View Full Version : A fresh start?
Has anyone ever done this or thought about it seriously?
To what extreme did you or would you do it?
Sell everything, new career, new home....new country even??
Is it about being a failure and giving up or being brave to do this sort of thing?
As in quit your job, go for a holiday and move to another country you mean?
No..... but I'm thinking about it now, as you've said it!!!! :lol:
Well, considering a purchase of a house in Italy, learning the lingo....
You don't count Tony, you're on probation from Her Maj's Prison Aussie.
antonye
09-Dec-2004, 16:12
Originally posted by jpmercer
No..... but I'm thinking about it now, as you've said it!!!! :lol:
Lol! Lily either appears to be the master of subtle persuasion or she's been dropping some seriously big hints lately!
Seriously though, yes I've thought about it often and have to admit that maybe later on it's something that we, as a family, may well do. It's only the family ties that keep us where we are at the moment, and I'd have no problem in moving somewhere (anywhere) I didn't know as I've done it plenty of times before, but only in this country.
Was within a phone call of doing that 2 years back. Meaning: all possessions in storage, pack a suitcase and move to the u.s.
Don't really know what stopped me. Actually I do, but that's a different story!
beancounter
09-Dec-2004, 16:31
Lily, you've been getting awfully philosophical lately.
Anything up ?
Originally posted by antonye
Originally posted by jpmercer
No..... but I'm thinking about it now, as you've said it!!!! :lol:
Lol! Lily either appears to be the master of subtle persuasion or she's been dropping some seriously big hints lately!
antonye... i don't think he would be taking me with him.... :):P
I gave up on hints with Fred a long time ago :lol:
Originally posted by beancounter
Lily, you've been getting awfully philosophical lately.
Anything up ?
Philosophical.... :lol:
hmmm, well Fred always says i 'think too much' so maybe :)
Just wondering about people's experiences really.
So... would you consider a career change or just a job change?
Would you tell people what you were doing ot where you were going or just surprise them?
Well, here's what I did:
Ange and I hadn't been outside Aus before (unless you count Tasmania?) but decided to move to London. So I quite my job, Ange's parents came to look after the kids and Ange and I went on a holiday. Thailand, Italy, France and then to London.
I got myself some cheap accomodation and started job hunting. Ange went back to sort out the rest of the house stuff, sell the car etc. Got my first contract within 3 weeks so 2.5 mths later Ange and the kids came over and we settled in London. Been here since April 2002.
Now I want a career change and have started looking into equities markets, specifically technical analysis of markets at the moment. Ordered some more books on techniques etc .... would love to work from home and trade for myself for a while.
I would love to do something outside though, SCUBA instructor, offshore fishing charter etc ...
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by tp-996]
It'd be fun to just go, then send all yourfamily and friends a change of address card... spehly if it's another country!
So lily, you're not considering leaving us are you?
bradders
09-Dec-2004, 16:51
kind of did a couple of years ago...left a 30k plus retail managers job for a 18k sales rep, took me a couple of years to get the ££ back but I now have weekends, bank holidays and flexible time!! Well worth it.
Also, been trying to persuade my better half that we should move to NZ (so tempted just to apply and see what happens). Doing a degree course at the mo so, when I qualify, I can make a final decision to up and go or stay and change career completely - next 3 or 4 yrs should be fun!
wow, thats pretty off the cuff i guess.
I contemplate the career change, but not certain if any of the things i fancy would pay me enough money...
I came pretty close to moving to Aus a few years back, but some of the teechnicalities of the contract put me off. Glad i didn't go now, but still wonder where it wouldn have taken me if i had.
Originally posted by Lily
I came pretty close to moving to Aus a few years back, but some of the teechnicalities of the contract put me off. Glad i didn't go now, but still wonder where it wouldn have taken me if i had.
Probably to Australia :D
We'll go back there one day ... when that is I don't know.
Tony, you oughta come down sarf and do some scuba instructing - plenty of good diving areas around here. Or buy a Sunseeker and charter it out?
JUST DO IT!!!!! you know you Wanna""mav
Well, I've got some courses and a lot more dives to log if I was to become a DiveMaster.
