A COUPLE who ditched their life in the UK to become milk farmers in rural Brazil, have revealed that it’s not quite what they expected.
Angel Bulut, 25, and her partner left their home in Bracknell in October 2022 and flew 6,000 miles to Parana, a state in southern Brazil.
SWNSAngel hated Brazil when she first moved there[/caption]
SWNSShe had to wake up at 5am to feed the cows[/caption]
SWNSAngel has now adapted to a simpler life[/caption]
They moved out of a one-bed flat, and on to a two and a half acre farm, and are now responsible for 30 cows, pigs, fish and chickens.
Back home, Angel was earning £2,300 a month as a restaurant manager, but she now earns more than 60% less, taking home just £887 a month.
Unfortunately, her monthly spending didn’t decrease as much as her wages, as she soon found out that “everything costs more”, and she now has to dig in to her savings for “luxurious things”.
Angel revealed that her first year in her new home was “one of the biggest struggles of my life”.
The couple have to wake up at 5am every morning to milk the cows, and she says she works “harder than I ever expected to”.
She added that her new home is much more dangerous than the UK, and she misses being able to go for a walk on her own at night.
“Here I kid you not I cannot leave the house alone without the protection of my dog.
“You can’t be out at night time”.
When Angel first moved to Brazil, friends and family back home, as well as locals told her they thought she wouldn’t “last a month” and they thought she wouldn’t get her hands dirty.
“I didn’t speak any Portuguese. I was just this blonde UK city girl that came into the farm.”
After just six months, she was preparing to relocate back to the UK, but she has now grown to love her life in Brazil.
“It’s not been an easy process. We’re living a life but without the pleasures of living in the UK.
“I’m accustomed to having less now. I’m falling in love with things after the anger left. We have so much space.”
After adapting to a simpler way of life, Angel realised that she was never happy in the UK, and much prefers being in the hot sun.
How easy is it to move abroad?
Brexit means British citizens now have to apply for visas to move to countries within the EU. While some countries residency restrictions are easier than others, here’s what you need to do at home before moving:
Notify HMRC about your upcoming move.
Let your local authority know and provide a forwarding address.
Contact your mortgage and utility providers and bank before leaving.
If you have paid enough UK national insurance contributions, you can qualify for a state pension abroad – contact the International Pension Centre.
You can sign up to the Royal Mail’s redirection service.
If you have outstanding student loans, contact the Student Loans Centre.
If you have children, give due notice to childcares and schools.
“I have the sun, I have my animals that have all the space they want, and I don’t have a boss”, she said.
“You don’t have the things you want and then just look around and see all the things you do have”.
She is now picking up the language, and has grown to love the hard slog of caring for her animals.
“My health is good because I’m not cold, I’m getting my vitamin D. In my opinion private healthcare is more affordable here,” she said.
“The people here are friendlier, compared to the Brazilian culture England is a very cold, cruel culture.
“I hated [Brazil] for so many reasons, but now I love it.”
SWNSAngel earns far less in Brazil than she did in the UK[/caption]
SWNSAngel with one of her pigs[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
