Increasing numbers of professional British workers are seeking a new life overseas, with 1,500 leaving for sunnier climes every week according to the latest figures released by the Home Office.
In 2010, 75,000 professionals and middle managers left the UK, having decided that they could find better employment prospects and quality of life elsewhere. High tax rates and house prices in the UK were named as two of the reasons why people are making the move, with the report stating that entrepreneurially minded individuals could make the most of high house prices in the UK to sell up and invest money in their own business abroad, where start up costs and day-to-day living is cheaper.
“The growth in house values in the UK compared to elsewhere in Europe may have enabled British property owners to sell up and live more cheaply abroad, while enjoying a better climate and quality of life,” says the report from the Home Office.
Brits leaving the UK are most likely to be going to Australia, followed by the United States and Spain. France, Germany, Canada and New Zealand are also popular destinations for emigration. The majority, 61%, of those emigrating from the UK in 2010 were single, 37% were married and 2% were widowed or divorced. A slighter higher proportion of men emigrated than women, around 55% compared to 45%.
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