But it's not practical. It's not going to pay me what I get now, it would be time consuming doing whilst still contracting. And it's cold :D
I nearly went in on a yacht in the Whitsunday's, 60 footer that was kitted out with a bunch of rods, a dive compressor etc ... but we came over here.
bradders
09-Dec-2004, 17:06
doesnt always work out tho - member of my family wanted his own business for 30 years, finally did it 2 years ago with another guy, went well until 6m ago, now on verge of losing both their fully paid for homes:( and this is a industry he has been in all his working life!
Yeah money is always a factor. I could head south, stay in the same career and get paid more, but i doubt it would make me happy.
Or I could move to California and do something totally different.... :eureka:
bradders
09-Dec-2004, 17:11
Originally posted by Lily
Yeah money is always a factor. I could head south, stay in the same career and get paid more, but i doubt it would make me happy.
possibly...not anything like always the case. And the cost of housing, living etc is far higher than (most) places in the north. I know of many who work for my company who located north and cannot afford to come south again - and if they have the same role as me they get paid the same wherever they live/work!
I'm on my 3rd re-incarnation.
Depends upon the person, how "flexible" you and what your skills are.
Go now and enjoy, as long as you're young free and single get on with it.
Some trades are in demand, others less so.
I'm 40 and finding everso less likely that it'll happen again in the same way.
If you're hankering after a change you owe it to yourself to go-do. Else you'll for ever wonder what your lot would really have been like.
Tim
I agree - I was an electronics technician in the Oz Army. Then I was in IT in the Oz Army. Then I was in IT in the public sector in Oz, then I moved over her to do it ...
A few changes there ... and I'm 29.
its not reality for me, just came up in conversation in work after having a moan about the job etc and what else we would do.
People always come out with bold sayings about their great plans, but very few people actually follow them through.
I moved to a new area, changed jobs and bought a bike and that was scary enough for me for now!
Originally posted by jpmercer
29?
PMSL :lol:
Honest, I am! I've been 29 for 6 weeks or so now!
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by tp-996]
Originally posted by tp-996
Honest, I am! I've been 29 for 6 years or so now!
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by tp-996]
Exactly!;)
:lol:
You're just jealous!
....Yeah one day when I am old I hope I age as well as you ;)
Originally posted by jpmercer
.... one day when I am old ....
:puzzled::puzzled::puzzled:
suggesting you are not now then???
How old is he Lily?
Cards on the table, how old are both of you?
22 obviously!
The pair of us!
Freak ! the saying goes (i can feel it in my Water)
in your case it's in ya THUMB:sing::sing::sing::sing:
Originally posted by madmav
Freak ! the saying goes (i can feel it in my Water)
in your case it's in ya THUMB:sing::sing::sing::sing:
Ho Ho......
wait til your thumb hurts like mine :D
Lily - You wouldn't be a day over 25.
Freak - 32
bradders
09-Dec-2004, 18:10
Originally posted by jpmercer
22 obviously!
The pair of us!
both 11:puzzled:
Originally posted by tp-996
Lily - You wouldn't be a day over 25.
Freak - 32
:lol::lol::lol:
very good....
having said that you have only seen me once with leathers and pigtails.... this is the real me... try again!
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by Lily]
Originally posted by tp-996
Lily - You wouldn't be a day over 25.
Freak - 32
Flattery won't get you anywhere.... well not with me :D
electricsheep
09-Dec-2004, 18:17
Not sure if this counts.
I was contracting with a US company. I went out to the US for a couple of weeks, that turned into 3 months.
I came back as they had no budget to carry on, plus my old contact didn't have any budget either so I was back in the UK looking for a new contract.
They called back a week later (on Thursday), found some budget, I was back in the US the next Monday stayed for 7 years. Just took want I could get into 3 suitcases.
Rob
electricsheep
09-Dec-2004, 18:22
I would say go for it, one of the best moves I ever made.
However lots of people have problems coping (even in the US which is pretty familiar) you need to have an open mind and be forward looking
My company found that of all the people that they relocated about 75 % moved back to the UK in less than 3 months.
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by electricsheep]
I'm not playing this "Guess a woman's age" game - always ends in tears!
So, in light of me being 29 and you two of age unknown - I'm going to the pub!
Ciao
I got made redundant at the ripe old age of 21 when living up in the North East. The job situation was pretty dire as all the pits were being closed and that affected the mining areas in a big way.
So i decided to up sticks and move to London, did Business Studies at college and worked as a courier to get me through. Didn't half miss my family and mates for the first few months. That was one fresh start.
Finished my studies and carried on despatching. After a few really crap jobs before in the North East i fancied working for myself so decided to set up a courier company.
