If you had to move to another country, what factors would you consider?

Healthcare system, quality of education (if you have schooling kids), Cost of living, ease of integration / adaptation to a new place, new culture and new environment, % of natural disaster occurrence (e.g. earth quake, flood, volcano eruption..etc)

by Pauline

I would never want to move to another country, but if I absolutely had to, my musts would be a country that:

1. Was English Speaking
2. Wasn't prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or hurricanes
3. Had a similar culture/lifestyle
5. Free healthcare like the NHS
6. Not too hot or too cold

My list is pretty long and hard to come by, which is why I don't want to move. I think Britain is the best place to live. For that reason, I would probably choose a neighbouring isling like the Isle of White or something else close by.

by Bryony Harrison

Language spoken. Time zone differences to family. Cultural considerations. Ease of access to public transport and healthcare.

by Justine Crowley

Having moved to Australia from the UK we looked at lots of factors all of which we hoped would lead to happiness for our family. So things like employment market, economic stability, house prices, schools, health care, weather etc were all considered. Another important question is what would you miss if you left, and could you bear it. If you can't bear to leave parents, friends and family behind, you're not likely to be happy no matter how often the sun shines in your new country of choice.
Finally, someone once advised me to "bloom where you're planted" and by this he meant, you need to establish yourself first before you can expect to grow elsewhere. Moving countries to evade your problems is never a wise idea; they follow you too.

by helenonthesofa

I'd kind of like to move to somewhere cooler, since my fair complexion really isn't at all suited to life in Queensland. I'd also like somewhere with a fairly liberal government and a good education system and good healthcare. Maybe Sweden, Finland, Iceland perhaps.

Of course once there I'd probably miss everyone I knew back home and end up being homesick for sunny days and the beach. The grass is always greener on the other side.

by Jennifer Muirhead

I read this quite differently. I actually have countries where I think I could be quite happy living - namely France & Singapore - yet I don't know if that feeling is based in reality at all. I hadn't thought of health care or cost of living or anything.
I think they are both countries where I can see the bad things but the great things seem to outweigh it. I'd have a very nice lifestyle there, with plenty to do on the weekends. But obviously, if the job wasn't the reason we were moving, finding work would be impossible in both those places. I guess what I'm saying, outside Australia, they're the 2 places in the world I feel most at ease and slot in happily.

by Lydia C. Lee