There is an assumption that people like me coming from "shithole countries" are living so much better in the UK and that's why we don't "go home".

Many of us actually downgrade our living standards to fulfil goals, such as better education, supporting family. #TuesdayThoughts

I grew up in a one bed flat in Romania (2 bedrooms as the living room was converted). Nowhere near luxury, but: 1. Did not pay rent (mum owned flat). 2. I had more square meters of living space than I have now. Paying over 50% of your income on rent already changes everything.

The flat was conveniently close to all my activities. This meant I did not pay for public transport to go about my daily life and I walked 15 minutes to school. Now, I commute 2 hours door to door for my work in London, including a 50 minute walk to the station to save money.

My grandma lived in the countryside, grew her own veg, fruit etc. This means that the food we bought in the supermarket was 'topped up' with free, healthy local produce. The tomatoes actually had a real taste and the grapes were not seedless like here, but they were super tasty.

I went to college from 7am to 2pm and then I had a lot of daylight to enjoy. I still enjoy daylight as I work out and about and not always in an office space, but it is much less, and, combining study with work, I do work days that are much longer than 8 hours.

We went on holidays every year, several times, both in Romania and abroad. Since I moved to the UK, I only have one 1 week holiday a year with my partner and that's because we save and I insist we absolutely have to take at least this small break. Less time, but also less money.

So why come and stay in the UK if the quality of life is not much better and if I am not richer? For me, it was education. I, as many other migrant friends, knew it won't be all rosy at least at the beginning. But we see this as a worthwhile investment in our futures.

After coming to study, life happens and things change. Some of my family and friends moved as well, I met my British partner at university (together for over 5 years now), I got work experience, I realised my Romanian vocabulary has not developed since 2012. You decide to stay.

I see patronising replies like "of course you want to stay here, you're from a shithole country" and I cannot help thinking that on average, my quality of life is currently worse than it was in Romania 6 years ago. It's not like I lived in a shed and now I live in a palace.

At the same time, I am grateful for all the experiences that helped me become who I am today, and for the experience studying and working in the UK. Many of us migrants sacrifice various things (personal comfort, relationships, etc.) in the hope of a better distant future.

People have diverse reasons to migrate: study, work, family reunification, etc. There is one thing in common: we all make some sacrifices. For some, life will be better from day 1. Others will need a transition period. Some will end up worse off and often decide to return.

The assumption that we (usually "East Europeans") want to stay here purely because our birth country is a "shithole" in comparison is not only insulting, but also wrong. I could always return to a nicer one bed flat in Romania, have more free time and eat tastier food, but

I choose not to because I value education here and I want to happily live with my British partner. Not because my birth country is "shithole". We'll get our one bed flat in the end after years of work & why not, maybe grow our own fruit and veg like my grandma one day.