AS the rain continues to pour, people are queuing up to leave soggy Manchester for sunnier climes.
It may well be England's thriving second city, but migration experts say it is at the top of the list of places people want to leave behind for a new life abroad.
Record numbers of Brits are packing their bags, with 250,000 expected to emigrate this year.
And, according to The Emigration Group - which helps people start new lives in Australia and New Zealand - tens of thousands are from Greater Manchester and the north west.
They are blaming high taxes, low wages, spiralling living costs, rising crime and rain, rain, rain.
TEG director Paul Arthur said: "The number of people enquiring about emigrating is up by about 25 per cent this year and Manchester is right at the top of list.
"We're getting more enquiries from the north west than anywhere else.
"It's mostly about quality of life and the weather.
"It's been a pretty dreadful summer and with the credit crunch, people are looking at the fantastic alternative lifestyle in places like Australia."
An estimated 400,000 people emigrated in 2006, according to the latest figures from Office of National Statistics. That's a rate of three a minute.
The majority emigrated to Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain or the USA. Emigration levels are back to the rates last seen in the 1950s and 1960s, when Brits were offered new lives in Australia for £10.
But 591,000 immigrants arrived here in the same period.
Liz Kessler, 42, is leaving her home in Chorlton with friend Laura Tonge, 36, and pet dog Poppy in search of somewhere warm to call home.
Liz, a children's author, said: "We're just sick of the British weather. It's miserable. So we're heading down the west coast of France and then onto Spain and Portugal.
"There are many great things about this country, but we're looking for somewhere with the sun and the sea.
"We're planning to go for a year, but if we find somewhere we like, we might settle there."
Follow their progress at www.lizkessler.co.uk.
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Queueing to leave soggy Manchester
August 23, 2008
Showing comments 1 to 15 and replies | View All
-Soothsayer+ (23/08/2008 at 08:36)
Funny how people whinge about people coming to this country but have no qualms about emigrating to another themselves.
Looking into Portugal myself. A nice, pleasant Christian country.
Mark, South Manchester (23/08/2008 at 10:14)
A very crass piece of spin - not even worthy of New Labour & the Home Office!
Come-On-City. Manchester, now Paris, France. (23/08/2008 at 11:03)
A high proportion of that number are returning Brits. You see as bad as Britain is, other countries have problems as well.
David /2 (23/08/2008 at 11:10)
joan gray (23/08/2008 at 16:13)
trueblue, manchester (23/08/2008 at 16:28)
Come-On-City. Manchester, now Paris, France. (23/08/2008 at 16:35)
"The reason that so many people come here is because of the benefits and the free NHS and the lack of checks."
Actually the main reason is to work. The vast majority of immigrants are economic migrants who after their 2-5 year visa have ended will leave the country. Your NHS is a drawing point, as it is very good.
"The political correctness also means that foreigners get preferential treatment over local people, for example when applying to medical school or the police."
Despite you lumping all different peoples under the term 'foreigner' there is affirmative action whereby ethnic minorities are actively sort after but this is due to a woeful amounts of applications, or applications rejected due to them being from an ethnic minority background.
In terms of medical school, people from abroad are wanted as not enough British people are applying due to failures in your own education system - and this isnt the fault of those pesky foreigners!
"When the police are more concerned with political correctness and being sued than going after criminals, then there is crime, the highest in Europe in fact."
The figures are misleading. Britain does have highest crime figures but you also have the highest population. If you divide numbers of crime to population France, Germany, Poland and the Balkan countries have higher crime rates.
"I can see why so many British want to leave, despite the language barrier."
Despite you highlighting the terrible amounts of British people that cant speak another language, let alone speak English, its funny how you dont see the irony in pointing out that its wrong for immigrants to come to Britain, but ok for the British to become immigrants themselves!!!
glad2bback (24/08/2008 at 12:21)
Ferrari, Toulouse (24/08/2008 at 13:57)
Come-On-City. Manchester, now Paris, France. (25/08/2008 at 10:44)
Have you even been to Paris? Try getting a Parisian to say 'bonjour' to you, I love the place but they are worse than people from London!!
If you travel out side of urban parts of cities (and sometimes bad suburbs), Britain is actually quite pleasant.
And the cities aren't that bad. I mean the cities in France are great, but travel to some parts and they are as bad if not worse than Britain's cities.
Ace Shakepseare, manchester (25/08/2008 at 14:36)
Come-On-City. Manchester, now Paris, France. (25/08/2008 at 17:07)
Give it a rest with the immigrant bashing will you. Im sure there are some extreme far right political websites for you to go on.
The majority of immigrants are economic migrants who work for a few years, pay taxes and then leave.
The tiny minority who do come here illegally are 1. Not all criminals and 2. Shouldn't be used to bash all immigrants.
Come-On-City. Manchester, now Paris, France. (25/08/2008 at 17:08)
If your point is correct, its funny how British people hate immigrants coming to Britain, yet they feel its ok to become immigrants themselves!!!
Marc (25/08/2008 at 18:08)
sore thumb (25/08/2008 at 18:55)
You don't seem to be enjoying life in Mcr anyway so why not?
Don't let the door hit in your ar@*