Dual Careers across Borders  

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

Virginia Woolf: A Room of One's Own

When you decided to move across borders for your partner's work, you knew it could take time for you to find relevant work locally. You would need to settle in, find your feet, get used to a new location, and maybe settle the kids in at school. 

But you never expected it to be this difficult to find a job. 

You have a university degree and relevant experience. You are motivated to work, use your skills, and contribute to society. Yet, you seem almost invisible here. You worry about the widening gap in your CV, knowing that with every passing month, your ties to the formal workforce weaken, and your CV gap gets more difficult to bridge. 

You feel like an important part of you has been ripped away. Because your professional identity matters to you, it's a cornerstone of how you see yourself and your place in the world. If you can't be a professional - who are you?

Maybe you have taken on more of the responsibility at home, too. What was always intended to be a temporary division of labor: your partner earning money at work from day one and you taking charge of the practicalities of relocation and the home before stepping back into work, is becoming more established as time goes by. It's a lot. 

Maybe you feel frustrated, emotionally drained, or lost. 

I have moved across borders six times—for my work and my partner's work, with and without kids. I have been the lead parent and later carved out a space for dual careers across borders and on repatriation.

I had employer support and support from other expat partners to find my way. Here's the one thing I wish I'd known from the start: planning how to navigate dual careers across borders should include both partners, account for other dependents, and start before you decide to move. 

I learned the hard way! I want to Pay It Forward and create this website as a resource for others.

If what I've collected here can support your journey in any way, I'll be delighted. One of the loveliest messages I've ever received was this: 

I thought about what you said, about not postponing taking charge of my career path after moving to Norway and how you wished someone had told you to not just give up because finding relevant work locally was hard. I called my old boss and was able to negotiate a remote role with them. Better pay, too.