emigrating to another country for better work life balance

BritAbroad

My OH hand I made the move abroad to the US. In some ways our lives are better, but in others it's worse. Overall, life isn't better here, just different. We do see more of each other, but that's only because I'm not working at the moment. Once I have a job, we'll probably see less of each other than we did when living in the UK.

I do think that you take your problems with you when you move overseas, and it opens up new ones you hadn't anticipated. Living over here makes me appreciate how good life is in Britain. like other posters, I think you need to work out the causes of your stress and fix them first.

coolcait

Used to work in London - had an hour commute each way, OH had 1.5 hours each way. On the good days, of course.

Both worked full time; we lived in a two-bed mid-terrace ex-local authority house on the edge of a 'dodgy' estate.

Still managed to have the energy to spend time with the kids at weekends and after work. Except for the time when OH had an underlying and undiagnosed medical condition. So, I'd also suggest that you go to your GP for a check-up.

We moved to Scotland. I got a part-time job at a lower level than the one I'd had in London. I actually find it much more interesting and stimulating! OH still works full-time, but in a far less physical job.

We have a lot less money coming in. But we also have a lot less going out. Transport costs are vastly lower. The commute is far shorter - between 7 minutes and half an hour, depending on whether it's by car, bus, train or bike.

We have a four bedroom, semi-detached, ex-council property, on the edge of a decent 'scheme' (estate). The mortgage is less than half of what we were paying in the London commuter belt. Some of that comes from the fact that we had a decent amount in hand from the sale of the property in the south-east.

You don't have to go abroad to make the kind of changes you're talking about. You can do it by simply moving elsewhere in the UK.

It may not be as 'glamorous', but it has many practical advantages.

underthesea

BritAbroad wrote: »

My OH hand I made the move abroad to the US. In some ways our lives are better, but in others it's worse. Overall, life isn't better here, just different. We do see more of each other, but that's only because I'm not working at the moment. Once I have a job, we'll probably see less of each other than we did when living in the UK.

I do think that you take your problems with you when you move overseas, and it opens up new ones you hadn't anticipated. Living over here makes me appreciate how good life is in Britain. like other posters, I think you need to work out the causes of your stress and fix them first.

The focus and cause is wanting to cut my work week in half so I can concentrate on my business. This is a risk that might not even work and in the process, it means i don't see my family as much.

We can't go PT we need the money
We can't cut back on anything as we don't have anything (no name brands, not even TV)

underthesea

coolcait wrote: »

Used to work in London - had an hour commute each way, OH had 1.5 hours each way. On the good days, of course.

Both worked full time; we lived in a two-bed mid-terrace ex-local authority house on the edge of a 'dodgy' estate.

Still managed to have the energy to spend time with the kids at weekends and after work. Except for the time when OH had an underlying and undiagnosed medical condition. So, I'd also suggest that you go to your GP for a check-up.

We moved to Scotland. I got a part-time job at a lower level than the one I'd had in London. I actually find it much more interesting and stimulating! OH still works full-time, but in a far less physical job.

We have a lot less money coming in. But we also have a lot less going out. Transport costs are vastly lower. The commute is far shorter - between 7 minutes and half an hour, depending on whether it's by car, bus, train or bike.

We have a four bedroom, semi-detached, ex-council property, on the edge of a decent 'scheme' (estate). The mortgage is less than half of what we were paying in the London commuter belt. Some of that comes from the fact that we had a decent amount in hand from the sale of the property in the south-east.

You don't have to go abroad to make the kind of changes you're talking about. You can do it by simply moving elsewhere in the UK.

It may not be as 'glamorous', but it has many practical advantages.

Nice story, this inspires!

CH27

How many hours a week do you spend on your own business?
How many hours do you work for your employer?

underthesea

CH27 wrote: »

How many hours a week do you spend on your own business?
How many hours do you work for your employer?

Employed 40h
own business, it's all in the spare moments...maybe 6-8h?

browneyedbazzi

I came to the UK from Canada several years ago and I think my work/life balance here is generally better. In Canada I worked about 60 hours a week on average and had much less holiday (the standard is only two weeks per year).

There are elements of the Canadian lifestyle that I think are better (less alcohol, more outdoor activities, houses are bigger so you have more living space and usually better outdoor space too) but I'm far too attached to a 36 hour working week and six weeks paid holiday a year to go back!

underthesea

Had anyone made the move to a less developed country? All big cities are the similar.

Person_one

musioman wrote: »

Had anyone made the move to a less developed country? All big cities are the similar.

How would your partner and children feel about moving to a less developed country? Is this something you've talked about with them?

claire16c

Maybe that's why you're tired then! As you're sort of working a 6 day week.

So you either accept that a new business is going to take up a lot of time & effort at least for a while or you quit it & just do your 40 hours.

If you're working 40 hours & are really that stressed maybe try to find a job closer to home to cut out travelling time. And like others have said see a dr as its not normal to be that exhausted.