A British journalist and animal lover with five dogs, four cats and four horses says she decided to move to Ireland post-Brexit, where she found a perfect home for her collection of animals.
Andrea Busfield, from Warrington, who has lived most of her life outside the UK – including in Afghanistan and Qatar – told i she sees herself “as European but says Brexit has made it impossible to live in Europe now.”
“The only door left open to Brits is Ireland,” she said.
After living in Cyprus for 13 years, the 54-year-old novelist wanted a place more suitable to the “physical and mental wellbeing” of her horses. She initially considered moving to Denmark, but ended up choosing Ireland as she wanted a place that was still part of the European Union but with no travel restrictions for Britons.
British nationals are allowed to visit and remain indefinitely in Ireland under the Common Travel Area rules, without a visa or residency permit. Although Ireland is in the EU, it is not part of the Schengen area, so Schengen rules do not apply.
Ms Busfield said she never wanted to apply for a visa to stay in Europe as “the process is too long and Ireland is still in Europe” anyway, making it all simpler for her.
She is in the process of buying a home in Wexford for €405,000 (£340,000) that comes with five stables and 5.5 acres of land which is “very much the playground of my horses.”
“Ireland is also well known as horse country. In Cyprus, the horses had no meaningful quality of life, in Ireland they get the very basics of what they need and deserve – freedom, forage and friends. This means they now have the space to run around in and kick up their heels, they can graze, and they can live as a small herd.”
Her horses are now in a livery yard in Kildare while she waits for the sale of her Cyprus villa to complete.
Even though she says Brexit never factored in her decision to leave the UK, it has made her life more difficult.
“When looking to relocate to a place more suitable for horses, I wanted to stay in Europe, I consider myself European. Thankfully, the door to Ireland remains open and it’s a very horse-centric country.”
“I have no plans to return to the UK because I don’t feel tied there in any way. I have never felt especially tied to any country. I love for them for a while, and then I move on.”
But Brexit has made it difficult to move on, at least in Europe, she says.
“I was considering Denmark at one point, as I have friends there and there are some lovely, reasonably priced equestrian homes, but I would no longer be able to stay longer than 90 days unless I was sponsored by a company and I was there for work purposes”.
In 2012, Ms Busfield bought her 3-bedroom Cyprus villa which has a pool for €220,000. She has now signed the sale contract for €365,000 – netting a profit of €145,000.
The cost of living was fairly high in Cyprus in terms of food and utilities, but as she was living in Austria prior to landing on the island, she said it wasn’t such a shock.
Ms Busfield said she found the quality of life in Cyprus good.
“It’s relatively safe and the island boasts the cleanest beaches in Europe. It’s a very easy country to navigate if you’re British because it’s like Little England at 30°C – everyone speaks English and they drive on the left.”
She said housing and dining out are generally cheaper than in Britain.
“You get more for your pound here then you would in the UK. And meals out are generally much cheaper,”