News
More Brits than ever to emigrate
A poll this week has shown that starting a new life abroad has become more popular with Brits than in any time in the past, write Ben Lewis and Paul Beasley
In a recent study conducted by the BBC, over 1,000 people were asked if they had ever considered moving abroad with the majority of those questioned admitting that they had. Despite this result being similar to those in a 2003 poll, the real surprise was the increase in the number of respondents who are looking to turn the idea into reality. In fact, 13 per cent of those questioned said that they were looking to action their plans of emigration in the near future, nearly twice as many as in the previous poll.
Those most likely to want to leave were British young people who blamed the escalating cost of living and the poor weather as the main reasons for their intended departure with many pointing at friends already living abroad as the inspiration for their movement. Experts believe the decreasing costs of flight and the growing trend for young people to travel the world has meant that large numbers of the population are seeing, first hand, the opportunities available to them overseas.
According to the national statistics available, just over 200,000 British citizens left the UK in 2004, joining the 4.5 million already living abroad. An official count by the Foreign Office has revealed that sizeable expat communities now exist in nearly 100 different countries around the globe and they are continuing to grow.
Topping the list of English-speaking emigration destinations is the US which welcomed 19,800 British permanent residents in 2005. Just behind the US, Australia welcomed 18,220 Brits in the period that ran from June 2004 to June 2005. New Zealand's 15,045 new British residents in 2005 bumped the country up to third spot, ahead of Canada with 6,056 in the same time period. Bringing up the rear, unofficial figures suggest that South Africa welcomed several hundred new British residents on a permanent basis, placing it fifth overall of the Anglophone countries. Spain, however, continues to forge ahead of the English-speaking pack and is now believed to be pulling in up to 50,000 Brits every year.
But all those Brits looking to emigrate also need to think about the cost of property abroad. This is especially the case for those Brits heading to California, the number one choice for Brits making a permanent move across the pond. In San Francisco, for example, the average house price is nudging three quarters of a million pounds, while in Sarasota and St Petersburg - two popular towns in Florida for relocating Brits - the average property prices are £220,000 and £185,000 respectively. As the average British house price is somewhere between £165,000 and £177,000, depending on which mortgage lenders' figures you work with, the US could prove to be something of a stretch for the average Brit.
Those heading to Vancouver or Sydney may also find house prices a little higher than they'd like, with both having average property prices in excess of £200,000, while those heading to other destinations in Canada or Australia should, broadly speaking, be able to climb the property ladder. This is also the case for New Zealand's emigration hotspots, while those making the relatively short journey to Spain should be able to find a coastal apartment for less than the average price of a British house even on the most popular costas.
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12 December 2006