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

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]

"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!;)

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.