Moving Abroad from the UK to Sri Lanka
Moving abroad
Moving abroad, starting a new life – that’s what I did when I moved to Sri Lanka.
And then we opened a bed and breakfast in the hills.
There appears to be a lot of people that are looking to start a new life and leave their home country.
This headline from Timeout is a strong example of some peoples feelings “F*** This. I’m Moving Abroad” .
According to this article written in October 2022 4.5 million people in the UK had considered leaving the country that year.
“A broken rental market to rising energy costs and a government that seems to change every five seconds” are cited as some of the factors that inspire people to consider a move abroad.
The introduction of Digital Nomad Visas in certain countries have made this option attractive to some, despite the issues that Brexit has caused making it more difficult to move to the EU states in Europe.
Vloggers showing the pros and cons of moving abroad.
I regularly watch You Tube videos of people that have moved to different countries for a new life. There are always challenges encountered and some and positive about their move abroad. Others, however, regret it.
Here are a few videos showing the good, the bad and the ugly.
We moved to Sri Lanka.
My wife and I (who is Sri Lankan), moved to Sri Lanka in 2026.
Our original plan to live in Colombo changed around a year or so into living in the country. I realised that I couldn’t live in the city as the temperature was too high reaching 35/36 degrees Celsius on a regular basis. Living in air conditioning was something that I didn’t want to do. Being a prisoner twice a day when the mosquitos were out to play was also an experience that I didn’t want to live with full time.
I think that it is important that you consider whether you can actually live in the climate of the country you are considering to move to before you take the plunge.
We also realised that the attractions of living in a city was not what we wanted at this stage in life. The benefits and attractions were not what we wanted at this time. We had experienced all the culture, restaurants, bars and nightlife in London and no longer wanted this.
Running to the hills.
My wife had purchased part of an abandoned tea estate some years ago. We had planned to develop a holiday home for ourselves there.Â
I liked the climate in the Sri Lankan Hill Country which is normally around 25-26 degrees Celsius, which is more like a summers day back in the UK. The air is a lot healthier in the hills being surrounded by trees and plants. The regular sprinkling of rain also clear the gunk out of the air making it feel very fresh and good for you.
As we started to build a two bedroom property for ourselves, somehow it morphed into a four bedroom property.Â
After going through the global pandemic and then the  financial crisis in SriLanka we were in a position to open our bed and breakfast, GlenMyu Estate.
We love our new life abroad.
Do we regret our move abroad? Certainly not.
Would we recommend that other move to Sri Lanka?
This is too difficult a question to answer and it really depends on your circumstances, desire for a new experience and was you really want in life.
We had the advantage of my wife being from the country and being able to communicate as she speaks the language. This issue with not being able to speak the local language is an issue that is mentioned regularly by the Vloggers who have emigrated.
We were also at the right time in our life to want a change. Living in a big city had been done and we were not using all the benefits you have by living there.Â
We had an advantage but it was not all plain sailing.
Despite the advantages that we had, it really has been a challenge building and then living in a new country. It’s not like being on holiday and we are not people that want to sunbathe all day and drink G & T’s every evening.Â
All I can recommend is that, if you want to move abroad, then rent a place for at least a year so that you can get a full experience of living in that country. You will have gone through all the weather patterns during the 12 months and works out the differences from your home country.
At that stage you will at least have a better idea of whether you could really make the change.
Stay at GlenMyu Estate to see what we created in the Sri Lankan Hill Country
A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.
We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.
The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,
GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.
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