WE PACKED UP OUR TROUBLES!

The cost-of-living crisis led Summer Preston, 44, and her family to quit the UK

Standing in the supermarket, I picked up a punnet of strawberries and looked at the price – £4! As the sole earner in my household and with four hungry mouths to feed, plus me and my partner, everything was getting so expensive. It was May 2022 and with bills escalating and the cost of living spiralling out of control, I couldn’t help but think there was a better way to live.

When my daughter Violet was born in November 2013, I felt like the luckiest mum in the world. My partner Davidson, then 46, and I had endured years of failed IVF and three devastating miscarriages. Eventually, after eight embryo transfers, Violet arrived safe and healthy. ‘Our miracle baby,’ I said, enamoured by her.

I loved being her mum, and I enjoyed a year of maternity leave, bonding with my daughter and watching her grow. But before long, it was time to go back to work. I had a good job as an estate agent and Davidson worked as a letting agent.

A SLOWER PACE OF LIFE

Between us, we had a good income, so in 2016, we decided to take a month off to go travelling around India. ‘The trip of a lifetime,’ I told friends and family.

Some people thought we were crazy travelling with a toddler, but Violet, then two, was so well behaved. She loved exploring with us in the jungle, seeing exotic animals and playing on beautiful sandy beaches.