Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/722943
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2016 16 ON 23 June, more than 30 mil- lion Britons were called to vote in a referendum on whether Great Britain ought to leave the European Union; 17 million vot- ed in favour of Brexit, with the UK now preparing to start exit negotiations with Brussels. On 24 June, 62-year-old Nigel Lippard woke up to news of the referendum result. That same af- ternoon, he and his Hong Kong- born wife Linda put their house up for a quick sale, and started planning to move out of the UK and to relocate to another coun- try. They will now be arriving in Malta on 13 September, and they plan to stay here for good. Lippard told MaltaToday that they have already sold their house in Milton Keynes and that, once in Malta, they will be rent- ing a property on a long let be- fore purchasing a property and settling down. "I have a lot of positive rea- sons for moving me and my wife to Malta, but the timing of the move was most definitely driven by the vote on 23 June, which staggered, frightened and de- pressed me," he said. Lippard explained that, like a lot of people in the UK, as the end of June approached he had become increasingly worried that the referendum vote was going to be closer than expected. "Waking up early on the 24th, I was at first shocked and then angry," he said. "And I was stag- gered when later on that day, the demographics of the vote re- vealed how the older generation had voted for a future that the young did not want." Lippard said he was shocked at the way the right-wing press had manipulated the situation, especially with regard to immi- gration. Anger and fear "I was angry at our PM and his cronies, who had sacrificed our country's future in an effort to prolong his political future," he said. "I was angry at the Leave campaigners who had lied their way to a result and even more angry at the 17 million people within the UK, including many elderly family members, who had not seen through this propa- ganda." Lippard said that he and his wife became even more fright- ened as the number of racially- motivated attacks increased dra- matically across the UK the week following the Brexit vote. "I became frightened that the UK was becoming somewhere I was ashamed to say I lived," he admitted. "And as the pound sterling fell against the major currencies and share prices tum- bled, I was fearful (and remain so) that the long-term plans we had for retirement would be ad- versely affected." Lippard said the following weeks become increasingly de- pressing as the enormity of what had happened began to sink in. It became clear from press reports and social media, how Britain, once a great nation with a global vision, was now viewed as a rather foolish, arrogant, old and out of touch nation," he said. "My children are Europeans, and I wanted to live in Europe." Lippard told MaltaToday that he had spent 12 years living in Hong Kong and had also been to Malta previously, where he came to know a number of people, in- cluding some Brits, who live on the islands. As to why he and his wife chose Malta to move to, he admitted that they had also considered Malaysia as retirement option, but concluded that while it scored high on some points, it failed on many more. Why choose Malta Lippard said it soon became obvious that Malta had many positives besides the obvious historical similarities with the UK, which make social assimila- tion easy, including the language and driving on the left side of the road. "I am retired, so important fac- tors are the weather, the local people, the overall cost of living, the value of property and the healthy Mediterranean lifestyle," he said. Personal safety, political stabil- ity and economic pragmatism are what pushed Nigel and Lina to make Malta their next home. They might have just chosen the perfect time to do it, too, as Malta has just been named the second-best place for expats to move to in the Top Expats Des- tinations 2016 survey by Inter- Nations, losing the top spot to Taiwan. The survey found that Malta performed best in the ease of settling in index, getting used to the local culture and making new friends. Indeed, over four in ten expats (41%) say it is very easy to settle down in Malta, well over twice the global average of 16%. Malta obtained very positive results in the quality of life in- dex, as well as on personal fi- nance, work-life balance and climate and weather, and almost half the expats in Malta said they were planning to stay forever. When MaltaToday spoke to the Lippards, the post-Brexit an- ger and disappointment was still evident in their words. But so too was a building sense of anticipation and excitement as they both looked forward to settling down in Malta, their very own slice of heaven that was still – thankfully – a member of the EU and the better future the Lippards foresaw for themselves and their children. News Call for Tenders The Wild Birds Regulation Unit within the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change noties that electronic tenders are being accepted for the following: Collation of primary and secondary data on regular breeding and wintering bird species in the Maltese Islands and compilation of Article 12 report (Birds Directive) for the 2013-2018 reporting period, including Malta breeding Bird Atlas (2018) Tenders will be received until Tuesday 4 October 2016 (closing time: 10:00am). More information can be obtained on etenders.gov.mt. Nigel and Linda Lippard (right) have decided to leave vibrant Milton Keynes, selling their house to move to Malta. They tell PAUL COCKS of the anger they felt at the UK referendum result and their hopes for the future "I became frightened that the UK was becoming somewhere I was ashamed to say I lived" Couple ups sticks and 'BREXITS' to Malta "My children are Europeans, and I wanted to live in Europe."