The first time I came to Sardinia was as a teacher on an exchange visit. I’d left England in the midst of a cold, grey October, and suddenly I was in the sunshine, by the sea, surrounded by happy children.

A little Italian boy came up to me, bold as brass, and said: “Miss Cathrow, you are beautiful.” I was immediately hooked.

So I moved out here. I went home, packed my bags, and was back in Sardinia within the week. It was dead easy.

Looking back I am astounded how simple it was to make the move.

No forms to fill in, no hassle getting bank accounts, no need for a visa. All I needed was a work contract to prove I had a job. I simply booked a flight, grabbed my passport and left for a new life.

Now I’ve lived here for 10 years, I have a wonderful Italian partner and two beautiful children who are as British as they are Italian.

My life here in Sardinia was made possible by the EU. Without the freedom to up sticks and move for work, coming to Italy would never have felt like an option for me.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my story since the Brexit vote. I fear that young people with the kind of bold, spontaneous dreams I had will get tangled in a mass of red tape if we leave the EU.

This really matters. Thousands of British teachers like me work all over Europe, helping spread British language, culture and values.

I’m a maths teacher, and when my students learn long division and their times tables, they learn them in English. When you ask them where they want to go on their holidays or work when they grow up, the UK is always near the top of their list.

I think it’s brilliant that there’s so much love for the UK and knowledge about its language in my corner of Italy, and I’m proud to do my bit to encourage that.

And for every European child who benefits from having an English teacher, there are kids in British schools benefiting from the thousands of European teachers who come back the other way.

We need more French, Spanish and German teachers in British schools enabling our children to experience the thrill of communicating in a foreign language.

And Britain is in the midst of a teacher recruitment crisis. Making it easy for foreign teachers to work here is crucial if we’re going to solve that problem and get more talented teachers into our education system.

When teachers move freely around Europe, everyone wins. Vacant teaching posts are filled, economies benefit, young people like me get to explore the world, and most importantly of all, children across Europe learn languages and experience new cultures.

This is all underpinned by the EU. Whether you’re in Kendal or Sardinia, we all have the same opportunity to move freely to find work. I think that’s an amazing and precious right, and it makes me incredibly sad to think we might lose it.

I believe we should have a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal. The UK is going to be worse off in so many ways if we leave; we weren’t given all the facts in the referendum, and now we have a better picture and a fuller view.

I’ve made my home in Sardinia. My family flies back and forth between here and the UK without a second thought. Just as tens of thousands of teachers do all over Europe. The European Union made this possible, the movement of teachers across Europe benefits all of us, it’s a tragedy if we lose that.

Amy Cathrow attended Queen Katherine’s School in Kendal and now teaches at the Chatterbox English School in Sardinia