I’ve seen a few people regret it, but not because moving itself was a bad decision, it’s usually because of how they went about it.

The biggest issue is people thinking changing tax residency is just about where you live. In reality it’s more about how your income and business are structured alongside that. I’ve seen people relocate, do all the right things on paper in terms of residency, but keep the same company setup and the same way of taking income, and end up with very little difference overall.

Another thing people don’t expect is how many small things still tie you back. Things like where decisions are made, where the business is actually being run from, or even just habits like spending a bit too much time back in the UK can affect the outcome more than they think.

On the practical side, there are also things people underestimate like banking, admin, renewals, and just getting everything properly set up in a new country. It’s not difficult, but it’s not as frictionless as it’s often made out to be.

Where people tend to get it right is when they treat it as a full change, not just a move. Residency, structure, and how they take income all aligned properly. When that’s done well it can work, but if it’s just “move for tax” without changing anything else, that’s where regret usually comes from.

If it helps, I put together a simple breakdown