A mother-of-five has revealed why she and her family are ditching their 'depressing' lives in the UK to settle in sunny Florida. 

Julie Barnes, her husband Sam, and children Lola, 19, Colby, 15, Bentley, 11, Fleur, nine and Kitty, five, are set to pack up their lives near Bath for good to settle in the US at the end of next month. 

The family will be moving on an E2 investment visa which allows them to live there for at least five years as Sam is setting up his own landscaping business. 

In preparation for the big move, Julie has been documenting their journey on her TikTok account @livingthefloridadream7, explaining that it's been their 'dream' for a 'long long time'. 

The family have already bagged a spacious five-bedroom mansion to move into, featuring a stunning swimming pool, high ceilings and modern high-spec kitchen - all for a similar price to their new build back in the UK. 

Taking to TikTok, Julie listed their other reasons for the move, including the 'gloomy' weather and frustrations with education, healthcare and work-life balance.  

She said: 'The weather, It's so cold, wet and grey most of the year with only a small glimpse of summer. It makes you feel so depressed.'

Julie's second reason for the move was 'cost of living for middle class families', adding: 'Working stupid amounts of hours just to get by yet people on benefits are living it up with holidays and constant day trips. You're better off not working.'

She added that it had taken her a year to book a recent dentist appointment and, with children on the autistic spectrum, was finding it hard to find support in the UK's education system. 

She also doesn't like how families can be fined for taking their children on holiday during term time. 

By contrast, their new area in central Florida - which she described as their 'happy place' - is family-orientated with low crime and good schools.  

Julie, who is currently a nurse, said: 'Feeling let down by the NHS and education system. 

'Having a child who has waited a crazy amount of time to get the right support and her school not being able to meet needs due to a lack of funding and teachers not being educated. 

'I cant wait for this to be our reality. Just the weather alone will change our lives for ever, let alone all the opportunities we will get when we aren't stuck here.'

In the comment section on a recent video, Julie said there was 'not much difference' between the price of their home in the UK and the much more spacious property in Florida. 

According to Realtor, the average house price in January 2025 was $375,000. In Bath in the UK, the average house price was £581,537 over the past year, according to Rightmove. 

For a five-bedroom property with a pool in central Florida, prices are upwards of $750,000, according to listings in the area. 

Taking her TikTok followers on a tour of the new neighbourhood, Julie filmed sunny blue skies and spacious houses, and gave a glimpse inside the lofty interiors of her own new home. 

Many viewers were impressed and wished they could also make the move, but others warned it could be a decision she may regret in the future - due to weather hazards, expensive healthcare and forced reliance on cars. 

One person said: 'UK is a rip off. Look at the difference it’s miles apart for what you get for same money. Something doesn’t sit right with me on this it can’t be true.'

Another marvelled: 'The comparison between UK and USA houses are crazy !'

However, others said: 'One of the biggest trade-offs of this is having to drive everywhere';

'I'd love to live in Florida, but the weather puts me off. When it's bad.... its really really bad';

'Also going to tornadoes hurricanes tsunamis volcanos earthquakes. Well done great move';

'But the health care.'

In December, the US was revealed as the top place Britons were looking to relocate to, in a study by experts at 1st Move International.  

Experts cited reasons such as better weather, lack of a language barrier and wide range of opportunities as common reasonings, with Australia and Dubai also popular locations.  

Julie and her husband Sam have visited Florida at least once a year for the past 20 years - braving all weather conditions from the hottest temperatures in summer to hurricanes.  

However, she admitted the overall move and Visa process had been a 'very long and costly process that will hopefully be worth it'. 

She confessed: 'We’ve been travelling back and forward to Florida for last 20 years so already feels like a second home to us. 

'Unfortunately it does come with price tag we worked like slaves for last 10 years for this dream to become a reality.'

But with the move on the horizon, Julie has no regrets - and says the only things she'll miss about the UK are foods such as Cadbury Mini Eggs and Bisto gravy granules. 

