I divorced my wife and moved to Croatia in my 60s – I’ll never go back to Britain

Around half a million people leave the UK to live abroad each year. A survey by the British Council showed 72 per cent of 18- to 30-year-olds would consider living and working overseas ,  with cold weather, the high cost of living, extortionate childcare, a lack of work-life balance and even poor romantic prospects among their motivations for leaving the country. The i Paper’s Expat Files follows Brits who have taken the leap and settled elsewhere, detailing the ups and downs of their journeys.

Patrick Wood, 73, has spent the last three years living in the rural surroundings of Dubrovnik , Croatia. Not only has he found a girlfriend after his divorce, he also rents a charming house for €250 a month. Here, he tells Silvia Marchetti about his new home.

I’ve always imagined myself living somewhere in southern Europe once I retired (even before getting married), but I never thought I would find such a charming and cheap country as Croatia to call home.

Shorts

When I divorced from my wife in 2021, a year later, I retired from my job as a market researcher for the UK’s private environmental sector, and I spent two whole years touring Europe to find the ideal place where I could turn the page.

I considered it “a reward” from the stress of everyday life, decades of hectic work and also from having endured a very difficult and painful marriage in the last years before my divorce.

I needed some adrenaline, and at my age, you get it by opting for drastic change. I just never thought it would happen so quickly.

I first visited Croatia in 2022, touring the country for two months. I was struck by the beauty of Dubrovnik with its picturesque harbour and lively Mediterranean vibe, and by its rural idyllic surroundings where farmers still tend to the fields and the old shepherd life survives.

I spent a month living there, exploring every alley, village and hamlet within a few miles reach. While staying in Dubrovnik, it suddenly hit me how life would have been too short to wait, go back to Leeds and make a plan, so I decided to buy a new place to live in there and then.

I was struck by the significantly lower cost of living in Croatia, so I booked a few tours of available properties in the rural surroundings. I did not want to be in the actual town of Dubrovnik which may get a bit crowded during summer and on weekends, but I still wanted to be close to the lovely coast with its pebble inlets, clear waters and islands.

After viewing several houses, I was shown a portion of a rural cottage consisting of two bedrooms, just 30 minutes from the city, with a lovely garden and an olive grove.

It was an old farmhouse divided into four portions, each rented out to different families, and when the realtor told me I could lease one portion of it for just €250 a month, I just couldn’t believe it. I remember I almost laughed out loud, thinking he was probably pulling a joke on me, knowing I was a foreigner, but he was dead serious.

And a rental sounded like the perfect option as I did not want to commit to buying a property, should Croatia ever fail to meet my expectations as an expat.

So I signed the lease contract and went back to Leeds to put my house on the market, pack my things, and relocate to Croatia. I applied for residency straight away and got it in 2024.

Maybe it was a bold and rash move, but my friends were saying they envied me. “You have been given the opportunity of a fresh new start,” they said. “Seize it.”

My two-bedroom house in Leeds went up for sale, and though I prefer not to share the exact amount, it sold in two weeks. Not having any children, I had no strings attached.

10 days later, I was already living in my new cottage in Dubrovnik, unpacking and buying furniture.

It all happened so fast, I felt as excited as I would have been had I been 30 years younger.

Though I have a UK pension, I am currently living off the proceeds of the sale of my British house, which I believe will allow me to keep living in Croatia indefinitely and never return back to the UK.

Also, given the cost of living here is so much lower than in England, I am saving a lot of money; spending only a fourth of what I spent back in Leeds.

My only brother who lives in London can’t believe that I manage to live comfortably on just €800 a month.

I spend €40 per week for groceries, mostly zero-mile fresh fruits and vegetables, which I buy at open-air farmers’ markets near my house. I don’t eat meat, but love the cheeses made in the local dairy farms, and the premium wines of the region. In Leeds, groceries were £130 per week, cheese and European wines were a one-off luxury, while here they’re almost a daily treat.

To keep fit and respect the environment, I move around on an electrical bicycle. I didn’t want to buy myself a car, after years spent driving for work across half of England. I also have a monthly public transport pass which costs around €30 and it takes me anywhere in the province of Dubrovnik.

I never felt lonely; t…