Independent readers say it’s no wonder young people are quietly quitting the UK – arguing that Britain now feels less like a place to build a future and more like somewhere to escape.
As new figures laid bare the scale of the youth exodus, many in our community said Gen Z are simply following a long tradition of Brits heading abroad in search of better opportunities. Emigration, they pointed out, is hardly new – generations of adventurers, graduates and workers have packed their bags before them.
Some emphasised the long history of Scots, Irish, Welsh and Cornish people making fresh starts overseas, while others noted that young Europeans are now leaving the UK in large numbers too, saying it no longer feels like a land of opportunity.
But many readers argued that something has changed: the UK today feels “miserable”, “unwelcoming” and increasingly “unaffordable”.
Several described a country divided and offering “little to young people with an outward-looking mindset”. Others pointed to political turmoil, rising living costs and what one reader called a “toxic” national mood as key drivers behind the accelerating escape.
Here’s what you had to say:
Eire has become the go-to place
Eire has become the go-to place for EU students of the English language post-Brexit because of their EU membership. In comparison, England seems overpriced, overcrowded and divided.
In the 1970s, there was a lot of emigration to the USA as there was more freedom and better opportunity, as the Labour government taxed and floundered. I had my sights set on a PhD in Tucson, Arizona, but didn’t quite make the grade. Instead, I worked in a variety of teaching/engineering capacities, but when things turned full circle after 16 years of Tory rule, I could see my life spiralling into ever smaller circles. There was always too much month at the end of the money.
Although I was no fan of Margaret Thatcher, she had at least provided us with an escape route to the continent in the event of Brexit. It was only the language barrier that had been holding me back, but IT has made that aspect so much easier. So at 57 I left for Qatar, and then Spain where, 10 years on, I have finished my working life. I could never have believed that the last few years of working life would be such an adventure.
I didn’t make it first time at 22, but given the situation in the USA now, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Yet no politician will ever own you – you alone are in control of your life, your talent and your resources. With an open mind and an acceptance that things may be done differently from your home country, there is still a wealth of opportunity to be discovered out there.
FreeLife
Go where the work is
This shouldn’t surprise anybody with an inkling of history. Large waves of our population have decamped when opportunities looked better elsewhere. The Irish, Scots, Welsh and Cornish all have large representation across the globe.
The younger generations are doing exactly what we would advise: “go to where the work is”. As one politician was quoted saying, “get on your bike” – they have, except in most cases it is an aircraft. Good for them.
Cousinjack
Britain these days is pretty miserable
It is not surprising that young people should decide to work abroad: they are young, mostly unattached, mortgage-free and wish to experience other cultures and climes. This is nothing new – I did this when I was young, fresh out of university 50 years ago.
But life in Britain these days is pretty miserable and I really don’t blame them for wanting to do this.
arco iris
Living the dream
People want something else if they are unhappy where they are. Youngsters need to start to cobble their lives together, but they don’t need to cast everything in stone unless that is their choice. Life is like a holiday: we want to have the right things with us and watch out for crooks. That’s kind of universal.
Really, most people have a much reduced chance of achieving the dream of living abroad with equal rights and obligations on paper. You can go if you are welcome and if the paperwork is in order, but the world is less welcoming generally these days and the paperwork is a lot more restrictive/hassle/expensive.
Still, if you are unhappy and want something other than Brexit UK, it is hard to see another way. My exodus was quite improbable, leaving the house in a 20-year-old Civic with a fiver on Halloween, but here I still am, living that dream every day. Closer than close!
Credo
UK has little to offer young people
We have advised both our kids to look abroad. One has already and I have never seen her happier. I could well imagine the other one will follow (still in sixth form). The UK has little to offer young people with an outward-looking and international mindset – it is turning increasingly geriatric and inward-looking by the day. With the politics turning the way it looks, I can only see that escalating.
SeanF
It’s what a certain type of young person has always done
I haven’t seen figures for young emigration, but I was at school in the 1950s, university in the ‘60s, and was always aware of young people moving abroad to work. It’s what a certain type of young person has always done. There were scholars and mercenaries in the Middle Ages setting off to see the world; young adventurers throughout the ages have had need for pastures new. I think we are perhaps more aware of it now because of our national obsession with immigration.
MH1111
If they want to keep what they earn
Good for those young people. If they want to keep what they earn and not be farmed for rent, emigrating is a sensible choice. Rampant inequality, including intergenerational inequality, continues to be ignored by politicians in the UK.
Thetis
Over half of my young adult relatives have fled
Over half of my young adult relatives have fled the UK and seem to be very happy with the decision.
Less tax, less onerous laws and far better prospects. It’s a bit sad as I only get to see them for family funerals these days, but I do wish them all the best.
FinStabilised
A few years abroad will open their eyes
A few years abroad will open their eyes to what the UK has to offer: moderate climate, no major earthquakes, interesting architecture, a wide variety of residents from all over the world, widely spoken English, few mosquitos, no killer spiders or snakes, greenery, light in the sky on summer evenings, the world’s best sunsets, exhibitions and art galleries. Interesting history. When you actually consider things, it’s the centre of the world.
DuncanDonut
Why stay?
Of course young people are leaving. Their future was either destroyed or made more difficult nearly ten years ago.
Someone who was a teenager in 2016 – what motivation do they have in 2026 if they’ve finished their studies and gotten a good education? Why stay? I’ve said it many times that I left with the family after the referendum and before Bozo’s majority because I didn’t want to raise kids in Brexit England. And when the future might lead to Deform and fascism, what benefit is there for someone to stay?
Bobertson
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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