A lesson in endurance: Moving to Austin (Part 2)
Read part 1 here
Welcome back to the riveting tale of my move to Austin. Last time around here I shared about how I made the decision to pursue the move to Austin. And while that was an incredibly difficult step, of course it didn't stop there. What came next was no less difficult and required a bit of creativity and a LOT of grit and endurance.
A bit of creativity to kick of the process …
Really, the only way for me to make a move to the States and be allowed to work was to transfer internally within my company - a move, that I hadn't heard about anyone else making before me. Talking to colleagues, none of them thought it a possibility (Of course there were people who had done it before. But I only learned about them after the fact).
So, a it of creativity was needed. What I had learned early on in my career was that networking is the bread and butter of almost every successful career move. So that's what I went for. When I came to visit my partner in Austin in the fall of 2021, I wrote to a colleague from the Austin office asking her to meet for coffee. Let me tell you, the message was incredibly awkward and my colleague is a saint for responding and meeting up with me. But also, this shows that reaching out doesn’t have to be perfect - being my awkward self, open and straightforward worked perfectly. Back to the point - my goal at that point was mostly to gather some information, make some connections and hopefully get her support (however much she would be able to give me).
She was absolutely wonderful and went above and beyond for me, connecting me to the right people in Austin. After getting to know me (and asking some people whom I had worked with about me), they decided they'd support the transfer. Step one (that felt more like step 2763) - check.
… and a lot of Durchhaltevermoegen to complete it
That was September 2021. It wasn't until mid-July 2022 that I actually arrived in the US and started working in Austin. It took almost an entire year to complete the transfer and to be honest? For the first 6-ish months I didn't actually believe it was really going to happen.
Getting the right people involved, completing the paperwork, setting up the right accounts, interviewing, background checks, more paperwork. It felt like running from one dead end to the next. I had the official offer on the table around mid-February, but even then the difficulties didn't end. Once I had signed the offer, we started the Visa process - something that's usually a rather smooth affaire. Unless it's not. To be fair, the actual visa process did go off without a hitch. However, the Austrian postal service (whose motto is 'If it's important, send it through us. THE IRONY!) managed to lose my passport. Which meant I had to get a new one, when the city of Vienna didn't have a single appointment available. Thankfully, the office in my little hometown of around 4k inhabitants took pity on me. Then re-sending the new passport to the embassy, only for them to print the visa with the old passport number. To then re-send it in again. For it to not arrive on time for my (already re-)scheduled flight. Let's just say, if I believed in signs from the universe, I should've taken the hint.
Why am I telling you all this? It all comes down to how I ended up making my decision: I had committed to my choice, committed to this path of realizing myself as someone for whom that decision was really the only choice. It was past the point of no return and my sheer stubbornness (truly my best and worst quality) carried me through.
It's been an incredibly challenging process, but I can only reiterate what I wrote at the end of part 1: I'm very happy with the decision I made. It was frustrating, difficult, and I think the people around me wanted to throttle me at more than one occasion (sorry about that, Mum). However, (mostly) keeping calm through it all, trying to focus on the solutions and just going one step at a time, I made it. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I think, about 6 months from now, I'll be able to laugh about it, too ;)
Did something similar ever happen to you? You made a decision and seemingly the entire universe conspired against you? Did you end up doing it nonetheless? Where you happy with your decision? Let me know! (Take me out of my misery and tell me I'm not the only one :D )