Foreign Perspectives

Although we set off for France with the intention of spending the rest of our lives here, in practice I left on a career break which left open the chance of me returning to work at any time up to five years from my departure from work way back on February 20th 2004.

Whilst at the time we thought of it as essentially free unemployment insurance, as y’all know we’re currently in the process of returning and with the global economy being in the current mess that notional “free insurance” has turned out to be quite valuable to us now. Not only do I have a guaranteed job waiting for me, but it’s a nice safe one at that and seems a good place to be sitting to ride out the coming recession/depression for the next year or two.

Although obviously not everyone will have the opportunity to leave on a career break, it’s definitely worth taking that route just in case things don’t work out. If they do work out then there’s no downside as you don’t have to return from a career break but on t’other hand if they don’t or your plans change as ours did…