British woman divides opinion after explaining why she's moving her family from Britain to Southeast Asia
A woman who is swapping South East England for Southeast Asia has divided opinion after revealing what inspired her to make the big move.
Diana Auria, 36, is ditching the UK in favour of a much warmer part of the world, and she's got a list as long as her arm of reasons why.
The mum packed her bags and headed off on the adventure of a lifetime at the end of January with her husband Jack and their four-year-old son.
The family-of-three started off by heading to the Philippines, before moving onto Singapore for their 'world school journey'.
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Diana and her loved ones plan to bounce around various countries in Southeast Asia in the hopes of finding their forever home, where they will then reside permanently.
Two weeks before the brood climbed on their one-way flight, the mum - who shares lifestyle and travel content online - posted a TikTok video explaining why they are leaving the UK.
The fashion designer, who lived in Kent for 10 years, listed a host of cons about our country which included everything from complaints about the 'negative atmosphere' to criticism of the government.
In the clip, Diana began by dubbing prices in the UK a 'rip off', saying that the 'cost of living has increased so much in the last few years' and that her living expenses have skyrocketed.
"Inflation at its highest," she said. "Rent and house prices have gone crazy. Interest rates are high. Not much disposable income. Quality of life is very low."
And that was just her first reason.
Diana also believes the UK isn't 'a great place to bring up children' in comparison to other countries, as the gloomy weather means a lot of youngsters 'staying indoors watching screens'.
The cold climate was her third reason, as she pointed out that 'summers don't even feel like summer anymore' and that the chilly temperatures 'really affect her skin' and causes her eczema to 'flare up'.
Diana then expressed her angst about the UK being 'so dark during peak winter', while making reference to seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
The mother-of-one also found fault with the lack of 'work-life balance' in the UK, saying: "People are only living for the weekend or living for the summer. Most people are stuck in the rat race."
As well as this, Diana reckons the UK property market is in tatters.
"Housing is so expensive and small," she said. "Houses are either really old, need major renovation (building costs are so much now) or the new builds are made of cardboard and have tiny box rooms."
The Brit then took aim at the UK government in a TikTok video, saying that it 'feels like everything is falling apart, including the NHS, which has been run down to its knees due to lack of funding'.
On top of all this, Diana explained the rise in 'mobile phone thefts, knife crime and gang wars' also gave her and her husband the push to take the plunge, as they find it 'so scary'.
She went on to say that the UK's atmosphere wasn't up to scratch either, adding: "There is so much negativity. Feels like there is no hope, no innovation, no job prospects, no wage increases - people are deflated."
And finally, the topic of taxes was the tenth reason which encouraged the family's big move, as they believe people in the UK are 'taxed so much'.
"There is a tax for everything," Diana fumed. "Income tax, value added tax, council tax, road tax, TV tax, stamp duty, capital gains tax. The government try squeeze your pockets at every turn."
She told social media users that although she also has a 'long list of things she loves about England', currently, the 'negatives outweigh the positives'.
Her clip managed to cause some controversy on TikTok though after racking up over 340,000 views and thousands of comments, as people debated her reasons for relocating from the UK.
One person said: "Sorry to be honest but I've lived in so many countries and I keep moving back to the UK as although on face value other places seem better, reality starts sinking in after time."
Another wrote: "So true...As a Polish person who's been in the UK since 2007, it's so bad now."
A third added: "Left the UK to live abroad six months ago. It's still early days but my family are much happier and it's definitely the best decision we ever made! The UK was becoming impossible to live comfortably tbh."
A fourth commented: "You don't realise how good the UK is until you go and live somewhere else."
A fifth added: "You are not the only one I've heard this from."
While someone else chimed in saying: "We have just come back from Dubai as a family of five...no comment as not all that glitters is gold."
Others pointed out that most people could 'find ten reasons to leave any country' if you really sat down and thought about it.
So, who's side are you on?
Topics: UK News, World News, TikTok, Home, Travel
Olivia Burke