In a poll of 1002 Brits aged over 18 for BBC Online conducted by ICM this summer, 40% of those questioned named Australia as their top emigration destination.  The English-speaking countries were generally more popular, with Canada (24%), New Zealand (22%) and USA (21%) coming in third, fourth and fifth respectively.  Spain was the most popular non-English speaking destination with 31% of the vote followed by France (18%), Italy (10%) and Greece (5%). 

The most popular reason cited as a motivation for emigrating was the search for a better quality of life (37%).  Better weather (32%), the fact Britain was considered too expensive (24%), a new job (13%) and the hunt for a new experience/adventure (13%) were also common reasons given for wanting to leave the country.

Whilst the allure of the good life was tempting people to up sticks in search of a better lifestyle, with 43% of the vote, the fact that family and friends remain in the UK was cited as the main reason for people to stay put.  Not wanting to lose the British way of life (21%) and concerns over finances (11%) were other factors which prevented peoples' foreign dreams from becoming reality.

More Britons than ever considering moving abroad

However, emigrating is becoming more popular, with the number of people hoping to move abroad in the near future (13%) having almost doubled since a similar survey in 2003.  Opinion was split approximately 50-50 on attitudes to future emigration with 43% of people saying they might consider emigrating in the future and 46% stating that they would not consider emigrating at any point in the future.  Moving abroad was most popular with young people with around a quarter saying that they were hoping to live abroad.

According to official figures, record numbers of people have been emigrating with 350,000 leaving in 2004 alone, up a third over the previous decade.

Which countries would you consider emigrating to?
Base: all respondents (1002)
Australia	40%
Spain	31%
Canada	24%
New Zealand	22%
USA	21%
France	18%
Italy	10%
Greece	5%
Portugal	4%
Germany	4%
Cyprus	4%
Ireland	3%
South Africa	3%
Austria	3%
Sig others	-
SOURCE: www.icmresearch.co.uk

For the full results, see http://www.icmresearch.co.uk/reviews/2006/BBC - Emigration/BBC-emigration-july-2006.asp