From the US to the UK: Sarah
Chambermaid-ing. A year in Italy. Gilmore Girls, beachside.
Sarah grew up in Connecticut, but thought it would be pretty wonderful to live in England. When she grew up, she realized that she could actually do it. And then she did.
How did she obtain citizenship in both the UK and Italy?
And why she decided not to live in Italy, even though her year in Reggio Emilia was “magical” and she returns for visits almost every year.
What’s it like to live and work in the big city (London) and a quaint little Gilmore Girls town (Folkestone)?
I hope you enjoy Sarah’s story about leaving home and finding home. In the UK.
When did you start thinking that you were maybe interested in living in a different country?
When I was a little girl I had fantasies of thinking it would be wonderful to live in England. I had never been to England—I imagined tea parties. I don't know where I got these ideas in my mind, but I thought it would be a really calm place. I was a pretty shy, introverted kid. And I thought: Wow, England sounds like it would be such a great place to be.
And then when I was 18, my boyfriend at the time and a friend of mine, we were like: Why don't we just spend the summer there? I don’t know if it still exists, but back then there was something called a blue card where college students could go and get jobs working at pubs or working in hotels. So I worked really hard that semester to save money, I got the blue card, and I made it to England.
The three of us went over together and we ended up in the Lake District, one of the most gorgeous places on earth. They got jobs in a pub—very cush jobs, where all they had to do was pour beer. And I agreed to be a chambermaid at this Inn. It was the most backbreaking work ever. I had to get up early and we had to set the breakfast room and then we had to serve English breakfast to everybody and then break things down and then go and clean all of the rooms, and that involved like lugging the Hoover around to each room and scrubbing the bathtubs, and it was really tiring work.
But despite all of that, I fell in love with England. I loved walking around the countryside. I loved the pubs. I loved the atmosphere there, how all the different generations mixed. It was like a community space at the time. I just loved everything about England. And I was like: okay, this is where I want to be. This is where I want to move someday.
Then I had to go back and finish university and I couldn't figure out a way to move back for many years.
But it was something that I held in my heart for a long time. It was just sort of a quiet dream rather than something I was actively pursuing because it just didn't seem feasible.
How did you finally figure out how you were gonna move back?
I was living in New York City and I think I just stumbled across a blog post about somebody who was of Italian heritage who was able to get citizenship through his great grandparents. And I thought, Wow, I didn't realize that it could be your great grandparents. I thought it had to be your parents, or maybe your grandparents. But this guy, it was his great grandparents.
I got really excited and I started to look into this and collect all the documents that you needed. And you have to get everything in English translated into Italian. So I found a translator who would do that for me. And she said, “Look, I also tried to get citizenship through the New York consulate when I was living in New York City. They made it really tough. They were quite arbitrary about the things that they would accept and not accept.” She said, “I moved to Italy and I just applied there. And so you might want to do that as well.”
And so on this advice of a stranger, I was like: All right. And I packed up everything in New York City and never looked back.
Where in Italy did you go?
I went where my translator said she had applied. So she was the first person in this town to get citizenship through her ancestry. And I was the second one. And I know Italy has a bad reputation for bureaucracy. But this place was very efficient and very helpful and I made friends who helped me out along the way.
It happened fast. I had my passport in like two months.
How did you end up in the UK?
I loved Italy so much that I wanted to stay longer and work on my Italian skills. And I made great friends there. It was such a magical time. I loved the town that I was in.
But culturally, America and England are so similar and I appreciated those similarities. And eventually I had to get a job and start making money. And there were more job opportunities in England.
But also, England was in my heart and so I was very excited to move and start that next chapter.
What was it like living in London vs. NYC?
Is there a difference in corporate culture or working culture between the US and the UK?
I think a lot of American customs and culture moves abroad. So but I would say in the UK it’s a little bit more laid back. People will still joke around more maybe at a Christmas party. There would be an open bar and people getting a little bit crazy. The US feels a little bit more reserved to me. Like people are kind of a little bit more afraid these days to make jokes. It's more serious. It seems a little more easygoing in the UK.
But still people are starting to get addicted—not addicted—I'm talking about phones and just being tethered to your jobs. I think that's becoming a little bit more common over here in the UK. But also becoming common is being aware of this. And trying to institute policies to say: don't bother your employees after a certain time. What can we do to increase well-being I think is something people are becoming more mindful of over here.
