One of the things I’ve found most interesting since starting this journey – I shall call it that even though so far I’ve only moved two miles! – has been the responses I’ve had from others when they’ve heard of my new plan.

Before resigning from my City job I chatted to a senior colleague about what I was hoping to do (he’d just resigned himself for an entire career turnaround, with the onus on a very different work/life balance) and he looked ever so proud of me.  Positively delighted for me.  And that’s really the response I’ve had from most people.  Over the weekend just passed I was described as a catalyst who could inspire others to rethink their lives, after all we’re only young once and I am lucky enough that I can make this change, and take this chance, without risking anyone else’s dreams along the way.  I look forward to seeing if others are equally as inspired to take a risk.

There are, of course, those who “never could”, where the City (and the wage) is too inherent to the lifestyle they love, and the choices they have made.  As I’ve mentioned before, life fulfilling as childbearing and parenting may be it isn’t the path for me, please don’t get me wrong, we need people whose raison d’etre is raising the very best children to inherit this world; if everyone was like me we’d have a splendid and decadent couple of decades, but the human race would probably be left in the hands of the results of accidental drunken pregnancies…..

What’s been unendingly interesting (and also helps assuage the doubts as to whether I have made a sensible decision myself) is hearing from friends/colleagues their ideas of what they would do if they threw it all in and left their respective banking/finance/actuarial/engineering/etc workplaces to do something else too.  It seems, so far, that if all these people followed through with their musings – and only counting the ones who have purported they would come with me, rather than doing something else entirely – we’d quite easily have a beach bar, water sports and rowing club, sailing school and yacht charter, with daytrip booze cruise option, on an island somewhere one side of the Atlantic or the other, serving our group wine, decorated with roses from our group farm, and a private plane to take you on island tours!  All we’re missing is someone to do manicures and waxing; if you fancy doing a course in either of these alongside your day job, please let me know! *

Then there are the people who would (if they could) walk away from this city life we have found ourselves in and work for a charity; it makes me appreciate how lucky we are to live in a world where people are kind.  Not everyone, there are some truly nasty people out there, but a lot of people just want others to have the same quality of life they recognise they are fortunate enough to enjoy.  To give back.  Over the years I have been privileged to make the acquaintance of people who work in nursing and caring, jobs I’d never have the strength of character or disposition to attempt.  For you, who are doing a job which literally changes people’s lives every day, and will probably do so for the next 20yrs, I am going to grab this opportunity in which I find myself with both hands – and hope that I can make you laugh a little bit along the way.  And perhaps I’ll change a few lives too, teach people, help people find confidence and a passion for something new.  Or maybe I’ll just end up running a beach bar and helping people find a reason to smile in a large glass of Vina Sol, that wouldn’t be a terrible conclusion to this adventure – and you’ll all be able to vouch for the fact that I gave it a good old go!

* I’m assuming amongst all of my geeky friends someone would come out with us and do our accounts and tax returns?  Job spec likely available some time in 2023.