What ya gonna do when you get back home?

I get asked this question a lot in the USA. And, believe me, I think about it a lot.

When my parents moved back from Gibraltar, when I was 18, I stayed out there for a few extra weeks, sleeping on friends’ floors and hanging out at the beach. That was super cool fun, and I knew I was heading to uni when I got back, so it was all just sorted.

Carefree in Gib, 1993

I didn’t think too much about the repat process back then – I mean, come on, I was 18 and self-absorbed! My parents did all the packing and the sorting and I just made plans to meet people at the pub.

This time, it’s a whole different ball game. There is oodles of stuff to sort out, and the key thing for me is sorting work for when I return to the UK. What am I going to do? I like working – I think it’s a privilege to be able to work. Before the USA journey I was working full-time in PR. This time, I think things will be a bit different. Out here I spend my time freelance writing, teaching fitness and being an extra on TV. It’s all fun, but I’m not sure that the UK accommodates such things so easily.

I’m already setting up in-roads to work for friends’ companies, doing freelance PR, but there’s still a part of me that loves that British workplace (I am romanticising it somewhat!). I believe that YOU make things happen and are responsible for your own life, so that’s what I shall do – make it happen and be responsible for my life back in the UK.

Me in PR mode back in 2012

Some people have also asked how we’ll cope going back to a smaller house (MUCH smaller house!). At least it will be easier to clean, I reply, this American house is a bugger!