Well, it certainly is not a soft day here in North Carolina. I've continued to look for and apply to jobs stateside, just in case something amazing came up and my plans to head to Ireland didn't work out as planned. Last week I received a call from the Biltmore Estate asking if I would be able to interview for a position I had applied to. For those not familiar with the Biltmore (see link), it is an amazing place. To work their would be a great opportunity. The Biltmore is located in Asheville, NC in the mountains. It's a really beautiful area of the state. I decided that it's worth a shot, so I drove 4 hours out to the estate on Tuesday. I arrived about 30 minutes early so I sat in the car in the parking lot. As I waited, I received an email from a hotel in Middletown, CT asking when I could set up a time to interview. Late last week I also received a call from a Marriott in Fairfax, VA asking if I was still interested in the position I applied for there. To top it all off, just two days ago I received an email from a Hyatt in Rochester NY asking if I'm still interested in that position. Holy cow!!
So, I have interviewed for the Biltmore and have decided it's not for me - one down. I emailed the Hotel in CT and told them I was not interested. I was not impressed with their facility after I had done some research - two down. I interviewed with the Fairfax Marriott via ph9one today and they said they "will be in touch". I've heard that many times before with no response, so we will see where this one goes. I tentatively have an interview scheduled for Monday with the Hyatt.
On Wednesday, I sat at the Brickhouse Sports Bar playing trivia with my friend George. I was thinking a lot about this whole situation trying to decide what I should do. On one hand here in front of me I now have two very real possibilities of employment. On the other hand, I can fly to Ireland where I do not really have any opportunities and take my chances (oh, the job in Omagh in NI may not work out, as they are looking to fill the role ASAP). This is such a tough decision for me to make. I have wanted to move to Ireland for years; this is not something I just decided a few months ago. As Erin pointed out to me, when else would I get this opportunity to just pack up and move to another country? I've sold almost all of my possessions already. This just might be my one and only opportunity.
I'm still waffling, though. I've pretty much decided I am going to Ireland, but there are just a few logistics holding me back from committing 100% quite yet. The main one being paying for an airline ticket. When I first thought about doing this, I based the decision on the fact that if I made enough money from the sale of the house, I would go. Well, I am making enough money, but it occurred to me early this week that I don't have that money yet, and I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket. I did however make reservations for 15 days lodging through Airbnb, I was able to afford that. I've also been in touch with the two recruiters I've been working with so they both know my arrival in Dublin (which is scheduled right now for July 2nd). I'm hoping I can sell enough of my other possessions to at least get me a ticket. I have a car to sell yet, but of course I need that until the very end. Do y'all see my quandary here?
So, no final decision yet, but yay, I have more interviews. I still wonder if they are worth my time and stress. I wasted 12 hours and about $60 worth of gas going to Asheville. Oh well...
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
How it began
Off we go! I figured it would be best to tell you a little about myself and how I've gotten into this situation with moving to Ireland. Let me start by saying that me moving to Ireland is not a definite thing quite yet, but I'm very hopeful.
I've wanted to move to Ireland for many, many years. My grandfather was born in Castlederg, Co. Tyrone and moved to the United States in 1916 with his father. Growing up, I was always aware of my ties to Ireland through my grandfather. Around 2005, my brother had told me that we were eligible for Irish citizenship because of our grandfather being born in Ireland. It wasn't until 2007 that I finally got around to getting everything together (which my brother thankfully did all of the groundwork) and applying myself. The process took exactly one year, but in 2008 I was an actual Irish citizen. Once I had the paperwork showing this, I was able, and did, apply for an Irish passport. Of course, having these two documents meant I could easily work in Ireland.
For several years I had dreamt of moving to Ireland. I had planned to try to make this move once my daughter turned 18, which would be in 2017. Most recently, I've had desires to move to England, Scotland or Wales as well.
Well, back on December 6th of this year, I was let go from my job. I worked as a banquet manager for a hotel. I've done this for several years at different hotels, including the 5 Star Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, NC. Unfortunately, right now, there are no openings in this line of work where I live in North Carolina (a suburb of Raleigh). So, I've decided to start looking overseas. I began by applying to and sending my CV to hotels in England, Scotland and Wales, not even thinking of Ireland (I have to say here that I was really hoping for something in Wales, as I do love what I've seen of that part of the UK). But then it hit me like a hammer....Ireland. It seems like a no brainer for an Irish citizen to apply for a job in Ireland. So, this is what I did. I've sent my CV to several hotels in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Shortly after sending my CV to a job recruitment agency in Dublin for a position at a 5 Star hotel, I received a call. I spoke to the representative of the agency for quite some time while parked in front of a Red Box machine at my local Walgreens. John, the agent, decided to go ahead and push my CV through to the hotel for the next step, which is a phone interview. I have this interview scheduled for January 7th. I am super excited about this, but at the same time I'm very nervous. This is a big step to take, especially when less than a month ago, I was not planning such a drastic life change.
So, that's the story in a nutshell.
My next post will be about how I've started to plan the move and dispose of "stuff".
I've wanted to move to Ireland for many, many years. My grandfather was born in Castlederg, Co. Tyrone and moved to the United States in 1916 with his father. Growing up, I was always aware of my ties to Ireland through my grandfather. Around 2005, my brother had told me that we were eligible for Irish citizenship because of our grandfather being born in Ireland. It wasn't until 2007 that I finally got around to getting everything together (which my brother thankfully did all of the groundwork) and applying myself. The process took exactly one year, but in 2008 I was an actual Irish citizen. Once I had the paperwork showing this, I was able, and did, apply for an Irish passport. Of course, having these two documents meant I could easily work in Ireland.
For several years I had dreamt of moving to Ireland. I had planned to try to make this move once my daughter turned 18, which would be in 2017. Most recently, I've had desires to move to England, Scotland or Wales as well.
Well, back on December 6th of this year, I was let go from my job. I worked as a banquet manager for a hotel. I've done this for several years at different hotels, including the 5 Star Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary, NC. Unfortunately, right now, there are no openings in this line of work where I live in North Carolina (a suburb of Raleigh). So, I've decided to start looking overseas. I began by applying to and sending my CV to hotels in England, Scotland and Wales, not even thinking of Ireland (I have to say here that I was really hoping for something in Wales, as I do love what I've seen of that part of the UK). But then it hit me like a hammer....Ireland. It seems like a no brainer for an Irish citizen to apply for a job in Ireland. So, this is what I did. I've sent my CV to several hotels in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Shortly after sending my CV to a job recruitment agency in Dublin for a position at a 5 Star hotel, I received a call. I spoke to the representative of the agency for quite some time while parked in front of a Red Box machine at my local Walgreens. John, the agent, decided to go ahead and push my CV through to the hotel for the next step, which is a phone interview. I have this interview scheduled for January 7th. I am super excited about this, but at the same time I'm very nervous. This is a big step to take, especially when less than a month ago, I was not planning such a drastic life change.
So, that's the story in a nutshell.
My next post will be about how I've started to plan the move and dispose of "stuff".
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