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29th Mar 2024

Europeans move for love rather than jobs

  • Europeans tend to move to France and Spain for quality of life reasons (Photo: EUobserver)

If Europeans move to another country, it is more likely to be because of their partner or family rather than due to a new job, according to a new survey published on Tuesday (28 March).

The study showed that of the 2 percent of European citizens currently living outside their home country, 30 percent have moved to follow their family, 24 percent are searching for "a better quality of life" and 25 percent moved because of work.

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The UK and Germany are the main destinations for people moving because of study and work, with Britain attracting mainly professionals working in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors, while migration to Germany is more dominated by manual jobs.

The key pull to live in France and Spain is quality of life, especially for pensioners, while relationships emerged as the main reason for living in Italy.

Half of the people ready to live in another EU country have tried it before, mainly as exchange students.

The survey, produced as part of the European Commissio-funded "Pioneur project" has also revealed that people living abroad tend to be more politically active and usually more left-leaning.

"Spanish migrants are the most likely to vote. Italians are the most critical about the politics of their home country and the British the most likely to take part in a public demonstration or contact their political representatives," the report says.

The study is part of an overall push by Brussels to encourage more mobility among workers across the 25-nation bloc.

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