what does " upped sticks "mean?

[tien-sung]

Lea Woodward upped sticks three years ago for a life on the road - permanently

The above sentence was quoted from today's BBC news.

Could you please tell me what does " upped sticks " mean in this sentence? Thank you.


Tien-sung

From Taiwan

 

[emsr2d2]

Lea Woodward upped sticks three years ago for a life on the road - permanently

The above sentence was quoted from today's BBC news.

Could you please tell me what does " upped sticks " mean in this sentence? Thank you.


Tien-sung

From Taiwan

It means to take all your belongings and move. It doesn't matter if you move to a different house, a different country or to a new lifestyle.

Last year, I upped sticks and moved to Spain.
He's so sick of living in the expensive south of England, he plans to up sticks and move to a small island off the coast of Scotland.

 

[SoothingDave]

I've never heard this in America, though we might say someone "pulled up stakes." (As in tent stakes.)

 

[emsr2d2]

I've never heard this in America, though we might say someone "pulled up stakes." (As in tent stakes.)

Yes, one of the websites I looked at earlier gave the AmE version as "pulled up stakes".