Leaving Chicago

After four and a half years I will be leaving Chicago and moving once again, this time to the island of Bermuda, otherwise known as the Island of Insurance! Immigration has yet to be approved, so there is a still a chance the British Colony turns us down but all being well we will only be in Chicago for another 5 to 7 weeks, sad as that is to think about.

This has been going on for some time, and although I have been to Bermuda a number of times since I came to the States, I spent two hectic days down there in January to discuss the opportunity presented to me by Aon to lead their property team. Then just last week we spent 5 days on the island with a relocation company representative, realtors, human resources, my new boss and new colleagues. It was an exhausting, eye opening affair.

Last summer my big boss in New York suggested that I might like to live and work in San Francisco. I wasn’t keen, nothing to do with the location because San Francisco is beautiful, but it was too far from the UK. I turned the chance down but it got me thinking about my future and evidently it got my company thinking about it too.

I moved to Chicago at the end of 2003 for a number of reasons, although if someone had told me then that I would still be here over 4 years later, then I wouldn't have had any of it.

This has been a very hard decision, I guess I assumed that back to London would be where I would go next - it is where my son is, my mates are, my brother, my football team, and it is 70 miles from my parents. London however was not where the job opportunity was that offered itself in Bermuda. Career wise, financially and excitingly the next chapter of my life and one half of the dream fantasy football management team will be on an island in the Atlantic Ocean 21 miles long and 2 miles wide.

I'm going to miss Chicago, it truly is a great city and one of America's best kept secrets. Give me Chicago over Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco and Boston any day of the week. I'm going to miss my home, on which I have spent a lot of money upgrading it to the point it is now the end result of the dream I had when I bought a tatty, uncared for large brick loft in what was an old lamp factory 3 years ago but I've decided to keep it as the Windy City will forever be a home for me.

Bermuda was described to me as a bubble last weekend. At times life is not real, dreamlike one minute and nightmarish in another. It certainly is not for everyone, I would never have gone there in 2003 on my own. It is a place for couples and young families or retirees. I know it will take a huge adjustment but as someone said to me recently - a couple of years down there can't be bad for my career, my stress levels and my sun tan.

One thing I am certainly looking forward to is Bermuda's Britishness. It is one of the British Empire’s best preserved legacies. Discovered in 1503 there is history, beauty and culture everywhere and after more than four amazing years living in America, I can’t wait call football football and not bleeding soccer, watch cricket (two days are declared a national holiday in July to watch the two ends of the island play each other), rugby, go to a real pub, drink tea with hot water and milk and a bit of BBC as well thrown in for good measure.

Quite a few of you have come to visit me here in Chicago, and you have all kept in touch for which I thank you. The N&R FL is my little connection to my old life in the London Market and you certainly find out who your friends are when you do something like I did in 2003. I am sure Messrs Down, Paull, Foulger, Long and the tall Croat Davor all agree with me.

I am looking forward to a visit from Paul Kelleher and Lee Day in a couple of weeks, probably my last visitors to My Kinda' Town. I hope you are not shy and some of you get yourselves down to Bermuda too. The warm English beer is on me!