I ditched UK for sunshine state and now earn triple my salary – it's that good I even left my wife & son back in Britain

The Sun

05-07-2025

STUCK feeling like his money was going nowhere in the UK with a rising cost of living and dreary prospects - Previn Diwakar made a decision that would shock those close to him.
He decided he would leave his wife Lisa, 51, and son Oscar, 15, at their home in Shrewsbury - and head abroad for a better life where he could triple his salary and live the high life.
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Dr Diwakar, originally from Glasgow, choose Saudi Arabia, the trillionaire state fast attracting professionals despite being accused of living in the dark ages by the West.
The British radiologist - who has worked in Canterbury, Liverpool, Manchester and Cardiff - moved to Riyadh last year after 25 years in the NHS, choosing it over its more 'relaxed' ruled neighbour the UAE.
He now says he earns triple his salary with no income tax, lives in an stylish 3-bedroom apartment, which is mostly paid for by his work.
He has a free gym, pool and steam room in the block - and he also drives at Tesla Model 3, with free charging ports avaliable and the car also being half paid for by his hospital.
The lure of the salary boost was so great for the family - he moved while leaving his wife Lisa & son Oscar decided to stay back in the UK.
Dr Diwakar explained he was tired of constantly working harder in Britain but feeling no benefits as cost of living continues to climb.
And said even with the lack of alcohol - he still gets to enjoy events such as football and live music.
He also defended his decision to swap to Saudi - which while opening up to the West, still continues to have a bloody human rights record.
It is estimated up to 300,000 Brits visit Saudi Arabia yearly - and there are around 30,000 UK expats living in the kingdom.
And Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been the driving force behind a massive campaign to open up the country and attract Westerners.
Meet the 'Neom' WAGS – the Brit TikTok housewives of Saudi living it up in desert luxury while husbands build $1tn mega city
From luring in top sports stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and relaxing some of the nation's traditional laws, Riyadh launched Saudi Vision 2030 back in 2016 - a £3trillion scheme to modernise the nation.
Mega projects planned including ambitions of the world's tallest skyscraper, an enormous new high tech city, and 15 new stadiums ahead of the 2034 World Cup.
Dr Diwakar told The Sun: 'There was a very real sense that over the previous 10 years or so I was working harder and harder but seeing no improvement in my salary or quality of living.
'With the rise in living costs in the UK and punitive tax rules I couldn't see my quality of life for me or my family improving by staying put.
'It was like I was running to stand still. While initially drawn to the UAE, having visited there many times over the years, I became drawn to Saudi after seeing the opportunities here and that it offered me the authentic cultural and social experiences I was seeking which the UAE simply doesn't.'
Now he says he earns roughly three and half times more than he did in the UK, with Saudi imposing no income tax on his earnings.
His wife, Lisa Diwakar, and son, Oscar, remain in the UK but he manages to see them often thanks to generous annual leave.
And his wife Lisa says while she misses him, when the meet up it makes all the time together that much more special.
She said the family have had to adapt to a new way of living and working.
Lisa said: "Being a working mum in the UK and wife to a husband working in Saudi requires careful planning to ensure we get to get to spend quality time together as a family.
"We communicate daily and the physical distance has taught us to plan ahead and look forward to quality times we spend together.
"This has been an important life lesson for me, I'm more organised and I always have something to look forward to, my husband coming home, me going to visit him or our family meeting somewhere to spend a holiday together.
"We don't feel the geographical distance, we simply feel the lack of presence, that never leaves you but it does mean that when we are together it's so special."
A keen football fan, he regularly goes to football games including Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League.
He passes time with other expats drinking coffee, visiting art galleries, malls, restaurants and watching his club Liverpool at a supporters club run by locals.
Previn was a season ticket holder and went to as many games as possible when he lived in England and still attends matches when he's visiting.
Last month he went to WWE Smackdown, costing him only £14, with fans decked out in wrestling outfits.
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He added: 'Football was a massive eye-opener for me. I have very in-depth knowledge of what the English and European games are like, but I had no idea what the Saudi Pro League was like.
'So when I was out here I asked various colleagues and they said football's huge out here.
'I thought, well, in England it's quite difficult to get tickets, isn't it? But it's not difficult to get tickets out here. The tickets aren't expensive either.
'You're probably spending maybe £10 to £15 pounds maximum for a decent seat. I was pretty near the pitch side and I went with my family, with my wife and son."
The doctor said the stadium's atmosphere was even comparable to major European games he's been to.
He said: 'The stadium was pretty crowded. It wasn't as huge as the European stadiums but there was a really good atmosphere and certainly like European games there's one end of the stadium that had the so-called Ultras there, the banging the drums and creating a lot of atmosphere.
'There certainly was an atmosphere when I went to see an Al-Nassr game with Ronaldo and Sadio Mane.
