"Have you ever packed your luggage but?"
It was a joke from a colleague on the morning of the Brexit vote in 2016, however it left Julius Gunevičius questioning.
“I laughed on the time," he mentioned. "However then I got here dwelling and thought: is that how they suppose? Ought to I pack my luggage?
“Ultimately we did.”
Julius, who's 33 and has labored in London as a chartered accountant for 14 years, is among the 46,600 Lithuanians who've come dwelling because the 2016 Brexit vote.
The variety of Lithuanian returnees from the UK greater than doubled between 2017 to 2020, in response to figures printed by Lithuania’s Migration Info Centre.
‘We can't complain’
“I've by no means appeared again,” mentioned Julius who returned to Lithuania final yr along with his spouse Vaida and seven-year-old son Benas.
“It has labored out a lot better than what we have been anticipating.”
Julius was “prepared to take the financial hit” of shedding greater than half of his revenue again in Lithuania simply to be along with his family members.
“I'm an enormous household man,” he mentioned. “It's wonderful for us to be collectively once more. We're again on a social community that's actually essential to us.”
Watching different returnees take pleasure in a greater high quality of life again dwelling inspired Julius to make the “tough choice.”
“We noticed a great deal of folks do the identical and be very, very glad.
“It impressed us.”
His basketball workforce in London, which was made up of Japanese Europeans, modified the identify of its Whatsapp group to ‘Evacuate the UK’ because of the excessive quantity of people that have been leaving.
Nonetheless, there have been many issues Julius missed in regards to the UK, significantly its multiculturalism.
“It’s the little issues, the creature comforts. Close to our home was a French bakery the place we introduced sourdough, Chinese language eating places with correct Peking duck and naturally, fish and chips.
“We had an excellent life.”
He couldn't discover something that “got here shut” in Lithuania, regardless of looking for greater than six months.
‘Not the identical Lithuania’
But others confronted extra severe challenges coming dwelling.
“Alongside paperwork, pension and taxes, there have been so many issues to consider,” mentioned Dovydas Petrošius, 35, a self-described “pioneer of the remigration to Lithuania".
“I actually struggled to adapt to life again in Lithuania.”
Such have been Dovydoas’s difficulties that he based ‘Eks Emigrantai, an organisation serving to Lithuanian emigres return dwelling.
Now he says greater than 70% of their enquiries are from Lithuanians who need to go away the UK, a lot of whom have lived there for many years.
One of many fundamental issues for Lithuanians coming dwelling Dvoydas discovered working at Eks Emigranti was that “quite a bit had modified” since they left.
“Many individuals have romantic notions of what Lithuania is like,” he mentioned. “They've this concept of their minds that life might be improbable, however usually most people they knew have left to different nations or now have their very own lives.
“Life strikes on,” he added.
‘Our considering and appreciation of the world is completely different’
One other issue for returnees was that British tradition had left its mark on them.
“Individuals come dwelling, however quickly realise they've created a brand new life and new emotions again within the UK, '' says Dovydas. “They miss a tradition which was extra acceptable for them than Lithuania’s.”
He added: “When you lived in London, the place there’s quite a lot of motion, you may come again to Lithuania and really feel that large distinction, there’s not a lot occurring right here.
“It’s an enormous shock.”
Dovydas knew a number of returnees from the UK who weren't pleased with their lives again in Lithuania and had already left for nations like Spain.
“You are inclined to miss your nation, however these emotions final just for a short while,” he mentioned.
‘These coming dwelling have their toes below the desk’
And these returnees are having an “overwhelmingly optimistic” affect on Lithuania.
“Many returned Lithuanians are establishing new companies and implementing concepts they've seen within the UK,” says Arminas Jurgaits of the Worldwide Organisation for Migration in Vilnius. “Returnees are extra open-minded and tolerant.
“They slowly however absolutely change the overall angle in society,” he added.
However, Jurgaits believed this exodus from the UK finally displays the altering fortunes of Lithuania.
“Individuals need entry to housing, schooling, well being, jobs, a secure surroundings, the flexibility to specific themselves and do what they like,” he mentioned.
“These days, returnees can discover all this stuff in Lithuania and the standard of life has improved considerably,” he added.
Dovydas seconded this: “There isn't a motive to go for the higher life when you may have the identical circumstances right here.”
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