Moving to New York City

Originally Published on LinkedIn - April 2015

In Summer 2015, GCS will be opening its first North American office in New York City. I will be managing the NY team and this is my blog during my transition to the USA.

In my previous blog, I covered why GCS has decided to open its first North American office. I received an amazing amount of messages, InMails and calls from well wishers and after the congratulations the most common question was how I feel about moving to New York.

London is one of the best cities in the world and I feel privileged to have grown up, lived and worked so close to it, but having the opportunity to live and work in New York has always been my top goal and now it's being achieved. From my experiences in NYC, I feel the biggest difference is the fact that New York genuinely never stops - from having a 24hr subway (the trains, not the sandwiches, although probably both are applicable) to getting a suit fitted at 4am, the city genuinely never sleeps.

This won't be the first time I've worked in America. After successfully completing my degree at University, I worked in Pennsylvania - in the Pocono mountains - for a Gymnastics camp for the Summer. It was a summer that has prepared me for a work and social life in America as I had a further month of travelling around California, Vegas and, of course, New York. I was working twenty hours a day for six straight months, I absolutely loved it and those experiences have given me a great insight into America as a country, the landscape, the way of life, the attitude and, above all else, the people.

I made great friends during my time in the States, friends I'm still in touch with today. During my recent trip to New York to look at offices, I was able to catch up with several of them and we picked up right where we left off. This recent trip was my seventh time in NYC and I am incredibly excited at the prospect of calling it home.

With each week that passes, I'm making new contacts, adding to my team and learning about all the legalities that is involved in opening an international office. It is all becoming very real now and I am confident it is going to be a very real success.