Workers Fleeing Britain to Escape Skyrocketing Prices

Date: 07 May 2022 - 21:47

News ID: ۱۰۲۲۷۳

LONDON (The Guardian) - A record number of British citizens are preparing to move abroad to escape the cost of living squeeze, as soaring energy prices and rising inflation ravage household budgets.
The highest level of searches in internet history were made in Britain for the term “move abroad” last month on search engine giant Google. Searches rose by 1,000pc in April, data commissioned by emigration specialist Reiss Edwards found.
America, Canada and Australia ranked as the most popular destinations, with searches about Australian visas rising 670pc in the last 12 months.
More than 400,000 British residents emigrate each year, 20,000 of which move across the Atlantic to America, according to Amar Ali of Reiss Edwards. “The British public has been faced with a gradual rise in the cost of living since the pandemic, which has been amplified enormously in the last couple of months,” he said.
Rising prices have pushed some British residents to look for an alternative, and more affordable, country to live in.
Inflation hit 7pc in March and the Bank of England has warned it could reach 10pc this year. Meanwhile, the tax burden is on track to reach its highest level since the 1940s.
Jason Porter of Blevins Franks, a financial adviser for expats, said there had been a “considerable” jump in the number of people looking to move abroad this year.
“People are paying much more for everything and it’s a culmination of bad news. It makes people get into the mindset of needing a new start and they know they will have a much cheaper life abroad,” he said.
Inflation is rising globally but higher wages and a cheaper cost of living means that many foreign countries are still attractive.
Mr Porter said: “Other countries like France, Spain or Portugal are starting from a much lower point because the cost of living was so much cheaper and it still will be even if they have strong inflation.”
Even a move to America, where inflation is running at 8.5pc, a 40-year high, could prove profitable for people in Britain. The average cost of living is 1pc less expensive here in the UK but lower wages leaves British workers worse off than their American counterparts. The average British after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months compared to 2 months in the United States, according to analyst Livingcost.