I ditched the UK & now I only need to work 13 hours a week – my food shop costs just £10 too

Scottish Sun

2 days ago

Emily's rent is now less than half what it was in the UK
LOW-COST LIVING I ditched the UK & now I only need to work 13 hours a week – my food shop costs just £10 too
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A WOMAN has ditched the UK to move 5,000 miles away, and now only has to work 13 hours a week.
Emily Severn, 24, made the "life-changing" decision to leave her home in Nottingham for a new life overseas in June 2024, and says her weekly food shop now costs just £10.
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Emily ditched the UK to live in China
Credit: SWNS
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She said her rent and bills are now much cheaper
Credit: SWNS
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Her weekly food shop is now just £10
Credit: SWNS
The Brit now lives in Suzhou in the Jiangsu Province of Eastern China, where her monthly rent is just £323, a massive saving on the £850 she was paying back home.
Working as an teacher in both kindergarten and junior high schools, Emily normally works just 13 hours every week - teaching English to Chinese students - and is paid £20 per hour.
Noticing a huge difference in the amount she spends, Emily said that as well as cheaper rent and bills, the cost of days out is much cheaper too.
Discussing her decision to move to China, she said: "I think what drew me to it is it's so different to rainy England.
"In Manchester the rent for a one-bed apartment, as my university accommodation, was £850 per month.
"The rent every month here has been costing me 2,200 yuan which at the moment is about £323 pounds.
"You can go to the market here and literally buy a full food shop for £5 and that can last you a few days."
And bills are much cheaper now for Emily than they were in the UK.
"The utilities in China are 100 yen for the electricity per month and in British pounds that's about £10.15, that was costing me £37 in the UK", she explained.
We ditched the UK and bought a 200-year-old French village for just £22k
"My water bill is 100 yuan but we only really have to pay it every three months, so £10.15 every three months - compared to £37 in the UK."
Emily first began learning Chinese alongside her masters degree in Journalism - where she also met boyfriend Wei, 30.
After securing a job in Suzhou whilst completing her TESOL qualification - which stands for Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages- the couple moved out to China together, where they now live in a one-bed apartment.
She said: "It was actually my Chinese teacher's old boss that was hiring teachers in China.
How easy is it to move abroad?
Brexit means British citizens now have to apply for visas to move to countries within the EU. While some countries residency restrictions are easier than others, here's what you need to do at home before moving: Notify HMRC about your upcoming move.
Let your local authority know and provide a forwarding address.
Contact your mortgage and utility providers and bank before leaving.
If you have paid enough UK national insurance contributions, you can qualify for a state pension abroad - contact the International Pension Centre.
You can sign up to the Royal Mail's redirection service.
If you have outstanding student loans, contact the Student Loans Centre.
If you have children, give due notice to childcares and schools.
"Once I had my TESOL certificate they could start giving me my contract and work permit.
"Personally within the company I work in there is more of a work life balance.
"There's more flexibility than in the UK.
"I think I wanted to move to explore and see something new because a lot of the time in the UK there's not a lot that goes on.
"In summer in China there are a lot of light shows and concerts at parks.
"There's a hustle and bustle and a lot going on.
Emily explains most attractions - like water towns including Mudu, Nanxun and Zhouzhuang - cost as little as £1 for entry, and says she spends a lot of her time walking in the different parks on offer in her area.
Teaching a mixture of class based and one-to-one sessions, Emily is paid around £20 an hour, and estimates she earns £10,145 over the year.
Living in a one-bed apartment with a kitchen, bathroom, living area and mezzanine floor for their bedroom, the couple spend their weekends travelling to local "ancient towns".
Despite loving life in Suzhou, Emily can see herself returning to the UK at some point.
"I think it's more wanting to come back to family," she said.
"When you're in China you kind of value family a lot more because everyone places a big value on family."
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Emily teaches English and works just 13 hours a week
Credit: SWNS