Friday, August 30, 2013

Alea iacta est!


Ok, so, I did it! I quit my job today.

I feel sort of strange. Both relaxed and nervous.
It feels as if everything around me flows by without touching me. Everything that was so important a few days ago now is different, just like I am looking at it from a different perspective.

Not that I don't care - with all the ups and downs, I liked my job.
I've been with this company for 4 years, and I grew quite attached to it. 
But the hustle and bustle of the office is now unreal, and I am left behind.
I took on a slower pace.

It's not gonna last! In a month I will be starting my new adventure.
Guess where? In the Netherlands! Sure you couldn't have guessed it from the blog's name. Ah-ah.

I took a job as copywriter for an e-commerce company. It's pretty similar to what I have been doing so far, but now I will be handling all the site's communication ON MY OWN.
No more complex workflows. Just me.
My new team, the e-commerce team, is a pretty small one - like, 12 people - and I will be the only copywriter / content manager / localization specialist / translation coordinator and god knows what else. Eek!

And so, I am leaving this messed-up, chaotic, fucking beautiful Italy. I am leaving my cute, stylish, comfortable apartment which I share with my boyfriend. And - ohshit - I am leaving my boyfriend. Well, not literally leaving him - he won't get rid of me so easily - what I mean is that I am moving abroad and he's not. Not for the moment.

So to recap: I am changing job, city, country, home, colleagues and language.
I won't have my boyfriend or friends or family there to support me.
But hey, I am strong. I am a 28-year-old gal at her full potential.
I'll be successful or I'll die trying!

The reasons behind my choice are simple: I want to grow personally and professionally, learn new lessons and skills, become stronger, make more money (why not?) and last-but-not-least I want to live abroad for a while. I already lived in Chile for a year as an exchange student, but I have never worked outside of Italy. And for a globe-trotter like me this is a must!

Finally, I love the Netherlands. From the first time I visited Amsterdam, I have always day-dreamt of living in one of those lovely tall houses. Although I will probably have some curtains on my windows. But this is a different story.

I have opened this blog to write about my adventures in the Netherlands. My idea is that it can be read both as a journal and a starter's guide for anyone who's willing to move to the Netherlands: so I'll put in here anecdotes and personal comments, but also useful information and references about practical tasks to get done in the process of relocating.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog and following my adventures!

Linda