Achieving a dream
We did it. We bravely and boldly stepped into the unknown. We moved to Wenatchee, Washington!
Those who are close to us, know that this has been in the plan for the past year, and we've actually been living here for over six months. But, buying our house and moving into our new home over a month ago has made it a reality.
We have always wanted the experience of moving to a new place for work and learning from our specialised industries in different countries. Moving to another country was always a joint bucket list dream but the pandemic made it seem impossible from New Zealand, but a year ago, we were presented with an opportunity that we daringly accepted.
The move has been exciting, exhausting, and extraordinary. There have been more hurdles than we anticipated, more variables than we planned and more uncertainty than we hoped. This is not new to anyone who has made such moves and anyone who wants to pursue such a monumental adventure. Living in the grey can be ambiguous and daunting. Being optimistic and positive throughout the move to support one another can be draining but all these hurdles make celebrating the wins so much more satisfying - like buying our second house/first house overseas and shipping our champ of a dog across the world! They give us reasons to celebrate and take pride in our bravery and our resilience.
I was hesitant to even write a post about the move because my go-to thought is always, “Who cares about my life?” The most interesting part of the move, however, was watching my findings, my cautions and my conclusions from my thesis come alive and to actually live out the scenarios that I described in my work. I am also always reminded by my friends that if I want others to share their stories with me, then I need to bravely share mine. So, keep an eye out for more posts on real-life connections that I make between my recommendations for global leadership development and my lived experiences (quite literally!) explaining why consistent support, family priorities and identity work are crucial for expatriation. For now, dreams do come true.
