I couldn’t afford to be a stay-at-home mum in the UK so I moved to Mauritius

A woman who moved to Mauritius for a "better lifestyle" says it allows her to be a stay-at-home mum which she could "never afford" in the UK.

Annabel Fenwick Elliott, 37, didn't want to put her son Jasper, two, in day care and had become self-employed so she could be more present for him.

The mum-of-one moved her family to Mauritius as her German-born husband, Julius Scholtes, 31, couldn't get a visa in the UK.

But the family fell in love with the lifestyle and now pay a similar price for a four bedroom house with a sea view, pool, cleaner and gardener as Annabel did for her "tiny" studio flat in London.

The cheap cost of living means she can afford to stay at home with Jasper - and work from home, while still renting out her studio flat in London.

Annabel’s London flat cost her £1,200 in mortgage and bills, whereas she says the average price of a 900 square foot furnished house in an expensive expat area is about £800 per month, or £490 in a "normal local area". 

Annabel decided against putting Jasper into nursery but said it only cost £150-a-month - compared to the average £290.77 weekly price in the UK for full-time nursery for a two-year-old.

She said locally sourced food is cheap, petrol is just £1 a litre, a monthly unlimited phone data is £6 per month and cleaning services are just £3 per hour.

Annabel, a freelance journalist, living in Poste de Flacq in Mauritius, said: "It's a big big house. I never thought I'd be able to live somewhere like this. In England this would be more than a £1m house. Everything is so much cheaper."

"It's always warm. We go to the beach every day. We have a pool - which is so insane. I don't see how we could have a good lifestyle in the UK. I feel so lucky."