My wife and I are moving out of the country within the next 3 months. We just haven’t decided where yet.
After months of research and applications, we have narrowed it down to two possible options (I have to be slightly vague about the exact locations for now):
#1 – Move to Europe where I’ll work at a funded, growing startup.
#2 – Move to somewhere more tropical (-ish) and continue freelancing.
Both options would be for less than a year, and both options are very realistic. My wife would be allowed to work in either country, and would likely search for a teaching job if she could find one. We have done our research regarding visas and costs and permits, etc. and have things worked out to where we could move to either place within 3 months. My wife knows which option she would prefer, but I’m still trying to decide. Its a hard decision! There are pros and cons to each option. One of the biggest considerations on my mind is whether I should work at a startup or do my own thing. Thats why I’m writing about it here. If my ultimate goal is to be the founder of my own startup, which option would best help me reach that goal?
Working at a funded, growing startup would be a great experience. I’m sure I would learn a lot and be able to make some great contributions in my role with the company. I would be on the Sales and Marketing Team, though as with many startups – my roles and assignments would be varied. Because I am a native English speaker, I would be involved in many different things where my English could come into play. However, I wouldn’t be able to study design or programming as much. Sure, I could work 10 hours/week on my own time and study design or work on a startup idea or two, but the bulk of my time would be devoted to my new position. I would potentially work there for several years, but that is to be determined. Hopefully I would come out of that position better prepared to launch a startup of my own.
Working for myself, I would continue my freelancing job doing design and WordPress. I calculated I can work 30 hours per week and earn enough to support my wife and I (thats including 10 ours non-billable and 20 hours billable). That would really open up my time for working on my own projects and studying design and programming. I feel like I could really pursue some of my own projects, and that would be a great experience. I’ve loved freelancing so far, so it would be nice to continue that, and it would be nice to work on some of my own projects as well. I hope I would get at least one solid idea off the ground while we were there. And one of the best ways of learning is by doing – so that would be a big benefit.
Its hard to decide on things like this. Both are great options. Both are great places to live. We are really lucky to have these two options – if I were to choose anywhere in the world to live, these two places would be in my top 5…they might even be my top 2.
I know many other people face decisions like this too. Two good decisions, but no clear reasoning as to why one option is better than another. But often, its just a choice between “great option #1” and “great option #2” and its just a matter of making a decision that you feel good about and moving forward.