Which country to retire to for fun, culture, nightlife? Ireland,France, Spain?

There are an absolute ton of Polish folks in Harrogate. Why? Did they just fall out of Poland and into the UK. Nope. There are building jobs in Harrogate. My wife worked at a local primary school.....lots of Polish kids were coming in. When You walk in town....lots of Polish being spoken. I'm not condemning....it's just what it is. They seem pretty decent people.

 I am signing off from commenting on this site....just way too many people who are convinced that they know what is going on....and "they understand" and others don't... other people who they don't agree with are "ignorant". I'll stick to the visa and tax sections...

I suspect their family and friends are in the UK.  Or work opportunities unavailable in their home country.  That’s certainly how I ended up here. 

Fred, I don’t think you are ignorant at all.  I do think overheadsmash’s statement came from a place of ignorance.  The UK is not a holy grail of society.  It’s not a shithole, but neither are Poland or Hungary.

I have friends who are from Hungary and Poland.  All are here for reasons similar to all of this on this board.  I do try to stray away from these threads.  But I couldn’t ignore overheadsmash comment that the UK is superior to other European countries. 

Starship Troopers territory here.

No one at all is suggesting any Englishman give up his culture.  Get St. George's cross tattooed on your forehead. No one will stop you. Drink tea. Speak English, it is and always will be the official language. Drive on the left.

Where is English culture being erased? Churches are closing because people just don't want to go anymore.

You are a sensitive soul. Understandable!

I think every Brit has a right to their believes. And they have earned that right. Nothing in that should be upsetting. Very reasonable.

The ignorance of this statement astounds me.  The grass is not greener on the other side.

Have you spent any time in Poland or Hungary to be making such a bold statement?

Hi KFdancer

I'm not making that comment as a statement. I was taking in consideration the opinions of people from the UK that hold a multitude of ideas about immigration. I don't have to agree with every person's opinion but I definitely want to hear them out and be respectful while doing so. And maybe along the way I'll hear a different perspective from my own and that will help me grow as a person. I don't agree with my friends on every topic but I do think their life experience is worthy and admirable.

There are an absolute ton of Polish folks in Harrogate. Why? Did they just fall out of Poland and into the UK. Nope. There are building jobs in Harrogate. My wife worked at a local primary school.....lots of Polish kids were coming in. When You walk in town....lots of Polish being spoken. I'm not condemning....it's just what it is. They seem pretty decent people.

 I am signing off from commenting on this site....just way too many people who are convinced that they know what is going on....and "they understand" and others don't... other people who they don't agree with are "ignorant". I'll stick to the visa and tax sections...

Don't leave! You life experience is valued! And I agree that some of the posters need to not behave so aggressively with their responses. We should all be able to have different opinions and still be respectful of one another. Otherwise we are no better than Donald Trump which is an insult.

I suspect their family and friends are in the UK.  Or work opportunities unavailable in their home country.  That’s certainly how I ended up here. 

Fred, I don’t think you are ignorant at all.  I do think overheadsmash’s statement came from a place of ignorance.  The UK is not a holy grail of society.  It’s not a shithole, but neither are Poland or Hungary.

I have friends who are from Hungary and Poland.  All are here for reasons similar to all of this on this board.  I do try to stray away from these threads.  But I couldn’t ignore overheadsmash comment that the UK is superior to other European countries.

My ears were burning and now I know why.

I never said I held a anti-immigrant bias. I'm an American and so is my wife. When we come over to Europe we will be immigrants. That's number one.

Number two, my post was me being open minded enough to consider the opinion of those people that supported the "Leave" vote from the European Union. There is no arguing that many voted to leave the EU because they wanted to regain control over immigration to their country among other reasons. Yo hablo espanol, and have for many years.

That has happen because of my interest for other cultures. But this is not about me, it has everything to do with the UK and how as a population they felt so overwhelmed that they decided to possibly take a hit economically in order to regain it's freedom from Brussels.

So let's give reading comprehension more attention, and keep in my mind, most of my previous post is in the form of "Questions". They were not statements. Man you guys are tough on a poster. Lets play nice. Btw, there is nothing ignorant in a Brit feeling that many EU nationals are coming to the UK because there are better opportunities there than back in Spain, Poland, Hungary ect. That is a financial fact!

 Certainly doesn't mean those other countries aren't more beautiful,  should not indicate if they do or don't have better weather, and is no reflection on the quality of the people living in those other countries. Has everything to do with math. Average medium income in Hungary is $17,000 per household. That is possibly reason enough to look for greener fields.

And they have earned that right.

You know looking back, those Polish folk didn't exactly have it easy.

You know looking back, those Polish folk didn't exactly have it easy.

I totally agree!

Immigrants that came to America experienced a great deal of heart ship. This is true of many migratory situations in various countries.

