Expat Retirees Happy to Stay Abroad
September 1st, 2010
Seven out of ten Britons who have retired abroad are happy with their new country and likely to stay there, a survey said yesterday.
Fewer than one in five who have gone to live in France, Portugal or Spain are considering returning home, it found.
The poll also found that nine out of ten of expat retirees live among the natives of their adopted country rather than among fellow Britons in communities of exiles.
The survey, carried out for NatWest bank, suggested that the trick to a happy retirement overseas may be planning ahead.
The highest levels of satisfaction were found among those who were employed in their new country before giving up work.
Among those in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S. who worked in their chosen country before retiring, fewer than one in ten thought they might go back to Britain.
Nearly 150,000 British citizens left the country last year to live abroad, many of them after giving up work.
According to the survey, there are now an estimated 900,000 expat pensioners, with nearly 300,000 in Australia, 115,000 moving to Spain and just under 75,000 in France.
Dave Isley, from NatWest International Personal Banking, said: ‘Retiring abroad is still very much a popular choice and expats are happy with their chosen life paths.
It’s encouraging to see that the majority of expats believe they made the right decision in retiring abroad and are living their chosen dream. It is enlightening that 92 per cent of expats chose not to retire to a designated expat community.
‘This seems to emphasise the notion that expats have retained a sense of adventure.’
‘They really do want to start afresh and experience life as a local rather than settle with other expats.’
‘By immersing themselves in a full, enriched life as a local, retired expats can certainly learn and gain more from their time abroad.’
The survey also revealed that nearly six out of ten retirees abroad feel their experience has been better than they expected.
Only one in ten said retirement in a foreign country had proved worse than they thought it would be.
Among expat pensioners in France, Spain and Portugal, who mainly left Britain after they retired, just 16 per cent thought they might return.
The survey was carried out by the Centre for Future Studies among 1,300 retirees.
Story from Daily Mail
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I quite agree with the comments about moving in with the locals, we came to Spain in 1993 and lived in an urbanisation on the coast for 8 years where everyone spoke English and then we found this wonderful hondon valley inland 45Kms from Alicante and it was the best move we ever made and our Spanish has improved fantastically and the people are wonderful.What a lovely lifestyle we have, long may it continue.
If the pensions in the UK were not the lowest in Europe, if the housing market wasnt stagnant, many Brits would be gone. With failing NHS, rising unemployment, rising crime, failing schools, increase in poverty (unskilled immigrants looking for work, students and graduates cant find jobs, pensioners without enough money to eat and heat) crooked politicians etc. people dont stay in the UK unless they have to. Bliar and Thatcher left asap as do most other politicians and business leaders. They do this for a reason, regardless of what they say, they know the UK is rapidly becoming a third world country.