Around half a million people leave the UK to live abroad each year. A survey by the British Council showed 72 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds would consider living and working overseas, with cold weather, the high cost of living, extortionate childcare, a lack of work-life balance and even poor romantic prospects among their motivations for leaving the country. The i Paper’s Expat Files follows Britons who have taken the leap and settled elsewhere, detailing the ups and downs of their journeys
In 2021, Anna Richards, now 33, previously based in Cornwall, quit her job as a travel agent in the UK and moved to Lyon, France to freelance. Here, she reflects on her new life.
There’s a common misconception that France is cheaper than the UK. For visiting Brits, it’s probably to do with the price of wine, and the fact that for years, retired British immigrants have bought up ramshackle houses in the French countryside for a pittance. The French believe it too, and my colleagues and friends here are always telling me that the UK is “so expensive”, but that’s because most of them only ever visit London. I lived in Cornwall before moving to France five years ago, and while I couldn’t be happier to have made the move, life here certainly isn’t cheaper. Quite the opposite, in fact.
