I’ve now realized that you might want some history. By you, I mean the three people who are currently interested enough (or bored enough) to actually spend time reading this. Only you know why you are fascinated by us. We have chosen to believe the former scenario is the truth.
So, history. The reaction we’ve gotten most often when telling people we’re moving is some variation of ‘how long have you been planning this?’ Well, not really. The first question is usually ‘when can I come visit?’ followed quickly by ‘what are you doing with your TV?’ The answers to those are ‘whenever you want. Please call first (at least from London – especially those of you in the Spencer family who have a tendency to just show on people’s doorstep).’ and ‘my Dad has dibs; Adam is currently drawing up legal paperwork to ensure safe care over the next two years and a return to our living room once we are back state side.’
On to the planning. We’ve actually talked about living overseas since we got married. I’ve had the opportunity to live in England twice before and really loved it both times. Adam has lived in Tucson, which is kind of like a foreign country, so we’re both well traveled. One of the reasons I liked PwC was their international presence and their program to have employees participate in rotations in other countries. What they fail to mention when they hire you at age 22 is that you have to be employed with PwC about 5-6 years before they’ll consider sending you anywhere. So they said no when I applied after about two months. Ah, to be young and naive.
Then, about two years ago I started seriously talking with some of the managers and partners at work about our desire to go overseas. The question was always ‘where do you want to go?’ My answer was always ‘first choice is anywhere in the UK, second choice is anywhere English speaking’. I figured lots of options would make the process go faster. Boy, was I wrong there! They considered the options and after a lot of paperwork and A LOT of waiting, they told me I was in the program.
After making it into the program, you then have to interview with the offices that have openings for international secondments. They also assigned me a “Global Mobility Advocate.” Do you know how many sentences I’ve started with, ‘My Global Mobility Advocate says…’. Trust me, it’s more than you can easily count. My Global Mobility Advocate asked what I would think of Bristol, England. I said yes. That’s really been my answer to most things lately, so if you’re wanting a favor, now is the time to ask! Back to my story, they set up a call with a director in Bristol. The interview went great. The job they had open was something I’m interested in (more on that later, you don’t need to be completely bored with accounting talk tonight). The timing of when they wanted someone also worked well with the commitments we had over here already. At the end of the interview, he told me that he was going to speak with my partner, but that he really thought it would work out. After the call, I called Adam to tell him it went well, then I sent an email to my partner to give her the heads up that she’d be getting a call. Come to find out, she’d already received a call from him. Apparently, he was excited too.
Within the week, we had an offer to move to Bristol. And the adventure begins.
