Warm winters, village life... And a strong socialist sentiment? Mate, I guess Baños de la Encina is your place!

Jokes aside. Which English city are you thinking of? Because London is obviously discarded.

Thanks for replying Javi! We are mainly going by climate, a little drier and sunnier, so the southwest, or northeast, like Suffolk. We are pretty flexible and hoping to find something nice since we are free to resettle where we want!

I like your attitude! I wish you the best. Suffolk seems to be a good place to begin a new chapter in your life. Good luck!

Are you from Banos de la Encina?

We are looking seriously at emigrating to England (from Canada). Mainly for the warmer winters, also the community feel of village life. I feel it has a stronger socialist sentiment also. — Pantagruel

Have you checked out the news from around England recently?
I left England permanently back in "75, and there is no way in hell I am going back.

I live near what is supposed to be one of the most dangerous countries in the world, but I have not seen guys fighting in the street with machetes for a very long time. It appears to be happening on an almost daily basis in several cities in England.
And I don't get discriminated against for being English here either whereas it appears from the news that the illegal immigrants have more rights than the citizens in England nowadays.

It also appears that the price of a house has reached the point where it is almost impossible for a single salary family to buy.

It also appears that the price of a house has reached the point where it is almost impossible for a single salary family to buy. — Sir2u

It's absolutely impossible in Canada. Home prices here are sky-high. Home prices in England are at least 10-15% lower. Plus we would be moving to a more rural location, definitely not a city.

I’m from the UK. Many years ago I lived in four places there that had the community feel you’re looking for: Fairlie in Ayrshire, Wigan, Stockbridge in Edinburgh (“the village in the city”), and Leith. Only one of those is in England and it’s the wetter part of England. Down where the weather is nice I’ve spent a lot of time around Hastings and Bexhill and like those places very much.

Now I want to move back to the UK too, after an absence of twelve years, but these days I’m less hopeful about finding the community feel and a nice place to live that I can afford. And all you hear from Britain now is how bad everything is—I’m hoping this is because of the way the news is now.

But having been back to visit a few times I do get the impression that Stockbridge, for example, has lost the community feel it once had. Its locally owned shops and cafes are now Tesco, Sainsbury, Starbucks, etc. But that’s in the city and probably to be expected. I’ve also been back to Fairlie, and even though it’s still just a village, it might have lost the community feel as well. There is now nobody in the streets, the houses and gardens are now divided by high hedges—when I lived there they were all open—and there are no shops left. On the other hand, I have associations of community from childhood that just don't apply any more (local shops), and communities may be thriving today but just look different.

In my experience, in the middle and south of England there is a tweely conservative monarchy-loving ultra-parochial cake-baking mindset which might be compatible with community feel but which I find quite horrible (but I guess that’s because I’m a rootless cosmopolitan, mostly Scottish and a bit prejudiced against the English). They're certainly not socialist, but I guess they do like the NHS (which I imagine counts as socialist to a North American).

Oddly enough, although I’m in a country that’s as cold as Canada (Russia), I find the weather here much better than British weather, since winter is proper winter and summers are consistently warm and dry.

Since you’ve chosen England for the weather, of all things, I’m assuming it’s because of the language and culture. In which case, why not Australia or New Zealand?

BTW I’d be very sceptical of what @Sir2u has to say.

We are mainly going by climate, a little drier and sunnier, so the southwest, or northeast, like Suffolk. We are pretty flexible and hoping to find something nice since we are free to resettle where we want!

I live in Norfolk near the boundary with Suffolk and lived in Suffolk for ten years before that. I would highly recommend it. We enjoy the peace and tranquility here, one of the quieter parts of the country in terms of traffic congestion, or population density. I rarely lock my car at night and don’t expect anyone to come snooping around. There is a strong sense of community around here and social justice, although we don’t get involved in village life.
We value nature and have many nature reserves and good habitat within a few miles and the diversity of species in our garden is really high compared to the rest of the country.
Regarding the weather though, it is relatively warm, we have only had maybe ten nights of frost this winter, which would rise above zero by mid morning. The issue with the weather here is the number of cloudy and wet days. It can get you down when more than half the time it is raining, or overcast and you don’t know if you can go out without getting wet. Our garden is currently very muddy, it’s even reached the point this year where we have to wear wellies to go around the garden to feed our chickens and sheep. We have to take our shoes off at the door, always, the mud is clayey. But once you get to spring the weather is much better and the summers are glorious and rarely to hot.

There is an issue with the economic decline and lots of infrastructure is neglected and falling apart. Poverty is spreading and public services are in crisis most of the time. Many councils are going bankrupt at the moment, resulting in increases in council tax. However if you have money, or a secure income these things are not a problem. If I weren’t watching the news, I probably wouldn’t notice the decline. Except when I want to see a doctor, or want socially funded dental care. Both are very difficult to access. However if you are happy to go private, there is plenty of provision.

You would be wise to listen to this poster, OP.

Though I have found most philosophers have a tinge of morbidity, if not full on appreciation for dark humor and, horror, basically. In which case, go for it.

IMO, socialism only works with physical borders (walls or geographic boundary that makes it difficult or impossible for someone to "wonder" toward or "casually" go to in efforts to seek nonreciprocal benefit at the expense of those who labor to provide it). Hand in hand with some sort of religious authority that instills the non-mandatory value of a hard day's work and eternal reward as well as social value. "The land of milk and honey" sounds nice. So long as someone provides it for you. Eventually, it never works due to the fact it's logistically unsustainable.

