Melanie Bentley-Moore, a 33-year-old astrologist from Manchester, is selling all her belongings and moving to Asia with her five-year-old son, Antares, in September. She says the UK makes her 'miserable' and that people 'moan too much'.
Why she's leaving
Bentley-Moore first left the UK in 2017 for two years, with Vietnam as her 'main base', but returned because she missed 'chippy and Nandos'. After having her son in 2020, she settled in the UK but wanted to 'get back out there'. In April 2026, her landlord said he was selling her flat, prompting her decision to quit the UK.
She said: "The energy just feels heavy, it's dark. There's no room to grow, [the] majority of people are miserable because of all the [stuff] that's going on, the cost of living, everything's rising. I used to live in Asia for two years so I'm very familiar with that area of the world."
Life in Asia
She plans to go to Indonesia and then 'probably back to Vietnam', depending on the weather. She wants to show her son 'real life' and prefers the values in Asia, describing it as 'slower, sunny, and beautiful'. She has taken her son out of school, preferring the Scandinavian education system where children start formal education later.
Bentley-Moore said: "I'm going to do some charity work and volunteering with him. There is no better learning than real life. He's only five, I prefer the Scandinavian way."
Her message
She shared a video on TikTok explaining her decision, saying: "I refuse to stay here in a life of struggle, misery. The energy is dark, it's always raining, it's grey. I feel so soulless and miserable in this place and I'm not doing it anymore."
She added: "I got a call from my landlord saying he's selling and I said 'do you know what, I'm just going to travel. I'm scared but obviously I'm doing it anyway. Life is for living and feeling joy and love and wonder, I don't feel any of that here."
