5 years in London

Last week marked a significant milestone – five years since we’ve moved to London. Time really flies, and I am still happy that I took this crazy step, leap of faith and accepted the job offer and moved countries with the family within just two months.

Now kids speak perfect English and correct my grammar when needed.

Funny enough initially we were supposed to leave after 5 years no matter what due to the visa rules, now the rules have changed (thanks to Brexit) and we can stay longer. I am still happy with my job, so I am happy that we can stay, plus it is trickier to move with older kids. So, we are staying here, and let’s see what the next 5 years will bring.

Reflecting on this from the lens of coaching and goal setting is an interesting exercise. It might look like a bit of going with the flow: jumping from one country to another without a firm plan. However, we can look also from another angle: back in those days I had a goal of finding a new job, and there were certain criteria of what was important. Initially, yes, I did not plan to move anywhere, but also, I never thought of a location as of an important determining factor for the new role. Location looked more like an addition, and there were criteria for the location to fit (i.e., safety, good opportunities for the kids), but it was never set in stone in my mind that it must be town X. So, the role met all required criteria, and the rest was additional adventure and opportunity. And now history.

And this is another example of why knowing your own important factors really helps when you set your goals: you know which roads to choose and will be ok with the flow that the road offers.