A woman quit her high-flying £64k a year corporate job due to burnout and moved more than 9,000 miles across the world to work as a waitress.<br /><br />Tara Franks, 29, quit her senior corporate job in January 2023 after being so burned out she fell ill while delivering a presentation.<br /><br />She lost the ability to speak and see and said it was a "turning point" and after two weeks of returning to work Tara resigned.<br /><br />She had burnout - a state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion.<br /><br />Tara and her boyfriend, James Thomas, 29, both ditched their corporate life and used £18k savings to travel and move abroad.<br /><br />After travelling around South East Asia for four months, the pair landed in Cairns. Australia.<br /><br />After two months of travelling, they settled down in Melbourne.<br /><br />But instead of going back into their previous careers they both found jobs in hospitality and Tara now earns $32 an hour on a weekday, $36 on a Saturday and $42 on a Sunday.<br /><br />Tara and James are planning to extend their visa and carry on living in Australia and have no plans to return to the UK - or get back into the corporate world.<br /><br />Tara, a restaurant host, originally from Wirral, Merseyside, said: "As I hit 27/28 I was like 'shit'.<br /><br />"I was at a point in my career where things were going really well and I didn't have a reason to leave.<br /><br />"I had shares in the company and if I had stayed another year I would have made a profit - I lost money leaving.<br /><br />"I even spoke to work about starting up an office in Australia but it was too complicated.<br /><br />"November 2022 was when everything changed - I went off with burnout.<br /><br />"I was giving a presentation and I lost my sight and ability to speak.<br /><br />"They had to call an ambulance and I spent three days in hospital."<br /><br />Tara started working for a start-up HR tech company in 2018 and progressed up the company ladder and moved to their London office.<br /><br />After five years she was in a senior position at the company earning £64k a year.<br /><br />Tara said: "A lot of my friends were jumping from job to job at the time and I had been at the company for five and a half years.<br /><br />"I had the most amazing friends and manager but it meant I didn't realise the signs of burnout."<br /><br />In November 2022, Tara was delivering a presentation at work where she lost her sight and was unable to speak.<br /><br />She was taken to St Thomas Hospital, where she spent 12 hours before being taken to Homerton University Hospital, London where she spent three days.<br /><br />Tara said: "They thought I had a stroke but it turned out to be a crazy stress episode.<br /><br />"I was then off for a month. I returned to work in January 2023 but handed my notice in after two weeks."<br /><br />At first, she said her family didn't believe her travelling plans but the pair set off in May 2023.<br /><br />She said: "They were super super supportive. My dad didn't believe me until I booked the flights.<br /><br />"Everyone was super supportive and we had about five leaving parties before I left.
