Inspiring Escape Stories | 12 years of Escape the City

12 years ago, when Escape began, escaping the city felt it had to be, at times, a little more abstract. The escape could be from a particular job, boss, culture or industry, but it was a little harder for the dramatic transformation possible now. Leaving the glass tombs of corporate life for a beach in Portugal or an outdoor job in Cornwall felt more like a fantasy.

We were still locked into our commutes, pushed between bodies and limbs on trains, surrounded by hundreds of eyes and managing to avoid all of them. You knew someone who knew someone who worked from home, but your jealousy was tapered with a little suspicion. 

This isn’t to say that abstract escapes weren’t just as powerful. Leaving an empty corporate job (that made you want to avoid even your own eye contact) for a company whom you cared about and cared about you is still the height of an inspirational story. Just as leaving a role to start your own business that sought to protect a part of the world that matters to you is life-changing.

Living in an education and work culture that can be so prescriptive, demands so much compliance, only increases the number of ways that we can escape it. There are as many routes out as there are in. 

The ways in which we are able to escape has grown, as we are able to demonstrate in our very own team. Hilary, our Head of Marketing worked for months out of a van she renovated herself, moving around the south of Spain and Portugal and in March will be moving to Panama for a few months! Jake, our Account Manager, works from Ericeira in Portugal and is regularly on the beach with his dog Kaku at lunchtime. Dom, our co-founder is currently working from the skiing town of Chamonix at the base of Mont-Blanc, and I (Tim) am writing to you from Granada, Spain. 

We have arrived at a period of history where flexibility and purpose are becoming baked into our employment system. However, it can take a while for these realities to penetrate our thinking, for us to truly see the landscape of possibility that has opened before us. We can still move around like we are in the old world. 

We’re here to remind you of just what is possible.

Here are a few stories to provide you with inspiration and a little push to try and make your dreams of escaping into a reality. We have stories of people who embraced their passion for the ocean and moved to Cornwall, we have lawyers becoming Ed-Tech founders, and consulting jobs being left for beach houses in Malawi. 

If you have an inspiring story of how you escaped the corporate world we would love to hear from you. It is quite literally why we get up in the morning. Send them to tim@escapethecity.org

ADRIAN’S STORY - SOUL DESTROYING CONSULTING TO MEANINGFUL WORK IN MALAWI

Adrian was scared, but with help from Escape he quit his tiresome consulting job for a beach house and non-profit work in Malawi.

PRIYA’S STORY - INVESTMENT BANKER TO PURPOSEFUL CAREER

Priya had a successful career in investment banking before joining the MovingWorlds Institute and beginning her journey to working for a philanthropic community who remove barriers in education, business and government.

MADDY’S STORY - FROM TOURISM MARKETING TO COPYWRITER

Maddy moved from tourism marketing to creating her own side hustle, starting a portfolio, and landing a creative copywriting role.

BELLA’S STORY - MY ESCAPE FROM CITY TO SEA

Just before the pandemic Bella moved back to the UK from San Diego, and was unwilling to give up her beach lifestyle. Read how she found her ideal job in Cornwall.

ARIANA’S STORY - FROM HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER TO EDTECH FOUNDER

Ariana left behind her job as a UN lawyer to re-invent what a successful career and life meant to her, pursuing her dream of becoming an Ed-tech founder.

KATIE’S STORY - THE PUSH THAT ENDED IN THE BEST KIND OF SHOVE

After 15 years in recruitment, Katie was made redundant, which turned out to be exactly the push she needed to make her creative ideas a reality.

Find your own escape route with us here

If you have your own escape story from Escape the City, we'd love to hear it! Send it to tim@escapethecity.org