\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nT<\/span>here\u2019s been a lot of talk about how the UK\u2019s richest people are threatening to turn tail and leave the country (usually due to the suggestion that they pay a bit more tax on their vast swathes of wealth). But while these multi-millionaires can talk the talk, it turns out they\u2019re not the ones actually walking the walk. <\/p>\nIn reality, it\u2019s the nation\u2019s young people who are \u201cquiet quitting\u201d the UK in droves, according to new ONS figures. Net migration \u2013 the number of people coming to the UK versus the number departing \u2013 fell by 445,000 between June 2024 and June 2025. During those 12 months, 693,000 individuals left the British Isles, the biggest number in a century. <\/p>\n
And Gen Z were first in line for the exit. When the figures were broken down by age, 87,000 16 to 24-year-old British nationals left, as did 87,000 25 to 34-year-olds, in the 12 months to March \u2013 far more than in any other age bracket. Dubbed the \u201cbrain drain\u201d, this mass exodus is indicative of a generation that sees better opportunities elsewhere. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year, 24-year-old Cambridge graduate Ray Amjad told The Independent <\/em>that he\u2019d decided to emigrate to Japan after travelling to 20 countries opened his eyes to his home nation\u2019s problems: petty crime, train strikes, overpriced accommodation, crumbling public services and, of course, the famous British weather.<\/p>\n\u201cI was paying tens of thousands of pounds in tax \u2013 and then your phone ends up getting stolen out of your hand in the street,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat am I paying all that tax for?\u201d Add to that what he saw as a cap on ambition in Britain, and Amjad concluded that packing in his lucrative graduate job in favour of starting his own business abroad would be the smart call.<\/p>\n
Maja Anushka, 27, jumped at the chance to relocate to Germany on sabbatical after a steadily growing disillusionment with the UK, and London in particular. \u201cWanting to leave was definitely a big motivator,\u201d she says. \u201cI had total burnout in every single aspect of my life before I left.\u201d This was in part due to exorbitant living costs, and in part due to what she calls the \u201ctoxic\u201d political climate. \u201cIt feels like everyone is so angry and frustrated and taking it out on each other, and I can totally see why young people are just saying, \u2018OK, cool \u2013 I\u2019m tapping out of this\u2019,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear why fed-up Gen Z are getting the hell out of Dodge in search of a better life, but which places are top of the relocation wish list? <\/p>\n
Australia seems to be up there for desirability. Aside from the plentiful sunshine and chilled-out, surf\u2019s-up lifestyle sold to us via Home and Away<\/em>, Oz is particularly appealing due to its amended working holiday visa. In 2023, the eligibility criteria was extended to include British passport holders from 18 up to the age of 35 (the limit was previously 30). They can apply for this year-long visa three times, staying up to three years, and the previous somewhat onerous requirement to complete 88 days of agricultural labour has been scrapped.<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Australia is a big draw for Brits thanks to its working holiday visa (Getty\/iStock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nBrits were the fastest-growing nationality to take up these visas between 2024 to 2025, with demand increasing by 80 per cent year-on-year. Katie Strick was one such British expat, having moved from London to Sydney a month after her 31st birthday last September. Writing for The Independent<\/em>, she said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t afford a mortgage or a decent quality of life in the parts of the city I actually liked any more. I figured I may as well live somewhere sunny and be paid in experiences (yes, all the cliches about taking the ferry to work and swimming with turtles at lunchtime are true).\u201d <\/p>\nAnother friend of hers had similarly made the move, he said, because of Australia\u2019s relative safety and low crime rate. Plenty of others have cited better pay and work-life balance. <\/p>\n\n
\nIt feels like everyone is so angry and frustrated and taking it out on each other<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Closer to home, certain European countries are attracting young talent, despite Brexit having made it more difficult to live and work elsewhere in the EU. Number one contenders continue to be Spain and Ireland, with the former home to 400,000 British nationals, drawn there by its Mediterranean climate and lower cost of living. As of 2023, Spain\u2019s Digital Nomad Visa allows remote workers and freelancers to obtain a residence permit in Spain, provided they demonstrate a stable remote-work arrangement; have valid health insurance; meet a minimum income threshold of around \u20ac2,700 (\u00a32,370) per month; and typically show three months of remote-work history.<\/p>\n
Portugal has also emerged as a popular choice, with Lisbon in particular having fashioned itself as a digital nomad utopia. There\u2019s a big expat community \u2013 the number of foreign-born residents in Portugal has more than tripled in the last five years \u2013 and young people who want to stay longer than 90 days in a 180-day period can apply for several visas, including a start-up visa for entrepreneurs launching innovative projects, or a D8 visa for digital nomads. The gentrification caused by this influx of foreign has put locals\u2019 noses out of joint, though; based on home price to income ratio, Lisbon now tops Europe\u2019s housing unaffordability rankings, which means many are now choosing Porto instead.<\/p>\n
