Thread: British Expats Abroad - What do they miss?

New research from Aviva UK Health highlights the main things that Brits miss when they move overseas. The British sense of humour, our favourite TV shows, and even our cuisine, rank among the top ten things people would miss the most if they moved abroad.

Aviva conducts this research on an annual basis to understand the motivations people have for moving abroad and the challenges they face.

This year’s research indicates that relationships are what Brits would miss most if they moved abroad, with 74% saying that their main worry would be leaving their friends and family behind.

The survey also suggests that British culture holds a special place in many people’s hearts, with just over two in five (43%) confessing they would miss favourite TV shows such as Eastenders and Coronation Street. Nearly two in five (38%) people admit that they would be left longing for British food and drink.

As for practical implications, over a third of people (34%) say that they would miss the NHS if they moved abroad – an increase of nine percentage points on Aviva’s 2010 figures. More than one in four (27%) people admit that they don’t know enough about health benefits in different countries. Moreover, nearly one in five (17%) do not know where they’d get support and advice on basic needs such as health. Relocation companies play an important role in providing potential expatriates with this essential information.

Teresa Rogers, business lead for international PMI at Aviva, said:

“Moving abroad doesn’t come without its worries, and it’s not surprising to see the NHS on the list of things people would miss. In the UK, we take it for granted that we can access health advice and speak to a doctor in our own language – but this isn’t guaranteed abroad.”

“We can put people in touch with specialist multi-lingual support services, arrange treatment on their behalf, give them access to 24-hour support from a physician, and take care of their medical bills, leaving them to dream about roast dinners rather than worrying about their health.”

The top ten things people would miss about the UK, as identified by Aviva’s research, are:

1.***** Friends and family (74%)

2.***** TV (43%)

3.***** Sense of humour (39%)

4.***** Food and drink (38%)

5.***** NHS (34%)

6. * * *English language (34%)

7. * * *Own town/city (29%)

8.***** Own house (26%)

9.***** Sport (15%)

10. * Nightlife (10%)

I question no 6

Why would you question it? If they moved to China, Turkey etc they may get a bit fed up of not being able to speak to someone in their own language.

I think he was being facetious Ktee!

I think that list is pretty accurate actually....but for expats in Oz you wont be missing the NHS....well I dont anyway.

I miss Brit culture...TV...media etc tbh sometimes

I don't miss the NHS .. they should have given me a refund for all my NI contributions and the fact that I hardly ever used it lol. Recently, as i've developed a close network of friends here, i'm starting to miss friends and family much less than I did when we arrived (usually when we would all get together for a birthday/event). I do miss sporting events and coverage of things like the world cup (although the rugby has been pretty good on foxtel).

I miss my Marmite lol.... the big London Stores, certain foods that we cant buy in Bulgaria, what we dont miss is: council tax, tv licence, parking meters, We do miss hearing English spoken, sometimes it is a bit isolating living in Bulgaria. We do miss UK hospitals, doctors etc, but we dont miss the waiting times, We dont miss the UK weather either! We have hot summers now and they are guaranteed every year ! :)

Hi Sandra
Welcome to the forum, Bulgaria, how lovely, I've never been but it's suppose to be beautiful. Did you go there for work?
Sounds great that you don't pay council tax. Ours here in Cairns is $2800 for the year, gulp.

[QUOTE=Ktee;22811]Hi Sandra
Welcome to the forum, Bulgaria, how lovely, I've never been but it's suppose to be beautiful. Did you go there for work?
Sounds great that you don't pay council tax. Ours here in Cairns is $2800 for the year, gulp.[/QUOT

We came here to escape the misery of the UK, with our 2 daughters. We are learning Bulgarian words bit by bit but still cannot speak in a sentence yet lol.

Good on you for giving it a go Sandra,, we briefly moved to Spain before coming to Aus and like you tried learning and picking up the language ,,lol

umm, so what do i miss???????????? Some foods ,mainly UK Chippys, sausages and Black pudding,,lol

Cal x

I don't miss anything on the list and have only been back to the UK five times in 20 years.