beth anderson

Hi all, <BR><BR>it's that time again.<BR><BR>Just bought my tickets for my return trip back to the UK.<BR><BR>Leaving for London on the 28th, must somehow get myself up to the far nether reaches of Scotland when I land (it was MUCH more expensive to open jaw it to Glasgow or Aberdeen, then to go home from London).<BR><BR>this is where the train may come in. or a plane, will figure it out when I land. I will be spending New Years in Scotland with Sheila and her family and friends (thanks Sheila!!)<BR><BR>and then back to London for a few weeks to knock on doors. I have a whole bunch more contacts to meet, and am hoping the job I interviewed with last month has cleared up their budget impasse (we left it - they wanted me to meet the general counsel but as the budget was an issue they have to wait for clearance before proceeding...)<BR><BR>and how are you all? I've been lurking lately, in between sending out 100s of resumes...<BR><BR<BR><BR>Beth<BR>

ja

Hey, Beth - <BR> I envy you - you have a courage and snese of adventure that I wished I'd had in my twenties. Go for it, girl, and ignore the pathetic soul who turned HER envy into spite. Best of luck in your job search, and I'm sure you'll be posting from your e-mail address in england - soon!<BR>ja

Danna

Beth, <BR>Hw exciting, send my regards to Sheila, she is so helpful here with the Scotland queries... Have a grand time!!!!

xxx

ja - <BR><BR>Marly does have a point. I lived overseas both right after college and after grad school before becoming more grounded, and yet I can't imagine delving into such minutia about my job search on a travel board. I think it's the DETAIL of her posts which reveals the level of self-absorption -I don't think the average person would want to burden everyone in sight with such a lengthy description.<BR><BR>No offense, Beth. Good luck with your job search.

ja

Beth - <BR> looking forward to reading your future posts regarding your potential move - in detail! You go, girl!<BR>ja

karen

true, xxx and marly, but, do you really think she is 'burdening' everyone with her posts? or just the people who are interested enough to click on a posting from her? I'd be willing to bet there are people here who have no clue who she is, or have only read one or two of her posts... if you've read them ALL, then don't you have anything better to do than read every posting here, including ones you already know irk you?<BR><BR>there's a big difference between going to a party and droning on for hours to every person unlucky enough to come into her orbit, and posting more-or-less anonymously to a travel board. I have no clue what she's like in person, but the few other postings I've seen from her sure don't sound self absorbed.<BR><BR>let's face it, some people who travel might actually have thought of moving overseas. they might actually enjoy hearing about the day-to-dayness of it. if not, why would they bother to read the post at all? <BR><BR>and if it bugs them, maybe it's cuz their life isn't all that interesting either? there is such a thing as self censorship, after all. tune it out!<BR><BR>just my $.02 <BR><BR>

erica

I said it before and I want to say it again - love your posts (and I have read every one). I look forward to seeing them and was just about to start a post asking about you. Please, please keep 'em coming. Living vicariously!

beth anderson

Hi y'all!<BR><BR>This really has been quite the adventure. It's pretty cool to look at a city through a different perspective - as a potential place to live versus just visit. <BR><BR>On all my trips to London I've made new friends which really helps add to the sense of permanence/home versus just passing through.. that's what so much of this is about - see the world, make new friends, make it a SMALLER place and someday, someone may come to me and I can pass on all that I've learned. <BR><BR>and I am really looking forward to meeting Sheila this time too! all her help on this board is a tip of the iceberg, everyone - she's bent over backwards to make me feel welcomed to the UK - I've met at least one her friends in person, I've talked to some on the phone, and I will be meeting many others in a few weeks time. 'twill be an awesome time - Hogmanay, it's called?<BR><BR>The kindness I am finding here, there and everywhere is so heartwarming, glad to find that many of y'all enjoy my posts, and believe me, what comes around goes around - if there is anything I can do to help any of you, please email me! I have so many links, so much research conducted, have met many recruiters - surely someone would think to do this very same thing someday - I've got it all stored online and in notebooks.<BR><BR>Re: the snipes about my minutiaE – I am sorry to bug ya! Have to say I find it perplexing though – this relates to travel, it’s a bit of a new twist from ‘which hotel, which resto”, and heck, to my mind, minutiaE about this odyssey would be more along the lines of daily postings about getting up at 6 AM and sitting in my underwear n’ fuzzy slippers at the computer researching for several hours daily until I grab a shower before heading out to meet my mentor or colleagues for lunch, ad nauseum postings about the number of resumes I sent out that day, and so on about juggling dating & keeping up with friends too. <BR><BR>Not too much different from the travel reports we all clamor for, just a different twist. I don’t post here to get backpatting (although it’s always warmly appreciated) but to talk about my perspective on Europe. Someone may read this and think, hmm, cool, if she can do it, so can I! I have no doubt once/if I move there, I will get emails from others who want to do the same. (I HOPE so anyway, much as I hope to find visitors from here too!) So again, sorry to bug ya! <BR><BR<BR><BR>Beth