As an outdoorsy family, the brighter weather will give them more of an opportunity to go to the beach and for nice walks, and they hold annual passes for Disneyland. 

And as business owners without being tied down to 9 to 5 jobs, they'll be able to go on holiday whenever they want.  

She said: 'We do understand what we're getting ourselves into, we're not jumping into this blindly.'

Filming the outside of their current home in the south west of England, she said: 'Every week it's wet, windy, grey, gloom. It's like this all f***ing year.'

Julie has already hit back at trolls who warned she wouldn't be able to cope with various hazards in Florida, including tornadoes and alligators. 

She said: 'We've had lots of silly comments like the comment above. We've been visiting Florida for the past 18 years every single year, and the past few years we've visited multiple times, staying for seven, eight, weeks at a time. 

'We were living there like normal people in our property where we were paying the bills. We know the costs of living there. 

'We were actually there for hurricane Irma and don't get me wrong, it was a scary experience. But this is why we've chosen to live in central Florida. 

'Even the last hurricane that passed - which they said was one of the worst in a long time - the worst thing we lost on our house was one of the shutters, and that's just a decorative part of the house, it's not even used. So, we are in a safer area of Florida.

'As for alligators, we've spent a lot of time in the springs, we've seen alligators in the wild and they don't come anywhere near you. They're certainly not just waiting on the street, ready to jump out and eat you. It's common sense, don't go in murky waters.'

In another video, she added: 'It's been a dream of us we've had for a long long time. We've been there at Christmas time, we've been there in the heat of summer, we've been there through hurricanes.

'We've found a little area that we like, it's a very family oriented area. It has low crime, it's got lovely schools and we're really happy with it.

'We know what we're doing. We're not jumping into this completely blinded.' 

As it gets closer to the move, Julie has been getting frustrated with the UK weather, especially during the February half term when they visited a farm. 

She moaned: 'You book activities to do with your children, and it absolutely pours with rain.'

She told how they'd paid a lot of money as a family to go to a lamb feeding experience with friends.

'It was miserable. It was cold, we got wet,' she said. 'We made the best of it but you just can't plan to do anything. This is one of the reasons why I can't wait to move and live somewhere where it's guaranteed sunshine the majority of the time. 

'And we can actually plan and do things outdoors and do things as a family and enjoy it to its full potential. 

'Just spending the money and booking the days without knowing what the weather's going to be. We didn't expect the weather to be as bad as it was. We got soaking wet.'

She's also expressed aggravation with the school run driving through the idyllic countryside, as it means her car has been splattered with mud. 

'It's another gloomy day. I'm going to be so glad to see the back of the school run. It's a beautiful view, don't get me wrong, but my car gets splattered with mud every single day!' she said. 

Last year, a woman claimed she'd moved to America as the UK is 'bad vibes' and is encouraging others to do the same. 

Amber Tiffeny moved to the US when she was 17 years old and has been there for three years.

She says it's made her realise the 'UK is bad vibes' and the country 'doesn't want to see you thrive'.

The 20-year-old told viewers: 'Moving from the UK changed my quality of life. I moved to America when I was 17, turning 18 years old. 

'I'm 20 now so I've been living here for nearly three years and when I tell you, in almost three years my whole lifestyle has changed.

'Everything has just changed, moving to America improved my quality of life. I started wanting more for myself.'

She explained: 'I just started being around people who are more uplifting and business savvy. I feel like, I hate to be one of those people but, the UK is bad vibes for real.

'I don't know what it is about UK people, why they can't seem to support each other, but the American girlies over here - one thing they're gonna do is support, one thing they're gonna do is motivate, one thing they're gonna do is uplift.

'Besides the people, just like my whole mindset has changed. I moved here and I started wanting more for myself. I guess it's really just your environment'.

'I started thinking that oh my gosh, there is so much more I can achieve even while I still am young'.

Although, she also made it clear she initially 'did not want to move from the UK'.

Tiffeny revealed: 'I love the UK, still do, because I was so comfortable. I had all of my friends there, I had all of my family there and I didn't wanna move.'