Where to retire???? American Citizen my husband is a British Citizen

Denis&Amy wrote:

HELP.....Healthcare is very important to us as we get older. My husband is a U.K. Citizen but has lived in the states for 30 years. I am American. Does anyone have any experience with nhs in British overseas countries? Will we be eligible? Is it worth going to a U.K. Country? Does European countries take the nhs?  How does the britexit effect that? So many questions.....we would like to visit someplace this winter to check it out...not even sure where to go....Again climate is important as is culture. We enjoy a rural quiet lifestyle. Being able to walk to a village town center would be wonderful.

Hi Denis and Amy,

The UK NHS is available to all who live in the UK; this is free healthcare at the point of delivery, although you may have to pay for prescriptions; there is also some reciprocity with the rest of EU countries while travelling via the NHIC document.  Dentistry is in general not covered by the NHS; that said, there are some NHS dentists, but they are nowadays few and far between.

UK citizens in receipt of a UK old-age pension are currently entitled to the same Healthcare rights, in other EU countries, as the citizens of that country enjoy; this is done via an S1 document.  If your husband has ever worked in the UK and paid National Insurance, then he is probably entitled to some kind of pension here and you may qualify for the S1 form to use in one of the other EU countries.  To find out if your husband qualifies for a UK pension, follow this link.

If your husband has a UK passport, he has the right to live in the UK; I think you will need to apply for a "UK Marriage Visa" if you intend to live with him in the UK; this link will take you to the UK Government website that tells you about these.

With regards to Brexit; as of now, nothing has changed here.  Looking forward; who knows?  I would advise against making any decision based on conclusions posted on the Internet as in the main they are at best opinions and nothing more; fake news rules at the moment.

With regards of where to live.  If you're looking for a Southern California climate - forget it; nowhere here is like that.  We live in North Yorkshire (kind of in the middle of the UK landmass) in a village - it's nice, but if I had to describe the UK climate, it's 11 months of wind, rain, interspersed with 4 weeks of variable weather, with a couple of sunny days thrown in.  That said, my description is equally valid all over Northern Europe.  If you want Southern California, then southern Spain and Italy would be my choice.

Culture - I've lived all over the world, but I'm probably not the best to ask; I don't see culture anywhere, just old buildings, or art I just don't understand.

Hope this helps.