For Anushka, Berlin was the destination that caught her eye when she decided to pursue a sabbatical. \u201cIt\u2019s just one of the coolest places in the world,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely artistic, it\u2019s very liberal, and it\u2019s really quite cheap considering it\u2019s a major city \u2013 but you still get that richness of culture and events.\u201d She also cites a \u201csignificantly better\u201d quality of life, food, public transport and public services, alongside a late-night caf\u00e9 culture that feels conducive to socialising and meeting new people.<\/p>\n
And then there are the emerging European tech hubs luring in our best and brightest. Poland has been namechecked for the past few years, creating a reverse \u201cbrain drain\u201d where Polish software developers living in Britain have returned home to earn more money; the number of British citizens who have joined them has hit more than 30,000 over the past decade. <\/p>\n
And Thessaloniki has also been given the nod as northern Greece\u2019s emerging innovation hub, given the moniker \u201cSilicon beach\u201d in some circles. Universities in the region turn out fresh tech talent, while initiatives like OK!Thess and Thessaloniki Innovation Zone support local startups. If you are a non-EU or EEA national and would like to live and work in Greece, you can apply for a Digital Nomads Visa as long as your clients or employer are located outside of Greece and you make at least \u20ac3,500 (after taxes). Known as the \u201cfreelance visa\u201d, this visa allows you to stay in Greece for up to a year and work remotely. <\/p>\n
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\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Dubai appeals to those looking for an \u2018aspirational\u2019 lifestyle (Getty\/iStock)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAnother location that seems to be drawing in the next gen is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Seen as the backdrop to countless social media posts pedalled by influencers, Dubai in particular has become the ultimate aspirational relocation hotspot.<\/p>\n
David Little, a partner at wealth management firm Evelyn Partners, has observed a \u201cgrowing trend of young professionals, typically early-twenties children of our clients, emigrating, with Dubai emerging as a popular destination.\u201d He told The National<\/em> that economic pressures in the UK, such as rising unemployment and taxes, stagnant wages and soaring living costs, were \u201cdriving this shift\u201d.<\/p>\nConversely, he described Dubai as a \u201ccompelling Instagram-friendly package\u201d: tax-free income, housing allowances and health insurance, all drenched in sunshine and blue skies, with a side of lavish poolside snaps and luxury shopping. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to see why it\u2019s becoming a top choice for graduates seeking opportunities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Stuart Wakeling, head of Henley & Partners in the UK, which helps high net worth people to up sticks, has also noticed an upsurge in demand. The UAE has gone from somewhere that had very little, if any, interest from British clients looking to relocate, to the \u201cnumber one choice this year\u201d. In the month running up to the recent UK Budget, there was a 342 per cent increase in online searches for \u201cmoving to Dubai\u201d, according to analysis published by construction and project management platform Morta.<\/p>\n\n
\nI figured I may as well live somewhere sunny and be paid in experiences<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
It\u2019s not all rainbows and unicorns: human rights in the UAE are a world away from those experienced back home. Authorities persist in criminalising the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, according to Amnesty International, while plenty of Westerners have been arrested, jailed or deported over the years for falling foul of the country\u2019s cultural rules. Swearing and making rude gestures, including online, is illegal, as is posting anything thought to be critical of or ridiculing the government \u2013 plus kissing, drinking alcohol or being drunk in public. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in the UAE, and same-sex marriages aren\u2019t yet recognised. <\/p>\n
But wherever Britain\u2019s young people are going, unless things change, they may well stay away for good. As Anushka puts it: \u201cIt\u2019s not to say that every European country abroad is necessarily better. But I can see why young people are willing to give it a go \u2013 it doesn\u2019t feel like the situation in the UK is particularly productive or helpful right now.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more There\u2019s been a lot of talk about how the UK\u2019s richest people are threatening to turn tail and leave the country (usually due to the suggestion that they pay a bit more tax on their vast swathes of wealth). But while these multi-millionaires can talk the talk, it turns out they\u2019re not the ones actually walking the walk. In reality, it\u2019s the nation\u2019s young people who are \u201cquiet quitting\u201d the UK in droves, according to new ONS figures. Net migration \u2013 the number of people coming to the UK versus the number departing \u2013 fell by 445,000 between June 2024 and June 2025. During those 12 months, 693,000 individuals left the British Isles, the biggest number in a century. And Gen Z were first in line for the exit. When the figures were broken down by age, 87,000 16 to 24-year-old British nationals left, as did 87,000 25 to 34-year-olds, in the 12 months to March \u2013 far more than in any other age bracket. Dubbed the \u201cbrain drain\u201d, this mass exodus is indicative of a generation that sees better opportunities elsewhere. Earlier th…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}