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I was born and raised in Oxford, UK, but currently live in Vancouver, Canada, and am considering a move back to Europe. I'm currently doing an undergraduate degree in Accounting and when I finish it I want to move back to be closer to my parents.
Here's the thing: I really don't want to move back to the UK. I'm much more interested in living somewhere on the continent with nicer weather. After living my whole life in rainy dark climates, I figure it's time to live somewhere with some sunshine. Air travel in Europe seems to be a lot cheaper than Canada so visiting the UK should be fairly cheap. I don't speak any other languages but I will definitely learn the one for whichever country I choose!
Anyway here's my criteria:
Good weather: As close to Southern California as possible - mild, warm, high sunshine hours, low rainfall, and NOT super hot humid summers. I've looked at Lisbon, which seems great, but Portugal seems kind of poor and the economy is really bad right now. I've been looking at Nice, France lately and I like its climate too.
Size: Least half a million metro area, big enough airport for frequent flights to London.
Robust economy, especially for Business/Accounting occupations - I realize the economy everywhere in Europe is not looking good right now, but is, say, Spain less likely to bounce back than France?
Decent wages - obviously I wouldn't expect the amount of money I could make in North America or even the UK, but it would be nice to save some money.
Decent cost of living - this shouldn't be too hard to beat after living in Vancouver for many years.
Good public transit.
Relatively safe, and clean if possible.
Non-xenophobic population, friendly people if possible.
So that's it! I'm sure a place that meets my exact criteria doesn't actually exist, but if you guys have any ideas, please let me know! Thanks!
Southern France? Northern Italy? Better wages in the Italian part of Switzerland, but you'd give up a bit in the weather dept. I hear it's hard to get jobs in Switzerland, anyway.
Maybe with the right location in southern France, you could develop a clientele from among fellow Brits and other expats who have vacation homes there, and need a good tax accountant, or something. (Better study up on French tax law!) Not a bad idea. US celebrities have vacation homes there--more English speakers. Cannes? Nice? Or just outside those towns?
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 02-07-2014 at 08:54 PM..
For France I would also suggest to have look at Sophia Antipolis. A lot of big international high technology companies there and a very nice climate. Easy access to the Marseille Provence airport and high speed trains (TGV) which gives you a lot of oppotunities to travel (in Nice you're kind of stuck!).
He's looking for a 500.000 inhabitants city at least..
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