I found all that beyond my wildest expectations – working in the global marketing and events industry – but in December 2009, I returned home. I loved London, it provided me with constant challenge and adventure, but in the end it’s a transient life that none of us South Africans living there wish for ourselves forever. I couldn’t live permanently in a country I loved but simply felt no connection with.
London was Mr Right Now, South Africa is Mr Right. So far, I love being back in South Africa, all the clichés – the weather, the space, the beaches, seeing stars in the night sky – it’s not to be underestimated how happy they can make you. More than anything, I feel a huge sense of relief, as if I can stop holding my breath and running, and can now build a life I love in a country I can imagine forever in.
Almost all my friends in the UK are talking about coming back, I think after a while we all begin to assess what we truly value and find that only home can provide that. And career wise, after a week or so of looking I realised that the opportunities are abundant and there is plenty of adventure and challenge to be found!
