Maverick
Not suggesting that relocating your entire life is/or should be an answer,
There are some who have done that
for all the reasons you state, and certainly you need to think hard about factoring that in before taking that seemingly more lucrative short haul job at a London/SE UK based outfit.
Of course relocation doesn't solve the pension problem, especially given the way goalposts have moved over the last few years in the UK it's a brave person who stops contributing after 10 years......