Things I learned whilst living in the UK

Five years ago, I made the biggest decision of my life (at the time): leave my home country to work as an auditor in the United Kingdom.

At the time, I thought I was ready to embark on a new journey. I thought I had enough experience in the audit practice and was ready to take on more challenging clients in a more challenging environment. You see, when I was working in the Philippines, I thought working in London or New York (or any other first world city) would help me grow as a professional and of course as a person as well. Also at the time, I had the fullest confidence in myself that moving to another country would be the same as moving out of my parent’s house in Santiago to study at a university in Manila. It should be the same, right? I’m a risk taker, right?

Boy I was wrong.

It look all my savings and a bit more borrowing from my dad (and my bank) to start in this new chapter of my life. I started processing my visa application, attended health checks, sat down in an English test, settled my other obligations and waited for that letter from the UK embassy. It took roughly five months since I accepted the offer when the visa approval finally came.

I was ecstatic. In my mind, this is it! It was literally, my passport to a different environment, to a different world.

The next stage was probably the hardest and the quickest (when I received my visa, I only had a few days to pack up and go). I found it hard to say goodbye to my family to my friends and to my old life. It was a bit like a telenovela. In my mind, there was no turning back even though I knew fully well that I can always come back. I knew that the moment I show my passport to the immigration officer, my life would change – a bit melodramatic, yes, but now that I’m thinking about it, it is definitely true.

Despite all of these emotions, I reassured myself that I was ready. I was ready for the challenge and ready for the unknown. It felt reassuring because I knew that I was doing it for myself and for my family. Besides, the Philippines is just a 13-hour direct flight from London, right?

So there I was – a 23 year old probinsiyana, looking for a challenge and for the greener pasture right at the heart of one of the financial hubs, London.

Fast forward to five years later, looking back, it was definitely one of my biggest decisions in life. As I was completing application for indefinite leave to remain, I felt nostalgic. Five years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I would even reach three years living away from my family. I thought I would save enough cash, go back to the Philippines and start my own business.

As I am reminiscing all those five years spent in the UK so far, I realised I have grown a lot as a person. I have learnt a few things about myself and about life (and still learning!).

First, I am definitely an introvert. Despite being surrounded by awesome people at work and at my own local Filipino community (i.e. my friends), I find great joy in just having a quiet time by myself, reading a book, cooking a dish or just watching a movie or series. I’m a great listener and observer and I found that these are really useful skills not only in my personal life but also at work.

But being an introvert doesn’t necessarily mean one will not succeed. Even if I’m one of the quiet ones at work, I balance this with hard work, confidence and being a team player. And if you work hard enough, all of these will be recognised even if you’re not the loudest during meetings.

Second, I am an always-plan-ahead type of person. Ever since I was at school, I had my plans A to D (maybe even E, depending on the situation). When I moved to the UK, I had my plans A to C. I wanted to be always prepared no matter the situation I am in. I never liked uncertainty. Yes, I am a risk taker, but the caveat is, I will always have a next plan. I guess I have always been like this, but living in London definitely reaffirmed this.  I always preferred to be in control and know what the outcome would be. Being in the dark has always scared me and always will.

However, I learned not all things go according to plan. And most of the time, it makes us disappointed. It is a cliche, yes. Definitely. Everyone says this and everyone experiences this. I experienced it too – being disappointed, demotivated and even on the brink of losing myself in the process. I learned that no matter what the situation is, I must learn to adapt. Because living in London can be an exhilarating ride and can sometimes be a mental and emotional rollercoaster.

As I try to find an ending to this post, I keep asking, are these the only things I learned? Surely, there are more? But as soon as I typed the words, these are definitely not the only things that I learned in the past five years. But rather, these are the things that I never really thought about before I moved and these are the things that I would like to remember because living in the UK was not easy. It has been a full five years of ups and downs but that’s how life is, isn’t it?