If you had asked me a year ago whether or not I would ever consider moving to China, the answer would have been no. How would I handle the 15+ hour flight? The 12 hour time difference? What language do they speak? What is the currency over there? I say “over there” because let’s face it, China might as well be Mars. Growing up in Pennsylvania, we spent most of our vacations at places no more than a 5-6 hour flight away. No one from my family has ever even traveled to that side of the world, or even considered it, due to the long distance.

It was all of these concerns, plus leaving my comfortable life in Philadelphia, that were holding me back. And then something clicked. Not only did I realize I wanted to go to China, I realized that I needed to. I needed to do it for myself. Without getting too deep, I’ve been out of college now for five years working a 9-5 job (that I do actually enjoy), but something has always felt like it was missing. No one tells you that after you graduate from college and “go seize the day” that it eventually becomes mundane. Once the high of earning my degree wore off, I would frequently ask myself “so this is it, huh?”

This was “adulting”.

My whole life I was told in school to work hard, get good grades, apply to internships, network, build lasting professional relationships, always be strong, always be seen as confident and capable. Never let them see you sweat. So, like I was told, I did all of those things, or at least I did them the best I could. And then I reached my late twenties with this “oh shit I’m going to be 30 soon” feeling and I started wondering if I had done enough. Could I look back on my career thus far and say, yes! I’m on the right track…?

And the answer is that I wasn’t completely sure. Something was missing. I craved adventure in a new way. I needed something that I could completely throw myself into. Something I could be passionate about. Fast forward a year and here I am, packing up my life and getting ready to board a plane for Hong Kong.

This opportunity presented itself through a new position with my husband’s job. He traveled to Hong Kong last year for work and absolutely loved it. A few weeks after he came home he started hinting that it could someday be a possibility for us. That's when my initial reaction was "absolutely not..."

What has been interesting to me about this whole process are my feelings towards it. As I mentioned above, I used to be in a completely different place. I let my lack of knowledge regarding Hong Kong get in the way of the possibility. I questioned myself. And now, I’m here typing my first post for a travel blog (my blog) that I could not be more excited about. What used to be fear and concern has turned into enthusiasm and intrigue.

I’m not naive enough to think it’s all going to be easy. I know there will be days where I feel lost (probably literally and figuratively) and I may even have a few breakdowns along the way, but even that excites me. Is that weird? To think that even the hardest days are going to be exhilarating because it means I get to live on the other side of the world, experience a brand new culture, meet new people, try new food and so much more.

I’m kissing the cubicle life goodbye and embarking on a life-changing journey. I don’t exactly know what the future will hold in my new life, but I kind of can’t wait to find out.

So...I'm moving to Hong Kong