After 5 very enjoyable years in London i went for fresh start number 2. It was either Australia (i had everything in place and a years working holiday permit) or set up a courier company.
Decided to try the courier company (and Australia was to be my bolthole if it all went wrong) and moved to Manchester as it seemed to present the best opportunity for a new courier company, even though i'd only been there twice to see Sunderland play Man. Utd. and didn't know the area at all. The rest is history.
Both of my fresh starts have been great for me, although do regret not doing the year in Australia a bit.
Far better to try something than to say 'What if' years down the line.
Was offered a mega job about 6 years ago. Job entailed travelling around the middle east and the sub-continent troubleshooting for a Bahrain based company. Lots of travel which I quite like, lots of different places and challenges which I also like. Job came with big house on the beach in Dubai complete with maid, house boy, landcruiser, mega salary, bonus scheme etc etc.
Had recently "become" single and had no real family ties holding me back but I turned it down in the end. Couple of reasons held me back in the end, one was that I was running my own business relatively sucessfully, though not earning the same as I would in Dubai, and the other reason was my hobbies.
At that time there was NO private flying in the gulf states, and as my other hobby was biking, I decided the dual carriagway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi simply lacked corners!
Daft reasons I suppose but there you go. As for you Lil, you are still young enough to go for it and come back if it doesn't work out. In my opinion the experience of such a move would make you attractive to any employer.
Lily
Just to add an extra dimension to this, we have been seriously researching selling our house and moving onto the water (except for the biking part of course). Our plan, which has been evolving for about 5 months now, is to move into what some would call a water-borne 'pencil case'; to us a narrowboat.
As tiime goes by, your priorities in life change or they get re-organised for you - couple this with the way your career is going or where you want to take it, kids self-sufficient (well, as much as they will ever be anyway) and loads of other things, some of which you have control over and others you do not and it could all add up to a overwhelming need for a new lifestyle.
So OK, there are some con's as well as the pro's that attract us to this way of living, but our research so far leads us to think that we would be doing the right thing.
I suppose I am lucky insofar as I am self-employed and my job simply requires me to be well connected by phone and email - I just need a computer for most of the time. If really necessary I can travel by bike or public transport to wherever I need to go to see a client.
Anyway, enough - if you have a dream/desire to do something new and/or change your way of living and you can reach a consensus with those around you that really matter you should go for it, otherwise you will probably regret it as time goes by - sometimes the chances of the same or similar opportunities never come your way again!
Cheers, Chris.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"
Mark Twain
"Looking back I of't wonder "what-if?", and that surely must be my epitath and therefore my greatest failing? For I had the chance and I had not the courage to close my eyes and step out into that exciting world beyond my comfortable bounds and knowledge. "What-if" I had gone and done these things for myself instead of reading others accounts in the safety and comfort of my own domain? I will never know and I will take this very personal regret with me to my grave for I knew better then as I do now"
[Edited on 9-12-2004 by aws]
kwikbitch
09-Dec-2004, 23:44
"What if"... eh?? One of lifes eternally recurring phrases.
"What if "...is based on decisions...AND decisions should never be seen as a regret.
You make decisions based on your gut feeling at the time, but that is exactly the point.
You can change them.
When you look back you can say "That decision was right for me at the time". If it isn't the right decision for you now then you change it based on your current feelings.
Never have regrets...If your "what if..." leads you wondering then change your decision for NOW!
(No I havent been drinking! But read some Trevor Hawes...It will make you think!)
I'd love to live abroad...but it's not right for me yet. But I wont regret not making the decision to go live in India. Because It might happen, but not YET!;)
rockhopper
09-Dec-2004, 23:47
I emigrated to Australia a few years ago. It was MUCH harder than i expected it would be to leave England and my family (even though i'm not that close to them) I came back home and i dont regret doing so for one minute.
If there's half an idea in your head Lil that has triggered this, and you have a pretty good idea you can get on and do it...............then go for it.
I did. It's not been easy or plain sailing by any means but, on the whole it's been worth it. Well worth it.
I'm making no where near what I was paid in industry in my previous life, but my life in general is a whole lot better. I get up every morning, wanting to go to work. You can't buy that.
There have been sacrifices, way beyond what I was expecting, but you can't forsee everything.
