Staring out at another rain-soaked day in Bristol, Alexandra Stamate felt the financial pressures mounting. With the cost of living relentlessly climbing, she and her Uber driver husband, Florin, made a life-altering decision: their family's future was no longer in the United Kingdom. They joined a growing wave of Romanians reversing the migration trend of previous decades, opting to return to their homeland for a more affordable and self-sufficient life.
The Rural Dream: From Bristol Allotment to Romanian Smallholding
Alexandra and Florin Stamate, both 35, originally moved to Britain in 2015 with high hopes. After initial work in a butchery and later as a driver, the struggle to support their three UK-born children became unsustainable. The catalyst for change was their experience growing vegetables on an allotment in Bristol, which planted the seed of a farming dream impossible in Britain due to prohibitive land prices.
In 2020, just before the Covid pandemic, they seized an opportunity in Romania. For just £6,500, they purchased two acres of land with a dilapidated farmhouse in the idyllic Mureș County. Five years on, they are largely self-sufficient, keeping goats, pigs, and chickens, growing their own food, and selling honey and dairy products. Alexandra runs a popular Facebook page, Ferma Emigranți În Grădină, sharing their journey with over 355,000 followers.
"In the countryside, we may not have display cases full of expensive goodies, but we have cellars with jars, pantries with jam and pickles, and barns with wheat and corn," she reflects. "I live in the rhythm of nature. In the city you run according to the clock and schedule. In the country, life flows according to the seasons."
A Statistical Reversal: More Leaving Than Arriving
The Stamates' story is part of a significant demographic shift. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that in the year up to June 2023, 37,000 Romanian residents left Britain, while only 14,000 arrived. This net outflow is the highest for any EU nationality, surpassing even the 25,000 Poles who returned home in the same period.
This marks a stark reversal from the years following Romania's accession to the EU in 2007, when hundreds of thousands sought opportunity in the UK. The 2021 census recorded 557,554 Romanian-born residents in the UK, a massive increase from 83,168 in 2011.
The driving forces behind the return are multifaceted. Many cite the UK's soaring cost of living, high crime levels, and perceived discrimination following the Brexit vote. Concurrently, Romania's economic landscape has transformed. The National Institute of Statistics reports the average monthly net wage has skyrocketed by more than 700% in the last ten years, from 723 lei (£124) in 2005 to 5,328 lei (£917) in January 2024. Coupled with low unemployment, cheaper housing, and a lower perceived crime rate, the balance has tipped for many.
Entrepreneurs and Professionals Leading the Return
The Romanian government has actively encouraged this repatriation through initiatives like the Start Up Nation scheme, offering grants to returning entrepreneurs. Bogdan Termure, 37, used a 37,000-euro grant in 2019 to launch a food delivery business called HIO in Iasi, which now indirectly employs 2,000 couriers nationwide.
Termure, who previously worked in Coventry and ran a franchise in the UK, said the Brexit referendum changed the atmosphere. "It became the case that Romanians were only associated with bad things in the UK," he explained. Concerns over discrimination and a desire for a better environment for his children influenced his decision to return.
Other professionals have followed suit. Neurosurgeon Horatiu Ioani returned to Bucharest after working in NHS hospitals in Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield, citing greater control over his work schedule and a good quality of life where money goes further. "Salaries are lower in Romania, but money goes further. Here, I can make my own operating and clinic schedule. It is a big luxury for me," he said.
The sentiment is echoed on social media and in personal testimonies. A former hospitality worker in Bucharest stated he returned due to "disrespect from British people" and being fed up with crime and drugs. Beautician Cristina Costache, who moved back to Sibiu after five years in Sussex, cited safety, cost, and the UK's gloomy weather as key factors.
The trend signifies a new chapter in UK-Romania migration. Where once the flow was overwhelmingly towards Britain, improved living standards and economic opportunities in Romania are now enticing its citizens home. For families like the Stamates, the promise of a sustainable, peaceful life rooted in the land has proven more valuable than enduring the financial pressures of urban Britain. As Alexandra Stamate summarises: "It's not luxury that brings security. But simplicity and the land."
