Brexit's Far-Reaching Impact on Ordinary Lives

A sheep farmer, a stockbroker, a radio presenter: AFP spoke to 15 people across Europe whose careers are already impacted by Brexit more than a year before Britain's departure date.

Here is what they had to say about Brexit:

- British voices in the UK -

Pip Simpson, 51, a sheep farmer from Troutbeck in Westmorland, northwest England:

"Since the negotiations have been going on, I feel as though they've tried to make it as awkward as possible so other countries don't see it as an easy option."

Robyn Ada McKay, 20, a bagpiper studying at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow:

"If I want to study in Europe it's definitely going to cause a bit of hassle in regards to visas or study permits or living elsewhere."

Lucy Harris, 27, who founded the Leavers of London social network:

"There's a negative backlash to Leavers, because they want to ascribe a certain stereotype to us, which is we're all racists, bigots and xenophobes, and we're just not."

William Lynch, 63, an oyster farmer on the Northern Irish border near Londonderry, cultivates oysters on both sides for export, chiefly to France:

"A hard border would be totally impossible for me with a Northern Ireland company. There would be tariffs shipping the same oysters out. I will close down the business and open a company in southern Ireland."

Richard Stone, 44, the chief executive of London retail stockbrokers Share:

"It is important that we do a deal, and relatively quickly in terms of clarifying and giving business certainty. I am reasonably optimistic we will get there, but it will be a painful process."

- EU voices in the UK -

Gosia Prochal, 25, a Polish presenter on the community's Radio Star, based in Peterborough, eastern England:

"Since Brexit, it's much more work, because our main mission is to inform people and tell them reliable news. We have many calls, mails and messages with regards to Brexit. People have felt uncertainty since the referendum."

Gabriela Szomoru, 32, a Romanian bookkeeper at a salad farm in Kent, southeast England:

"I do see my future in the UK. England is my home now. I am a good citizen and I deserve to be in England. I would love to get citizenship."

Dimitri Scarlato, 40, an Italian composer and conductor lecturing at the Royal College of Music in London:

"Brexit changed my perception of living in this country. The only positive outcome of Brexit -- I really gained my sense of being European."

Nuria Orduna, 30, a senior design engineer from Barcelona, living in Edinburgh:

"If I have to leave, I can go anywhere else and bring my knowledge to another country. It's more going to be a loss for Britain to lose all of this immigrant knowledge, rather than a gain for us to leave."

Laurent Faure, 50, a wine merchant from France and owner of Le Vieux Comptoir bistrot in central London:

"Our turnover is down by 15 or 20 percent. So we lose our profit margin. If my turnover doesn't cover my costs, I will have to stop. You have to envisage doing something else -- if necessary, leaving England."

- British voices in the EU -

David Rooney, 37, who owns the My Woodie vintage rock bar in Paris:

"Brexit was always going to happen. England is not part of the European Union and always had a bad relationship with the EU. I'm ready to move back to the UK if that's necessary and that's what it takes."

Andrew Ketley, 41, a business intelligence consultant who moved to Munich last year:

"The main impact has been to trigger our permanent departure from the UK. We don't want to live in a country which is tearing itself apart and which is likely to be permanently poorer."

Matt Davies, 32, who works at a call center in Madrid:

"Other people my age, they are starting settling down, they make more long-term plans with their lives, and it's very difficult for me to plan anything beyond March 2019 because you just have no idea what is going to happen."

Barnaby Harward, 44, a law firm language editor, who has lived in Warsaw with his Polish wife since 2005:

"I decided to apply for Polish citizenship last year. Brexit has possibly been a good thing in helping me to decide finally what I'm going to do. Brexit... made me feel that my country is not what I thought it was."

Emily Macintosh, 30, a communications officer at the European Environmental Bureau in Brussels:

"Brexit has affected my personal life because I've applied for Belgian nationality. I want to remain a citizen of the European Union, and I want to ensure I have the same rights I did before Brexit."