Paul Tickner’s day begins at the crack of dawn when he springs out of bed before sunrise to start working.
The early start gives him free time during the day to take his dog for a long walk, go for a workout at the gym, or just enjoy some peaceful downtime in his Victorian house.
Over the past three years Paul’s life has changed beyond recognition.
Back in 2020 days began with a (sometimes) bleary tube ride to the office.
Long and stressful working days packed with meetings and conference calls were ended with a return to the compact one bedroom flat in Bermondsey he shared with his husband, David Lucas, and their dog, Ralph.
Paul, 37, and David, 39, were doing fine in London until the pandemic.
David had used Help to Buy to buy their modern apartment in Bermondsey in 2010.
But a decade on the flat was bursting at the seams, particularly when the couple found themselves suddenly working from home.
“It had an open plan kitchen and living room, and that meant that if David was on a call I had to work in the bedroom with the laptop on a chest of drawers,” said Paul, who worked for a PR and advertising agency.
“It was fine for two weeks, but not for months and months.”
Although the couple had a reasonable budget to buy a bigger property they still couldn’t afford a house in Bermondsey.
In fact, when they started looking, they realised the only places they could afford would be in far flung suburbs.
“We knew Brighton very, very well and we realised that it would probably take us the same amount of time to get into London from there,” said Paul.
In June 2020 they sold the flat, for circa £430,000, and paid £700,000 for a three bedroom Victorian terrace in Brighton.
Although the move solved their accommodation issues commuting to work only underlined to Paul the fact that he wasn’t enjoying his work.
As his job title had become more and more impressive he had found himself moving further from the creative side of his job, specialising in digital content and social media, that he loved.
Instead he was meeting clients and managing staff.
“I had a bit of an epiphany when I was walking Ralph on the beach one day,” he said. “I hadn’t been enjoying my job and commuting made it worse.”
Paul decided to quit, and two years ago set up Five Lines, his own copywriting business.
At around the same time he gave up drinking, began sleeping better, and discovered mid way through his thirties that he was a morning person.
Early starts give him flexibility during the day, he relishes the peaceful space he has at home to work in, and is happy to have been freed from office politics and endless meetings.
“Even though work is busy I have a lot more time to appreciate my day,” he said. “Nothing feels stressful.”
David, meanwhile, works in public relations and commutes to London twice a week.
The couple already had some friends in Brighton, and met new people at their gym.
“One thing I do find is that it is less spontaneous here than in London – you have to be organised about booking in to see people, but that isn’t a negative thing, and now I don’t drink I don’t want to go out as much anyway,” he said.
“I know it is cheesy and corny but there is something about living by the ocean that makes your life better.”
