mc_squared Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 Record number of Britons leaving the UK for a life abroad Last updated at 14:26pm on 22nd August 2007 Comments (5) Record numbers of Britons are leaving the UK A record number of Brits are packing their bags and escaping soaring house prices, wet weather and the perception of rising crime for a new life abroad, according to new figures. The Office of National Statistics showed 385,000 people migrated from the country in the year to July 2006. This is the highest figure since official counting methods were introduced in 1991 The most popular destination for migrants is Australia, with South Africa proving to be another favourite. Read more... Benefits bill for eastern European migrants hits £125mA quarter of all UK babies have a foreign parent The number of long-term migrants who arrived in the UK in the same period was 574,000, slightly down on the previous year. Overall, the population of the country rose 0.6 per cent in the year to 60,587,000. The data revealed that in 2005/06, 74,000 people from the Eastern European countries which joined the European Union in May 2004 arrived in the UK - a much lower figure than the number registered to work by the Home Office in separate statistics. The ONS figures indicated that 16,000 from the so-called A8 countries left the UK in the same period. Before the figures were released Westminster Council claimed the ONS should be handed emergency cash to improve data on population levels. It called on the Treasury to give extra money to the ONS following a long-running dispute over the way migrant levels are measured. Westminster claims its population was vastly under-estimated in the 2001 Census, leaving it out of pocket when government funds were handed out. Westminster deputy leader Colin Barrow has written to Treasury Minister Angela Eagle to ask for immediate help to sort out the "statistical mess" following the arrival of eastern Europeans who joined the European Union in two waves in 2004 and at the start of this year. "We are increasingly worried about the current accuracy and mismanagement of the official population figures, the letter said. "The present method of measuring migration to and from council areas is no longer fit for purpose and in need of an urgent injection of resource and Government commitment. "Instead, the Office for National Statistics is facing £25m funding cuts whilst the Treasury itself had only been asked to find £11.9m savings." Today's ONS figures suggested there were 159,000 more births than deaths in the last 12 months. The number of people aged 85 or over grew by per cent to 1,243,000 while the number of people of retirement age increased by one per cent to 11,344,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 You can soon be adding me to that list of Britons leaving the country :) By 2015 I will be out of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 22, 2007 Author Share Posted August 22, 2007 You can soon be adding me to that list of Britons leaving the country :) By 2015 I will be out of the country. Really? Where are you planning to go??:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted August 22, 2007 Share Posted August 22, 2007 No idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busybeeburns Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 bart did it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busybeeburns Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 'No regrets about leaving the UK' Roy Bevis prefers his life in Italy Figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that some 385,000 people left the UK for the long term in the year to mid-2006. Some 196,000 of those were British citizens. One of those Britons who chose to make the move abroad was Roy Bevis, 64, who traded in his home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, three years ago for one on the banks of Lake Como in Italy. And he has no regrets. A typographer by trade, Mr Bevis said he became fed up of life in Britain for many reasons. He faced problems over his self-employed status after 12 years, he was frustrated with the health service and the cost of transport, he had high blood pressure and he felt his income was being drained by high bills and taxes. "There is no doubt about it," he says. "I was forced to leave the country." Now, Mr Bevis lives in a large house with a bowls pitch and three gardens overlooking Lake Como - with Hollywood star George Clooney as a neighbour. "I toyed with the idea of France, looked around the other Italian lakes, but when I came to Lake Como, it was the best place I had ever seen in my whole life - it was breathtaking," he says. "Then I looked at property prices here, and at that time they were a third of what they were in the UK. So I just thought, I might as well sell up and buy somewhere." 'Great weather' Now, he says his bills are minimal, healthcare is "second to none" and he can travel around by train relatively cheaply. In addition, the weather is warm all year round and he is enjoying friendships with neighbours from all over the world, including America, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. "The social life here is great," he says. "I have never eaten so much outside, and everyone joins in together." Mr Bevis still does a bit of typography, but is essentially enjoying retirement. As a result, his health has benefited and his blood pressure is down. "I feel different - the air is pure and I am even running up the hill here," he says. "My only regret is that I should have done it 20 years ago." Even Mr Bevis's 33-year-old son who still lives in the UK has come round to the idea. "He didn't want me to go in the beginning, but now he says it is the best thing I could have done." When he returns to Britain for a trip, Mr Bevis finds he misses Italy. "I am going back in September for a concert - I don't really want to go," he says. But, is there anything about Britain Mr Bevis does miss? "Oh yes - baked beans," he admits. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6959492.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petit Prince Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 it surely cant be that bad if everyone else is coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 24, 2007 Author Share Posted August 24, 2007 it surely cant be that bad if everyone else is coming. I think the majority of the ones coming are doing so because they're fleeing from somewhere worse.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petit Prince Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 I think the majority of the ones coming are doing so because they're fleeing from somewhere worse.;) which proves my point :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 which proves my point :P Not exactly, because the fact that all the Brits are leaving shows that there are a lot of far better countries out there!!;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petit Prince Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Not exactly, because the fact that all the Brits are leaving shows that there are a lot of far better countries out there!!;) i didnt say there werent because i dont really know. i dont mind people who leave the country but i find it rather annoying if people who have never left britain complain about it all the time. there are things i dislike about it but its generally a good place to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 i didnt say there werent because i dont really know. i dont mind people who leave the country but i find it rather annoying if people who have never left britain complain about it all the time. there are things i dislike about it but its generally a good place to live. As long as you're not caught in the "rat-race" or don't want to actually travel anywhere.;) And don't forget all those chavs and drunken yobs turning city centres into no-go areas!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busybeeburns Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 all the chavs and drunken yobs are making people's doorsteps no-go areas too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 all the chavs and drunken yobs are making people's doorsteps no-go areas too! Including yours??:stunned: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene_Ihnfsa Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 i think that if they want to go abroad for the chavs.... :uhoh: there are chavs everywhere not only there... :uhoh: btw i didn't mind to go to live to UK one day, although right now I prefer Australia or New Zealand. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 25, 2007 Author Share Posted August 25, 2007 i think that if they want to go abroad for the chavs.... :uhoh: there are chavs everywhere not only there... :uhoh: btw i didn't mind to go to live to UK one day, although right now I prefer Australia or New Zealand. :) Well the only chavs that Spain has are the British ones who have invaded places like Benidorm, Marbella and Shagaluf!!:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Rose Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 all the chavs and drunken yobs are making people's doorsteps no-go areas too! I have a doorstep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniep_93 Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 That's funny. I know a lot of young people here in Australia who move over to England straight after they finish school. I think England is the most popular destination for young people here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 26, 2007 Author Share Posted August 26, 2007 That's funny. I know a lot of young people here in Australia who move over to England straight after they finish school. I think England is the most popular destination for young people here. Yes - they're all in King's Cross!!:P Doesn't sound like Warny wants to come back, either!:laugh3: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busybeeburns Posted August 26, 2007 Share Posted August 26, 2007 I have a doorstep?Good for you! Have a :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc_squared Posted August 26, 2007 Author Share Posted August 26, 2007 Good for you! Have a :P Who are you? Dastardly to his Muttly??:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petit Prince Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 i think that if they want to go abroad for the chavs.... :uhoh: there are chavs everywhere not only there... :uhoh: exactly, they exist in many countries but not everyone labels them! however the amount of drunken people in the city centre really is quite annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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