'I moved to Mauritius to be a stay-at-home mum — I could never afford that in the UK'

A couple moved to Mauritius for a better life after they realised the life they wanted to lead in the UK was financially not possible.

Annabel Fenwick Elliott, 37, shifted her life to Mauritius for what she calls a "better lifestyle" and has said it's given her the chance to be a stay-at-home mum dream she admits was financially out of reach in the UK. Once reluctant to put her two-year-old son Jasper into day care and craving to spend quality time with him as a self-employed parent, Annabel navigated a monumental move when her German-born hubbie Julius Scholtes, 31, hit a visa snag in the UK.

The family found themselves swooning over the Mauritian way of life, clinching a deal on a spacious four-bedroom house with a pool for about the same dough they were forking out for Annabel's "tiny" London studio flat.

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Enjoying the flexibility to work from home and cherish moments with her toddler, Annabel, who now is a freelance journalist based in Poste de Flacq, can't fathom the thought of returning to Blighty. She outspokenly shared: "I do not live in the UK because I want to be a stay-at-home mum and I could never afford that if I lived in the UK."

Pointing out the shortcomings of the UK's cost of living, she added: "I don't think you can have a good life in the UK unless you have a substantial amount of money. You need so much to live in a decent house. I'd have to win the to move back."

Before taking the leap to freelancing post-pandemic, Annabel endured the steep costs of her flat, shouldering £1,200 just for the mortgage and bills. Despite once being passionate about her job, Annabel affirmed: "I did love my job."

Ambitions to merge work and motherhood were always clear for her, as she underlined, "I wanted to work from home and have a kid." After Jasper's arrival, Annabel temporarily nested with a chum in and had harboured hopes to "initially wanted to settle in the UK".

However, a twist of fate forced Annabel to pack her bags and head overseas when her husband, Julius, a helicopter pilot, found himself grounded by UK visa issues, despite the couple having a British-born son. She explained: "We wanted a better lifestyle for our family."

The family initially set up their new home in Iceland in 2022 and then upped sticks again for Mauritius in September 2023 after a job opportunity came up for Julius. Once in Mauritius, the couple was quickly smitten with the local way of life, trading up to a luxe four-bedroom house complete with panoramic sea views and even scoring domestic help — all at a cost that could give London prices a run for their money.

Annabel gleefully described her new surroundings: "It's a big big house. I never thought I'd be able to live somewhere like this. In England this would be more than a £1m house. Everything is so much cheaper."

Annabel's move turned out to be a financial jackpot as she bagged an impressive deal on housing. According to her, a swanky 900 square foot pad in a pricy expatriate neighbourhood could be snapped up for around £800 monthly, or you could meld in with the locals for a mere £490.

The lower cost of living has allowed her the luxury of being a stay-at-home mum to Jasper and even run a business from home, all while still profiting from renting out her studio flat back in London. She passionately said: "I didn't want to have to put Jasper in day care. All my friends had to put their babies in cay care at nine or 10-months-old.

"The concept of working full time when you don't want to be away from your baby — just to afford to bring them up — is wrong. I would have had such mum guilt."

The financial benefits also meant nursery costs were far less daunting in her new island life, where the going rate for childcare was a shockingly affordable £150 a month, in stark contrast to the steep average weekly rate of £290.77 in the UK for full-time nursery care for tots like two year old Jasper.

The mum enjoys the outdoors with her son, revelling in the climate and lifestyle. She enthused: "It's always warm. We go to the every day. We have a pool - which is so insane."

She highlighted the affordability of living expenses, noting that locally sourced food is cheap, petrol costs just £1 a litre, unlimited monthly phone data is a mere £6, and cleaning services come at the bargain price of £3 per hour.

Annabel believes that being able to afford raising a child should be within reach for everyone. She expressed: "I don't see how we could have a good lifestyle in the UK. I feel so lucky."