30 Comments

Thank you for sharing such a candid piece. I got to learn a lot about perspectives at different stages of one's life from this. Good luck with your move and hope this starts a great new chapter in your life like you wish it to be.

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Great to hear, Ekta. Thank you!

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This was a uniquely profound and thought-provoking piece. Thanks for writing this, and please continue to write such things! Good luck with your new adventure!

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Thanks Sameer. I really appreciate this! I’ll keep writing more in the same vein.

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Thanks Will for sharing your story and for putting yourself out there. You don't have to be embarrassed or anything at all. I think this piece can really help people to put things back into perspective, especially for those highly ambitious professionals. I am just about to start my professional career but I've already had those thoughts in my mind that relationships (romantically or friendships) detract me from opportunities and simply hold me back (since I wanna go as fast as possible). Your story really made me think and reassess what is important to me. I think I understood now, why people are saying "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to get far, go together."

I will keep your story in mind on my path.

Cheers from Germany and take care!

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That’s an excellent saying, Julia. I think it’s really true. There comes a point where going fast isn’t the best path. I’m finding the need to go with people to make the journey more fruitful. All the best and thanks for your note :)

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Love this Will, it’s shocking how much I relate to this (down to our vacations in Hawaii being a month apart). This really gave me some perspective.

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Crazy coincidence. Hope this is helpful as you navigate your journey.

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Loved this piece. Please keeping writing. This article gave me a new perspective. I wish you all the best!

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Really happy to hear this, Purva!

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Great news! Every now and then you need to take a step back and evaluate especially as an achiever. As a fellow Londoner, I can say you'll hate the weather but post-lockdown you'll really enjoy the city. Hopefully you cultivate meaningful relationships :)

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I lived in Vancouver, so I’m ready for some rain and clouds! Haha thanks for the note, Alina.

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Hi Will, that's an amazing story. I haven't even graduate from school but I already understand and cheer for what will come next. Hope you and your girlfriend enjoys London!

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Thanks Chloe! Don’t get me wrong - having a great career is important. But there are definitely things that trump raw time into work. Good luck with the rest of your degree ☺️

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Hi Will! We haven't met, but I wanted to wish you luck on your next journey. I can empathize taking a $40k pay cut. I had to make a similar decision when I first transitioned into Product. Thank you for the great content!

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Thanks a ton Brian. Glad to hear I’m not the only one on that front. I guess we make sacrifices for our dreams and priorities! Keep in touch.

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A bit late to the game but just finished reading this and I'm so touched ❤️ Many people (regardless of ages) will go through this stage and not all of them climb across the mountain to have new realizations like this. Appreciate your sincere sharing!

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I resonated so much with this post - immigrant parents, hustle culture 😭

I hope London has been treating you well and I hope you and your gf come down to visit Cambridge.some.time, it's beautiful here!

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Welcome to London, hope you can settle down quickly and have new exciting life for yourself and your partner. Looking forward observations from English work environment.

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Hey Will, I enjoyed this read. You don't know me but we shared a similar path to London and back. I'm also from Canada (Toronto), started my career in SF, and have recently moved to London for a new opportunity with my long-term girlfriend. We'd love to meet you and hangout in a safe and socially distant way whenever you're settled and free. Feel free to DM me on Twitter (@ArminKhaya) or shoot me an email (Armin.Khayatian@gmail.com) if you're interested in making friends outside work :)

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"to London and back" is meant to read "to London and background". Apologies for the typo - still super down to be friends :)

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Hey Armin! Appreciate this. Always looking to make friends. Keep in touch and let’s hang out post-lockdown :) cool journey so far!

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Great article. It takes a lot to be mindful and to open up about these things. Kudos to you Will!

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Thank MJ :) hope it’s helpful!

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Thanks for sharing, but I'm honestly a bit confused... you changed teams and took a cost of living adjustment when your program ended to move to another big corporate office... I'm not quite sure I get the lesson about giving up career here?

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No big lesson here - this is just my story. For me, it was recognizing that investing in my career alone wasn’t going to be the best route in the long run. So I reprioritized and moved to a spot where I can be with my girlfriend.

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Great narration Will. Loved it! All the Best.

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Thanks Mayank! 🥰

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What a wonderful write up Will! I could almost feel that it was me in the story and that I was reliving the narrative through my eyes. I can totally relate to all of it. I have had to do life and career changes and change trajectory due to family and parental obligations. Divine providence has all the best wishes for you and us. Hope and pray that your new chapter in London will work well for you. Please stay in touch and let me know how life and work goes for you. All the best!

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Thank you so much Harsha. Really glad to hear that you’ve been in the same spot and that it was the right decision for you.

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