Rising living costs 'pushing people away from Guernsey'

Bill Gantley said cost of living was the biggest barrier in planning for retirement in Guernsey

Rising living costs are pushing people to look at leaving Guernsey.

Bill and Zoe Gantley ran a craft shop at Oatlands Village for 19 years, but said moving to England was their only option if they wanted to retire and buy a property.

They currently rent and said buying and retiring in the bailiwick was something they could not afford.

"When we looked at the UK and the costs, it was a no-brainer really - it's so much cheaper," said Mr Gantley.

He said: "We looked at our options and the major expense of living on an island; we looked at our budget and came to the conclusion we couldn't afford to retire on Guernsey."

Mr Gantley said cost of living was the biggest barrier: "We rent our house, so we needed to buy to retire and settle, there was just no way.

"Even though we've run a successful business for a number of years, we never managed to reach that milestone of being able to buy."

Dan and Laura Meinke, who have taken on the business, were planning to leave the island so they could afford a home big enough to raise a family, only changing their minds when the opportunity to buy the craft business came up.

Dan Meinke said the cost of housing and living had meant considering moving away from the island he was born on

Mr Meinke, who runs several businesses in Guernsey, said: "We love Guernsey dearly - we are born and bred here.

"But the trouble is, with the cost of living and the cost of housing going up, we talked about the idea of leaving the island.

"If you want a house with a garden and parking now, you're looking at half a million - it's a real struggle."

With the government looking to introduce a goods and service tax (GST), he said it could push more people off-island, which "would be a real shame as the cost of living for my generation and the next generation is really difficult".

"People like us were looking to leave the island, there are many, many more of them.

"GST is only going to add to that problem, adding costs to everything and impacting the lowest earners," he said.

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