The Kingdom has seen better days, to put it lightly. I personally believe it's Biblical and the darkest before the dawn before... something happens. As to the implicit nature of this "something" I can't seem to muster. Like most things, time will tell, eh?

This is encouraging. East Anglia here I come.

In my experience, in the middle and south of England there is a tweely conservative monarchy-loving ultra-parochial cake-baking mindset which might be compatible with community feel but which I find quite horrible (but I guess that’s because I’m a rootless cosmopolitan, mostly Scottish and a bit prejudiced against the English). They're certainly not socialist, but I guess they do like the NHS (which I imagine counts as socialist to a North American). — Jamal

Ditto.

I lived in Suffolk. Very conservative. Ignorant, insular. Of course you can find your tribe anywhere with a large population, but you'll have to look, and probably drive. I hate England even though I'm English. There are pretty villages in Suffolk if you can stomach the culture. It is probably drier and sunnier on average in east Anglia generally, rain gets dropped on the Western hills. The fens (Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire) are flat and also conservative, but somehow a bit more relatable for me. Anyway. I live in Scotland now. Somehow i managed to end up in one of the only two conservative counties in Scotland. Still like it better than England, class is a bit less of a thing in Scotland in general. Still there of course and wealth matters obviously. Edinburgh has a marked class divide though it seemed to me, less so than the Highlands.

Oddly enough I've always wanted to move to Canada, less population density. Lots of wilderness. Tough winters though i guess. But no country needs a philosopher or social care lawyer.

Agree about the class divide and cap doffing in Suffolk. I much prefer Norfolk in this respect.

Wow. Thanks for all the information guys. This is why we ask.

I'm not sure that the critical reviews aren't just a symptom of global decline though. I would have thought Canada was the place to be, but we are reeling under crippling inflation and we lack the deep cultural foundation to combat the malaise that is modern man. At least the UK (and Europe) has that. Moreover, we are just too close to the US for comfort. We don't want to go there, we don't want to hear about the awful shit that's going down there.

Lots of food for thought though. I'm concerned about the availability of healthcare for sure. Mind you, this is a serious problem in Canada also. The only upside for me is I just retired from the healthcare industry, so I know all of the family doctors in our region, and their staff, which can help.

Are you from Banos de la Encina? — Pantagruel

No. I am from Madrid, but that's the municipality with the most sense of socialism in Spain.

Well, I don't want to speak about my country because this thread is about England. I think Liverpool or Manchester could be good options. It will be interesting to know what our Manc mate, @Sir2u, thinks about Manchester (or what he reminds about this city).



Interesting views and opinions, mates. I wonder now if it is a matter of the county or the neighborhood you live in. I searched for more info on Norfolk and the internet says that the largest city is Norwich. I guess there are different neighborhoods inside Norwich, and they differ on the concept of 'class'. For example, Here in Madrid, the middle-class doesn't live in the center, we all live do the outskirts. I don't really know if you are referring to this and whether @Pantagruel is looking for it.

By the way, the constituencies of Norfolk are Conservative. The Labour Party no longer held the urban constituencies they once held in Norwich North and Great Yarmouth, leaving them with no MP's. Norfolk
I don't know if this is a paradox or a contradiction. :chin:

Alan Partridge, from Norfolk, suggested amalgamating Norfolk and Suffolk to form a new county. Its name would combine the Nor- from Norfolk with the -folk from Suffolk: Norfolk.

Any thoughts about living in Northern Europe? Like those socialist-leaning countries such as Norway and Finland? Unfortunately, being northern equals being colder lol. :grimace:

My wife has German citizenship so we have talked about Germany also. Cold is something we are trying to avoid though!

Sure thing. Freezing body parts are very uncomfortable.

But ya know… global warming. But rising seas make anywhere by an ocean into a SUBprime location. (If not SUBmarine).

Good luck! :flower:

We are also considering the Wye Valley.....

We are also considering the Wye Valley — Pantagruel

A very beautiful area.

A very beautiful area. — Jamal

Which is high on our requirements list. It seems like everywhere has its major flaws. I suspect that happiness is mostly about the motivation and energy you bring with you.

I suspect that happiness is mostly about the motivation and energy you bring with you. — Pantagruel

In my experience, largely yes.

Very Alan Partridge, ha haaa haaaaa.

If you do make your way to Norfolk you would be very welcome to visit.

I know the Wye valley well, I particularly like Hay on Wye and Monmouth.

:up:

We are going to take some short trips to England soon, possibly one later this year, to get a feel for things and check out different regions.

If you do make your way to Norfolk you would be very welcome to visit. — Punshhh

Thanks!

@Pantagruel

What about New Zealand instead? That's my second choice (if I were to leave the US for good); British Columbia, Canada is my first choice (I currently live between Portland and Seattle so I'm slowly becoming more familiar with the province than I had been from visits in the 90s) and Costa Rica is my third choice.

Hadn't considered New Zealand. Quite a hike! BC is so expensive and seems like climate change might be more of a problem there. My wife lived and taught english in Puerto Vallarta for years and we also considered that, but the summer heat is already crazy and then you have to factor climate change in again....

We will look into New Zealand though. As long as it isn't as burning hot as Australia!

Thanks for the suggestion :)

British Columbia, Canada is my first choice — 180 Proof

:up:

I’ve been to Vancouver Island a couple of times, would love to live there. I knew someone there who lived off the grid in the forest in a small geodesic dome.

I consider BC to have far too many trees but I could get used to it.

:up: :up:

:cool: Yw. Good luck with your search!