Vacation and then.. relocate..

I sure a lot a do. Way not, you are on vacation and relaxed there and do not have to deal with the problems at home. However, relocating is another issue given the amount of red tape necessary to do so. Living in Paris would be wonderful. Paying for it is the problem.

Feel it every time I'm in Europe. It is possible to achieve but takes time and money. The few folks I know who have done it live in the states 6 months and in Europe the other 6. They are retired and have two properties in Europe they rent out.
Helps defray their own costs. As I said, time and money. Same with a travel writer I know. Okay, now I'm depressed.

Oh sure, I'd love to relocate to Europe and given my background (I was born in Europe) and my husband's job chances are actualy good that it will happen eventually. However, the criteria used to choose a place to vacation are quite different from those used to choose a place to live. I'd go and visit a city like London or Paris in a heartbeat. But you'd really have to twist my arm to make me live there - and loose a lot of quality of life due to the high cost of living.

OMG are you kidding?!?!?!? YES. And more YES. We'd move to Paris in a HOT MINUTE. Also to London. And Copenhagen. And St. Ives. And Roskilde. Etc. Alas, no one has dropped a huge sack of money on our heads lately.... I do have two friends who have relocated. One got work in London and was looking to settle down, but then got hit by a car and wound up back in the States because she lost the job as a result. The other friend went over for a movie shoot, met a man, and married him. Now she lives in an honest-to-gawd castle in England. Can you say JEALOUS??!?! On the serious tip, my husband has started researching how we'd work the visas and whatnot to move to France. And we plan to consult an immigration lawyer. Good luck if you try it - and post updates here, so we can all live vicariously!!!!!!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I feel the same way about Paris and Normandy! I dream of it a lot. I grew up in Paris and lived there again on my own when I was 18. I hear what you're saying Frank, that it's different being there on vacation vs living there - but living there was still wonderful, even though I was working. The culture, the lifestyle, everything about it, I love. There are lots of books on how to do it, also, there's InternationalLiving.com which is all about relocating to Europe. They publish books for each country telling you step-by-step how to do it. Lots of red tape, and Claudia is right, it takes a lot of money - but it's definitely do-able. I hope to sell my house and do it in maybe 10 yrs. Until then, I can dream and visit often!

When you figure it out ...let us know. I would love to try out the European lifestyle for a longer period of time than a vacation... and I am pretty sure I would love it. Only then I would be trying to figure out how to get enough money to fly back to see family. Maybe we can get someone on this site who has a lot of money to buy a huge chateau and they can rent rooms long term to their favorite posters!

If you can get a job with the American government, it's a great way to move overseas on the government's dime. AND, they'd deal with all the red tape for you. Of course, I don't think there are any military installations near Paris... But depending on your education, experience, etc, it's always something to consider. I bet there's someone on here who lives over there as a civilian employee... My husband had a job interview for Vilseck, Germany a few years back. We thought we were going and then he didn't get it. :( Although Vilseck would never have been our first choice, it was central so we could have taken awesome weekend trips! Anyway, just a thought... But to answer your original question, EVERY TIME we go to Europe, we fantasize about how we could just stay there and live!

WriteFace, After several of my previous trips to Europe, I have thought about living in Italy but after careful consideration of all the factors, I've come to the conclusion that this is "home" and it's better just to visit Europe. Some of the reasons for this decision: > I'd be moving there alone, and would be somewhat isolated until I could establish a circle of friends. Some friendships often start with "work", but since I wouldn't be working, I'm not sure how I'd meet a compatible group (especially not being fluent in the language)? > After looking at the complicated and onerous bureaucracy described on the expatsinitaly website, I decided I don't have the patience to tolerate that. > I'd lose some of my retirement benefits if I moved out of the country. > Most importantly, I'd be a LONG way from family and friends here (especially my Sons and DIL's), so it would be costly to visit them. I'd rather live closer, and this area is perfect for that. It's a nice thought, but for me this is home.

Went Starbucks opens a shop in Italy...I will transfer immediately!! We all know that will be "A Cold Day"

I have two good friends who did just that, left the US and relocated over there, one moved to Austria and the other moved to Hungary (retired but doesn't speak the language). Most likely, they both intend to stay over there and adjust.

Sometimes the grass is green here, sometimes it's brown. Just depends on the day. Not so green when I had to pay $670 for a new alternator for my car a few days ago, which I'm SURE would be a whole lot less in the states.

