For years, I pondered and pondered over the question of whether I would relocate to Hong Kong should and when our company decides to move us there. Well, the time has arrived.
4 years ago, our company moved half of the merchandise buying team from SF to HKG. Some people got relocated but most got severed. 1.5 years ago, they moved another quarter of the group, including the President and VPs. We are the last remaining quarter of the team left in San Francisco. This past Wednesday, it was announced that we, the last group, would also be relocating to Hong Kong. The move will complete the buying functions under one roof since there will no longer be a San Francisco-based office after 2012.
While the announcement was not surprising to most of us in the office (because we all knew this day would eventually come), it was still hard to bear. For the handful of individuals offered relocation packages, the decision weighs a ton - relocation means uprooting your family to a foreign land and completely changing your current lifestyle and environment. For those not offered relocation, the outcome is to be severed and lose your job.
I was one of the fortunate handfuls who was offered a relocation package, which means I technically still have a job, just in a different location. While SQ and I have discussed the subject of relocation countless times in the past before, they were all "what ifs." With no concrete timeline back then, everything was only hypothetical. Now, with an offer at hand and an effective date, the decision became real, in an instant.
I had a hard time sleeping this entire week to say the least. I felt a lot of anxiety of what relocation will mean, both for me and SQ and especially to little Sarah. She is still young and probably won't understand the changes, but she will have to get used to a total different environment. I am most concerned about Sarah's preschool arrangement. Most young kids in HKG are cared for by a domestic helper so there are not a lot of daycare center choices as we do here in the Bay Area. While getting a helper is an option for us too, I prefer sending Sarah to a daycare environment, where she can learn and play and socially be engaged with other kids her age. I absolutely love the daycare she's at right now. It's hard to give that up and accept anything less...The other thing that saddens me greatly is that Sarah will be away from her extended family (grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins). It terrifies me that I won't be physically close to my family, especially my parents, who have been my support and strength all these years.
On the other side of the balancing scale, moving to an international city intrigues me. I have lived in San Francisco all my life! Ok, ok, I lived in Davis during my college years, but I always drove back to SF during the weekends so it doesn't really count. This will be different. Hong Kong is miles and miles away and different enough to give me a life experience I can tell stories about when I get old. I only live once, right? This move is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that many people would only wish to have, and that opportunity arrived right at my doorstep. And moving as an expatriate definitely made the financial aspect of the relocation more sound and enticing.
As you can see, I am all over the place. I am a pendulum that swings from one direction and the opposite direction within seconds. I still have a lot of think about and I don't know what I will do. But when I make the decision, I will honor it and not think anymore about the "what-ifs?"
To be continued...
