Choosing where to live in Europe is one of the most important decisions when relocating from the UK. This guide explains how to evaluate countries and regions based on visas, culture, cost of living, tax, healthcare and lifestyle priorities, helping you make a confident, well-prepared choice that supports your long-term goals.
Europe offers huge variety for people seeking to move and every country has its own culture, laws, lifestyle, climate and administrative rules. Even within countries, regions can feel dramatically different.
This guide helps you understand how to filter your options, compare practical realities, assess whether a location will genuinely suit your long-term goals and avoid choosing a place that looks perfect on holiday but falls short in everyday life.
This article provides general guidance only. It should not be considered personal advice. Immigration, tax and financial rules vary between countries and change regularly. Always seek professional advice before making significant decisions. We can introduce you to trusted specialists if required.
Visit our moving to Europe from the UK section for more information, support and services.
Before you dive into specific countries, spend time understanding what you value most. Your priorities should shape your destination, not the other way around.
Do you want a warmer climate, a quieter pace of life, better work opportunities or richer cultural experiences? Would you prefer a small coastal town in Portugal, a vibrant city like Berlin, a rural French village or the structured lifestyle of northern Italy?
Your daily reality matters more than the appeal of a single weekend trip. Defining your personal criteria early will help you make decisions that support your lifestyle, wellbeing and long-term plans.
Once you have identified and ranked your priorities, the next step is to create a realistic shortlist of European countries or regions that genuinely fit your needs. This is often where emotion and practicality collide.
You might dream of living by the sea, but can you build a career there? You may love the culture of a particular city, but will your children adapt to the language, schooling system and social environment? A shortlist helps you balance aspiration with reality.
Start by ruling out countries where you do not meet the visa, residency or income requirements. Post-Brexit, eligibility varies widely in Europe. Some countries are flexible for retirees or remote workers, while others require strict employment contracts or higher income thresholds. If you have a criminal record, options may be significantly restricted.
Your non-negotiables should guide the shortlist. This might include reliable public transport, international schools, year-round warm weather, strong healthcare access, or a thriving English-speaking community. These essential criteria immediately narrow your options.
These are practical considerations that influence everyday life. Think about flight times to family, time zones if you work remotely, safety, infrastructure quality and even driving standards if you will be car-dependent. These factors often determine long-term comfort.
Identifying dealbreakers is just as important. You might want to avoid extreme heat, strict religious norms, regions with high bureaucracy, heavy rainfall, or places where the social etiquette feels incompatible with your personality. Eliminating unsuitable environments early can save you time and stress.
Objective data can help balance your personal impressions. Instead of relying only on opinions or anecdotes, global indices offer measurable comparisons:
Assesses wellbeing, social support and life satisfaction. Nordic countries often score highly, but southern European countries rank well for lifestyle and community.
Visit: https://www.worldhappiness.report/
Highlights how transparent a country’s institutions are and how likely you are to face bureaucratic obstacles or unclear regulations. Lower corruption usually means smoother integration.
Visit: https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi
Collects thousands of expat experiences and ranks countries on ease of settling in, working abroad, cost of living and family life. This is particularly useful for understanding where foreigners actually thrive.
Visit: https://www.internations.org/expat-insider
These tools do not replace your own judgement, but they help you make decisions based on evidence, not assumptions.
If you want to translate your research into a structured, personalised outcome, a tool like Newroots.ai can be extremely helpful.
For a small fee, you can input your priorities such as income level, family status, visa goals, preferred climate, career needs, lifestyle preferences and long-term ambitions. The platform compares this against detailed data on European visa routes, tax regimes, healthcare systems, infrastructure and expat integration.
You will receive a tailored relocation report recommending specific countries and cities that match your profile, helping you focus on locations aligned with both your aspirations and your practical requirements.
We have partnered with Newroots.ai to offer a 20% discount for Experts for Expats users, simply use code E4E20 at checkout. Visit: https://newroots.ai/
While no tool can make the decision for you, combining personal priorities with structured data significantly increases the quality and confidence of your final shortlist.
Since Brexit, the visa system is often the deciding factor. Each European country has its own requirements, income thresholds and timelines.
Examples:
If your preferred country’s visa does not match your income, work plans or family situation, you may need to rethink the choice early.
Country-wide averages are meaningless. What matters is your likely lifestyle in a specific location.
For example:
Make a budget for housing, healthcare, food, transport, utilities, private insurance and schooling.
Also consider that if any part of your income remains in sterling, your real budget depends on the GBP/EUR exchange rate.
English alone will probably get you through Amsterdam or Berlin, but less so in rural France, southern Italy or inland Spain. If you want deeper integration, the local language will play a major role.
Cultural differences also affect daily life:
Your ability to adapt to these rhythms will have more impact than sunshine or scenery.
Spend meaningful time in each place. Not a holiday. Not a long weekend. An actual trial stay.
During your visit, test your expected daily life suich as:
A three-month stay in a short term let in Valencia or Porto will tell you far more than any online research or staying in a hotel somewhere.
Healthcare varies significantly across Europe. Some countries require private insurance for visas, and registration processes differ regionally.
Examples:
Families should also review school availability, language requirements and waiting lists. International schools are limited outside major cities.
Europe’s tax systems differ as much as its cultures.
Examples:
Pensions, ISAs, UK savings and property are all treated differently abroad and in each country. Choosing a country without understanding tax and long term investment consequences is one of the most common mistakes we see.
Once the excitement fades, life in Europe becomes normal life. Your long-term happiness and emotional wellbeing also depends on:
A place you love on day one may feel isolating in year two if you have not thought about how you will build a life there.
This article is not designed to discourage you from moving to Europe.
It’s designed to help you think beyond the dream and see the full picture.
It’s no secret that moving abroad can be incredibly stressful and no matter how much preparation you do, there will also be some stress. Not everything will go to plan, even if you’ve covered everything when planning.
Relocating successfully means understanding more than visas, tax and cost of living.
On Experts for Expats you will also find guidance on pet relocation, emotional wellbeing, caring for elderly relatives, financial risk, cultural expectations and how to settle confidently in a new country.
The biggest reason people struggle or return home early is not bureaucracy, but homesickness and a lack of preparation. With the right plan and the right support, your move can be a positive, life-changing step rather than an overwhelming leap. We can help you get there.
