How Living Abroad Changed My Life

Living abroad: It's one of those things that can set the daydreaming on overdrive. I had always put living overseas on my life list, that is, it was one of those things I always dreamed about doing. I studied international relations in college. Lots of my friends were foreign students who came from cultures and had lifestyles far different than my own. What did it take to get a job overseas? How did the fantasy match up with the reality? Let me tell you how living in London changed my life. It's probably far less glamorous than you'd expect and yet the experience definitely changed me for the better.

Finding a Job Overseas
The beginning of this story begins with being laid off. I had a great job working for a think tank (or in the more romantic world of international politics, an international research institute), when one day, out of the blue, my boss told me that the think tank was in a severe budget crisis, and I was being laid off. In desperation to keep the paychecks coming before my time ended, I started freelancing and looking for another job. I didn't have any real intention of looking for a job overseas, but serendipity would have a very big role to play in this story. One of the people I was freelancing with told me he had seen a job listed in "The Economist" magazine. "Why don't you apply?" he suggested. Sure, I thought to myself. However, at that point I was sending out hundreds of resumes to both the Washington, DC, area (where I lived) and to New York (someplace else I've always dreamed of living), so I thought, why not? To make a long story short, the person to whom I sent my resume had worked someplace I, too, had worked and had been hired for his present job in London by a woman who was one of my references. International politics is a small world indeed.