An the cost of living crisis and soaring fuel prices, many are worried about the numbers they will see on their energy bills this winter.

Although each household’s annual energy bill will be capped at £2,500 following a pledge by new Prime Minister Liz Truss, the country will still see an increase in October from the current cap of £1,971. Thus, households will pay about double what they paid in March for electricity and gas.

If the monthly energy bill of £97 for a double bedroom apartment to reach £194, which is only pushing the upper end of the government ceiling (which equates to £208 per month), this will put severe strain on the finances of the occupier.

A travel agency, TravelTime World, recently launched a “The Heat is On” campaign, urging travelers to take long-term vacations this winter to ease the cost of living. He estimated that Britons could live on around £20 a day in some destinations, in a bid to prove that holidays aren’t just a luxury – in some places it could actually save you money.

So, could it be more affordable to escape the UK, avoid winter fuel costs and live cheaper abroad?

How much could I save by staying abroad?

Those who are able to get out of rental properties for a few months will get the best deal here. Although landlords can lock up, turn off appliances, and notify utility providers that they’ll be away for a month or two, your bill won’t go down to zero if you have a meter and an energy provider. However, you will make significant savings.

Those able to get out of a rental contract – or landlords able to let their accommodation short-term – and spend up to two or three months abroad this winter could save hundreds, if not thousands. of people.

In July, the average UK rent outside London hit a record high of £1,126 per calendar month, while the average rent inside the capital rose to £2,257. This equates to between £37.50 and £75.23 per night that we spend on a roof over our heads in any given 30 day period – before you even manage to increase your utility bills. ‘energy.

For comparison, you can buy a one-bed apartment in Valencia, Spain from £1,145 for the whole month of November, or £38 per night without worrying about energy bills. Or you can rent a one-bed holiday apartment in Faro, Portugal for just £671 for the same period, or just £22.36 per night accommodation.

These are based on the cheapest listings for these locations on Airbnb, booked two months in advance – the rental website’s monthly booking discount is a big help here, giving you between 5 and 50 % off when you stay at a property for 28 days or longer.

Vacation apartments are even cheaper than they look because you are not responsible for utility bills during your stay. So by staying in the Faro apartment you not only save £455 per month on the average non-London rent in the UK, but hundreds more on utility bills such as gas, electricity and the water.

What are the other benefits of fleeing for the winter?

In addition to being without bills, you would be less chilly: the average daily temperature in Valencia in November is 13°C compared to 7°C in London, with an average of 16°C in Faro.

As for the cost of living, with bills removed, your budget will need to cover food and drink, fuel or transport, basic necessities, restaurants and entertainment – ​​all of which would be cheaper in these places, with consumer prices estimated by Numbeo this year to be 23.53% lower in Spain than in the UK and 39.74% lower in Portugal.

Taking these price cuts into account, if your monthly household expenses after rent or mortgage and utility bills are typically £2,000, your cost of living in Spain would be around £470 per month. month cheaper, while in Portugal you would save over £795 per month. . Of course, you’ll pay for your flight and any transportation to and from the airport, so factor that into your savings calculations.

I don’t like Europe in winter. Where else could I go?

Factoring in a more expensive flight, you could rent an apartment in a more distant city with better weather, lower rent, and an even cheaper cost of living.

Fly to Bangkok, Thailand (from £638 return for a connecting flight in November, at the time of writing) and a modern one-bed Airbnb apartment will set you back from £339 a month, bills understood. The cost of living in Thailand is also less than half of what it is in the UK – 54.77% lower, according to Numbeo.

This means you could save up to £1,095 per month (based on the £2,000 cost of living assumption detailed above), and travelers will of course get the best deal on vitamin D here too ‒ the average temperature in Thailand in November is 28C, with a mix of hot sunshine and brief periods of rain.

In Europe, post-Brexit, Britons can visit for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. So, if you haven’t been to a European country in the last six months, you can stay in Spain or Portugal for almost three calendar months. . Meanwhile, in Thailand, you can stay up to 30 days without a visa and then apply on the ground for an extension for another 30 days.

The longer you leave, the more the cost of the flight will be on your total “winter abroad” expenses. Go to Thailand for up to 60 days and you pay £319 a month to and from, but save over £1,000 a month on living after rent.

Other remote and cheap cities include Cape Town (consumer prices 50.75% lower than London; Brits can stay for up to 90 days for tourism purposes); Mexico City or Tulum (consumer prices 37.91% lower than London; stay up to 180 days with a Mexico Tourist Card); and Morocco (consumer prices 52.06% lower than London; Brits can stay up to three months).