We moved to Poland with our kids – we’re mortgage-free and eat out for £12

Around half a million people leave the UK to live abroad each year. A survey by the British Council showed 72 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds would consider living and working overseas, with cold weather, the high cost of living, extortionate childcare, a lack of work-life balance and even poor romantic prospects among their motivations for leaving the country. The i Paper’s Expat Files follows Britons who have taken the leap and settled elsewhere, detailing the ups and downs of their journeys. Lee Taylor, 50, moved from Felixstowe, Suffolk, to Poland 14 months ago with his Polish wife, Aga, 42, and their two children, Lucy, six, and Luke, five. After giving up a care business he and Aga had built, the couple are now renovating their new home and building a property portfolio in Poland. Lee tells Hannah Bentley how he’s enjoying his new life – but admits the move left him battling an unexpected identity crisis. Shorts Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to live in another country and experience a different culture. Aga and I had been considering moving to Spain, but when Aga mentioned the idea to her parents, they said: “If you’re going to move abroad, why don’t you move here? We’d be happy to gift you our house.” They’re old and not in the best of health, so were looking to move out of their lovely, big house just outside Warsaw and into a flat. We were stunned by the generous offer, and the house was much bigger than ours in Suffolk. But Poland… it’s not exactly Spain! Still, it felt like a sign from the universe – an unexpected chance to finally live my dream of moving abroad. The more we thought about it, the more sense it made. Aga could be closer to her family and we’d be mortgage-free. Our mortgage in the UK was £1,100 a month, so that alone would make a huge difference. In total, we’ll probably spend around £20,000–£30,000 renovating the house – labour is definitely cheaper here, and it’s quoted quite differently. They charge you by square metre and you have to supply all the building materials, which means we’ve shopped around for good deals. We’re using the money from selling our Suffolk house to buy, renovate and rent out properties in Poland. Property is cheaper here, and with my background in property development, we’re building a portfolio that will eventually provide a more passive income and allow us more time with the kids. Running the care business in England was really hard work – we were exhausted. It was a 24-hour job because someone always needed to be on call in case a client urgently needed someone. As a care manager, Aga was sometimes working seven days a week, especially in the early days when finding enough staff was a challenge. We’re definitely enjoying a more relaxed life here. Our income is currently nowhere near what it was in the UK and we’ve mainly been living off our savings while investing in properties, which has been a bit daunting. But once they’re all ready to rent, we’re confident we can replicate the income we had in England. Also, developers in Poland get more significant tax advantages compared to the UK. We expect to pay a flat rate of around 8.5 to 12 per cent in tax on rental income, alongside lower social contributions. Whereas in the UK, rental income is subject to the usual income tax rates of 20 to 45 per cent. I’m entitled to my UK state pension. I also have a private pension from a previous company I had which I will access when the time comes, but the properties here will effectively be our pension. There’s a misconception that Poland is really cheap. This was true 20 years ago, but now it’s a thriving economy with increasing investment, which is pushing prices up. Our monthly food shop is a bit under £600 a month, the same as in the UK, but utilities are cheaper. We used to pay around £1,120 a month for water, gas, TV, phone bills, Wi-Fi and electricity – we had a Tesla, which pushed electricity costs up quite a bit. Now, we have a big Mercedes GLS which costs roughly £139 to fill up with petrol. Our utilities are 1,450 złoty a month – around £285. I also get a haircut here for £4, while my wife, who gets a cut and highlights, pays around £20 which is far cheaper than the UK. Eating out is less expensive, too. For our fourth wedding anniversary last week, we went to Gdańsk and found this beautiful restaurant with a three-course meal for just £12. I really love the food here. Polish food is so underrated. There’s a big focus on simple, single-ingredient foods that are organic and incredibly fresh. I love pierogi (dumplings), and flaki (sheep tripe soup). Lots of Polish people have chickens, so our family and neighbours are always bringing us fresh eggs with these amazing deep yellow yolks. ‘The kids settled in really well but the schools are stricter than in England. It’s very competitive with a real emphasis on working hard, doing your best and winning’ Becoming a citizen here has been a nightmare – the bureaucracy is terrible. When I first arrived, I had 90 days to submit my citizenship application. The process was online and fairly painless, thanks to Aga’s help, but since it disappeared into the system I have had no updates on its progress. It’s incredibly frustrating. In Warsaw, some people have waited up to two years for a response, with protests over the delays. So for now, I’m just having to be patient. I’m particularly worried about travelling abroad while I wait for my citizenship. I have all the paperwork to prove I’m entitled to be here, but friends and family have warned me not to risk leaving the country. My daughter Elizabeth, 18, from a previous relationship starts university in Liverpool this September, I’d have loved to help her settle in. I just can’t risk being refused entry and leaving Aga on her own with the kids. The hardest part of the move was telling Elizabeth, and it strained our relationship for a while. But then she realised with university, we were always naturally going to see less of each other. We still talk all the time, and I’m always looking at flights so she can come visit during the holidays. I’m definitely calmer here than I was in the UK, but the first few months here were a rollercoaster. I had a major identity crisis. Back in England, I ran my own company and spoke to people all day – a total chatterbox. Poland stripped all of that away. I didn’t speak the language, so my ability to communicate, make people laugh and understand the world around me disappeared. I felt completely lost and became completely reliant on Aga, following her around and constantly asking: “What’s happening? What did they say? Where are we going?” It was frustrating for me, but it also put a lot of pressure on her. She suddenly had to do all the talking, negotiate with builders and translate everything for me. Now, I’ve been pushing myself to go out on my own and strike up conversations. I’ve been having Polish lessons online for about £20 a week. I’m a slow learner but I am getting better and starting to feel more myself again. Although they have a Polish mum, the kids needed to learn Polish too. They’ve picked it up quickly at school and are now teaching me what they’ve learnt. We’ve sent them to a private international school, which costs around £1,180 a month. We wanted to make sure they still had some English around them, and the smaller classes and extra attention should help them learn Polish more quickly. They’ve both settled in really well but the schools are stricter than in England. It’s very competitive with a real emphasis on working hard, doing your best and winning. Teachers are much more direct, too, with less hand-holding and there’s no excuses for not getting your homework done. Now that we’ve settled into life here, a perfect day is pretty simple: walk the kids to school, work out in our home gym, maybe make some content, then go for a walk in the afternoon. I pick the kids up, and take them to one of the nearby lakes before dinner. Once they’re in bed, I have a drink with Aga on our lovely big terrace, listen to the crickets and take in the view while we chat before bed. Life is good. Follow Lee’s life in Poland on social media here, and find out more about his business, which helps creators aged 40+ monetise their content on social media.