homeland

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Beautiful Britain

September 20, 2010 in Living in Britain, Repatriating to Britain by Paul Allen | 2 comments

If anyone doubts the beauty Britain has to offer take a trip to Salisbury.

Before moving to Spain I was wont to focus on those aspects of life in Britain that were inciting me to leave: the weather, grey and litter-strewn streets, high living costs, crime levels, images of the country’s rundown inner cities, overburdened health and education systems.

Spanish life promised a more gilded existence. Towns of quaint narrow streets and sunshine burnished buildings, café-lined plazas and open-air markets, the turquoise Mediterranean, vast tracts of undeveloped farmland and forest, lower prices and a more relaxed pace of life.

But having now repatriated to the UK after seven years of living abroad I am seeing the beauty of my homeland with fresh eyes. I have a new appreciation of the rolling green landscapes, its woods of oak and elm and beech, those chocolate-box villages, the BBC.

And historic cities such as Salisbury.

I had my first visit there a few weeks ago. Centrepiece is the magnificent medieval Cathedral, completed in 1258 and considered the finest example of its type in the country. Less jaw-droppingly impressive, but equally charming, are the surrounding Cathedral Close and the rest of the medieval city centre.

Sitting amidst the tourist throngs on the lawns beside the Cathedral I saw the city as they must. And it made me realise just how beautiful England – and the rest of the UK – really can be. Not a bad place to live after all.

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Moving Abroad for Love

July 23, 2010 in Living Abroad Pros and Cons, Moving Abroad Tips by Paul Allen | No comments

There was a documentary on British TV last week called Living with Brucie[1].

For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, Bruce Forsyth is a showbiz legend in the UK, a mainstay on Saturday prime time TV for the last 40-odd years.

And for the last 27 of those, Bruce has been married to Wilnelia, a Puerto Rican former Miss World who is 30 years his junior.

For me, what was interesting was the story of two people from different countries and cultures coming together to forge a life, and what it takes to make it a success.

Despite her fame on the Caribbean island, and the family and friends she has there, it is Winnie who has given up her homeland to be with her husband. OK, so she now lives in a mansion on the Wentworth golf estate in Surrey, with all the trappings that come from being married to a multimillionaire entertainer. But still, it must be a sacrifice.

Expat love

And it is a common tale. A survey earlier this year by health insurer Bupa International and expat web resource Expatica found one in five respondents had moved abroad for love[2]. It was a bigger reason for relocating than lifestyle choice (cited by 8% of expats), retirement (4%), weather and culture (1% each). 

There is a suggestion it may be a growing trend as well. According to the survey, only 14% of expats who moved abroad 10 years ago did it for love, whereas the figure was 22% for those who relocated in the last five years.

 

In these situations, one member of the couple will always have to be away from home and all it embodies: family and friends, familiar landscapes, its customs and culture.

Homesickness may strike, but – short of breaking up the family – one person will have to live with the consequences.

So how do you cope?

If anyone has any personal experiences from moving abroad for love, or tips and strategies on how to make it work I’d love to hear them.

[1] Living with Brucie, Channel 4, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/living-with-brucie

[2] One in five expats moves abroad for love, expatica.com, 11 February 2010, http://www.expatica.com/be/news/community_focus/One-in-five-expats-moves-abroad-for-love.html

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