‘We ditched UK to travel world – we spend just £8 on three meals a day’

They sold their semi-detached three-bedroom home and left

A couple ditched the UK to travel the world with their four-year-old son and now spend just £15 on accommodation and three meals out a day. Tash, 32, and Rob Swain, 37, sold their semi detached three bed home in Lincoln, Lincolnshire August 2025 for £260,000 after deciding to leave due to the cost of living in the UK.

They left for Bali with their son Travis in September and have also visited Penang, Malaysia so far. The family say on average they spend just £56-a-week to eat out every day – compared to the £150-a-week they were paying in the UK to cook family dinners.

And sometimes they pay as little as £15 a day for food and accommodation. They plan to head to Thailand next and have no plans to come home.

Rob, who owns an online t-shirt business, said: “We eat out three times a day and it’s still cheaper than cooking at home in the UK. “Taxis arrive within minutes; there’s always food nearby and even a Domino’s across the road. It’s honestly been easier than the UK.

“In the UK nursery is so expensive, so is food. Here beaches and pools are free, and we have a community of other English who have moved here.

“Everywhere has its beauty and charm, but England is so expensive. Even the Starbucks is a third of the price down here.”

Rob and Tash, who also works on the business, have always been travellers, after meeting in Billabong, New Zealand in 2017. They had dreamt of travelling abroad once more, but struggled to fit this in because of constant money stress, and the arrival of their loved little boy.

But in March 2024 they decided to make it a reality, due to the rising prices in the UK, including the cost of nursery. The couple’s 15 hours of day care each month used to cost them a total of £160 a month.

Rob took over the business more, and they decided to content create abroad about their new life. Despite friends thinking they were “mad,” the couple trusted their instincts, believing that if it didn’t work, they could always come home.

Rob said: “We had ‘Bali’ written on a chalk wall in our hallway for four years. We really believe in speaking things into existence, and Covid made it possible financially.

“I sell t-shirts online, and I remember thinking, we can do this anywhere because my whole company is online. Why are we rushing back for school pick-ups when we don’t have to?

“We found it crazy that we literally could be living on the beach for less money, giving our child an education more based on the world, and living in a luxury place to ourselves. Life felt stagnant and expensive – so I am glad we took the jump.”

After putting their belongings in storage and leaving the UK the family spent a month in Sanur, Bali, which Rob describes as incredibly family-friendly, before settling near the beach for three months due to visa rules. Rob said: “We’re ten minutes from the beach and surrounded by nature.

“Trav loves it; one minute he’s playing in the sand, the next there are monkeys in the trees and he’s staring at them. It feels like we’ve been gone a while, but also like it’s flown by. It already feels like home, and I think that’s because of who you’re with.”

They’ve also spent time in Penang, Malaysia and are now looking towards Thailand and island-hopping. He said: “We don’t think too far ahead, really. Sri Lanka’s been mentioned, so that might be next as we can work remotely anywhere.”

And the costs are much cheaper than the UK. Rob said accommodation ranges from £30 to £100 for a week with a swimming pool and breakfast included. Travis is learning to swim, trying new foods and gaining what Rob calls a “worldly education”.

He said: “He struggled with swimming lessons back home, but out here it just clicked, and now we couldn’t get him to stop if we tried – he loves it.”

Rob recalls one surreal moment out for a drink when a family of monkeys appeared as chanting began at a nearby temple. “The monkeys literally stood up as I saw them, it’s chaos but it’s amazing.”

The couple still work around their travels, running a digital business and documenting family life online. Rob said: “I want to show people you don’t have to stay at home; you can build a life from your laptop.”

Looking back, Rob says selling the house and leaving the UK was the best decision they’ve ever made. He said: “Worst case, we come home, but right now, we’re exactly where we’re meant to be.”

The family record their daily life on Rob’s TikTok @robnormal and have just made a YouTube channel too.