There are an absolute ton of Polish folks in Harrogate. Why? Did they just fall out of Poland and into the UK. Nope. There are building jobs in Harrogate. My wife worked at a local primary school.....lots of Polish kids were coming in. When You walk in town....lots of Polish being spoken. I'm not condemning....it's just what it is. They seem pretty decent people.

 I am signing off from commenting on this site....just way too many people who are convinced that they know what is going on....and "they understand" and others don't... other people who they don't agree with are "ignorant". I'll stick to the visa and tax sections...

Mate, I'll normally stick with you but this is a bit thin skinned.  It's just a discussion, not even a heated one.  Nobody called anybody ignorant.  At worst, somebody said an argument was ignorant and that was being charitable to a pretty silly assertion. 

Time to get this thread back on track so to speak.

 I want to get the opinion on which of my target countries is the least uptight in general?

Some countries have societies that are just naturally more laidback and easy going in their approach to life, while others just seem to have far more tension in the air. Kinda how Florida is more laidback compared to California and both are far more easy going than just about every other State in America.


I wonder which country do you think has the easier going lifestyle, Barcelona Spain, or Toulouse France and why?

Thanks

Kinda how Florida is more laidback

Well, back in the day.  Before all the Yankees moved down. You go there now and it sounds like Long Island.

Well, back in the day.  Before all the Yankees moved down. You go there now and it sounds like Long Island.

LOL. There is truth in what you say.

I have lived in the NYC area, SoCal area and now in Florida. No question there are a lot of tri-state people living in all three places. But Florida still retains that relaxed lifestyle and you don't feel like you're forced to live on top of people here. And southerners do out number people from the north in Florida. But it's a good mix.

The interstates, for one, zipped us by the smaller towns (whereas the old highway system used to take us through them). The same chain restaurants were everywhere, the kids all looked the same, the clothes were the same, a lot of the really thick accents were not really there (except in older people). The music was the same. The TV in the motels was the same and there was a clone mall in every larger town. We saw new buildings going up that had the same architecture as SoCalif strip malls and apartments.

A part of the reason why I like to live in places that have interesting or unique geography , scenery, wildlife and vegetation. I don't see the appeal in living in a dreary place that could be "anywhere".

There are an absolute ton of Polish folks in Harrogate. Why? Did they just fall out of Poland and into the UK. Nope. There are building jobs in Harrogate.

I know this is an older comment, but there are actually many cases where work is being contracted out to Polish people because they are willing to do it cheaper. They aren't abandoning their countries to move here permanently lol. They are over here to work and get paid for the job that's available before returning back to their loved ones and way of life.

That doesn't mean that the UK is a better place for them compared to their home country, it just means they are over here to get paid for work. Would you consider a Brit who is working abroad for a few months at a time before returning back to the UK as a person who thinks the grass is greener elsewhere? Or would you just consider that a person that is working abroad for a period of time because they want to bring in money they may not have where they are at?

Sorry, I don't normally reply to these types of threads if I can help it but there are rare occasions where I can't keep my mouth shut. Polish and Hungarians (and many other nationalities for that matter) aren't coming over here because their way of life where they are from is sh*t and they are running away from it or something....I know MULTIPLE Polish people that are living over here and it's not just me "pretending I understand" based on observing the people living in my area. I also have a close friend from Turkey who is over here and she misses her home and way of life all the time! Coming here doesn't automatically mean they are unhappy with their home country....... I wouldn't disagree in the slightest with KF's comment that the initial statement sounded a bit ignorant - whether or not that was intended.

So let's give reading comprehension more attention, and keep in my mind, most of my previous post is in the form of "Questions". They were not statements. Man you guys are tough on a poster. Lets play nice. Btw, there is nothing ignorant in a Brit feeling that many EU nationals are coming to the UK because there are better opportunities there than back in Spain, Poland, Hungary ect. That is a financial fact!

 Certainly doesn't mean those other countries aren't more beautiful,  should not indicate if they do or don't have better weather, and is no reflection on the quality of the people living in those other countries. Has everything to do with math. Average medium income in Hungary is $17,000 per household. That is possibly reason enough to look for greener fields.

With that logic, however, any immigrant - EU or not - is likely moving from their home country to their new country are moving for some type of opportunity not available to them in their home country. There are Americans wanting to come to the UK because maybe they feel there are better opportunities for them here than in the US, it's just not as easy for them as those from the EU. There are Brits moving abroad because they maybe feel there are better opportunities for them in a new country vs the UK. Moving for better opportunities just explains the majority of immigration as a whole...

When you look at the average medium income in Hungary, are you taking into consideration the annual cost of living?

I was planning on retiring somewhere in the UK or Europe, live in the US.  In March 2016 I applied for British citizenship via descent and in September 2016 I got the certificate.  So Brexit happens June 2016 and my plans are now screwed. 

I can't believe the Brits are making their passports worthless.  The right to live and work in 27 countries has no value to them, or their children.  And the government is handling the entire thing with extreme incompetence.  Have fun with the new Irish troubles, and the fall of the pound, and collapsing economy due to trade frictions.