I’m a builder who quit UK for a sundrenched paradise where the beers cost less than 40p…I was fed up of pricey Britain
A BOOZE-loving builder has ditched the UK for a sundrenched paradise where beer costs less than 40p after getting fed up with British prices.
Greg Larcombe, 39, has left his home last April to settle on Langkawi Island in Malaysia.
The Brit has swapped the Foggy Albion for a sunny weather and palm trees, but it’s the beer prices that sealed the deal.
On the isle, a pint can be purchased for about a third of the price of one in Blighty.
The £1.98 beers sound like a dream bargain compared to the cost-of-living-ravaged UK average rates.
In London, a pint will cost you £5.90 which comes as no surprise in the most expensive part of the country.
But things don’t get much better in other parts of the UK, with £3 being the lowest you would pay.
The grass is certainly greener in Malaysia with a can of beer costing just under 40p – less than half the price in Britain.
The construction worker said he decided to up sticks after getting “fed up” by the UK.
But it’s not just the cheap night on the lash that prompted him to choose Malaysia – his quality of life has improved dramatically too.
Despite the dime-store alcohol prices, Greg has started drinking less and less since moving.
He said: “Funnily enough I actually drink a lot less here as I’m more active and spend much more of my time doing healthier things.
“When I do drink it certainly saves me a lot of money on a night out.
“When you think it’s less than half price it soon adds up!
“I was pretty shocked, but in a good way.
“Beer is pretty cheap in most parts of South East Asia, but honestly I’d never been anywhere that you could buy it for as little as here.”
A bottle of a cold brew isn’t the only affordable item on the supermarket shelves – with bread, rice and milk selling for less than a pound.
Rent, transportation and general cost of living are also twice lower in Malaysia than in the UK – but so are the salaries.
Greg said: “Obviously as a foreigner, I may have more disposable income than a local, but even on local wages people here seem to get by much better than a lot of people do in the UK right now.”
And it could well be true with Malaysia ranking in the top-5 happiest nations in the world, according to the Mental State of the World report.
Meanwhile, the UK has been put at the foot of the mental well-being index – placing ahead of only Uzbekistan.
Greg said: “I was honestly just fed up in the UK.
“It was hard making a living, I hadn’t had a good couple of years and I just felt unfulfilled.
“My thought process was if I can get away from the UK where life is feeling much harder for everybody, then I can do the necessary work on myself.”
The construction worker isn’t the only Brit searching for a better life elsewhere.
A man bought a one-way ticket and ditched the UK to start anew in Thailand.
Riyan Ruparelia, 22, vowed never to return to Britain because of the ever-increasing life costs and dangerous crime levels.