There are several Americans who post on this site, myself included, who are living in Europe. Some are military connected and some are not. My husband and I enjoy living here very much, but keep a home in the US and will eventually return. Those who say it is different from being on vacation are absolutely correct. The advantages include being able to take frequent short trips, not having to deal with jetlag, actually living "like a local" because you ARE one and not just trying it out for a week or two, really getting to know your neighbors and gaining an understanding of the local culture. The disadvantages include being separated from family for long stretches, although they're pretty likely to want to come visit! You also must deal with daily living chores such as banking, garbage pickup, plumbing issues, etc. and often not in your native language, depending upon which country you're in. Learning new laws and customs can be exciting and interesting, but also quite stressful. If you are not a military member you must deal with medical care on the economy (and even military members can get sent out to local medical care depending on availability on post or base). So it's not nearly so restful as a vacation. Still, I'm glad to have the opportunity to live overseas and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Having made the move, I can report that I do find the grass to be greener, but it's a completely different shade of green than you see when on vacation or on travel shows.

In my experience, the key is fluency in language. Having a job helps you meet people, though there are other ways, but most require good knowledge of the local language. And after a few weeks, how often will you actually go to the Louvre - especially if you're stuck living in the 'burbs.

We found that we were terrible tourists in the cities we lived in! I guess we were just too busy living daily lives, working, running the household or going to school. In some countries the only time we were tourists was when someone came to visit us!
I think many of us on the Wall have discovered the only way to get over withdrawal is to start planning the next trip while flying home....although some of us have several (17?) trips we're already anticipating!

I agree... the best way to deal with withdrawal is to plan another trip. I would move to Amsterdam tomorrow if I could but it's just not practical to leave my aging parents behind. I try to structure my life so that I can travel frequently and luckily I have found a job with 5 weeks of vacation. It means making a few sacrifices, but I'm happy. The flight home is always a bummer but it's a good time to start making a list of where you want to go next.

We've gone so far as to "window shop" at estate agents' offices in York, Bath, London, Inverness and Aviemore(looking at the listings they have pictured on the windows of their offices). But I'd need to win not 1, but 2 lotteries!! LOL Still it is a nice day dream. Hubby swears he'd like to buy a place way up in the Highlands of Scotland and not see anyone but 2 time a year when we'd come into town to grocery shop. Yeah- this from a guy who lives in a major metropolitan area and can't be away from the internet for more than a few hours without withdrawal symptoms.....

Nice to know I am not alone in my suffering:) Thanks folks.

We've been lucky for 20+ yrs to have enough FF tickets to get us to Europe frequently, but with a house, family, jobs, etc in the US I thought my lifelong dream of living in Europe was just that -a dream. Then in 2004 my husband was offered a chance to go to Germany on an executive exchange. We came home after 2 1/2 yrs but in less than a yr another German company asked him to come back. We lived in a village on the Rhine, made German friends through neighbors and our church, and traveled constantly. It was the most amazing experience of my life! What finally brought us home was the birth of grandchildren. Now my husband works for yet another German company but from the US and accumulates about 350K FF miles yearly for us to travel on. This all happened to us in our 50s. My point: hold on to your dreams and keep watching for opportunities. We knew many Americans in Bonn who were working there for companies like Ford and Proctor & Gamble. It would have been difficult for me to get a work permit, but I was happy to get a break from working and just get to be a traveler and artist. Living there and traveling is easier, less expensive, and more relaxed. Highly recommend it, even if you can swing it for even a few years.

Yes - we have moved from Australia to Spain. It was more challenging than we thought and continues to be a challenge in some respects. It took us a lot longer to get settled than we expected but that was mainly due to us deciding to build a house. Are we happy we did it - absolutely. We love living in Spain and love being in Europe. Will it be forever - who knows. We have kept a house in Australia but wouldn´t have built our dream house if we had any intention of moving back anytime soon. What made it easier for us was very few family ties or responsibilities - no dependent children, no ageing parents and no grandchildren, yet. I also work outside of Spain and my husband was happy to take early retirement. And a genuine and long held desire to live in Europe. If you need to earn an income in Europe and I appreciate most do, it will be very difficult. Unless you have a job which can be done anywhere you have internet access. Or can get transferred with your company.

