After an exhausting year in Britain with three prime ministers, a budget fiasco, a surge in food and energy prices, a crisis in the health service and a wave of industrial unrest, the feeling that “nothing works” has become a catchphrase.
The British despair is being watched with interest from abroad as other countries try to tempt people to relocate.
Near London’s Piccadilly Circus, workers laid off by tech companies were greeted with posters telling them: “Got fired by Meta or Twitter? Move to Vilnius.”
The capital of EU member Lithuania is offering to cover relocation costs of up to €3,000 ($3,190) and says its rental prices are two thirds more affordable than in London.
The poster campaign is about “showing thousands of potential newcomers that there is a world beyond London which offers amazing opportunities for talents”, Pija Indriunaite, from tourism agency Go Vilnius, told The National.
“We wanted to bring to the talents’ attention that qualified employees are truly welcome in other European countries and are offered plenty of opportunities to showcase their skills.”
A recession in Britain is expected to stretch into 2024, inflation could remain high for two years, property looks ever more unaffordable and many feel that the UK is becoming a second-rate economy.
A survey last year by TotalJobs suggested 4.5 million people were considering emigrating from Britain, with almost half of them saying the rising cost of living was to blame.
Ms Indriunaite said 3,000 people from Britain had used a Vilnius talent website aimed at recruiting people with tech skills.
Migration figures show 90,000 Britons followed through on their ambitions and moved abroad in the past year, up from 66,000 in the lockdown-affected year before.
Many more non-British nationals left the country after working or studying in the UK, and they are also on the radar of Britain’s competitors.
After leaked plans to cut the number of foreign students in Britain dismayed many MPs and academics, diplomats from Germany saw their chance.
“For foreign students, Germany is an attractive place to study,” the German embassy in London said, in an online post advertising the country’s cheap tuition fees and many English-language courses.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was visiting London on Thursday, has her eye on reopening doors to Europe that were closed by Brexit for British students and workers.
Brexit is a consideration for some people. In 2022, Ireland received 100,000 passport applications from UK nationals. In Germany, more than a quarter of eligible Britons took up citizenship before exit day.
Some foreign doctors who left Britain after qualifying in medicine reported feeling unwelcome after the EU referendum.
But the desire for new opportunities and a better quality of life ranks higher among people’s motivations to leave Britain.
A French property exhibition will take place in West London at the end of January as couples, pensioners and families seeking a laid-back rural lifestyle consider relocating across the Channel.
Demand from British buyers is strong, with push factors in the UK accompanied by the pull of France’s climate, cuisine and scenery, said Karen Tait, the editor of French Property News.
Ms Tait said prices could be favourable in 2023, although British expatriates face competition from French city dwellers looking for larger country homes after the pandemic.
“Any dissatisfaction with their current lifestyle and country will push people to look for alternatives where the 'grass is greener', so the current crises in the UK may prompt some people to move sooner rather than later,” she said.
“Of course, France is experiencing the same crises as the UK and other countries globally.
“However, rural France is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to offer lower living costs, and certainly the change to a simpler lifestyle sought by many Brits when moving to France can come with lower costs.”
Australia, which like European economies is dealing with labour shortages, is another country hoping to cash in.
Adverts taken out on British radio networks urge people to “build a life in Western Australia”, which boasts of its beaches, food and thriving construction industry.
The campaign is aimed specifically at Britain and Ireland and is meant to plug gaps in construction and manufacturing.
Elsewhere, a town in southern Italy, Presicce-Acquarica, made headlines last year for offering a €30,000 golden handshake to newcomers who buy property there.
If these recruiters succeed in luring Britons, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may find that his promise to reduce net immigration from more than 500,000 people a year is met — but not in the way he intended.
Mountain%20Boy
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zainab%20Shaheen%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Naser%20Al%20Messabi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20JustClean%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20with%20offices%20in%20other%20GCC%20countries%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20160%2B%20with%2021%20nationalities%20in%20eight%20cities%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20online%20laundry%20and%20cleaning%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2430m%20from%20Kuwait-based%20Faith%20Capital%20Holding%20and%20Gulf%20Investment%20Corporation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ireland (15-1):
Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour
Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20625%20bhp%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20630Nm%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh974%2C011%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
Company%C2%A0profile
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RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
