"Will the last person to leave Britain please remember to switch off the lights" says Ian Cowie in this article in the Daily Telegraph following a survey of 7,500 people by Aon.
They claim that nearly six in 10 Britons would like to retire overseas, making us the most unhappy Europeans about the quality of life in our home country.
By contrast 81% of French people said that they would be happy to retire in their own country.
This headline seems to crop up every August. PR people know that it's a great time of year for surveys like this as journalists scrabble around for heavyweight news.
It seems to me that my French friends and neighbours here aren't particularly great explorers and travellers.
Many of them make the grand trek from the charente to the charente maritime for their summer break.
You can hardly blame them as we have some of the best beaches in Europe close by and the "Ile de Ré" off the coast at La Rochelle is simply beautiful....but you get my point.
As I have said before life in France isn't necessarily better, it's just different.
It happens to suit our current family circumstances down to the ground. We love the schooling, healthcare, general facilities, low crime rate and general slow pace of life. We're really happy here and our quality of life is superb. I'm able to fully participate in my childrens life and, to me, that is worth more than the BMW, big house and big salary I left behind.
However, when the girls go to university or start their career I can think of no better place than London. It's cosmopolitan, fast paced, fun, full of bright people and it's where the money is at. I want them to experience both worlds so they can make their own educated choice as to which they prefer.
Ultimately life is what you make it. If you are one of the 6 out of 10 that want to leave Britain then my advice would be to make sure it's for positive reasons rather than just because you think moving abroad will solve all your problems.
www.cognacproperty.com
No comments:
Post a Comment