Doug's government job back in Virginia had always involved a lot of travel. While traveling Doug was frequently given offers of employment, so he decided to start shopping around a little. This started probably back in November of 2014. We were seriously considering a job in Florida and I had even started researching the real estate market there finding the best schools and such. I even went as far as to invite a realtor on a walk through of our house to get started in the process. Gossip spread and Doug started getting other job offers that he was looking into. I believe he was traveling at the time when I received the following text message.
It really surprised me. I didn't even know where Abu Dhabi was. I quickly Googled it and found out that it was smack dab in the middle of the Middle East! There was NO WAY that I was going to wear some burka wherever I went. That was about as much research as I did and figured it wasn't ACTUALLY going to happen.
Then, Doug started talking more and more about the job opportunity and that the guy that was recruiting him really actually liked it there and it was safe and... and... SO I decided to actually do some REAL research and what I found actually excited me.
- I wouldn't need to wear any kind of special dress or coverings as a woman.
- The city of Abu Dhabi is incredibly safe.
- Everything is modern in city of Abu Dhabi... it's just an hour from Dubai which I had heard of.
- The people there speak English.
- Abu Dhabi is very family-centric.
The more I read, the better I felt about it. I told Doug that night before bed that I would be okay with moving to Abu Dhabi. He seemed very surprised and said okay, but that he had a lot of other job opportunities to consider before moving our family all the way to the Middle East. I told him I thought it would be an adventure and that Leah and I were up for it!! He chuckled. We went to bed.
Over the space of several months of looking, we had decided that the job offer in Florida that we had been seriously considering was not the right fit for Doug at the time. Several other job offers came and went, but none of them promised the salary and benefits of the one in Abu Dhabi.
Fast forward to April 2015, Doug came home and said that he filled out the paperwork and was going to mail it and accept the job. He only needed to mail it!
A part of me still didn't believe he was actually going to mail it and it actually sat on the couch for probably 2-3 days. It was Thursday, April 21st and I was driving when I got the call. He mailed it.
We were moving... to ABU DHABI!!
...and his start date was supposed to be in TWO WEEKS.
We were able to get his start date pushed back another week and a half. Whew! We called family and close friends and then we made it "Facebook Official."
In one very short month, Doug was headed to Abu Dhabi to start his new job and Leah and I would follow less than two months later.
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