A survey conducted by NatWest International has discovered that the 71 percent of expat retirees are happy with their decision to leave the United Kingdom.
A further 58 percent of the retired expats quizzed by the bank claimed that their foreign retirement was even better than they had originally expected, and 67 percent claimed that they would not have been as happy as they are now had they remained in England.
The survey split expat retirees into two groups: ‘lifer expats’ people who had worked expat lives and then chose to also retire abroad , and ‘silver expats' people who had spent their working lives in England and had opted to leave come retirement.
The two groups showed different patterns, the silver expats didn’t stray too far, with the results showing that the bulk of them retired in other parts of Europe, and the lifer expats were more inclined to move further away.
Lifer expats were also less likely to return to the UK, with nine percent saying they would consider a return, compared to 16 percent of silver expats who said the same.
The expats also banished the thought that expat retirees tend to group together as 92 percent said they did not live in an established expat community.
Dave Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking, said: “Our latest UK expatriate study has revealed that retiring abroad is still very much a popular choice and expats are happy with their chosen life paths. It's encouraging to see that the majority of expats believe they made the right decision in retiring abroad and are living their chosen dream.”