in Germany in 1996. The first few months were really tough and I pined for my old house in England.

After a year or two, however, I got to realise that my family (and especilly my kids) are better off here. Now it's truly home and I wouldn't want to "go back". My relatives are gradually getting fewer too - and they are really 90% of the reason I go back for anything but business trips now.

Will stay ... I've been here ten years, and have intentionally become a bit "stuck" here .. married (to a German), house, kids in school, etc. Only on rare occasions think about going back, but there are just a few things that are just so much better here .. standard of housing and salaries to name just two. Maybe when the kids leave home / I retire I may think about moving on, but then not UK .. somewhere warm with a golf course I feel ..

jwn-

Have you ever been to Denver, Colorado? Great place to live, but it's bloody cold!! I lived there a few years when I was young and it is a wonderful city if you can stand the weather, but as rock climbers/ skiers, you would probably love it. Not an expensive place to live, either...

Of course, there's always Wyoming and Utah in the United States as well, but the problem is finding a job. Not many people live in those states, but they are absolutely beautiful places to live!! I grew up in southern Wyoming right on the Utah border, which is mostly desert but there are great mountains to climb and about 5 different ski resorts within a 3-4 hour drive.

Hope that helps-- if you want more info please PM me!
Rebecca

I lived in Denver in 2001/2002 & found it was very expensive, especially apartments, guess it depends on your earnings etc.

There's only one place to go - Vancouver. Temperate climate. Mountains just up the Sea-to-Sky highway. Nice people.

Thanks Rebecca,
I have been to some of the western states though not as far north as Wyoming
Arizona, Colorado and Utah are beautiful, but again it's not easy for two people of a certain age to get Visas for anything other than short holidays.

Went to Vancouver August last year, it is beautifull but it poured with rain everyday we were there and checking the web cams since returning have only seen blue skies a handfull of times.

JWN, check out http://www.britishexpats.com/forum/ they have a whole section there on visa's for Aus, NZ, Canada & USA, it might give you some ideas. Also the rest of the forum, will give you an idea of how expats like living in various countries.

Put me down as staying, that is unless the missus kicks me out!
The wife is German & the kids are settled in school. Blighty is not too far away if you want to visit. I want to be cremated and I don`t care if it`s in Germany or U.K. I don`t think the Germans will have me though as I don´t pay church tax.

Sorry, I guess I should have qualified that... 'As far as US Cities go' it's not terribly expensive (compared to LA, Chicago, NYC, Miami, etc etc and other more heavily populated areas)

Leky
Thanks for web site ref. I have already checked immigration to all those countries mentioned but this site may provide more info.

Hmm interesting comments so far, as for me I'm down for going BUT not back to the UK, I've been here since 85 on and off and the novelty's well and truly worn off. However that doesn't mean that the UK offers a brighter future.

Might be off to Japan soon, thinking about retiring in Poland though .

The only thing that's holding me here is a great job, that includes lots of zipping around the globe.

I've lived here for 34 years (I'm a Brit, my husband is German, my two kids are both) and here is home. I feel like a visitor when I go back to England. I won't ever be able to go in an old peoples home here though - they can't make a decent cuppa!

I was over here as a kid but have only been over here for six months as an adult I like living in Germany but I am not sure I would stay long term - maybe if I get swept off my feet by some German hunk

Then again not sure I would go back to Blighty either. Miss living in Greece (was there three years) but career wise it would not be a good move and retirement is a few decades away!

Definitely wont be going to the States whilst that idiot is in charge Quite fancy Canada though...

@Bully
I would go for the stay now go later option as well - if there was one

Couldn't agree more. Before settling dow here I spent most of my life after 1970 working in various parts of the world, usually for between 3 months and three years at a time. The only way to survive that is to make the most of wherever you happen to be at any particualr time. Most places have rgeir positive aspects, you just have to find them.

Put me down for GOING.

Came here 14 years ago from the UK with the plan to stay for a couple of years and learn the language. Been here ever since, worked for a German company for 6 years and for the last 5 years have been working in an English speaking company. After all this time I have never felt that Germany is home for me although after being away from the UK for so long I dont feel like that is home either. I'm more than ready to leave Germany now and am planning to move to Holland in the next 6 months. I plan to move back to the UK in a couple of years and have children there, would not consider having them in Germany at all!!! For me, home is where the heart is that is amongst family and friends.