With rainfall and blustery weather dominating British weather maps, it may be tempting to contemplate a getaway – or perhaps even fantasise about relocating overseas. Moving to another country can prove tremendously exciting, but also overwhelming – with some expats never returning once they’ve departed British shores. One British mother, who used to spend her childhood holidays in Turkey, made the decision to move to the country for eight years.
Mother-of-one Claire dedicated nearly a decade to working as a Thomas Cook holiday representative.
During that time, she was usually able to choose her preferred location each season and was generally stationed wherever she wanted.
However, she claims new rules meant preventing representatives weren’t able to work in the same destinations in consecutive years, meaning she wouldn’t be able to return to her beloved Marmaris in Turkey.
Instead, she opted for Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Shortly afterwards, Claire decided her Thomas Cook chapter had ended.
She reflected: “If you think you path is not leading you where you wanting to go, it will lead you to where you’re meant to be, so always follow it.
“For some reason my path was leading me out of Marmaris and I didn’t get it at the time as I really wanted to stay – I would have done anything to stay. But I needed a reason to stay and at first it was my job keeping me there but after that I thought something else is telling me to go.”
Prepared to move forward, Claire relocated back to the UK and started working as a hotel receptionist – a role she still has today.
Nevertheless, Claire found readjusting to UK life proved far more challenging than she had expected.
She described her initial two years back in Britain as “horrible” and remarked it was “so boring and depressing.”
Claire outlined how contrasting life is in Turkey, saying: “It was just the whole lifestyle – you’d finish work in the bright sunshine, you’d have the beach across from your work office. The whole lifestyle is just so different to over here.”
Following two years of difficulty, Claire declared she made an additional effort “trying her best to belong.”
She ventured out socially, and shortly afterwards encountered her Turkish husband.
She revealed: “I loved being with him because he reminded me so much of my past and I still love it now – I feel like I haven’t lost them eight years that I worked abroad because he reminds me so much of them and I love that.”
Claire acknowledged that “you get so much more” support as a parent in the UK than in Turkey, though that doesn’t eliminate her considering relocating back in the future.
She concluded: “So yeah, that’s why I left the place that I loved and would I ever want to return? Absolutely. I think we know that by now that I absolutely would love to return.”