The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things …
I’M MOVING TO THE UK 🇬🇧 (again)!
Photo by David T on Unsplash
And I’m a big bag of mixed emotions!
(I know my last post on here was about being out of London for 3 years, kinda fitting this is the next one on here, also this was taken from my Facebook post, so not completely blog style🌞)
(This is a long one, go straight to the bottom for cliff notes if you want😅)
10 years ago I moved to London 🇬🇧 to try make my mark in the world as a creative, and as most of you know I came back to SA after only a year and a bit, broken-hearted, depressed and shattered (due to a multitude of factors😔). I worked for a bit in JHB, and got a bit of my mojo back. I then moved to Cape Town in 2014, where I fell in love with a city for the first time. I made incredible friends, did many adventurous things 🤸🏼♀️ and really started to work on myself on a microscopic level✨. I also continued to make incredibly bad money decisions💸, leading to debt while still dealing with depression and low self confidence. I went on a course that flipped me upside down and really brought myself into my own view (if that makes sense). I knew I couldn’t live the way I was living anymore and something needed to change.
In March 2018 I decided to go travel ✈️ to get a new perspective on life and myself, I also wanted to visit one of my best friends that had just had a baby and recently moved to Toronto, Canada. I managed to get the money together, book flights, move my house into storage and my cats flew to Joburg to be babysat by my parents. 6 weeks in North America was an enriching and soul healing experience❣️. Not because of any one thing happening, it just gave me time to reset, relook and revalue what I want in life. Walking around the Toronto streets by myself at night was the icing on the cake that made me realise that I want this kind of life, this kind of freedom. 🦋
The soul healing increased in intensity when I got back to Joburg as I started working with my mom on a spiritual level, in depth. It was hard, frustrating, draining and incredibly painful 😫 to take the rose tinted glasses off through which we view ourselves sometimes, and on the flip side apply the rose tint to the good qualities. Finding that balance between light and shadow. 🌓
Because of travelling I have known for a while I want to move somewhere I feel safer, more secure being by myself, doing things by myself. 🌟
A year and a half ago (January 2019) I made the decision to leave South Africa once again, to explore a different life/opportunities. I entered the Express Entry Pool for Canadian immigration 🇨🇦 in June 2019. I was hopeful, excited, nervous. I applied or jobs, I was obsessively looking on the facebook groups to see if there were any loopholes, changes, anything to get me in. I spent a fair bit of money getting my degree assessed and writing an english test (twice) to gain as many points as possible in hopes of getting in🤞🏼. The threshold of points kept going up and mine sat pretty low on the scale (no masters degree, being 30 or older etc etc). When I had first started looking into it, the National Occupation Code (NOC) that I fell into was on the skills shortage list, but just before I got everything together to apply they took it off the in demand list. In January my points went down by 5 as I had turned 31 and July this year, my profile expired. I felt so disheartened. 😞
NB: Canada is not off the table, it is in my sights, just may be down the road, but who knows where this journey will take me.
In February this year a very traumatic experience, right outside my house, sealed my decision to leave and seek a safer life. Don’t get me wrong, I love South Africa 🇿🇦, it’s in my soul, the weather and sites are just amazing, the people are pretty amazing too (mostly)🌞. But after a few traumatic experiences, the way the government has annihilated taxpayers money and generally take no responsibility for their actions, my anxiety is through the roof. The fact that I don’t even feel safe walking around my neighbourhood with my parents and dogs or by myself in a dog park really gets to me, I feel trapped. If the sun isn’t shining and I’m not in the (so thought) safety of my walls (and electric fencing) I’m on edge. 🤷🏼♀️
The day after my Express Entry Profile expired for Canada, I decided to relook living in the UK 🇬🇧. The first time around was really not the best experience, but that was 10 years ago. That was a different Chloë. I can make this second attempt a way better one because I have so much more life experience, work experience, mental attitude and fortitude, emotional maturity and sense of self worth (this all is still an ongoing learning curve, but thats the beauty of life). Not to mention I am waaaaaay better at handling my money! haha!🤣
I gathered all my documents to apply for my Ancestral Visa, and found that I had saved, in the last year, more than enough money for the application fee, TB test and the NHS surcharge (payable upfront for 5 years – the exchange rate DID NOT help much 😂). I had to order new FULL birth certificates for my grandparents (to prove I’m of British decent, apparently the small old ones I had used previously no longer applied) and then voilà! I got my biometrics appointment on the 31st August and VISA APPROVAL (9th Sept)!
I know that there will be many new challenges that this will bring. But I’m also looking forward to the growth and self exploration that comes with it. 💪🏼 AND just so you know I’m going into this eyes wide open 👀. I know every country has its problems, societal and governmental. The UK isn’t going to be “greener on the other side”, it will be what I make of it, where I place my energy. (Also LOL because it is so much greener, thanks to alllllll the rain 😆).
SO, well done if you actually read all that (a 🌟 for you💚)! I will be tying up all my things here in SA over the next two months and plan to be in the UK by mid November – very much looking forward to spending Christmas with my 95 year old Gran ❤️(covid permitting 🥺).
🏠WHERE: I will also be putting a proper plan together for myself for when I’m actually there as I aim to just hop around a bit until I find a good fit for myself to settle (very much looking at Bristol, suggestions welcome). If any friends and family over there have space for me for a few nights (or weeks) from time to time would be greatly appreciated. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 London wasn’t my happy place (except for the music scene) and my priorities in life have changed since I was 21/22 – outdoors are much more involved now!
👩🏼💻WORK: I am aiming to carry on with my freelancing business as I want to keep my clients I have here in SA (already spoke to them), but I’m currently networking hard on linkedin to get some British clients going, ANY HELP in this regard would also be HIGHLY appreciated.🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 (some already have helped and I greatly appreciate this, thank you.)
CLIFF NOTES:
*The first time I moved to the UK it was a “negative” experience 😔
*Moving to Cape Town was awesome 🌞 but came with it’s own challenges
*I didn’t handle money well at all 💸
*Visited Canada in 2018, loved it, attempted to move there.🇨🇦
*Traumatic experiences made me want to leave SA even more.🔫
*Decided to apply for Ancestral Visa again. GOT IT! ✅
*I Will be moving to the UK in November 2020 – exact plans still pending. ✈️
*Anybody that has a bit of space for me in the UK for a few nights (or weeks) until I find where to settle would be massively helpful. 🏠
*Any networking tips and contacts in the creative industry to gain some clients would be AMAZING. (Don’t mind working on site on contract or part time either though!).👩🏼💻
Many thanks for reading all this, and many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this crazy journey I have been on. 🤪 All the good and bad times have shaped who I am, and I’m starting to really love who that is! 💜 Also very grateful the fact that I do have the choice of moving to the UK – thanks Grandparents!
