A British mother has revealed why she decided to up sticks and move her family to Cyprus for good. 

Rose Richardson, 30, and her husband Craig, 38, jetted off to Cyprus in May this year and say they haven’t looked back.

While most people visit the popular Mediterranean island for a holiday, the Richardsons have moved there permanently, along with their young daughter, in the hopes of having a better quality of life abroad.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Rose revealed ‘weather, crime and cost of living’ were the three mains reason why they decided to seek out a new life abroad, saying they moved for ‘our daughter and her childhood’.

The mother-of-one said: ‘I remember my childhood being outside and playing out… and I just couldn’t ever imagine her having the freedom to do that in the UK.’

Both Rose and Craig work remotely in Cyprus and share their experiences living abroad on their TikTok and Instagram pages, @richardsonsrelocation.

They say one of the biggest downsides to living in the UK was the work/life balance; with both couples having demanding jobs.

Craig worked as a scaffolder, which saw him away from home a lot, while Rose was in quality assurance, as well as working in beauty as an additional job, and she only had one day off each week. 

Rose and Craig Richardson (pictured) jetted off to Cyprus in May this year and haven’t looked back

Most people visit the popular island for a holiday, but the married couple moved their permanently, along with their young daughter, in the hopes of finding a better quality of life abroad

The couple said they felt deprived of quality time as a family. 

‘In the end, we were just sitting down and thinking why are we living like this?’ Rose said. 

‘We were thinking, why are we working this much when we can’t even live in the house that we’re paying for? It’s just crazy. It became stupid.

‘The cost of living was a massive factor, the weather, more family time, and our daughter’s childhood. They were all massive factors, to be honest.’

Since relocating to Cyprus, they’ve experienced lots of other positives alongside achieving a better work/life balance and have found the local people friendly and welcoming. 

Rose gushes over the ‘amazing weather’ and explains how the cost of living is ‘cheaper’ overall on the Mediterranean island, despite their weekly food shop and rent being more expensive. 

In one TikTok video, Rose outlined how her family’s expenditure differed. 

Spending on fuel for their car has been cut by almost £10, and works out to a £429 difference across a year.

Mother-of-one Rose exclusively tells the Daily Mail how along with the ‘weather, crime , cost of living’ the main reason they moved was for their ‘daughter and her childhood’

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Meanwhile, they were paying £550 a month to send their daughter to nursery for three days in the UK, including the 15 free hours. 

But, in Cyprus, they pay just €420 (£363) for five days, full-time care, totalling a whopping £2,220 saved a year.

One of their bigger savings proved to be electricity, which cost them £550 a month in the UK, but only €180 (£156) overseas.

But not everything has worked out cheaper. 

Their weekly food shop was £140 and, since moving, has shot up to €175 (£151), which is £572 more annually.

Rent is also slightly more expensive too, but the facilities do differ.

They priced up a detached four-bedroom house in the UK for £1,700 a month, while the same in Cyprus, but with a pool, costs €2,000 (£1,730).

Overall, the Cypriot way of life has won the couple over and Rose admits, ‘We haven’t got any plans to return to the UK.’

The Cypriot way of life has won the couple over and Rose admits, ‘We haven’t got any plans to return to the UK.’

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She hasn’t been back home since moving, whereas Craig has, and ‘couldn’t wait to leave’ after he visited. 

For the couple, the outside lifestyle and great weather in Cyprus are things they couldn’t benefit from as a family in the UK. 

‘In the UK, our daughter was probably stuck in soft plays every weekend or stuck to an iPad because of the weather,’ Rose explains.

‘But out here she’s outside every single day, enjoying herself, playing in the sun, in the pool, at the park, playing football. 

‘She’s just got such an outside lifestyle here, it’s just really second to none.’

Rose says some people have pointed out her daughter may want to return to the UK for university.

She isn’t against the possibility and adds, ‘if she decides that she wants to come back to the UK as a young adult, then that will be her choice’.

As for the negatives of living in Cyprus, one of the few downsides the couple could think of is how ‘laidback’ people are. 

For the couple, the outside lifestyle and great weather in Cyprus are things they couldn’t benefit from as a family in the UK

And, since moving abroad, they’ve noticed things such as house repairs move at a much slower pace than what they were used to in the UK. 

Rose says, ‘In the UK, because we were juggling so much work, social life, and our daughter, and everything else, you’re still used to doing things at 100 mile an hour that you just want things done there and then.

‘Over here is very laidback, almost too laidback, that’s just their culture. 

‘So when you’re trying to get things done, they do not get done quickly.’