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Magazine
CAMBRIDGE LETTER
In search of the sun
BILL KIRKMAN
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In a globalised world, working and living in another country is the rule rather than the exception.
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The problem comes when the expectations are blinkered and partial.
British-born citizens have been emigrating from the U.K. in record numbers, according to recently published official figures. Their favourite destinations are Australia, France and Spain, and the indications are that they go in search of the sun, and
the company of other Brits.
In Australia, where I am writing this, there is no doubt about the sun, and after a rather cold and wet British summer, one can understand the attraction. If, however, the reason for leaving Britain is to find the sun and the company of fellow Brits, potential emigrants surely ought to question their logic. The best place to find oneself in the company of Brits is, obviously, Britain.
Negative reasons
Many emigrants, observation suggests, leave for negative reasons — to get away from some aspect of life that they do not like. The problem with that is that they may be equally unhappy about aspects of life in their chosen new home. My (British-born) son moved to Australia when he married an Australian, and found an attractive job. He is scathing about the “whingeing Poms” who moan that Australian supermarkets are not organised exactly like British ones, and complain that houses in the desirable areas where they would like to live are not available at bargain prices.
The same kind of thing happens with some of those who retire to Spain. They like to be able to get their fish and chips on the Costa Brava, but are horrified to discover that their insurance policies are written in Spanish.
There are, clearly, many instances of sound negative reasons for leaving your country of birth. In the 1930s, many Jews left Germany to escape Hitler’s Nazi rule. Three decades ago, Asians fled to Britain from Uganda to escape the racist persecution of Idi Amin’s regime. (They have made a huge contribution to the life of their adopted country.)
There are also good positive reasons for moving to another country — such as better employment opportunities. The enlargement of the European Union has resulted in an influx of people from eastern Europe into the U.K., who have skills which are in demand. Polish plumbers are a much talked of phenomenon — welcome because the native born variety are scarce. Many of them, incidentally, return to Poland when they have accumulated enough money in Britain where pay is higher, to buy property in their home country. In an increasingly globalised world, working in a country other than one’s own is no longer an exception to the general rule, whether the stay is permanent, or simply a stage on a career path.
Choosing to live in retirement in another country can also make sense, if the choice is made with a realistic appreciation of the circumstances. Two former colleagues of mine, for example, have homes in southern France, in which they spend half of every year. They speak French. They have immersed themselves in the life of the communities in which they live. They enjoy the French way of life. Spending half of one’s year in one place, half in another, would not be my choice, but it works well for them, and they relish rather than bemoan the fact that life in France and life in the U.K. are different.
The problem comes when the expectations, and the assumptions, about a decision to emigrate are blinkered and partial. We recently met a couple who had decided to live in the Isle of Man, which is an anomaly in the British Isles, being only partly subject to U.K. law and — most significantly — not under the U.K. tax regime. They had moved because they did not like having to pay British taxes. They were very critical of the fact that some of the educational provision which they could expect to find in mainland Britain was not available — and had no sense of the contradiction in wanting the things which taxes paid for, while being unwilling to pay the taxes.
No place for logic
It is probably unrealistic to expect people to be wholly logical about themselves. I recall, for example, now with wry amusement, at the time with profound irritation, a fellow member of a group of people looking in the 1960s at some of the environmental issues which were just beginning to be taken seriously. In a heavy foreign accent she declared: “Ze problem is ze immigrants”. Pointing out the irony of her statement would have been lost on her.
For Britons to choose to live in another country is fine — provided that they remember that they are “ze immigrants”.
Bill Kirkman is an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge, UK. Email him at: bill.kirkman@gmail.com
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