Leave won so it’s time to leave
Okay so we were planning to leave anyway but with things as they stand, which is in a cesspool of uncertainty, we’re going sooner than we originally planned. While I could quite easily freak out at going before I’ve had chance to say goodbye to many of my friends, which I was hoping to on a more leisurely timetable, it will be nice to be able to enjoy some warmer days and not just be there for late autumn and winter. We’re going to take a few week to recuperate after the busy and stressful weeks and months leading up to the move. We can go to the beach, swim in the lake, chill on the terrace. Actually, I can’t wait. I’m sure many of our friends could be persuaded to come out and visit!
The dark side of all this though is that our planned move will now all take place in the shadow of uncertainty. If Article 50 is triggered what will come out the other side? Will we have access to healthcare and schooling for the kids, can we set up a business, how will we be taxed? These and a zillion other questions have kept us awake for a few nights now and at one point we considered that maybe we shouldn’t go until we know the answers. Then we pulled ourselves together and thought, sod it, let’s go! Worst case we spend a couple of years living in a new country, learning the language and soaking up the culture. At the end of that time we’ll have enriched our lives and spent two wonderful, carefree years with our young children at the time when they need us most. Worst case we move on in a couple of years and go where the wind blows. If we can get somewhere with our French language skills – given I’d need to return to having a “proper” job – maybe Canada, maybe somewhere else in Europe. The worst that could happen is that we end up back in the UK, in which case there’s always Scotland! So yes, we could stay here, live as we are now, put up with the rain, the collapsing economy, and wallow in the mess that the UK has become, or we can take a leap into the void. When I put it like that, we’d be crazy to stay.
