‘Everything feels massively bleak’: The people leaving Britain for a new life

From Brexit to the cost of living crisis and frustration with politicians, Hannah Fearn hears the reasons why some have moved away from the UK – or are considering doing so

As the UK faces myriad challenges, some people are deciding it’s time to leave (Getty)

In July this year, Eleanor Shamber finally left the UK. She’d been considering the move for a while, but by the end of 2021 her family felt they’d reached a crucial tipping point.

“I remember the 1980s very vividly as a child and it seemed very much the same... Everything feels massively bleak,” she says.

At the start of the year Shamber, who previously taught university students, told her husband she couldn’t face the start of another September term in the UK and began scouring overseas job vacancies for something that might suit her. “Add in the cost of living increasing, and my work in higher education getting worse and worse – we were both working ridiculous hours with not very much return for family life.”