Emigration from the uk

Hartvick Faustine

TES3

Emigration from the UK

          Since the Brexit vote, British emigration has been at the heart of the news, with more and more British seeking to leave the country. But this phenomenon is not so recent, in fact, in recent years many British have chosen to move to another country. In 2011, 4.7 million people born in Great Britain lived abroad, that represent 7% of the total population. By this massive emigration, we can now affirm that more Brits live abroad than other nations. It appears that the British are unsatisfied with their lives in the UK and will continue in their search for the perfect life away from miserable and wet Britain.

But who are these British who emigrate? Where do they settle? What motivates their choice? That is what we are going to study, as well as the evolution of these emigrations and their impact in Great Britain and in the host countries.

         This British emigration is singular and has its own characteristics. First, there is little diversity in destination choices. The most frequent are France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand with more than 50% of British expatriates choosing to settle there. Australia is the most popular destination in over 20 years, with nearly 1.2 million British, making it the largest British communities around the world. There are also 1.3 million people from the UK who live in another EU country with nearly 400,000 in Spain.

This British emigration is also characterized by the fact that most of the ex-pats are retired. Indeed, only 15% of them are classified as skilled professionals, such as doctors, paramedics, and lawyers. As a result, the remaining 85% are retired.

Many factors influence the decision of expatriates to move and start a new life, the social origin of these emigrants contributes to explain some of their motivations.

In 2011 it was reported that 1000 people are leaving the UK every day in search of a warmer and relaxing climate as well as a higher standard of living. One of the major factors of this emigration is the dismal weather. Indeed, the UK is known to be a country where rain and wind are very present, accompanied by low temperatures. For example, in 2019, over the month of May, the average temperature was 12 degrees and the humidity was 81%. Therefore, even though there are in England beautiful countryside and stunning beaches, the temperature does not allow you to enjoy it, indeed Even in summer months, there is no guarantee that you can plan a picnic or a day out to the beach. One can, therefore, understand why for many British a move to a warmer country is so appealing. The climatic condition is not their only motivation, there is also an important temptation to have better living conditions such as a reduction in the cost of living and of stress. The cost of living in many foreign countries is a contributing factor for many Brits when considering a move abroad. Eating out and day to day living is less expensive in many of these countries like Spain and Portugal than in Britain. In addition, many skilled professionals find that they can earn more than they do in the UK with better working conditions, such as less working hours, less tax and private health care schemes

Often the way of life is much slower and relaxed than Britain where everyone appears to be rushing around, indeed the majority of Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy have relaxed working hours and often enjoy siestas during the hotter time of the day. 41% of the wealthy Britons believe life is more stressful in the UK than other European countries, which have a slower, more relaxing pace to life. Many ex-pats commented that their life was now much less stressful than it had been in the UK, according to a report by the Daily Mail, nine out of ten Brits living abroad said their quality of life has improved since leaving the UK. They have noticed an improvement in their leisure time with a better balance between their working life and social life. Living in these countries would enable them to improve their quality of life and to benefit from it.

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Distribution of British expatriates in European countries

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Comparison of weather between France and the United Kingdom

           However, this emigration has evolved in recent years and is today defined by different characteristics.

First of all, it has accelerated more, in fact, the foreign embassy has reported an average of 4000 visa applications per week for people wishing to move abroad, compared with just 300 per week ten years ago. More and more British people decide to go abroad, especially because in the last twenty years more opportunities have become available which now makes it easier for many Brits to move abroad, who before could only dream of another life in the sun.

The categories of people choosing to emigrate have also evolved. Although a large proportion of Brits emigrating abroad are retired people hoping for a warmer and relaxing climate to live, families and younger people are now also making the move to leave the UK. Those moving abroad are now overwhelmingly of working age, hence the popular image of Brits retiring to the Spanish Costas is in decline. This change also involves new arrival locations. In fact, from now on, they no longer travel only to the coasts or to rural areas, but also to large cities, large urban cities, more generally to areas where job offers are important.

Over the years society has evolved and allowed the emergence of new factors encouraging emigration. It also reinforced ancient motivations such as the desire to have a better temperature with more sun as well as better living conditions and more enjoyable life. One of the new factors is violence. Indeed, increased crime rates and anti-social behavior in nearly all towns in the UK is a worry for many and often a reason that many are now looking for a safer life abroad; 46% of the wealthy Britons questioned have cited these 2 reasons as the most popular ones for wanting to move. In recent years in many cities throughout the UK gang culture has increased with more knife and gun crimes been committed than ever before. Glasgow and London both have high crime rates compared to most other European cities. Nowadays many people feel unsafe on the streets of the UK and are opting for a safer life for them and their families in a country with less crime and a better quality of life. For example, countries like Greece and Italy have a stronger family ethic then it appears to be in the UK, which is an attraction for many when moving abroad. The evolution of English society is also a factor now. An increase in rules and regulations in British society is also beginning to have a negative effect on many people. This is especially the case for the younger generation who are looking for adventure and willing to try out another lifestyle abroad. For many young people, it often feels that they are told what they must eat, how much they have to drink and where they can smoke. For them, the country has now become too politically correct and they are often afraid to open their mouths for fear they offend someone when they speak. Another of the contributing factors why people are leaving the UK is the increase in house prices and the cost of living. Rent prices are high, and when you add utilities, the internet, council tax and all the rest, the people end up with most of their salary gone. It’s also difficult for many young people to get on the property ladder, for example in London in 2011 the average price of a house was over 400 000 pounds, it’s impossible for most of the young to raise that amount. Therefore, 19% of British Citizens with savings of over a quarter of a million have said they would consider moving abroad rather than buying an average house in London. That makes sense when you know that for half the price of a cold house with zero insulation in the outskirts of Bristol, you could buy a fantastic apartment in the center of Lisbon. For the same amount of money, in another European country, they can have better and more luxurious accommodation.

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