Jenny Stanley says she would not return from Madrid to Bedfordshire, where she was living before

At the age of 32, Jenny Stanley left her home in Bedfordshire and moved to Madrid.

Though she initially moved with her three-year-old daughter in an employed role for a company with offices in Madrid, within a year, the single mum had left and founded her own business.

Now 11 years on and running her technology company from the Spanish capital, Jenny says there is no chance she would move back to the UK.

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“At the time when I moved, the odds were stacked against me – I had no family support, was learning Spanish from scratch, and was starting from scratch professionally. Looking back now, it was absolutely the best thing I ever did,” she says.

Jenny says the weather and the happiness of the local people made Spain very attractive to her initially, and says the weather had a “transformative effect” on her mood.

“Sitting outside having a coffee, having that sun has a real impact on you,” she explains.

But she says the practical and financial benefits also helped her, and feels this is something that makes Spain different to back home.

“The cost of living is lower than the UK, which made a real difference when I was building my business from nothing,” she says.

“For a single working mum trying to build a life and a business, these factors combined created something I couldn’t have replicated in the UK – a better quality of life, more balance between work and family time, and genuine well-being,” she explains.

In terms of costs, Jenny notes that hospitality costs are far lower in Madrid than they are back home in England.

She says getting a three course meal out for €13-€15 (£11.35 to £13.10) is possible, whilst the equivalent would be far more expensive in the UK.

“That sort of thing affects how people are – it means you eat out more and you’re not always at home or in work. You feel so much happier if you see your friends so much more,” she says.

She says although rent is expensive in Madrid, housing costs are cheaper than back home, overall.

Though she can’t remember her exact costs, when she moved to Madrid her tenancy costs were far cheaper than her UK mortgage, and she says on the outskirts of the capital, renting a four bedroom house with a swimming pool for around €2,500 (£2,183) per month would be possible.

Private school fees for her daughter are also less than half what she would pay in the UK, she adds.

She says the less expensive quality of life makes her feel happier.

“I moved despite circumstances being genuinely difficult, and I found real, lasting success. That’s something I think people need to hear. You don’t have to struggle in the UK. There’s a better way of living out there,” she says.

New figures suggest thousands of Brits every year are moving abroad, as Jenny did.

An estimated 252,000 Britons left the UK in the year to June 2025, according to figures published last week by the Office for National Statistics.

For those considering it, Jenny says she would recommend taking the plunge and moving abroad.

“I’d definitely recommend trying it – luck favours the brave,” she says.

“My business was successful cause I put in a lot of hard work and effort. Quality of life makes it all worth it,” she adds.

And she says running her business, Appetite Creative, has actually got easier since Covid.

Before, she was travelling almost constantly, but now because video calls are so much common, doing the job remotely is a lot more normalised.