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A British family built their own home in the UK and then flogged it to travel the world - and claim they're able to live like a "king and queen" as they cut their living expenses in half. Former NHS worker Danielle Booth and her husband, Mike, 36, caught the travel bug after taking their two kids, Emmy and Eli, on a French road trip in 2019.

The next year, Mike decided to use his trade as a joiner to build the family a four-bedroom detached home so they could sell it and use the money to go globetrotting. After two more years of meticulous saving and flogging their belongings, they sold their house in April this year and set off on their one-way trip just six months later.

Their first port of call was Bangkok, Thailand, on October 28, and Danielle says their current budget is set at around £500 a week funded by their house sale and a small income from Mike's business back in the UK.

At home in Bradford in West Yorkshire, Danielle estimates the family's monthly outgoings were around £4,500 a month.

The former NHS worker claims this new lifestyle has so far allowed them to live like a "king and queen" and admit they feel safer in Thailand than they ever did in the UK.

She claims they will be able to slash their living expenses in half and give their children, aged 14 and 10, a well-rounded cultural education.

Danielle said their total costs while travelling is what they used to spend on mortgage and bills alone in the UK, claiming: "It's half the cost of living in the UK."

She added: "It's empowering and every day I say to my husband, I can't believe how cheap it is out here and why didn't we do this sooner."

"All the money we've spent in the UK doing the basic things just to get by, you can live like a king and queen here. It's crazy. The cost comparison is unbelievable.

"Although we lived a comfortable and nice life [in the UK], my husband had to work all the time for us to live this life as everything was so expensive. Moving away has opened our eyes up even more at how expensive it is in the UK.

"It's really scary how much things cost to live a basic life in the UK compared to how you can live elsewhere."

Alongside the cost of living in the UK, Danielle admits the increasing crime rates and the current schooling system were also factors pushing them to travel.

Danielle said: "All children are different and don't always fit into the boxes of the UK learning system. We are not against the UK system but we believe there are other ways to learn and it's not the be all and end all of, if you don't go to school, you don't do well."

While away, Emmy will continue her maths and English studies through an online private tutor and the girls will embark on cultural learning and fitness as part of their daily routine.

"We have a 14-year-old daughter and it's really scary. We think about whether we'd feel comfortable letting our daughter go out into a local town at home and the answer is no.

"You feel unsafe and it's scary having a teenager and letting them get independent and knowing that there is so much scary stuff out there. It feels like it is getting worse too."

She claimed: "We have been mooching around in dark weather over here and you don't feel unsafe. The people are very friendly."

The family of four are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and are set to explore Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan. After 12 months, they plan to settle somewhere as a family.

Danielle says while most people have been supportive about their choice to leave the UK, others have questioned their decision.

Danielle said: "Some people are a bit shocked by it as they saw the lovely life we lived and how long we took to build our house, our careers and our lives.

"Some people have questioned why we have done this. But sometimes you've got to try and do these things that you want to do because time flies.

"[In the UK], we had an hour every night with our kids if we were lucky but now, we get to spend all day with them. In our opinion we feel lucky and it suits us.

"At home you struggle to find the time and with my husband always working, the time you have together is not always quality time. Here, the stress is just taken away.

"The only thing we miss is being so close to family as we all lived very close and are very close to them. But, nothing else at the moment is making us miss home. We're very content with what we're doing."