I’ve always wanted to live abroad and there are several cities around the world I’d love to try living in, but my number one has always been London. I’ve visited several times and also travelled around the UK extensively, I even did a semester abroad in the UK during my studies, yet I still want to go back.
But I’ve come to realize that after brexit it’s become nearly impossible to move there. Currently I live in New York and it was easier for me (as a European) to get a job here than in London. I think the only possible route for me at this point is applying for a permanent position at the foreign ministry of my country after which I would be able to apply for a posting at the London embassy at some point. But it would be a big career decision cause the pay is shit compared to the private sector and it would probably take me years to even have a chance to get sent there.
First I’d have to apply and get accepted for the program and I know for a fact that many people apply for years without getting in. Then I’d have to go through a year of training and after that work in my home country for 3-4 years to build experience or take a posting in some small mission in a developing and/or war-torn country because it’s virtually impossible to get sent to a European destination unless you first work in a “less-desireable” place for a few years. And even then it’s pretty much up to luck. I’m in my late 20s now which would mean I’d be well into my 30s before even getting a chance and I’m just wondering is it worth the risk when there’s possibly not even a reward at the end? But then again the only other way of getting there with my educational background and skillset would be to marry a British guy and the chances of that happening are pretty much non-existent so…
My guestion is, do you have a dream destination where you’d like to move? And how much work and time would you be willing to put into getting there? Or if you’ve managed to move to your dream country/city how long did it take you to get there?
NYC for me and my partner! Literally got a whole second citizenship to maximise our chances of getting there. When we make it it’ll have been a decade in the making. Though, we could have definitely gotten there faster if we’d made some more sacrifices but we decided to play a longer game to give ourselves more stability in the long term.