Talk to most British citizens and you will soon find that many would gladly move overseas to live in paradise if you gave them just half a chance! Of course no one seems to actually act on this whim - but in this article we take a look at the top 3 reasons why there seems to be such an overwhelming desire to quit the U.K!

1) The weather! Yes, you guessed it, top of the list is the climate. Britons are famed for talking about, and more appropriately, moaning about the weather. And they have every reason to moan!

The UK enjoys very little sunshine, lots of wind and rain, and for 60% of the year temperatures tend to be uncomfortably cold. British winters are harsh, and lengthy. The fact that the UK is firmly in the Northern part of Europe also leads to very dark winters. "Seasonally adjusted disorder" (appropriately named SAD!) is a common disorder which spreads depression among many British citizens for over half the year from September to March. Scientists have shown that it is caused by low light levels and short hours of daylight. Many people don't even know that they suffer from it, they just presume that their depression is caused by other factors. Now on sale (at premium UK prices) are special fluorescent lights to assist people due to the fact that the UK doesn't get much sunshine!

All of these explanations are of course of no consequence or consolation to UK citizens. Bad, unpredictable weather will always be a fact of life for people who choose to live in Britain and that is a fact! The ideal weather according to most Brits, is warm sunny days, no wind or rain, and a predictable climate that's not too hot but that never gets too cold. This ideal climate cannot be found in Britain and so the weather remains the top reason why many would emigrate!

2)High Taxes! Predictably, number two on the list is the unrelenting and almost ridiculous level of tax that British people must endure. Not content with taking an arguably fair share of peoples' salary at source, the UK government seems very intent on getting British people to pay a lot more all over again in stealth taxes.

Petrol (gasoline) prices are an obvious example where stealth taxation has gone completely out of control. The typical price for a gallon of petrol in the UK is around 4 (or US$7.20) It is the same petrol that U.S. citizens pay barely $2 a gallon for. Indeed $2 is simply the price that it should be, but in Britain the Government sees it fit to add 200%+ of tax to this global base-price. There is no getting around this... if you buy petrol in the UK you must cough up this very large amount of extra cash every time you fill up.

In addition, to illustrate the fact that British stealth taxes are hiked to the max, a growing number of Brits now travel to France or Holland just to buy their weekly groceries! All this energy and hassle to get around UK taxation, is it worth it? You bet it is... that's because the savings can by enormous due to the high levels of UK import duties on everything from textiles to just a simple bottle of wine.

The only way to be free from these terrible burdens and escape these taxes forever, is to leave the UK for good!

3) Transport. Getting around this relatively small country is by all accounts, a nightmare. In fact you would have thought that the benefits of a small island (i.e. shorter distances and therefore less expensive building costs for roads and railways) would mean that transport would be of the highest quality. Not so. The UK fails almost completely. Public transport in the form of Rail and Bus services is expensive, of poor quality and makes the word "inconvenient" sound like the understatement of the century!

For those without a car, getting around really is a very frustrating and unpleasant day-to-day hassle. In suburbs and out of major cities, public transport services are virtually incompetently run, shutting down in the early evening and only giving sparse cover in less populated areas. It is not uncommon for people to abandon their travel plans altogether for fear of getting 'stranded' at their destination! Pensioners and single parents fair particularly badly.

Is it any wonder that the poor person waiting for 45 minutes at a bus stop in freezing wintry weather is dreaming of a life in paradise far away from the UK!