Why We’re Leaving the Matrix (As a Family of Five)

Why we’re not waiting for things to get better.

We hear from every direction that the UK is in decline, that it’s a failed state, but that’s not why we’re leaving.

We hear how the place is overcrowded, you can’t see a doctor when you need to, it’s not safe to walk through the town centres, everything is ridiculously expensive or the potholes are constantly destroying your car, but that’s not it either.

To be honest, those things definitely helped the decision. But we’re leaving because, eventually, you have to live your life.

You can save, stack sats and work work work, but as Ferris Bueller very wisely said:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Our three girls are currently teenagers, and we knew if we didn’t do this now, they’d soon be off, living their own lives; and the opportunity would be gone. They’d join the rat race, and we’d miss the chance to show them there’s a wider world outside of Northamptonshire.

From a completely personal point of view, there’s another reason. I’ve been working in a profession for over 30 years that I never really enjoyed. It just ‘brought in the money,’ so I carried on doing it. I wanted to rip the band-aid off and quit. It’s not something I can do remotely or from home, so I won’t have an easy way to make an income.

Perhaps Substack can fill the gap. 🤞

We don’t have it all figured out. Far from it. But we’ve got a window of time, a bit of courage, and each other. That feels like enough. Maybe it’ll be messy, maybe it’ll be magic; probably both. Either way, we’re stepping outside the system to see what life looks like, back on our own terms.

More soon

Stay free

Simon.