My Story

In October of 2009 I was at a crossroads. I was working a job that I was far from passionate about. Life began to become one big blur — each week was the same — I worked Monday through Friday. I went to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. I watched football on Sundays. I saved my money with no goal in sight. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. Months were about to turn into years. The only thing I really had to show for it was a larger bank account and a few additional lines to add to my resume.

Looking into the future, I began to get sick at the idea of continuing my life, as it was becoming for 5 years. All for a promotion or two. All for more money. All at the cost of my late 20s. People work their whole lives to get to where I was. I worked my whole life to get to where I was. However, I always had this urge…

After getting my MBA I decided to do something atypical. I took an internship out in Shanghai. However, my internship wasn’t the lavish international internship of most expats. I had a Chinese roommate. I had no American friends. I worked in a company with no westerners. Every day was survival. I did solo trips to random cities. On a Wednesday I would decide to book an international flight to a new country. I loved it. My brain started to expand and I felt alive. I wanted to live live to the fullest during my brief time in Asia because I knew that I was going back to a conservative corporate life with one of the top banks in the world. My life was determined.

My how things change…

That one Summer experience was always in the back of my mind as I navigated my way through corporate America management. I continued to think — what can I do to feel alive again? I am 28 years old (as of April 02, 2010). How can I make the most of my youth?

I soon created a plan. My plan to quit my job and rejoin her in China in 4 months.

The plan is now a reality. I arrived in Shanghai on February 28th, 2010. Stay with me as I walk you through my journey and share my advice with you as I uncover the secrets behind how things work in China.

You can e-mail me at mike@movingtochinablog.com.