Thinking about leaving the UK

[Zero999]

Also consider renting a shared accommodation during the week and going back home at the weekend. Perhaps buying a camper van is an option.

I can't imagine living like that.... is that a thing in the UK ? 

It's a thing in a lot of places. Even Canada.

Yes. There are plenty of people who live an work in an expensive large town or city during the week and go home to a nice rural area to see their family at weekends. Shared accommodation can be cheep, but it's probably a good idea to avoid living with students who'll play loud music and party late.  Living in a van is more common, at least during the week, to avoid expensive rents. You go home at the weekend to wash your clothes and have a proper shower. Be careful about where you choose to park up. You could also take your bicycle with you and leave the van a mike or two away from work and cycle to work. That way no one you work with will know.

[coppice]

Also consider renting a shared accommodation during the week and going back home at the weekend. Perhaps buying a camper van is an option.

I can't imagine living like that.... is that a thing in the UK ? 

Whether or not you are aware of it, its pretty much a thing everywhere. A lot of people work on short term things, and that's a problem, unless you have a large pool of potential clients within commuting distance. You either live in some form of mobile home, or have a permanent home and a lot of temporary weekday ones. I've known people who arranged their weeks as three 12 or 13 hour working days on site somewhere, then 4 days off back home, and did that for years. These days a more hybrid work from home some days, and work at a remote site on other days kind of scheme is probably getting more common. However, some of those people are doing things like installations, refits. trials, etc. where working from home is not an option.