HOMESICK? NOT ME

The recent UK Foreign Office revelation that 42% of Britons approaching retirement age are considering spending their sunset years in foreign climes has set minds thinking: Why is it that Brits can't wait to see their homeland in their rear view mirror?

NatWest International Personal Banking, in collaboration with the Centre for Future Studies, set out to find out why. The banking group's strategy is to assemble its customer network but where is it to be

The survey carried out among expatriates reveals that 91% are happier than they were in the United Kingdom. 90% are financially better placed – 68% consider themselves healthier with 81% having a greater sense of well-being: An impressive 92% of those polled claim to enjoy a better quality of life.
Britain did however score points on a higher crime rate, unsociable behaviour, appalling weather and not surprisingly its creaking and uncertain economy.

Mike McLaughlin of southerncomfit.com real estate says austerity measures due to be introduced in October will turn a generation of workers into debt slaves: “My twenty-five year old sons' will be paying the price of failure until they retire,” he adds.
Mike Walsh