(And by reactionary politics, I mean rabble-rousing politicians elected because they express very strong anti-immigrant and blatantly racist views, and this has been going on for years.)

Sandra: hose restrictions for spouses in the UK apply only to spouses of British citizens. Citizens of *other* EU countries exercising their treaty rights in the UK don't need to meet those financial requirements in order to bring in their family members - indeed, I understand that European legislation doesn't allow this.

Of course one doesn't know what might change in the future - but one can only go by current policy and procedures. FWIW even if the system were to become more restrictive I would be surprised if anyone already here were to be thrown out.

I understand the article I posted, nonconformist. But I will point out again that the OP & spouse are not relocating "currently." If you think the EU is going to last until next year, great. 5 years? Great. I like the EU. Being quite surprised at what's going on in the EU has become the norm for me. I've been quite surprised in the past few months at how much and how quickly Schengen has fallen apart, and I'm not alone in thinking the full disintegration has only just begun. Few people would have imagined this a year ago.

Nonconformist is correct, while it seems counter-intuitive, non-EU spouses of EU citizens seeking residency within the EU, in countries OTHER than the spouse's country of origin, come under EU regulations which are often less stringent than those imposed on the spouses of the country's own citizens.

I'm sure you've already added researching visa regulations to your "to do" list but I can't stress this enough. France was relatively welcoming to me as a spouse of an EU citizen but we both had to demonstrate that we would not be a burden on the state, that included adequate health insurance (the latter was rather loosely defined, we had good insurance but I've known low cost, high-deductible coverage to be considered adequate.

Good luck, have fun whatever you decide!

Normally Sandra and I either stand shoulder to shoulder or disagree completely.

On the EU and access. Since no country has ever yet left the EU we have no idea what rules would be afterwards. However the position of Swiss and Norwegian access to the EU is presently extremely open despite some restrictions on EU access to Switzerland.

Right now I wouldn't worry for the next 10 years, the EU moves glacially.

The "Draconian" changes noticed by the Gradian tends to forget the previous Draconian changes introduced by the Labour party as usual. Note however how low the cost of entry is compared to other countries and indeed how easy it is to falsify the figures. (For instance, if you have "friends" a faked £18k job is dead easy and would cost you merely the tax on the 18k and a fee for the arrangers )

I am glad Cathiejoetown chimed in to point out that, as the spouse of an EU-citizen there were still declarations and reassurances to be made to the French government -- something to remember if you decide to make France your next destination, or even something to be prepared to do if it is another EU country.

I just don't know what more I can say about the EU and the way the majority of its governments have reacted suddenly to the refugee crisis, the Paris attacks and the increasing possibility of Brexit. I don't know how much people read analysis, but for anyone reading this thread contemplating relocation to the EU or within the EU, it is a time of extreme uncertainty. I would not take reassurances from a travel board that past history has shown, etc, so we can be confident no shocks will overturn the boat. That's not what's happening by any means, and while the EU may pass through the multiple storms unscathed, I personally would not bet a lot on it without careful consideration, and choosing a relocation destination, even for 5 years, seems to me a rather large bet.

It all depends on your time scale. If you want to relocate permanently within EU, true, nobody knows what it will be like in 10 years' time. But even in the event of Brexit, it's argued that the process of extricating from EU will take at least 2 years and during that period some kind of accommodation and transitionary arrangement for those who are already in UK are likely, given the huge number of people involved. But if all you want is to have a taste of living in another EU state, nothing fundamentally is going to change for the next few years, as it requires changes in EU treaties which have to be ratified by each individual state.

The argument that the EU will last another 10 years based on past treaties misses the entire point. The treaties are already being broken as we speak. This is just the latest of multiple quite serious articles one could have read in the past few months about the existential threat to the EU:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/ma...oint.html?_r=0

It is actually rather funny for someone to attempt to draw reassurance from the notion that Europe moves at a glacial pace, so we all have time, when the much-published news is that scientists are shocked that their already dire predictions for glaciers are now seen to have been much too optimistic and that the global effects of climate change concatenate, feeding into each other, meaning we all have less time than we thought to act.

As for the unlikelihood of nothing fundamentally undergoing rapid change because it would disrupt huge masses of settled people -- again, I suggest looking around at how quickly huge masses of settled people were disrupted and everyone else unprepared for it because they kept assiduously looking the other way, thinking it would never arrive anywhere near them.

No need to panic. Things can be managed and the EU still enjoys a lot of support. But the likelihood of things going terribly wrong increases the more people act as if there were no urgency to addressing the existential crisis staring everybody in the face.

(My bottom line advice to the original posters is simply don't take anything for granted as you proceed with your plans. Double check and give some ongoing attention to these issues.)

Coming late to the thread and may have missed it, but I wonder about Languedoc-Roussillon instead of the Cote d'Azur or Provence proper. It's more affordable, and in Montpellier you have one of France's academic and science/medical/research hubs (so as well as academic there might be industrial opportunities for your husband.)

There's plenty of glorious country close by, excellent connections to the rest of France and over into Catalan Spain. It's also a big destination both for recreational and business travel. Might be worth checking out.

"My bottom line advice to the original posters is simply don't take anything for granted as you proceed with your plans. Double check and give some ongoing attention to these issues.)"

I think we can all agree there.

South America is filled with professionals from Spain who couldn't get good jobs at home.

Bologna

OP is a troll.