Time to get away from it all?

Cheaper school fees, a warmer climate, and a better quality of life . . . more Britons than ever are leaving frantic rat-race lifestyles behind to live abroad. Penny Jackson talks to some of them

It was the garden filled with exotic fruit trees and enchanting spider monkeys that clinched it for Rosemarie and Justin Giles. A casual search for property in South Africa ended in an instant when they spotted the small farm 500 miles from their Christmas holiday base in Cape Town. They made an offer of £98,000 and returned to the UK having secured a house on 71 acres of land along a beautiful stretch of coastline near Port Elizabeth. This week, the furniture from the Giles family home near Oxford is being packed up and shipped to South Africa in advance of their departure in May.

Rosemarie Giles says they had been mulling over the idea of leaving the UK for some time, and when they came across the pretty farmhouse in its idyllic surroundings it tipped them towards making the final decision.

"It has struck us more and more over the last few years that we never have enough time to enjoy life as a family. My husband works long hours and hardly sees our children and we wanted to do something about that before they start school."

Estate agents are noticing increasing numbers of Britons selling up to move abroad, and many of them are years away from retirement with children still in education. The overwhelming reason they give for leaving is quality of life.

"We looked at how the value of our house had increased and decided to use that to fund a different way of life," Rosemarie Giles says. "We didn't feel as though things would have got easier in this country given that we face higher taxes and expensive education. We knew we would have to carry on working as hard to pay for that."

Justin Giles runs his own demolition business and built the family home in Tetworth using recycled materials. Solid wooden floors, oak beams and Tudor-period bricks have all been reused in the three-bedroom cottage that was built in place of an old toll house. "It had a tin roof and was overrun by rats when we bought it for £45,000," Giles explains. After four years they were given permission to demolish it and build a new house for a cost of £100,000. The house is being sold with a further seven acres for £495,000.

"Just the interest on that money in South Africa will give us a good income. We can send our children to a Montessori nursery for £100 a term instead of £750, and electricity will cost us about £5 a month. The farm we have bought belonged to an elderly couple who brought up their family there, and it feels right to us. When people mention the crime rate there I point out that my mother-in-law was robbed at gunpoint in this country."

The Giles' motivation for emigrating, along with many others, is to capitalise on their achievements. The prospect of being able to relax and enjoy one's hard-earned success seems less likely by staying in England. At two Humberts offices, estate agents have seen one in four of their vendors moving abroad at peak points over the last six months. In the Grantham office, Peter Mills says while house prices are still rising in Lincolnshire, people are seizing the opportunity to downsize in the UK and release capital to buy a larger home abroad. And in Devon, there are signs that early retirees are increasingly using the county as a staging point before settling elsewhere in Europe, where they see benefits in health care as well as weather.

James Barnes, director in the international department at Hamptons, estate agents, believes it comes down to sheer quality of life. "For years, Brits assumed they had better transport, education, health services and infrastructure than the rest of Europe, but they now know the reverse of that is true."

Jonathan Woodfield, of Hamptons International, is preparing to move to the south of Spain with his wife and 15-month-old-daughter to open an office there. "I have been a commuter for 16 years and it has become harder. Life is just rush, rush, and everyone feels increasingly under pressure here, whether it's schooling or transport."

Education is a factor in many people's decision to relocate, and France is a favoured destination for this reason, among others, according to David King, a property consultant. "Couples in their mid-30s are choosing to buy close to good schools. They make a bigger financial investment than they would for a normal holiday home, while keeping a base in Britain. Those with job flexibility will probably nip across the Channel from time to time."

There is not much chance of that if Australia is your chosen destination. Josh Goodswen, a photographer who lives in south London, is selling his Dulwich home – a pretty, detached cottage surrounded by gardens – for £305,000 through Hamptons to make the move Down Under with his wife and family. "We both have worked our way up in our careers but we feel the need for a change. London is vibrant but it's edgy, and you have to grit your teeth and look for the benefits. For us it's a complete break because we cannot afford to keep a property here as well."

As Rosemarie prepares to leave the Oxfordshire home the couple built, she has few regrets: "We always intended to stay here for ever, but if we don't make the most of our opportunities now we never will. I love the sunshine and an outdoor life – although I'm not so keen on the thought of puff adders in the garden."

Hamptons International: 0800 0937947