Why I left Britain (again)

A new Substack by Rosanna Lockwood.

Look, I tried, I really did.

But just two-and-a-half years after returning, I left the UK again last summer. And I am here to tell you why.

Some readers might know me from my work as a broadcast journalist and TV presenter. Before my recent departure, I had my own evening news show on UK television, and was occasionally a stand-in host for Piers Morgan on his. The rest of my career has been spent working as an international correspondent and news anchor for media organisations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

I was born in Hong Kong in a British military family and grew up attending various state schools in the southwest of England. Graduating from university into the end of the 2009 recession in London with few opportunities, I spent the next several years ping-ponging around the world trying to build an interesting career. Moving through the Caribbean, Dubai, Moscow and eventually Singapore, where I had a tough few years trapped in seemingly endless China-style lockdowns while going through a divorce. I finally got back to London on my own in late 2021.

By that point it felt very necessary to return to the UK, to see my family and regroup. I had bank accounts and phone numbers active in four countries, and my entire life was in boxes and tatters.

My intention then was to stay. To settle in the UK and build a steadier and calmer life. So what went “wrong”?

It is a complicated answer, but can be loosely and depressingly summarised as: housing insecurity, a stalling economy, political frustrations (insularity and division) and a bizarre and toxic media landscape designed to distract from real issues - principally: a lack of economic growth and limited opportunities for younger generations to start families, own their own homes, or secure stable or prosperous futures.

And how might this relate to me - an apparently successful television presenter and journalist in her mid-thirties?

Well, while there were many good things about my few years back in Britain: big advancements in my career, being welcomed into a village that became my sanctuary, making new friends and meeting my partner - there were also so many difficult moments that made life seem disproportionately hard.

The first flat I lived in after returning had recurring boiler issues and a lazy landlord that led to the type of draughty, cold and miserable winter that too many Brits are accustomed to. Then, after moving out of London in search of lower costs and a better quality of life, I ended up receiving a no-fault eviction from a beloved rental cottage I was living in (a process that the current Labour government has promised to ban). After much research, I discovered that getting a mortgage of my own would be prohibitively difficult within the next few years, despite my work and savings. Endless transport strikes impacted my daily commute. It was difficult to access basic NHS health services due to general system overwhelm. And all of that, combined with a very high cost of living and high taxes, made me (an objectively high earner) feel poor.

I know much of this will not come as a revelation to my fellow Brits, nor am I expecting sympathy (I am aware of my many privileges). But the very fact that I am not breaking any new ground here is precisely what worries me about the state of our national conversation. Despite occasional hand-wringing among political and media circles, there is slow-to-no-progress in making things better. Instead there is a pervasive obsession with “Culture War” issues that only serve to fuel intolerance and division, to the benefit of those seeking to retain popular power.

After stacking all of this up, in my front row seat handling these topics on television every night - and given my natural tendency to move anyway - I decided to leave the UK again last July. Returning for a third time to familiar and dependable Dubai (a topic for another day), where I now live among an estimated 240,000 other British migrants, most of whom are likely motivated by similar factors.

And yes, that decision comes at the expense of so much. Especially as a journalist accustomed to expressing their opinion. I have once again traded easy access to my friends and family, being immersed in my own culture, British humour, cold seasons, pubs, open fires, and the English countryside that I love dearly, for a chance at making a more comfortable life. I miss it all. But this was undoubtedly the right decision for me, for now.

And I am not alone.

Alongside many recent headlines about some of the UK's wealthiest residents heading for the exit (boo hoo, I know), there continues to be a steady outflow of regular Brits also choosing to move somewhere else. One recent report found that 23% of UK adults are considering moving abroad in the next five years, with 12% contemplating emigration in the next 12 months.

I think that is fascinating and deserves some examination.

Where are all those Brits going? What are they doing? How do they feel about being British outside Britain? What do they miss? And what would make them return?

Maybe you have already left the UK, maybe you are contemplating leaving and want more help with this complicated decision, or maybe you hate those who leave and simply want to hear their justifications...

If any of this resonates with you, please consider subscribing to my new Substack newsletter Leaving Britain, in which I will share my own thoughts and experiences as a British migrant, and analyse this ongoing trend to try to better understand what is going on, and what needs to change.

Will I ever return? I sincerely hope so.

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