Actually this is probably the biggest difference. When I was working in the US and people would go on holiday, people would kind of be happy for them, but then also be kind of a little bit like Must be nice. Kind of thinking like it wasn't possible for them. Or even taking a sick day. Like, Oh, must be nice for them that they can actually take a sick day. I have too much work to do. In England, from my experience, if you're chiming in on emails when you're supposed to be away on holiday, people will be like: “What are you doing. Go offline. Shut off the mail app. We'll see you when you're back. Have a great time.”
What advice would you give someone in the US who is thinking of leaving their corporate job and starting their own business and moving to another country?
But also there's other opportunities out there, right? Like you can find a job at a global company where you can move with the company. That's probably the easiest way to do it.
Tell me about your beach town and why did you end up moving there from London?
So I live in a town called Folkestone. Have you ever seen the Gilmore Girls? I feel like I'm living in the Gilmore Girls of the UK, but beachside. It's just so quirky and odd here. Like, if you remember Kirk from that show? One day he'll be working at the movie theater and the next day he's serving you a glass of wine and the next day he's DJing at a park? It's a very creative town. And so people are doing a lot of different jobs to make their creative jobs work as well.
And for such a small place it's got such a thriving music scene. We've got a theater and we've got good people coming through. There's just a lot. We're at the beach, so we have this harbor with a food hall and outdoor movies. And there's just always something interesting and quirky happening. So it's super fun.
Was it hard to make friends in the UK?
No, I feel like it was a lot easier than New York City. But that might be a New York thing.
Also, I think it's easy for expats when you're new. You're seeing things with fresh eyes. Things are exciting. You're trying new things. So you're putting yourself out there.
And if you're moving abroad, I would give this advice: Put yourself out there. You can't wait for people to come to you. What are you interested in? Go and start doing these activities where you could meet people who are like minded, who have similar interests. You really have to get out there.
And so that's what I liked to do. So I was meeting new people because I was making an effort to like, explore and try new things. I met people at language exchanges, at aperitivo events that were held by different Italian organizations. Depending on where you live, there's lots of opportunities to try new things. So I met and made friends pretty quickly, because I checked out all these different things.
What's the best part of living abroad and what's the hardest part?
The best part for me is the easy access to European travel. And I definitely take advantage of it. I love city breaks. I also love doing longer trips in Europe. Spending like May and June in Italy before it gets too hot. I love doing that. And I love England, of course. I've been here for a long time. And I don't have to be here, but I just enjoy living here.
The hardest part is being so far from my family. I mean these days we have FaceTime, which is great. So I talk to them a lot, but it doesn't get any easier. And sometimes I think it gets harder because your parents are getting older. And I have relationships that I want to keep and keep strong and I've been gone for a long time. Will I go back there forever? I don't know. Probably not on a permanent basis. But I probably will start spending significantly longer amounts of time there, like maybe even half and half.
Any final advice?
So who knows what the future brings? I guess if I would say anything else, it's that you don't know what's coming up. And so why not try? If you want to move abroad now, try it out. It doesn't have to be forever.
I think that's a thought that I had for a lot of things—not for living abroad, but like a lot of bigger things. Like, for instance, I put off buying a property because my parents have always lived in the same place. In my mind, this means forever. If I do this, then I'm here forever. And I was never ready to make that claim. But it didn't have to be that huge. I could have gotten something for a little while and then sold it or whatever.
So I would say: try it out. If you don't like it, it doesn't have to be forever.
Got a question for Sarah? Did something in our conversation resonate with you?
Join in the conversation in the comments. Ask questions, share experiences, get ideas, get inspired, get clarity.
Because leaving home is hard. Talking to people who've done it makes it feel less overwhelming. And more fun.
We also talked about:
The first time she quit her job and to move to Italy for 30 days.
Her move from Italy to London. How did she find a place to live, a flatmate, a job?
The hardest and easiest things to adjust to with respect to living in the UK
Obtaining UK citizenship, post Brexit.
Finding contract work vs. full-time employment vs. starting your own business.
How often she gets back to the US.
Whether she thinks she’ll live in the UK forever.
The advice she’d give herself about moving abroad if she could go back in time.
And where she thinks of as home, when she thinks of home.
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Watch the entire interview by clicking play on the video below. Or listen to the podcast.
Good news!
If you want to connect with Sarah, you can find her at:
Substack: Citizens of the World
Podcast: Citizens of the World
Website: Sarah Mikutel
Instagram: Sarah Mikutel
Also! Sarah is also offering a FREE anxiety-reduction toolkit that includes a guided meditation and workbook to help you calm your nerves when public speaking (or anytime you’re freaking out)! You can grab this confidence booster here.
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