'The team they were playing against was Al Riyadh, which is a comparatively less well-known team outside Saudi.
'So you would think with Ronaldo and Mane playing, this is just going to be a walkover, it's going to be one-sided. It wasn't. It was quite a competitive game, they won but only just.'
Saudi is a dry country and remains adamant it will be alcohol free during the 2034 World Cup set to be held there, with booze prohibited under Islamic laws .
But Diwakar says he doesn't miss it and has noticed no impact at events.
He added: 'The atmosphere at WWE is incredible. There's all the chanting, there's the dancing, people wearing T-shirts and dressing up, it is as mental as anything in the UK or in Europe.
'I don't think the lack of alcohol makes any impact on the atmosphere in these events whether it's a concert, WWE or live sport.
'There were lots of people wearing WWE outfits to mimic their favourite wrestlers. They had imitation belts because John Cena was there.
"They were dressed up like Cena with the crazy hats, big foam fingers they were pointing at him.
'I was shocked actually because when I go to Anfield, when you hear all the singing and everything like that, that's what it is. But you don't expect it out here.
'How you feel about living in a dry country may depend a lot upon the stage of your life you're at.
'In the UK I may go and see friends at the pub, or at football I might have a drink, but at this stage in my life I'm not a heavy drinker.
'Particularly with my job, I never drank during the week, maybe a glass of wine with my meal at the weekend but that was it.
'Since I've been out here I haven't missed it at all."
Some expats are keen to share their lives in Saudi - including a raft of Brits who are sharing their lifestyles online.
A dozen now- influencers - most with young children - made the move months or even years ago as their husbands landed various jobs working for Saudi projects.
Another Brit expat, who asked not to be named, swapped the UK for Saudi at the age of 23 and now works as an account executive in Riyadh.
There he shares an apartment with another British expat, passing time with padel, art galleries and football with other expats.
He's a fan of MDLBEAST, a series of festivals held in Riyadh and has attracted artists including A$AP Rocky, Calvin Harris and Guns N' Roses.
There, he says you'll see things you 'wouldn't expect to see'.
The expat told The Sun: 'There were things you would not expect to see at a Saudi music festival.
'They sold non-alcoholic beer for example. It was predominantly young lads, I didn't really see many women.
'They obviously weren't gangsters, but a lot of the men were wearing balaclavas, emulating Reading festival or something.
'There was a lot of music you might think men wouldn't be interested in here. So Jason Derulo was packed, they knew his lyrics."
A$AP Rocky's set was full of expletives with the crowd singing along to all the lyrics.
Diwakar compared its significance to the UK's Glastonbury, although he hasn't managed to go yet. He wants to attend at some point, and has set his sights on the Jeddah GP next year.
Saudi Arabia has gone on an aggressive spending spree in recent years and it seeks to modernise the nation, particularly in sport.
In addition to names like Ronaldo heading to Saudi PL, the world's best golfers including John Rahm play in LIV Golf for eye-popping sums.
Some have accused the nation, a dictatorship, of doing so to wash its image.
And alongside these projects, there is also a raft of Saudi influencers who share their lifestyles in the kingdom.
The Saudi government are keen to clean up the kingdom's image.
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But Diwakar says the nation is fast evolving and change is embraced by locals.
He said: 'It's very important to remember where this country has come from in an incredibly short period of time.
'It's 2025 now and eight years ago was at the start of these reforms.
'If you think of where we are now, I'm sitting in a lovely little cafe bakery here, crowded with men and women together.
'That wouldn't have been possible 10 years ago. So the social change and the infrastructure has changed a lot.
'As each year goes by, particularly as we accelerate through to 2030, some things will start changing and adapting.'
He added: 'Western perception is that people don't feel comfortable talking about this country or politics and I don't think that's true.
'Everybody I've spoken to has been pretty good, they've been pretty open, no less so than in the UK.
'Of course you don't get demonstrations on the street. But I think when you speak to people, universally people have welcomed the changes that they have made.
'Like the fact that you can come to a coffee shop and you see groups of girls together, or going for non-alcoholic drinks."
Saudi's most draconian laws
By James Moules
THE most infamous case of Saudi Arabia's draconian laws is that of Raif Badawi - a blogger who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for "insulting Islam".
The Arab Kingdom still enforces the death penalty - in 2022, 196 people were executed. And on March 12 that year, 81 people were executed in one single day.
Women and girls still face discrimination in regard to the law. The male guardianship act was enshrined into law in 2022, and means that women must have a "male legal guardian".
The Arab Kingdom consistently cracks down on the press, controlling domestic media and jailing journalists for a variety of "crimes". Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 by agents of the Saudi government.
LGBT rights are not legally recognised in the country. They are labelled as "extremist ideas", with public displays of affection between couples outlawed.
Protests and demonstrations are also illegal. Those who defy this ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.