cdf

Beth-as far as I am concerned you can "bug " us all you want!! I look for your postings and read them with delight,wishing I were in your shoes,at least the renting a flat and living in London shoes I hope the job is waiting for you when you get there! that Scotland is as beautiful as I think it is, and that you keep letting us know EVERY LITTLE THING that happens~~~C

ja

Amen!<BR>ja

Mel

Beth:<BR>You KNOW I'm interested in hearing how your search is going--you're absolutely right when you say that this is a "twist" on the usual travel info and I think it's an important issue. Perhaps you'll inspire others to take the plunge, or not because of your difficulties. Who can say who's providing a worthwhile service? <BR><BR>Good luck on this trip and, yes, keep us posted!<BR>

beth anderson

news flash:<BR><BR>online again! reading the 30 emails I got overnight & replying to them all. nope, haven't showered yet either. <BR><BR>one tip (actually passing it along from "Shanghai Expat" Andrea) - check out the American Chamber of Commerce in your cities of choice. I just got two big emails from London - they sent me a database in excel format of all US high tech companies in the UK. this was free, I believe the Paris one costs maybe 20-30 bucks?<BR><BR>it's Xmas in, at, erm, well, XMAS! whee!<BR><BR>it takes so little to make me happy nowadays, hee hee.<BR><BR>more minutiae to follow!<BR><BR>Beth

abc

Beth - <BR><BR>I agree that a lot of your advice is VERY helpful - but you DO go into pointless minutae, e.g. whether or not you've taken a shower yet, or how many e-mails you got last night. I can't imagine why you'd think anyone is interested, but clearly you think that someone is - maybe you think it's part of your charm - who knows?

beth anderson

abc, <BR><BR>sorry, I was trying to be funny. (or a smartass, take your pic)<BR><BR>that was an example of what I DON'T usually put up. (which IS pointless, and I couldn't understand why I was getting slammed for putting up stuff I thought was helpful, before)<BR><BR>most of what I've put up has been "check this out, go here, look at this website, I'm heading out to London now to interview, here is what I found..." (including not only job stuff, but cool stuff to see/visit during that time period - and the different perspective you get when you have a MISSION beyond just looking at history... <BR><BR>Rick Steves always makes a point of saying, "don't stay at big hotels where you are insulated, get to really know where you are visiting". and trying to find a job, or a flat, sure helps! (I've posted about my flat finding adventures too)<BR><BR>someone's minutiae is someone's else's treasure though. can't make everyone happy, but it seems that I am hitting about 98% so hey! that's a good score.<BR><BR<BR><BR>AND, I have just made a few more contacts - people who wish to meet me while in London next month. too cool! another couple of needles found.<BR><BR>Beth, punchy from spending ENTIRELY too much time in the online job search...

c

Beth - I love reading through all of your psotings. Like you, I'm working on my own job search and trying to fit in as much travel as possible along the way. I've looked into making a move abroad, but unfortunately my career field doesn't offer many choices overseas. Great tip about the American Chamber of Commerce in London and the info that they can provide.<BR><BR>You're going to have a great time in Scotland. I was there in January and had a wonderful time roaming the streets of Edinburgh.<BR><BR>Keep the posts coming...there are many of us who really enjoy hearing your tales.

Giovanni

Beth,<BR>Just curious...how much are you paying for airfare?<BR>Grazie,<BR>Giovanni

beth anderson

c, <BR><BR>thanks for the kudos!<BR><BR>If you'd like to email me privately about your career field, etc - I can pass on what I have.<BR><BR>I just printed out the database from the AmCham in London. JUST the tech cos are 34 pages, 11x17 paper!! (that's a lot, in case it doesn't sound like much).<BR><BR>they also have each type of company sorted by division, so I could at least send you the 'headings' of the sorts of companies, and you could email them with the division codes you'd like (instead of the whole lot, which would have to be frighteningly huge).<BR><BR>good luck! glad to help anyone I can. it's fun!<BR><BR>Beth

Ann

About the only thing in life I'm sure of is that no matter what you do, someone will always get upset. So I'm glad to see you're not taking the bait from the people who are trying to bring you down.<BR><BR>My husband and I have decided to move back to N. Ireland. It won't be a permanent move for about 12 months (that darn capital gains tax), but I already have my little house on the water picked out. I've done the move before, so it's not quite as new for me, but it is still exciting, and I'm looking forward to leaving all of this D.C. traffic behind once again.<BR><BR>Beth-eventually, something will come through for you. Best of luck.

beth anderson

Hi Giovanni, <BR><BR>airfare hasn't been too bad at all, and sadly enough we all know why.<BR><BR>around 400 bucks for a return ticket, not too bad.<BR><BR>Beth

Giovanni

Ciao Beth,<BR>I meant to include in my earlier post that if you are flying American Airlines, be sure to register for their bonus FF miles for multiple trips to Europe. You can earn up to 30,000 bonus miles if you're flying in coach, and up to 60,000 if in First. Note that you MUST pre-register for the special bonus miles on their web site before you travel.<BR>Buon Viaggi!<BR>Giovanni