Careers and moving abroad
Unless you are moving for your job or are independently wealthy (lucky you), figuring out how your career translates to another country and culture is a pretty important part of moving abroad.
For our big move to England next year, things are a little fuzzy career-wise.
After being laid off last year, my husband started his own business. It wasn’t something we planned, but now it’s going really well. Like my husband says, “Of course, now I’m having the best professional moment of my life.” As in, of course, we’re about to move when he’s in the middle of building a successful nascent business.
He wants to continue running the business after the move, so he’s going to try operating in both the US and the UK. I’m so excited for him and proud of all he’s doing. Being self-employed is scary (what if it doesn’t work out??), but it’s also so rewarding - no job searches, no commute times, no bosses.
He’s nervous about starting over. Here, he has a big network and understands some niche industries inside and out. The UK is more of a question mark. He’s starting talking to a few people, meeting potential contractors and reacquainting himself with his home country after a decade away. I’m confident he’ll do great, and at the very least, we won’t have to rely on my job for health insurance (yay, NHS!).
But what am I going to do? Can I retire yet?
As for me, I’m one of those pandemic office workers who was sent home and never returned. I’m lucky enough to have a full-time remote tech job, and I love it. Similar to my husband, of course, now is the best professional time of my life - and I’m about to throw it away for the unknown.
But that’s okay. By the time we move next year, I’ll have been in this job for four years, which is the longest I’ve stayed in one role maybe ever, so I’m guessing I’ll be ready for a change by then.
I’m really hoping to take some time off, honestly. With both of us working full time and taking care of kids full time, I’m feeling really burnt out. I’d love to take six months off to help get our family adjusted after the move (maybe do some freelance if it comes my way), then find a part-time job or a job share where I can make some money and meet some people, but also pick up kiddos from school and take care of everything else too.
Moving in the middle of your career versus early career
I feel more confident with this move and our careers than other times we moved when I was younger.
Now, I have a specific skill set, a good resume (ahem, “CV” in England), and I know who I am. Sure, that wisdom comes with age, and I am worried about ageism as I rapidly approach 40. But there’s not much I can do about that, except maybe Botox?
When we made big moves before, I was in my 20s and early 30s. I didn’t have a career yet or even know what I wanted to do. I had a string of terrible jobs and felt lost about it all. (But maybe that’s what your 20s is supposed to be about?) I remember one time I had this very lonely, poorly paid job and was working with a recruiter to find a new job, and she sent me a furniture salesman position. That was a low point. I was trying to be this super cool graphic designer, and the job that was my best match was furniture sales?
So, hopefully I’m past all that now. But I guess you never know. The important thing I keep reminding myself, as both my husband and I upend our very successful professional lives, is that we want to make this move. We want to raise our kids in England. We don’t want to wait another 10 years or never do it and always wonder, “What if?” And that is worth taking a leap into the unknown.