At least if it goes wrong, there's only yourself to blame. Likewise if it all goes well, then there's only one person collecting the bonus :D
Life's too short to be thnkin' "what if" ;)
Lily the grass always looks green'er the other side of the fence.
nine years ago, my partner who was also my Father in law, went up and died on me. My brother in law no longer wanted t work in the building industry and my only employee, fooked off to ozz.
I didn't know what to do at the time and all kind of thoughts entered my head. Different job,country, etc. In the end I decided to carry on regardless.
I'm glad I did, the business went on to do quite well. I still would not say I'm any happier now than I was then. But!!!! I could have been a lot less happier now if I had made some changes. You never know what is around the corner
To my way of thinking, if you don't have too many ties, are the left side of 40 (?) and have commutable skills that are in demand then if you need to know if you'd be apperciated in say Canada or Oz (2 of the favourite locations) then why not?
If it all falls flat you can come home and no one will think the less of you. Far from it, others will want to know how and why as they are toying with the very same idea.
I really, really came close to emigrating to Oz in 1989.
I have had several clients who have upped sticks to Oz, and a few to the US and one to Canada.
They have sunshine, warm seas and some have snow too, but it's more than that, it's an out-doors lifestyle that we can only glimpse on the tv such as Neighbours, they all have a great way of life that revolves around the community, physical persuits and having trips all over their new found continent.
The post cards I get! Bas£arDs!
I was in Oz for a year and it still draws me from afar.
Having a business or two, children, homes and all that are reasons why I have not made the change.
The older you get, the less likely your dreaming will become the reality.
If nothing else, you have a good range of opinions here on this site, yet the over-riding concensus is that if you are mentally 1/2 way there, what's stopping you stepping out the front door?
Com'on - what are your thoughts?
Tim
I arrived on these fair (?) shores in December 2000 (Sunday will be four years to the day!) from Sydney. Arriving from the middle of summer, to the shortest darkest days of winter was the biggest shock. I had to drink a lot to keep warm.
Funny thing is that it didn't feel like that much of a "change". It just felt like "life". I was working for the same company, my partner also moved out to the UK 3 months later, about 1/2 a dozen of my good mates from home were also living over here. I just got on with it and didn't think about it too much. Best thing I could have done at the time though. Not a regret in sight.
Now just obtained Indefinite Leave to Remain last week and have no plans on going anywhere else just yet. British passport is the next trick which opens up all of the EU as options.
Within the next 10 years I'd like to be in a position of not having to bust my butt for the man. Whether that involves setting up my own business in the same industry or doing something totally different, who knows. Sailing is my latest cash burning interest (and bikes of course) and I hope to get some more qualifications this summer. Who knows where that may lead......
Also lived in Cape Town for 12 months and the US for about 3 months I think it was.
If you only have limited ties - no mortgage, kids, debts - then making a life change is not too difficult and I'd recommend it.
[Edited on 10-12-2004 by phillc]
I made a lot of changes in '98
That year I
Quit drinking
Left the Navy (resigned after 10 years, easy job as a CPO, reasonable money, but I was BORED!!!)
Ditched the first wife
Started out in IT - Citrix engineer for Ferrari sponsoring telco ;)
6 months later sold the house I had and bought one out of town for a while.
For me, best decisions of my life, I'm now in control of my time, in a job I love, re-married with an 8 month old son ( Ruben ). Big house (garage is bigger than parents ground floor :) ), new cars every 2 years, can afford to run a Ducati. 2 foreign holidays a year plus other travel. I got lucky, or I'm damned good at what I do depending on who you talk to :P
I've worked overseas a lot, Hong Kong, Florida, Washington DC, Southern France but always enjoy coming home.
It doesn't work out for some people though. 3 friends of mine left the Services at the same time I did, 2 went back in during the Gulf war as they couldn't find decent work outside (not used to working for a living either). The other guy has only just started to make headway ina new career, and although lives in Cheshire (nr Warrington) can't maintain the lifestyle he had 7 years ago.
If your thinking of doing it, try to negotiate a Sabbatical, so that if you aren't happy you can return. Rent out property instead of selling up and arrange work before you go.
One final thing you could ask yourself....
If NZ, Oz, SA etc are such great places to live, why are they all over here??? :eureka:
You know I said that my only employee went off to start afresh in Ozz.
He's still there and still picking fruit:o i reckon he will be back in a couple of years when he hits 40 and the back packers think he's an old hippy:smug:
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