Yesterday, I arrived in New York. It's my first trip here after over two years so I'm very excited about being back. I have always been in love with this city, long before I moved here, during my time living here and ever since I left. For years after I moved from New York to London, I used to wish that I could get a job in New York, to find an employer that would sponsor my work permit, so that I could pursue my American dream. It seemed like such an impossible dream. Last night, my wish almost came true but it may be too late.
I have a friend named Chloe who moved to America about five months ago. Chloe is very special to me. She is my former boss and the person who recruited me to join her team and the finance department at our company back in 2011. If it wasn't for her taking a chance on me, I wouldn't be on the career trajectory that I am on. She moved to America to manage the internal audit team she was running back in the UK; the same one that I was a part of before I was promoted and got my own team to run. At dinner last night, she told me that she is recruiting for her team here in the US and asked me if I was interested. We discussed it and it was certainly an attractive prospect. I would get to live and work in the US doing a job that I know how to do very well and there would be a lot travel around the country, which is certainly appealing since the company has stores in many cities that I have never been to, including Las Vegas, Chicago and Miami.
However, I knew that it wasn't right for me...I have my life in the UK and I value it very much. My niece is there and I want to watch her grow. I am more than halfway through my accountancy qualification in the UK and if I were to move countries, it would make it almost impossible to continue my qualification. Finishing my qualification and becoming a chartered, certified accountant is my priority. This job prospect in the US is the right opportunity but at the wrong time and timing is everything. Your goals, priorities and dreams change over time; they change with the circumstances of your life. My life has changed in many significant ways in the six and a half years since I moved home to the United Kingdom. It is nice to be able to reflect on this and know that I'm growing and my life is moving in positive directions that will most definitely defy my current expectations of the future.
I have a friend named Chloe who moved to America about five months ago. Chloe is very special to me. She is my former boss and the person who recruited me to join her team and the finance department at our company back in 2011. If it wasn't for her taking a chance on me, I wouldn't be on the career trajectory that I am on. She moved to America to manage the internal audit team she was running back in the UK; the same one that I was a part of before I was promoted and got my own team to run. At dinner last night, she told me that she is recruiting for her team here in the US and asked me if I was interested. We discussed it and it was certainly an attractive prospect. I would get to live and work in the US doing a job that I know how to do very well and there would be a lot travel around the country, which is certainly appealing since the company has stores in many cities that I have never been to, including Las Vegas, Chicago and Miami.
However, I knew that it wasn't right for me...I have my life in the UK and I value it very much. My niece is there and I want to watch her grow. I am more than halfway through my accountancy qualification in the UK and if I were to move countries, it would make it almost impossible to continue my qualification. Finishing my qualification and becoming a chartered, certified accountant is my priority. This job prospect in the US is the right opportunity but at the wrong time and timing is everything. Your goals, priorities and dreams change over time; they change with the circumstances of your life. My life has changed in many significant ways in the six and a half years since I moved home to the United Kingdom. It is nice to be able to reflect on this and know that I'm growing and my life is moving in positive directions that will most definitely defy my current expectations of the future.
