Checking-out for good?

Most people who fly out of one of the UK's airports are planning to return within a week or two, but new research has shown that some passengers don't bother coming home at all.

Millions of people head off for holidays and gap years from Gatwick and Heathrow airports but the appeal of living abroad means that many are checking-out for good.

New research by HostelBookers.com revealed that 59 per cent of people who go travelling seriously consider breaking off all ties with the UK and setting up elsewhere.

Reasons behind not wanting to return home include hoping to get a new job, exploring the world and escaping the grim British weather.

David Smith, general manager for HostelBookers.com, said: "The impact that seeing different places and cultures can have on your mind is powerful.

"There's every chance that it will make people think long and hard about what they want to do with their lives and whether the direction they were taking back home was really where they wanted to go."