MissBetty

Confucius say 'man he wise when begin philosophise'
VikingSail he know best
Make decision now go wesssssssstttt!!!!

Ha ha ha!

Cardienscarf

So.... my house is under contract. Closing is 10th May although I don't have full confidence in the buyer to get it done by then but I do have a back up offer. They both wanted it so badly but, because I'm in the affordable home programme, I had to go with the first offer because she won the lottery. It's a great programme but I shall be glad to be out from under it. It really helped me when I needed it and now it's someone else's turn.

Now my dilemma is should I leave right after the closing or wait until later in June when I will have been able to squirrel away a month and a half of money. I feel like I've already checked out of my job and it's getting harder and harder to motivate to make calls and get on the road. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I had a 9-5 (well, this is America so 8-5) that I could just go to and not have to think so hard about making things happen.

The Plan, as it stands right now, is to take only what I need for the next few months to England and store the rest. I will probably book a return for Thanksgiving so I can see the kids and I should know by then whether I'm staying or going. I will have had a good few months to look about, see what I can do work wise and find my feet. I'll also have more of a clue about what I will want to ship and what I will want to sell or donate.

I have family I can stay with in England so that will keep my living expenses down. I love the idea of taking more cash rather than less but my job here is really weighing me down. I've been unhappy in it for quite some time and now it is even harder to make the push to get on with it. I'm wondering if I should just cut my losses and go.

I have nothing against the company I work for. They have been good to me and I have done a good job for them so it's been a fair exchange. But now I feel like I'm not doing my part and I feel guilty most of the time which is a horrible feeling and causing me more stress. We have a big vendor show coming up in the middle of May and after that it is all systems go. I want to be fair to the company and give them an opportunity to find a replacement who will be able to be up and running and not miss the sales that come out of that event. I won't reap the benefit of the sales from all the work I would have to put in after the show because the fabric we will be selling won't be shipping until Oct/Nov and we don't get paid until it ships. The company will pay me for anything I've sold for 3 months after I leave which is tremendously generous and will give me a little bit of income.

My head is spinning!!

WhoFan63

Hiya love... in my opinion you should just GO !!!!! I know the idea of taking extra money back with you is tempting, but by the sounds of it staying that little bit longer would put more of a strain on you emotionally and you have to take care of number one YOU!! I was recently offered a temporary job at Amazon in the warehouse and even though the idea of the extra money was just as tempting, I knew within my heart that I couldn't bear the thought of staying another month. The thought of going to work each night, putting a brave face on and trying to concentrate on what I was doing would have been unbearable. But that's just me! I wanted to just get on a plane, fly home and begin a much better life than the one I was leaving behind, if that makes sense???

But also from what you said, the company has been good to you, and I admire your dedication to the firm so it's a difficult position to be in.. you don't want to just leave and make things difficult for them, plus you mentioned both May and June so in reality it's only an extra month in the grand scheme of things. Would you make that much more money working that extra month? If you plan on staying until May anyway wouldn't that give the company time to hire someone and have them all up and running? Split the difference and stay until the end of May????

It's a tough decision, but you have to work out what's best for YOU! Which would make you the happiest? Sorry I can't be more help!

Cardienscarf

Thanks for the words and thoughts!

If it wasn't for the vendor show in the middle of May, I would tell the company that I'm finishing at the end of May but I know what the 6 weeks after the show are like. This is the time we get all our new samples for the next season and then we have to be on the road showing them to our customers. So, what I've decided to do is....... talk to my boss tomorrow.

Now that my house is under contract I feel like it is the right thing to do to let her know what is going on and I will discuss with her the best way to handle it. I don't have to agree to anything I don't want to do and she certainly won't make me quit before I'm ready.

I feel better just knowing I'm going to have the conversation with her.

WhoFan63

I think that's a great idea It definitely sounds like you have a great employer, so that would ease the worry a bit and just having them know what you're planning will help. Who knows, they might have a suggestion or two themselves. Let us know how it all goes

Cardienscarf

I spoke to my boss this morning and she was great. She said she would see if she could keep my job open for a couple of months in case I decided to come back! She said she'd rather have no one in the territory than replace me if I don't stay in the UK. That was very nice to hear!

Then we started talking about the UK territory. We have one European Rep and he doesn't get over to the UK/Ireland very often and I know our customers there would like to see more of him as I've met some of them at shows and I pop in to see them when I'm in the UK. So..... she suggested I write to the Big Boss and see if he is open to the idea of having another rep in Europe, based in the UK to cover UK/Ireland and back up for the other rep. I talked to the other rep at the end of last year about this and I know he would welcome me with open arms as he can't get to UK as often as he should.

So..... I have started my pitch to the Big Boss and will refine it over the weekend and send it off.

I know that this isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life but I love the idea of having a job that I am familiar with to go to in the UK. And, who knows, I may love driving around the UK in a way that driving around Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming doesn't thrill me. Even if I could just do it a year to get their sales up, help the customers and then pass it off to someone else, it would be a fabulous way to see more of the country and decide where I want to live.

I have a little bit of nervous excitement about it, so that is a good sign!

MissBetty

That is fantastic news, it all works out for you!!!

