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To Australian tech consultant Jess Holland, Britain is very much home.
Having relocated more than a decade ago, the 39-year-old dual citizen has built a life in London and recently put down roots in Leyton, where she bought a £400,000 property.
But with family still in Brisbane, on Australia’s east coast, she frequently makes the 22-hour flight back for catch-ups and special occasions.
It helps that she still has a place to stay whenever she does. Ms Holland and her mother bought a flat in the city at the height of the global financial crisis for “a ridiculously good price”. Between them, they have just A$94,000 (£50,000) left to pay on the mortgage.
Now Ms Holland has moved up in her career, however, she wants to use her disposable income to reinforce her roots in Australia and end her reliance on the hospitality of friends and family during visits.
“Previously, it always felt like I had this one-or-the-other situation between Australia and here,” she says. “As I’ve become more financially mobile, it’s felt more achievable that I can potentially live between two countries.”
Her five- to 10-year goal is to invest in a base in Brisbane where she can spend between three and six months of the year caring for family and taking on more flexible contract work, while simultaneously maintaining her flat in Leyton.
Although Ms Holland prefers the way of life in London over Australian cities, illness in the family means she wants to be around to help more and travelling to and fro is getting increasingly expensive as jet fuel prices surge.
“I want to be able to choose when I go and for how long,” she says. “Essentially, having my cake and eating it.”
