Generation Rent is moving abroad

As a born-and-bred Londoner, the thought of living elsewhere has always repulsed me. And yet now I feel an ever-increasing desire to run for the hills.

Thankfully I’m not alone in feeling restless and dissatisfied. And while my reluctance to live a plane ride away from my parents is keeping me in the country (for now at least), it seems many have no such qualms about abandoning ship. According to research commissioned by immigration law firm Reiss Edwards, Google searches for ‘moving abroad’ were up 1,000 per cent in April, with my generation – the much maligned millennial – apparently leading the charge.

It’s hardly news that millennials – who are currently aged 26 to 41 – have not had the easiest ride. We began entering the workforce at the tail end of the Tony Blair years, just as things were about to get much, much worse. For many of us (myself included), the early part of our careers was marred by the 2007-2008 global financial crisis and the years of recession and instability that followed – which was all a bit of a shock, as we were a generation brought up to believe that we were very special and destined for great things. Our parents had experienced a wave of growing prosperity so why shouldn't we?

Housing has obviously been a big issue, and one that continues to chip away at our sense of stability. Average UK house prices rose 10.9 per cent between February 2021-22, while millennials who’ve not yet managed to make it onto the property ladder have been landed with the distinct honour of spending even more of their earnings paying off someone else’s mortgage, as average monthly rents rose 8.8 per cent from March 2020 to a quite frankly disturbing £984. Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, put the situation in perspective recently, saying: 'When you bring together all the costs associated with first-time home ownership… millennials have got the rawest deal of any generation.'

Add to that the fact that more and more of us are waiting longer and longer to procreate – largely not out of choice, might I add – and you’re left with a generation with few financial or familial ties to weigh them down.

As for the reason why we are moving out in our droves, well you don’t need to be a psychologist to see how the absolute mind-bending madness of the last couple of years could lead people to crave new horizons – both physical and metaphorical. Nor how the recent cost of living crisis pushed people to finally follow through on that all-too-common post-holiday desire to start a new life in the sun.

So, which lucky nations are top of Brits’ relocation lists? Rather predictably America takes the top spot, according to Google data compiled by Reiss Edwards. Its neighbour, Canada, comes in second, with Australia and New Zealand pulling up in third and fourth place respectively. Mainland Europe finally gets a look in with Spain taking fifth place, while France is sixth in line.

The exodus is spurred on by the fact that, no matter where you go, you’d be hard-pressed to be landed with higher rents than the capital. According to ECA International, London is the most expensive city in Europe for renters, and fourth most expensive in the world (behind Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo). According to Numbeo – who bill themselves as ‘the world’s largest cost of living database’ – of Brits' most wanted list, Spain has the cheapest rents, with a one-bed city centre apartment coming in at just over £500 a month, closely followed by France, coming in around £530. Meanwhile, if it’s general quality of life you’re after, ECA International recently crowned Copenhagen and Bern joint first place as ‘the most liveable cities in the world’ thanks to their ‘best-scoring marks in several categories including air quality and personal security.’

Fellow writer, Abby Young-Powell, was ahead of the curve when she moved to Berlin (from London, via Wales) a few years back. 'I felt like I could be happier in Berlin,' she told me. 'The city was generally more relaxed and fun, more affordable and free spirited. There was more nature around and people seemed to have more time and space for friends and meeting new people.' As for how she’s found expat life, she said: 'Making a move always has its ups and downs, but mostly I've felt glad I did it.'

But while Abby is cautiously confident in her move, some people are, inevitably, discovering the grass isn’t always greener. A friend who recently moved to New York with her family told me she feels like she’s 'haemorrhaging money.'

'I know people say that New York is expensive, but I thought, being from London, I’d be used to it,' she explained. 'Instead I find myself sending texts to my friends three times a day saying things like: "$10 for four loo rolls!" Or "$14 for a block of cheese!"'

But even with that being the case, I can’t help feeling a pang of jealousy that she’s made the move. Even if it’s stressful (she’s currently back in the UK thanks to Visa issues) and eye-wateringly expensive (she was also quoted over $100 an hour for a cleaner), she’s still over the pond having a big old adventure and gathering a lifetime's worth of gasp-inducing anecdotes.

But what I like most about all of this, is the fact that millennials have finally found a way to turn those proverbial lemons into lemonade. As Billy Ocean once told us, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ – and millennials, a generation that’s been continually kept out of home ownership – are putting his theory into action. I only wish I had the chutzpah to follow suit.