Family flee UK for Asia - blaming fear of nuclear war, knife crime, and Britain's 'negative attitude'
A mum says her family are fleeing the UK for Asia as they no longer feel safe here - due to nuclear war threats, knife crime, and Britain's 'negative attitude'. Diana Auria felt like there was a 'target on her head' and has an 'underlying anxiety' of nuclear bombs due to threats made against the UK and also wider crime in London.
The 36-year-old was 'freaked out' when she used to turn on the news and see visualisations of what a nuclear bomb would look like in London. Her other reasons for fleeing Britain include high streets looking like 'ghost towns', the 'awful' weather, the 'negative atmosphere', phone thefts, and 'gang wars'.
She also lists people 'living for the weekend' without work-life balance, dark winters, expensive housing, and the government 'squeezing your pockets' in taxes. The mum-of-one made the decision to pull her son out of school and travel South East Asia until they find a place to settle.
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Diana's war anxiety developed as the Russia-Ukraine war and the tensions in the Middle East unfolded over the past years. Diana said that terrorist threats have made her afraid of big crowds, like the Christmas markets, while she feels London is a target.
Diana, from Folkestone, Kent, said: "I don't think it's talked about enough. A lot of people in my comments were laughing and saying it's ridiculous to be worried about these issues. Obviously if I lived somewhere like Palestine the fear would be much more of a heartbreaking reality, but watching the UK news, when you see the commentary from Russia and the visualisations of a nuclear bomb attacking London directly, you are made to feel that it's a very real threat.
"When I'm not in the UK, I don't feel like there's a target on my head but when I'm here, I generally feel a lingering fear in the back of my mind, as if I'm closer to the firing line compared to when I’m travelling overseas. You often see that London is the target and we're very close. Terrorist threats have happened, especially recently at the Christmas markets, so going to crowded places worries me a little.
"There's been multiple events like this and the West feels uneasy. Living in the South East and being close to London, with the news popping off with all the negativity and scare-mongering, it gets into your psyche. I don't think about it 24/7 but when I turn on the news it reminds me and I'm like, 'oh sh*t, this could be a reality if something doesn’t get resolved'.
"It's more recent since the Russia and Ukraine situation and all the Middle Eastern tension with Israel and Iran. I think as a mother and a woman your instincts and senses are heightened to dangers."
Diana and her husband, Jack McLoughlin, will make the move on January 26, starting in the Philippines and making their way around south-east Asia. The mum feels safer in the Philippines compared to the UK, as she claims there is more police on the streets and is safer for women.
Diana said: "In the Philippines there's way more police or armed security around some areas. It's a different lifestyle, you can live in gated communities and let your kids play on the streets. A lot of people think it’s the third world, but I feel safer there than in England. In the UK you don't really have these kinds of safe spaces.
"Especially when it's dark, as a woman I've been in awful situations living in London that I'd never want my kid to go through. But a lot of men in my comments were laughing it off. Well, if you're a man you're not going to get the same experiences, my feelings as a woman are valid. I feel like it's getting worse from what I can see on the news, there's more hate crime on the streets too."
In an online post, Diana said: "I would not feel safe walking on my own in any town or city in England at night. People literally get away with crimes here because there isn't any more space in prisons and lack of funding for police."
The fashion designer said that COVID was a 'wake-up call' as it showed the couple there are alternative ways for working and going to school. The couple plan to continue running their video production business from abroad while the mum plans on homeschooling their four-year-old son.
Diana is looking forward to a sunnier life and is eager to escape the 'grey' and 'gloomy' weather in the UK. She said: "I love the sunshine and how it lifts up your mood, gives you Vitamin D. I have eczema and psoriasis and the sun heals that for me. When I'm in the UK I feel grey, crusty and miserable.
"The weather in the UK is gloomy, windy, and it rains a lot. When it's sunny I love it but it's not that common to have a good day. I feel like it's a place where I'm hibernating for most of the year, I'm indoors all the time. I want a more outdoor lifestyle.
"Covid gave us a break from the normal world, everyone was home and didn't have to commute. We realised you don't really need to have an office and to commute to London, we can do this from anywhere we want as long as we have the internet. We want to travel, see the world and also be successful and earn money so we thought let's try it."