The Truth About Living Abroad vs. Traveling Home

Ever fantasised about moving abroad after a holiday? The truth about living abroad is: the grass isn’t greener. So how do you maintain the high of Traveling the world? without quitting your job, selling your house, or leaving home behind and maybe still feel excited traveling home. Read on to see how I do it.

The 2am Balcony Fantasy We’ve All Had
You know the one. You’re sat on a balcony somewhere warm, glass of something cold in hand, staring up at a sky full of stars that somehow look brighter than the ones back home. And that’s when it hits you.

This is life. Not the 8am alarm. Not the group chat about whose turn it is to do the school run rota, or the Sunday scaries, or the never ending scroll through Rightmove for a house you can’t quite afford.

Within about ten minutes you’ve opened LinkedIn Jobs in that country. You’re checking visa requirements. You’re mentally furnishing a flat you haven’t even seen. Sound familiar?

Here’s the Uncomfortable Truth About Living Abroad

I’ve done this dance more times than I’d like to admit. And every single time, I come back to the same realisation: it’s a fantasy, not a plan.
Home doesn’t feel magical because it’s normal. It’s the daily grind at work, the same Tesco Meal Deal, the same faces on the commute. But if I actually packed up and moved, that new country would become the normal too. The novelty would wear off. The glow of the holiday fades the second it becomes your Tuesday.

This is basically the travel version of “the grass is always greener.” Except the grass isn’t greener anywhere. It’s just less familiar, and unfamiliar things feel exciting purely because they’re new.
So the real question isn’t “should I move abroad to feel this way forever?” It’s “how do I keep feeling this way without blowing up my entire life to do it?”
I think I’ve cracked it.

The Solution: Keep Your Base, Travel More

They say there’s no place like home, and honestly, they’re right. Your friendships, your family, the familiarity you’ve built over years, that stuff doesn’t transfer countries. Why would you trade it all for a fantasy built on holiday brain?
My approach is simpler than a big life pivot:

-Keep the full time job. Financial stability isn’t the enemy of adventure, it’s what funds it.
-Maximise weekends and annual leave. You don’t need three months off to see the world. You need a Ryanair app and a bit of intention.
-Travel often, come home often. Keep the magic alive in short, regular doses instead of chasing one big unsustainable leap.

Why This Works Especially Well With a British Passport

If you’re a British passport holder, this strategy becomes even easier. You’ve got visa free or visa on arrival access to a huge chunk of the world, which means less admin, less planning stress, and more spontaneity.
This way you get the best of both. The thrill of somewhere new, and the comfort of knowing exactly where you’re going back to.
My process is genuinely this simple:
-Open Skyscanner.
-Pick somewhere that looks good.
-Book it.
No overthinking, no six month countdown. Just go.

The Bonus Nobody Talks About: Travel Gets Cheaper the More You Do It

Here’s the part people don’t expect. The more you travel, the cheaper it starts to get, because you’re no longer starting from zero every trip.
–Booking.com Genius rewards unlock discounts and perks the more you book.
-Airline points and status chip away at flight costs over time.
-Hotel loyalty schemes start paying you back in upgrades and free nights.

Frequent short trips don’t just feed the travel bug, they build a rewards ecosystem that makes the next trip cheaper than the last.

So, Home or Away?

If I had to answer the question properly, my answer is both, and neither.
Home will always be home. It’s not something you replace by moving somewhere with better weather and a nicer skyline. But that doesn’t mean you sit still either.
Keep your base. Keep your people. Keep your job if it’s serving you. But don’t let that stop you from getting on a plane every chance you get.
Because the goal was never to find a country to replace your life. It was to keep chasing that feeling on the balcony, as many times as you possibly can, while still having somewhere to come home to.

Found this useful? Follow along on traveltherapies.co.uk for more honest takes on travel, life, and the stuff nobody puts in the guidebooks.