UK expats are increasingly throwing in the beach towel on their expatriate dreams, as the weak pound has sent the cost of living in the eurozone soaring, according to recent data from reallymoving.com.
Reallymoving, a UK website that provides online quotes for home-movers, said the number of people requesting quotes to ship their household belongings to the UK has increased by 37% over the past year, while there has been an 18% decline in the number of people moving from the UK to the continent during the same period.
The company said this “uplift in demand for removal quotes from expats in Europe wanting to relocate back to the UK” represented a “turnaround” from the exodus of Brits to the region that predated the slide in the value of Britain’s currency.
One pound is currently worth €1.11, down more than 25% from three years ago, when it was at €1.49, and 20% from two years ago, when Britons got €1.39 for their pounds.
UK retirees who receive their pensions and investment income in sterling have been hardest hit by this decline. Those who work in the eurozone but who are paid in pounds have also seen their incomes contract significantly.
Expat exodus greatest from Ireland, Spain
Ireland and Spain, which have been among the countries hit hardest by a combination of recession and local property crashes, are the eurozone countries experiencing the most dramatic outflow of Britons, according to the reallymoving.com data.
The number of removal quotes being requested by those looking to move from the Emerald Isle to the UK has increased by 75% over the past year, while those looking to move to the UK from Spain has risen by 39%, reallymoving.com reports.
Other European countries saying au revoir, auf wiedersehen and ciao to departing Britons
include France (30% increase in those moving to the UK), Germany (32%) and Italy (14%).
These countries have also experienced a decrease in UK residents relocating, reallymoving.com says.
Reallymoving.com director Rosemary Rogers said the data showed how many expats had had their expat dreams shattered, and are “finally realising that they can no longer afford to live in Europe with the weak pound”.
“For those who kept their options open by retaining a property in the UK, the situation is not so desperate, but for many who sold up completely and are now unable to sell their European home, their only option is to rent back in the UK,” she added.
The reallymoving.com data was compiled from international quotes requested in 2008 and 2009. In 2009 to the end of November, the company said it handled 4,000 international removal quotes.
Country Moving to UK Moving from UK
Ireland +75% -33.9%
Spain +39% -31.4%
France +29.5% -18.8%
Germany +32.4% -18%
Italy +14.3% -8.9%
Other Eur +37.6% -7%
Total
Europe +37% -18%
