And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the last day of my job (woot!)
 

So after 10 years working in the British government I am now officially not a civil servant any more. That feels... weird. Won't get the year's salary that they're paying me until the end of the month but when it comes through it'll be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Next step: get on the plane to Sweden to live my new life there on Tuesday next week. It's taken two years of planning all together, but I finally got there :)

Congratulations, and best of luck on new adventures!

Is moving to Sweden intended as a permanent or temporary thing?

Congratulations! Sounds like that extra money is going to be useful pretty quickly - what's in Sweden waiting for you? New job? New people? Retirement?

Wild guess-hawt Swedish guys?

Best of luck in your new adventure, keep us posted on your peregrinations!

Congratulations, Mister Primus.

I remember what It was like to leave government service, I share your elation.

How did you manage to leave a job with a year's pay? They must have really wanted you to go. ;)

Sounds awesome. (My next move will likely be to a nursing home.)

I'm picturing you on an episode of House Hunters International. See if you can make that happen.

He's gonna go have beers with Worm the Red. :mad:

It's intended to be permanent, but being a realist I've set myself a goal of living there until I don't want to live there any more. I'm hoping I stay though.

New people, new opportunities, a socio-political system run more in line with my values than the one I'm leaving behind, a culture and country that I really like and want to be part of (and, yes, a lot of men who tend to fall into my type of tall, blond and strapping :D )

I will do, although people are also welcome to read my blog which is www.goingintothenorth.blogspot.co.uk

Thanks Khampy! :) Definitely feels strange as being in the service is a proper career, and it's easy to become institutionalised. It's going to be a bit of a shock to the system to work somewhere else and not have to go through 30 feet of red tape to get a new pen.

The pay was part of a general offer of early release that they were making to staff, if Departments want to shrink their headcount that's the easiest and quickest method (although the worst in the long term as the best people go to take jobs elsewhere knowing they can whilst laughing all the way to the bank, and the people who aren't good stay). The amount was so high because I've been there 10 years and the standard terms are a month's salary per year's service (so it's not a FULL year, rather a year of take home pay).

I think you mean have beers with Worm the Red again ;)

Well, it's not like government jobs are real jobs to begin with, but congrats anyways. :science:

It's true, particularly for me given that I was in the Department of Pencil Sharpening. We used to be part of the Department for Stationary but were eventually split into the Departments of Pencil Sharpening, Pencil Creation, Pen Creation and Pen Ink Filling because it was found after a particularly gruelling select committee that the range of power the original Department had was too great, and it needed to be broken up. Media circus doesn't even begin to describe that particular period, I can tell you.

Well make sure you say hi to Pencil when you get to Sweden then. :)

Wonderful news, Illuminati! It sounds exciting! Adventures! WOOP! :woop: :beer:

Sweden, hell yeah! Vurry envious! You will have so much fun there. :wow:

Congrats, I hear the food in Sweden is good.

BORK! BORK! BORK! ;) :viking:

Yay you! I look forward to more of your updates, northern hemisphere brother x

At least with only ten years service your payment will be free of tax. (The first £30k is tax-free; anything above that gets classed as earned income and taxed accordingly.)

So happy for you, IP! I bet w/in a very short period of time you'll look around and marvel that it was the best thing you ever did.

Thanks all - I suspect you're right Veb, but I have steeled myself for a difficult first year because I hear it can often be tough. It depends on your relationship with the country I guess, I think I have a good enough sense of Sweden that my instinct I'll like it there is correct.

I wish you all the best for your new life in Sweden.

How exciting! Wishing you the best in your new life!

I hope it all goes well for you--good for you for taking the plunge!

Just remember, even though you travel across a continent to a completely different culture, we are still right here for you.

Awwwwww - that's really nice, thanks Glazer. I certainly will probably have more time to post here, and blog, and vlog too - what with having no friends or anything.

Hey if you need a hotel while you get settled or visitors do later I just stumbled across this deal - One night's accomodation for one piece of artwork

I'm okay for accommodation, I have a place to live for the summer and potentially longer but set up for now :)

At the airport at the moment and found this - couldn't resist posting as it was so apt :) http://img.tapatalk.com/d5cde03e-3666-a219.jpg

This is exciting!

Please do the Mary Tyler Moore thing and toss a hat up in the air when you get there.

The 'raffe sign is a sign of good fortune.

A good omen! Best of luck in your new adventure. More envious than you know over here. Most of us are going to live vicariously through you, so make it good!

Wow, it's like they KNOW us! :cool:

Best of luck, my man.