‘We left UK as it was too expensive – now can’t afford to return for Christmas’

A family who quit their jobs and packed up their kids to leave the UK due to the soaring cost of living are now unable to return for Christmas to see loved ones and have been left heartbroken

A family who abandoned their careers and uprooted their children to flee the UK due to spiralling living costs say they are now unable to return home for Christmas to visit relatives and have been left ‘heartbroken’.

Billie Van Der Walt, 36, and her husband, Selwyn, also 36, from Atherton, in Wigan, are globe-trotting with their two children after abandoning Britain because it was cheaper than sustaining their lifestyle back in Ole Blighty.

However, after initially planning to return home in December for a roast and to visit loved ones, they discovered that flights are simply too expensive.

“When I was looking for an apartment to stay in over Christmas, my only focus was if there was an oven,” Billie said. “I just want to have a roast dinner, as it’s British tradition – which sounds a bit ridiculous.

“But alas, I’ve not been able to find one, so it’ll be whatever I can whip up in a microwave or frying pan. Maybe I’ll have to pop a few chicken breasts in an air fryer and hope it’ll transport me back to the UK.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Billie, her husband Selwyn and their two kids, Bligh, four, and Rothko, two, abandoned their jobs and home to embark on their journey in June 2025. Since then, they’ve visited Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Abu Dhabi and most recently, China.

Their next destination is Northern Thailand, and whilst they’ll attempt to maintain Western Christmas traditions during their stay there, it’s proving to be a challenging endeavour. Billie confessed: “I must admit, I had a wobble and was looking at flights home for Christmas. It just hit us and made us really sad.

“We’ve got family in England, and it’ll be their first Christmas completely alone without us. There’s usually my great uncle at home – but he passed away in January.

“And my aunty and uncle, who are like a nan and grandad to the boys, will be spending the holiday without any other family around. It’s just not going to be a great Christmas for them, really; they aren’t even putting up any decorations.

“The heartstrings have been well and truly tugged. But when we sat down and weighed everything up, it just didn’t make sense to fly home for essentially one day.

“It’s not possible to make it worthwhile for us, but we’ll aim to pop home for a few weeks next year and will no doubt have a spontaneous, makeshift Christmas Day in summer.

“There’s so much pressure on Christmas, especially with trying to see everybody, and that always falls on us. So it’ll be celebrated over video call this year, and we’ll somehow try to make the magic for the kids while in Thailand. It’s going to be different for sure, but we’ll make it work – even without the snow and trips to Lapland.”

In a bid to preserve some festive spirit, Billie has arranged for a collection of Christmas decorations to be delivered to their rented flat – including the children’s original stockings from home. She continued: “It’s crazy the things you do for your kids. But it has to be done. We’ve pre-warned the boys that Father Christmas will be leaving some gifts for them back in England with nan and grandad instead, so we don’t have to lug them around with us.”

In March, they’ll be flying back to the UK to celebrate another of their traditions. For Bligh’s birthday, the entire family visits Centre Parcs; and the family are planning to make the 12,000-mile round-trip to ensure that’s still the case.

For now, though, they’re excited to continue on their travels and create memories. Billie added: “We’re planning on meeting up with a couple of other travel families in Chiang Mai.

“There’s a lot of expat families there compared to China, where we’ve felt a bit isolated. We want Christmas to be more about the boys socialising and finding new friends, as well as doing festive activities.

“And it’s something they wouldn’t get to do back in the UK; so I think, despite the heartbreak, our choice to keep travelling is the right one.”