Manchester move!

I have been off the blogging radar for a number of months now. I mentioned some time back that the boy managed to get himself a fancy job with the NHS and a Masters place in the University of Manchester and so this resulted in me deciding to leave the land of Limerick (after 13 years!) and begin the new employment search in Manchester too. 

It was a little daunting, especially when rejection emails started to arrive into my inbox. I also decided to hand in my notice in work without a new position to go to. For me, that was out of character and also a big decision to make. I'm one of those safe types. Usually going from one secure job to the next, with a salary flowing from one month to the next. But, my gut told me to do it, take a chance and see how it goes.

I got lucky. The very next day after handing in my notice, I got called for an interview and my first interview at that. One week later I was in Manchester interviewing and presenting my ideas. Two days after that, a job offer. I got really lucky. Everything was starting to slot into place. When I received the phone call and job offer, the boy was on a boat to the UK. He hadn't even reached the country yet and I was on the phone letting him know that I too had secured a great position. 

I landed a role with the University of Manchester and I start tomorrow. As you would expect, I'm full of excitement and nerves. The University of Manchester is huge in comparison to my previous position at the University of Limerick and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in, meeting new people and getting settled into Manchester and University life.

The last two months in particular have been all about planning, packing, researching and lots more packing. I knew I owned alot of possessions but until I started sifting through it all, I was quick to realise that I owned too many 'things'. And so began a mammoth clear out. From clothes, to shoes, to craft supplies and books. You name it, I reduced it down. I donated probably about 50 books to a friends book stall, I gave heaps of great craft supplies to friends, donated bags and bags of clothes and shoes to local charity shops and literally dumped about 20 bags of broken, unwanted and not charity shop worthy items in to a skip. 

It was a tad stressful if I'm honest. Mainly because the boy started his position four weeks before me and as a result moved over four weeks before I needed to. I was left the job of sorting out the house while still working my full time job during what was the busiest time of the year. It was worth it though. We're here now and he's declared his love for the city already. I'm excited for him and excited for us.

By the end of the clear out, I was left with about 15 boxes of personal items / clothing that will be shipped over to the UK next week. FYI, couriers are expensive. If you're planning on moving country (from Ireland to the UK), make friends with a man and his van, get on a boat and it will most likely work out cheaper.

At the moment, the boy and I are living with his friend in Manchester until our apartment becomes available to move into next weekend. I cannot wait to get moved in, unpack our things and make it our own. It'll also be a shock to the system. For the first time in five years, we'll be paying rent and bills. (In case you didn't know, I was provided with a freebie house with my last job). We're grown ups now, we can deal with it.

The fun part, its a two bedroom apartment. This can only mean one thing people! Of course I'll be converting the second room into a new craft / office space. I'm hopeful that with this new, great and exciting position I'll have more time in the evenings to really get stuck into all the crafty ideas I've had brewing in my head for some time now.

For now and until the move to the apartment, we're enjoying getting to know this beautiful city, eating our way through some amazing restaurants,  learning about its industrial history and generally doing alot of people watching and yummy coffee drinking.

Here's to Manchester! I've a feeling we're going to get along really well.