London leaver: 'I swapped sirens in Colliers Wood for beach walks and fresh fish on Mersea Island'

Leaving London is a momentous decision and not one Rosanna Stevens is prepared to make in a rush.

After ten years living and working in the capital Rosanna has set up her own business, allowing her to work remotely, and embarked on a global road trip to try out her options.

She is currently living in a cottage on Mersea Island, Essex, enjoying spectacular sunsets and freshly caught seafood.

Next stop? Who knows.

Rosanna, 39, moved to the capital in 2010 and began her career in events management, before moving into celebrity liaison for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

In 2015 she managed to get onto the property ladder, buying a one bedroom garden flat in Colliers Wood, south London.

During the pandemic Rosanna decided to stay with her parents, in Guildford, and rented the flat out.

This gave her a taste of freedom and, as travel restrictions eased, she visited the USA and Belize.

Living on the beach opened her eyes to how crowded, noisy, and expensive London can be, and gave her time to rethink her career options.

“I have always been a very keen home cook, and I started a food blog,” she said.

On her return to the UK she headed down to Devon and retrained as a chef.

“I had very rewarding jobs in London but I have always wanted to do something which is creative, and which I could do from anywhere,” she said.

Then, after a stint in London subletting a friend’s flat in Clapham and growing her business, Rosanna was on the move again.

An old friend’s family lives on Mersea Island — which is cut off from the mainland by a thin strip of water and accessible via a Roman causeway — and Rosanna had got to know and love the island.

He and his young family had recently moved home, and he suggested Rosanna might enjoy the peace of island life too.

In January Rosanna, whose London flat is rented out for £1,700 (less management fees and tax), moved into a two bedroom cottage on the island, which costs £800 a month.

She has the cottage until May and is still deciding whether to stay on or try pastures new.

Her new life includes windswept beach walks, astonishingly beautiful sunsets, and meals of freshly caught fish from one or other of the island’s stalls.

“I can’t remember the last time I heard a siren,” she said.

“All you get here is the occasional seagull and sometimes the oystermen going out in the morning. If I was in a relationship I would 100 per cent love to live here. But I do have to factor in dating and proximity to other human beings.”

With that in mind Rosanna is mulling her next move.

“Is it stressful? Absolutely,” she said.

“But it is such a privilege to have the freedom and flexibility to have a choice.”