I had a quick read of your other post and my advice would be to stick it out for a bit if you can just for the money. I was due to leave here in March but my boss went on holidays for 2 months, they asked me to fill in for him and it meant a lot more money for moi. I won't say its been easy, I have certainly had my moments but now I can see the money starting to add up in my UK back account its a great feeling.

When I go home I should have enough for a nice little car and to live on for a few months until I get a job so I'll save myself a LOT of stress. I'm glad I did it now but I will be completely honest with you and say there have been times when I have felt utterly miserable!!!!

Good luck love whatever you decide and keep us posted!

Perth

That's wonderful news!!! Sounds like you work for a great company. I would give it a try in the UK, at least for a while. What have you got to lose? And I agree with Miss Betty, stick it out longer if it will mean more money to take with you. However, if you will still be working for them, you may not need to stay after all! Do you have somewhere to live now your house is sold?

Cardienscarf

I have all but decided to stay here until late June. I am going to be staying with some friends after I close on my house. The idea of that was to have a month or so of no mortgage/HOA fees which would give me a bigger cushion going to the UK. Yesterday I thought I'd die if I had to stay past the end of May but today I don't feel that way. My son's b.day is early June so I wouldn't want to leave before that anyway. And then it would only be another 21 days until I left so I may as well suck it up and get on with it.

If I continue to work for the company in the UK, I could go sooner so I shall just have to wait and see if anything comes of that. And if that does all come about, I shall more than likely ship my stuff as I doubt I'll be coming back if I have a job to go to

WhoFan63

That's awesome . It definitely sounds like you're making the right decision and its all going to work out much better for you in the long run. So you'll stay until the end of June, be there for the birthday celebrations and go to the UK a millionaire and a job waiting. Well done The excitement is contagious and you do realise its going to get worse?? Lol
Keep us all updated on your plans so we can celebrate with you Hugs from Mrs Who

Cardienscarf

Thanks everyone! I knew if I started throwing the balls up in the air, they'd start falling in unexpected places.

I'm going through boxes of momentos and found this quote clipped from a newspaper:

"Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken" Frank Herbert.

Quite appropriate I thought. I think the mistake I've been making is that I've decided to make a change but been trying to stay the same.

I've moved a lot in the 22 years I've been here so I've not amassed a lot of stuff in comparison to someone who, say, has lived in the same house for 22 years. I've been going through the boxes my youngest son left behind when he moved back to the UK. 9 boxes of books. He was, and still is, a big reader. He always had a book with him wherever he went, still does - just in case he finds himself waiting somewhere. There are some really good books in there.

And I have 5 boxes of children's books. I used to read to my boys a lot. Looking through them reminded me of boys giggling in the bath and then climbing into bed for a bed time story, or reading to the eldest while the youngest was napping, or reading to the youngest while the eldest was at school. Funny how easy it is to look back at those times so romantically! The years went fast but an afternoon could last for-e-ver!

I haven't even got to my books yet. I'm going to guess that I have about 200 quilting books That's the thing with my job. I get a lot of samples and I keep the ones I like. And I know I've got 50 pairs of scissors Maybe I should retract that statement about not amassing a lot of stuff

At one point this evening, I thought - How can I move? I have 22 years of books to take!

lf1

Cardienscarf,

That is very promising news about your job. I hope it works out for you. Good luck with your books. We brought too many back with us and they are in boxes in cupboards, but at least I have discovered "ibookshelf" and can access the details of my books without pulling out the various boxes.

I like to knit, so I have quite a few books on knitting and I couldn't part with any of them, so I shipped the lot, although nowhere near as many as your library of quilting books. Fortunately, there is a little cupboard in the spare bedroom with easy access, so I stored them there.

WhoFan63

Yes, it's probably best you retract it.. I can't say anything though, because even though I haven't got much stuff here in the US, in Australia I have boxes of things waiting for me to ship back to the UK. I have all the Dr Who books, DVD's, Tardis collectibles in all sizes, various Dr Who merchandise....lots of things.

Luckily I don't have any general books, because thanks to finally getting a Kindle Fire I have all my books on there, so it's much easier to carry around.

But still, we often don't realise just how much we have, until we start to pack it !

windsong

You sound like me. I have over 300 computer books! I just sold about 10 computer programming books (yuck - hated it!) on Craigslist for $100 (Yea!). As for the rest of the computer/Internet books, they are more like reference books than anything and will have to take them back with me. So long as I can take my books and my sewing machines (and clothes, of course), I will be happy I will really miss my Kitchen Aid and Cuisinart kitchen appliances but I am not sure they will work over there. The sewing machines are dual voltage (I think!) so I should be okay. They are all Berninas (Swiss) and pretty sure they are dual. I must check that!

Forgot to add that I want to take back all my crochet and cross stitch supplies and watercolor paints and brushes, too. My hobbies are of the UTMOST importance.

The computer is like my right arm so I didn't even bother to mention that will be going, too!

As for the flat screen TV, it's now four years old so perhaps I would be better to sell it. It might not work there anyway.

PS - Just checked. All four machines are dual voltage! Hooray!!!!!!

vikingsail

Cardienscarf - great news on the potential job front in Europe. Don't forget when you speak to your big boss to have a solution to the issue as well. In other words don't just be asking for something but be able to advocate the how and why it will work - people really like that it makes it much easier to say yes for you.