A mother who moved her family from Belfast to Lanzarote has shared her experience so far – saying she doesn’t regret anything.
Kathleen Burke, from Belfast, and her husband made the ‘very impulsive’ decision to pack up their lives and move to the Spanish island last year.
Taking to her TikTok account @kathb2024, the mother-of-two documented their journey and explained the decision to her followers in another clip.
In the video, which racked up over 50,000 views, she revealed they visited the island in the past on holiday and had enjoyed the ‘relaxed way of living’.
The couple were fed up of the ‘horrendous’ weather in Northern Ireland and they pointed out how expensive it was to entertain their children with indoor activities.
She described the repetitive nature of her old life as being ‘like Groundhog Day’ and said their new residence was offering them a much cheaper lifestyle.
Kathleen took a job in hospitality while her husband was offered a position as a delivery driver.
They enrolled their children in the local school, where they are learning to speak Spanish fluently, and they found some free adult Spanish classes in their local area.
Kathleen Burke, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, her husband and their two children made the ‘very impulsive’ decision to pack up their lives in Belfast and move to Lanzarote last year
She said: ‘One of the biggest reasons for moving here is the weather, anyone that knows us knows that we travel quite a lot and if you live in Belfast you know that the weather is terrible.’
Kathleen said the children’s activities were expensive as most of them would have to ‘be indoors, like the cinema’.
She added: ‘It would be like £60-£70, we always wanted to have that lifestyle where we were in a sunnier climate so the kids could go on bike rides or down to the beach, walks and go to the park.’
Kathleen revealed that the cost-of-living crisis was another major pull for the family to escape the UK.
She said: ‘The bills are a lot cheaper than we’d pay back home…some of the bills you wouldn’t even pay that you would back home, like gas is just one of the things because you do not have your heating on.’
The mother explained how she and her husband were ‘very impulsive’ after enjoying a sunny holiday in early 2024 and booked their family one-way flights to Lanzarote in late June.
She explained: ‘It was January and it was still nice and sunny, we could go walking and do things, it was so nice, you could even go down to the beach, it was nice because it wasn’t rain, rain rain.’
The mother-of-two claimed they chose Lanzarote as they were familiar with the island from previous trips and liked how ‘clean and chilled’ it was.
Taking to her TikTok the mother-of-two documented their journey and explained the decision to her followers in another clip
In the video, which racked up over 50,000 views, she revealed they visited the island in the past on holiday and had enjoyed the ‘relaxed way of living’
The mother-of-two often showcases what the weather and lifestyle is like in Spain on her TikTok
While the family are loving their experience right now, they aren’t opposed to the idea back home one day in the future.
Kathleen concluded: ‘People say “oh you will get bored and you won’t like it after awhile”. Then so be it. We have decided to try this out and see how it goes.
‘If it doesn’t work out then at least we tried and that’s how I keep myself feeling positive about it.’
In another post she revealed that they kept their home in Belfast and are in a long-term rental in Lanzarote.
Many rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the family’s move abroad.
One person wrote: ‘Making me want to move fs lol weather’s brutal here. I’d move to a warmer climate in a heartbeat.’
Many rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the family’s move abroad
Another said: ‘I love your content. Manifesting this all the time. Love lanzarote. I get such a peace from this island. Just want to move out there and live. Did you get work sorted?’
Someone else wrote: ‘Went to Lanzarote for the 1St time in June and loved it already booked for next June. I would definitely love to retire to their best of luck to your wee family.’
A fourth said: ‘Your right nothing ventured nothing gained. We in Spain a week tomorrow amazing feeling and everyone so positive. Enjoy you only live once.’
Another added: ‘You need a VISA YOU ARE BRITISH?’ To which Kathleen replied: ‘You don’t need a Visa if you have a Irish passport.’