Why are younger folks leaving Britain to work overseas? | EUROtoday

With rising rents, a tricky job market and pay cheques stretched to the restrict, some younger Britons are selecting to construct their futures abroad.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 195,000 folks below the age of 35 moved overseas within the yr to June.

So the place are they going, what are they doing – and can they ever come dwelling?

When Ray Amjad graduated from the University of Cambridge just a few years in the past, he considered staying within the historic metropolis, however his head was quickly turned.

The 25-year-old, from Manchester, travelled to twenty totally different nations, working remotely in net design, and realised he may now not see himself residing again within the UK.

He moved to Tokyo final yr below a two-year visa for prime graduates and hopes to use for everlasting residency there sooner or later.

“In my experience, the UK is losing too many talented young people,” he says.

“Japan is getting a good deal, really – we’re moving out here, fully formed, and they haven’t had to pay for our education or healthcare, growing up.”

Ray’s college pals have moved to Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong, with many citing the price of residing within the UK and lack of employment alternatives as components.

“Here in Tokyo, it used to be much older people who moved out here to work, but that has changed recently,” he says.

“It feels much safer here. I can walk around and not worry about my phone being stolen. I can leave my laptop in a cafe for a while and it’s still going to be there.

“And the flat I’m renting could be 3 times the worth in London.”

Isobel Perl started her own skincare brand from her parents’ house in Watford five years ago.

Now 30, she has decided to move to Dubai in the new year and hopes to expand her business into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“My sister moved to Dubai just a few years in the past and my dad and mom have determined to maneuver too, so it simply is sensible,” she says.

“Sun all yr spherical is a large purpose for me. It’s an costly place to dwell however I will not need to pay earnings tax.”

Isobel was among the first cohort to get one of 10,000 golden visas for content creators, which allow 10 years of residency.

Most people moving to Dubai have big ambitions and dreams, Isobel says.

“That vitality is so necessary to be round. There is a thriving enterprise neighborhood and it is a very inspiring place to be.”

Isobel plans to still manufacture her skincare products in the UK but will run things from Dubai and hopes in the future she can import her products and sell them in the UAE.

In January, she has to rebrand from PERL Cosmetics to Isobel Perl due to a trademark objection from another firm, leaving her with £500,000-worth of stock to clear before the end of the year.

“I’ve needed to scale back the costs and it is an enormous monetary blow,” she says.

“I really want a brand new begin. I’m going into the brand new yr with hopeful vitality.”

She says she will miss her friends, her horse and countryside walks.

“But I’m solely a seven-hour flight away,” she adds.

Three-quarters of British nationals who emigrated in the year ending June 2025 were under the age of 35, according to the ONS.

But it has recently changed how it estimates British migration, so it is difficult to compare to previous years.

An ONS spokesperson said the data was not surprising because most migrants tended to be young.

David Little, financial planning partner at UK wealth manager Evelyn Partners, believes young people are choosing to work abroad due to the “more and more adverse financial narrative within the UK”, of high unemployment, rising debt and tax burdens, and fewer graduate vacancies.

Dubai, in particular, has transformed into a global career hub, attracting thousands of British workers with tax-free salaries, low crime rates and booming job market, he says.

“Destinations just like the UAE supply tax-free residing, a ‘can-do’ angle, and a business-friendly atmosphere that feels way more optimistic and rewarding,” he says.

“Interestingly, as an alternative of the standard ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ serving to with a primary dwelling deposit, households are actually supporting kids with the prices of emigration and settling overseas.”

Sol Hyde, from Colchester, says he jumped on a plane as soon as his online business started making money.

“The similar is true for nearly each UK entrepreneur I do know,” he adds.

The 25-year-old quit his corporate job last October, after realising it was making him miserable.

“I used to be waking as much as darkness and chilly. It was fairly a lonely existence as a result of all my pals have been working so exhausting,” he says.

“I had no concept what to do however I simply knew I wanted to get out.”

In January, he started his marketing consulting firm, which helps businesses grow on social media.

Sol has spent most of this year in Bali but thinks he might end up in Cape Town, South Africa.

“I get up to the solar and bounce on my bike to my run membership,” he says.

“I meet 30 different younger folks constructing companies and we get a espresso collectively. I co-work with pals all day after which we exit within the night.”

The hardest part has been leaving his friends and family behind, he says.

“But once I had a company job, I did not see them as a result of I used to be working so exhausting. Now I’m nearer to them as a result of we really converse extra.”

He believes the UK suffers from “tall poppy syndrome” – where successful people are resented – and a negative culture.

“Success is met with criticism, rumour-spreading and basic hate,” he says.

Sol currently has six employees and is taking on four more. But he believes the tax system in the UK would have inhibited his growth and ability to take risks.

“This is a medium-term answer for me, ” he says.

“I really like the UK and I’m not ruling out coming again when I’m in a greater monetary place, however proper now I’m so glad I left.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said the Budget doubled down on its work to grow the economy and create good jobs by maintaining the cap on corporation tax at 25%, supporting high streets with permanently lower tax rates and making it easier for start-ups to scale and invest in the UK.

“Every younger particular person deserves a good probability to succeed and when given the correct assist and alternatives, they may grasp them,” they stated.

“This authorities is supporting entrepreneurs to thrive – they’re a key theme of our small enterprise technique to drive financial development throughout the nation – and with an 87% employment fee, graduates stay extra more likely to be in work than these with no diploma.”