Between March and August 2020, Tom Beck spent hours and hours and hours (you get the picture) on the telephone talking to Brits spread across the globe. The only thing these Brits has in common was that they had said Goodbye to Britain and made a (temporary or permanent) home abroad.
From chasing dreams in Hollywood to teaching “horrible kids” in Ukraine, the stories are varied. Tom Beck’s book, Goodbye Britain (Talking to the Brits who packed their bags…and left), shares happy endings and not so happy endings. There are twists and turns, this is after all, a collection of real life stories.
My Story
To be honest, I am not even sure how I came to share my story with Tom, but I did. We spoke on the phone one lunchtime at some point last year. Turns out the world is indeed a small place, because Tom and I spent a lot of our youth hanging around Vicarage Road, the home of Watford FC. Before our phone call we have never had any contact, but it turns out we share a love for the Hornets. We had lived in the same neck of the British woods once upon a time.
In any case, from a random chat about my reasons for moving to the Netherlands, and the Dutch life I now lead, Tom extracted a story for Goodbye Britain, which you can find on page 67.
The story directly before mine is my brother’s tale. He also now lives outside of Britain, and has done for a long, long time.
Goodbye Britain Highlights
My story is tame compared to some of the other stories in this book. Goodbye Britain tells life abroad like it is.
A life abroad grants you opportunities you may never have back in Britain.
“We also got invited to an arm-wrestling championship, and after that we were taken into a private room and we were fedd this whole big spread, given lots of vodka, and were surrounded by world champion arm wrestlers.”
Janine Russia P111
But a read of Goodbye Britain will also confirm your worst suspicions that heading off abroad isn’t an automatic pass for a happy ending that has you galloping off into the sunset. Far from it. Life goes on, with all its curve balls, abroad just as it does in Britain.
“In a nutshell though, she said no, said that she wanted me to get out of Thailand and never see my son again. I said no, that’s not going to happen, and then she abducted my son and took him away for fifteen months.”
Martin Thailand P179
But if there’s a lesson worth taking away from Goodbye Britain it’s this: Moving abroad is always worthwhile, even if it is just to help you scrub an item off your bucket list.
“Perhaps it was naive of me, but my six months in Angers completely ruined my illusion of life in France. If anything I felt really deceived by it all.”
Chloe France & Spain P199
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What is clear from this collection of stories is that everyone has a different reason for moving overseas and every story is unique – and yes, some stories do have a happy ending. Some move for love, some move to fit in somewhere, some move for work and others move abroad for an adventure.
Why Goodbye Britain is Unique
What makes Goodbye Britain different is that each story is told in a unique voice, the voice of the storyteller. Because Tom spoke to each person, each story is told in their own voice in a first person narrative. Tom tells how this fact made the project a little more complicated in this podcast: Talking to Tom Beck about “Goodbye Britain”.
Where to Grab Your Own Copy of Goodbye Britain & More
You can get a copy of the book from Amazon or Waterstones.
There’s a fascinating map of book quotes here.
Affiliate Link
The links to Amazon is an affiliate link. They cost you nothing more to buy, but I get a small commission which helps pay for the Turning Dutch website.
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