Work in the UK, Live Somewhere Nicer

Yesterday’s Money Programme looked at the increasing numbers of Britons making their homes abroad and commuting to work in the UK. Commuting in the UK can be a tortuous process and many people are now finding that a commute from Europe is preferable.

Justin Saunders, his wife and two daughters used to be crammed into a two-bedroom house in West Sussex. He commuted for three hours each day. They now have a five-bedroom house with pool in the beautiful village of Albas, South-West France. The house cost £180,000 price and included a separate cottage that was the same size as their old house in West Sussex. He now commutes by budget airline back to his work in Hampshire.

Gary Wheeler is a farrier who moved from Herne Bay to a farmhouse in an acre of land in Pas de Calais, which he bought for £60,000. He commutes daily to Kent through the Eurotunnel and says his commuting time has increased by one hour daily.

When the St Pancras high-speed rail terminal opens in November the travel time from Lille to London will be 80 minutes. The idea of daily commuting from Northern France suddenly becomes very practical.

According to the think tank Future Forum, within a decade there will be more than 1.5 million people working in the UK while living abroad.

Commuting From New Zealand To The UK

Perhaps the most extreme example of long distance commuting was a story that surfaced in The Sun in 2004. PC Chris McKee moved his wife and their five children to Dunedin, New Zealand in 2000. He paid £150,000 for a five-bed house with large grounds in a smart suburb. His family benefits from high-quality schools and health care, cheap food, a low crime rate and congestion-free roads.

PC McKee makes the 26-hour flight home three times a year and stays for two months, while keeping digs in London. He works enough overtime to spend half the year with his family in Dunedin.

“It’s a long way but it’s worth it to give my family a standard of living we could only dream about in England. I used to take stress home. Now I’m a lot more fun with the kids. I can also be totally focused at work.”

The Sun believes that many other members of the police force are commuting from abroad.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are committed to providing flexible working arrangements. This officer has a London home in accordance with the rules.”