Family flee UK for a life abroad blaming Britain's negative attitude

Diana Auria felt like there was a target on her head and has an underlying anxiety of nuclear bombs due to threats made against the UK and also wider crime in London. The 36-year-old was freaked out when she used to turn on the news and see visualisations of what a nuclear bomb would look like in London. Her other reasons for fleeing Britain include high streets looking like ghost towns, the awful weather, the negative atmosphere, phone thefts and gang wars. She also lists people living for the weekend without work-life balance, dark winters, expensive housing, and the government squeezing your pockets in taxes.

The mum-of-one made the decision to pull her son out of school and travel south-east Asia until they find a place to settle. Diana's war anxiety developed as the Russia-Ukraine war and the tensions in the Middle East unfolded over the past years. Diana said that terrorist threats have made her afraid of big crowds, like the Christmas markets, while she feels London is a target.

Diana, from Folkestone, Kent, said: “I don't think it's talked about enough, a lot of people in my comments were laughing and saying it's ridiculous to be worried about these issues.

“Obviously if I lived somewhere like Palestine the fear would be much more of a heartbreaking reality, but watching the UK news, when you see the commentary from Russia and the visualisations of a nuclear bomb attacking London directly, you are made to feel that it's a very real threat.

“When I'm not in the UK, I don't feel like there's a target on my head but when I'm here, I generally feel a lingering fear in the back of my mind, as if I'm closer to the firing line compared to when I’m travelling overseas. You often see that London is the target and we're very close. Terrorist threats have happened, especially recently at the Christmas markets, so going to crowded places worries me a little.

“There's been multiple events like this and the West feels uneasy. Living in the south east and being close to London, with the news popping off with all the negativity and scare mongering, it gets into your psyche. I don't think about it 24/7 but when I turn on the news it reminds me and I'm like, ‘this could be a reality if something doesn’t get resolved’. It's more recent since the Russia and Ukraine situation and all the Middle Eastern tension with Israel and Iran. I think as a mother and a woman your instincts and senses are heightened to dangers.”

Diana and her husband, Jack McLoughlin, 37, were due to make the move on January 26 starting in the Philippines and making their way around south-east Asia. The mum feels safer in the Philippines compared to the UK, as she claims there is more police on the streets and is safer for women.

Diana, 36, said: “In the Philippines there's way more police or armed security around some areas. It's a different lifestyle, you can live in gated communities and let your kids play on the streets. A lot of people think it’s the third world, but I feel safer there than in England. In the UK you don't really have these kinds of safe spaces. Especially when it's dark, as a woman I've been in awful situations living in London that I'd never want my kid to go through.

“But a lot of men in my comments were laughing it off. Well, if you're a man you're not going to get the same experiences, my feelings as a woman are valid. I feel like it's getting worse from what I can see on the news, there's more hate crime on the streets too.”

In an online post, Diana said: "I would not feel safe walking on my own in any town or city in England at night. People literally get away with crimes here because there isn't any more space in prisons and lack of funding for police.”

The fashion designer said that Covid was a wake-up call as it showed the couple there are alternative ways for working and going to school.

The couple plan to continue running their video production business from abroad while the mum plans on homeschooling their four-year-old son. Diana is looking forward to a sunnier life and is eager to escape the grey and gloomy weather in the UK.

Diana said: “I love the sunshine and how it lifts up your mood, gives you Vitamin D. I have eczema and psoriasis and the sun heals that for me. When I'm in the UK I feel grey, crusty and miserable. The weather in the UK is gloomy, windy, and it rains a lot. When it's sunny I love it but it's not that common to have a good day. I feel like it's a place where I'm hibernating for most of the year, I'm indoors all the time. I want a more outdoor lifestyle.

“Covid gave us a break from the normal world, everyone was home and didn't have to commute. We realised you don't really need to have an office and to commute to London, we can do this from anywhere we want as long as we have the internet. We want to travel, see the world and also be successful and earn money so we thought let's try it.”

One of her TikTok video lists the following reasons for leaving the UK:

1. War anxiety. When I'm in England I have this constant fear that we are going to be a direct target for nuclear war due to UK government meddling in basically every war. When I go to London I have the fear that there will be a terrorist attack. So much fear mongering on the news. Living in this type of fear and anxiety can't be good

2. The schools will fine you if you take your kids on holiday during term time. £80 per parent per holiday. Makes it feel more like a prison.

3. We would literally get charged for breathing if they could get away with it! Tell me why the airports now charge cars just to drop off! It's just increased to £6 at Heathrow! You're literally there for less than 3 minutes.

4. Taxes that a lot of countries don't have. Stamp duty = a tax for buying a house. £500k house = £25,000. Which effectively stops the housing market from moving. In inheritance tax = death tax! This is a nuanced topic but I found out many countries don't have this tax, including Australia.

5. Most of the UK high streets are like ghost towns. Run down empty, dirty, full of homeless. The government and councils are so anti small business. They only support the large corporations by not taxing them and their rich mates/donors. They all have tax dodging loopholes

6. The growing movement of the far right extremists. Plus many ignorant/arrogant people with lazy and entitled attitudes. Many comfortable with handouts/abusing the benefits system. Many think they are above doing any jobs like cleaning and care homes. Then they complain about immigrants, well a lot of them are legal immigrants doing the jobs they can't be arsed to do! It feels like society is on a real decline.

7. Safety. I would not feel safe walking in any town or city in England at night. People literally get away with crimes here now because there isn't any more space in the prisons and no funding for police.

8. Brexit - leaving the EU has caused a lot of issues for freedom of movement in Europe and lost opportunities for students with no more access to EU funding like for the creative industries. Also caused supply chain issues that have a domino effect on things like cost, especially for small businesses.

9. The way they have sold off most of the UK to foreign companies. Eg. The Dartford Bridge is still charged with a toll (£5 return) but it is owned by a French firm. UK energy firm EDF is wholly owned by the French. Saudi, China and Qatar own 40% of Heathrow. Why does the UK not own their own stuff?

10. The supermarkets, utility companies and many others are making record profits out of the cost of living crisis. Absolute corporate greed.