I think some people are too quick to say that there is nothing to see in the US. Trust me, I LOVE Europe, but there are some great things in the US too. It tends to be people on the coasts who view the middle as flyover country, and don't bother to stop and see it. I love the history of Europe but I also love the wide open spaces and geography of much of the US.

It is a dream for my wife and I to live in Paris part of the year. The winters are to cold for her due to a chronic medical condition. We would love to live in paris during the spring and fall. Everytime we return to LA area we wish we were back in europe. Since we have only one son who lives/works in paris we can hopefully relocate part time during the next 2 years. We have no desire to travel anywhere in the USA.

I'm planning to retire to France next January. At least try!

@Brad: Lucky you! 5 weeks?! What company do you work for? Are they hiring?:-) @Brad Have you looked into the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty? http://www.expatlaw.nl/dutch_american_friendship_treaty.htm I've felt like relocating there many times but after doing the research I found it's not a walk in the park. Plus I have elderly parents and can't sleep some nights from worry even though they're only 5 minutes away. I think there are some countries (Italy for sure) that if your grandparents were born in Italy you can apply for citizenship. It's still a long and somewhat costly practice though. I've talked to some people here that have done that. Italy is part of the Schengen zone. I think you're free to live or work in the zone if you are a citizen? If I'm incorrect please let me know. Are there other countries that have a repatriation program? In the past I would try to even out my travel between the U.S. and Europe. Travel to Europe (Jet lag, climbing stairs, etc.) is a little more challenging than driving to the beach or heading to Florida for a winter break. But as I get older I'm more geared to get most of Europe under my belt before my back and legs give out. But I will never stop traveling.

Going to do it very soon~~~ Retiring next week, and have plans to stay in the states for a while until I can fully close down the office, then to Spain for three months at a time, back for a few weeks to see family, grandchildren, friends, doctor, and then back again for three more months. In process of applying for a residencia permt, at least investigating the procedure. Have visited for several years, saw the country, and met some wonderful people. Selling house, and all furniture, so will travel with only two suitcases (I hope!). Perhaps we will meet!! Check out the site www.InternationalLiving.com It seems to have some good information.

This should add to the discussion ---- http://www.aarp.org/home-garden/livable-communities/best_places_to_retire_abroad/

My ideal situation would be, as my cousin has done, is to buy a rural property in France. They have done a barn conversion in a little village in Burgundy. They spend Spring and Summer there, back here for our Summer and Spring. Now that really is the best of both worlds.
Our daughter spent a year living and working Dublin. Absolutely loved the experience, but the pull of home was too strong. A year was enough. Also she couldn't go through another Irish winter.

I know it's not quite the same but we moved to Germany from Britain 5 years ago. We did this because house prices in Britain made living mortgage free an impossibility, and working all the hours God sent us just to survive was not making us happy. We bought a 4 bedroomed cottage in need of updating in the forests in Rheinland Pfalz for £23,000. A similar property in Oxfordshire where we lived would have cost us £300,000 and yet we are still only 6 hours drive from London and half an hour from the nearest airport and we have enough room for family to visit which they take advantage of. There are so many vacant properties in Europe, (excluding Britain), that can be bought for a snip, certainly less than the cost of a motorhome. (Being a member of the European Union cuts some of the red tape I grant). We rent out our home in Britain and it funds our lifestyle here. There are jobs available if you don't speak the language, albeit often menial, but as we are mainly funded by the rent money we get from home, we only need work for lifes little extras. I teach English part time as a foreign language and do the occassional stint in the village pub, my husband collects early morning newspapers from the publishers to deliver to the newsagents, and for this he needs no German. He had his own business in England and was permanently stressed. Now he works 1 and a half hours a day and his weekends are his own again. Getting to know our neighbours and getting involved in village life was easy. To most locals we are an oddity, and certainly don't go unnoticed. We need a diary to keep up with our social invitations. Not going to areas full of expats helps with integration into the local community. For a stress free lifestyle we have made the right decision, taking the leap of faith was the difficult part.

This post reminded me of this story: 6 Reasons Your Plans to Move Abroad Might Not Work Out Not meant to shatter anyone's dreams, obviously, I just found the article amusing. And pretty true to life, at least as a Russian who emigrated to the U.S. (and had to get visas to visit Europe). Now if only there was some sliver of a chance that Russia would join the EU... a girl can dream.