I'm sitting here hoping to avoid typos as I compose this blog post from my temporary apartment in Zurich, Switzerland. I type on the soft keyboard on my iPad; still waiting for the air shipment with my computer to arrive.
The Dream
When my now husband, Rick, and I took our first trip together in 2002 to go cycling in Italy, we waxed poetic about what it would be like to live in Europe. Over the years as we've traveled together to all parts of the world, that desire started to grow. Also, as my career grew in leadership dimensions, I began to crave an opportunity to lead outside the culture I had spent my whole life in. I wanted to stretch and grow as a leader, and that would be one way to do it.
The Action
About a year ago, I decided my next career move should likely be the one that took us overseas - preferably to Europe or Latin America. Rick also decided to step away from daily work in 2017, which would free us up to consider a move. In mid-2017, I started having conversations with my management chain about whether such a move would be possible given we had very limited software engineering happening outside the US. Concurrently, I stared entertaining exploratory discussions for leadership positions at other companies in my target areas. In October, I got the call for the thing I was pretty sure would be the one. It captured all the things I was looking for - a product I admire, an area of focus aligned with where I wanted to work next from a technical standpoint, and a location in Europe near the mountains.
Sharing Learnings
I have a ton to learn now, which is both terrifying and incredibly exciting. A new language, a new country, and a new job all await. I feel honored to have the privilege of going on this adventure. I will be blogging about the things I've learned and things that happen along the way - from silly things like how groceries are packaged to cultural things to logistics of getting set up as a US citizen expat.
