Christiane Schroeter.
SLO Town Studios/SLO Town Studios
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Christiane Schroeter, a 49-year-old professor of innovation and entrepreneurship and leadership strategist in San Luis Obispo, California. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I moved from Limburg, Germany, to the US in 1999 as an exchange student for my M.S. degree before returning to Germany to complete additional graduate work. I returned to the US in 2001 as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue my Ph.D. at Purdue University.After I earned my Ph.D. in 2005, I decided to build my career and my life in the US rather than return to Germany. I had met my husband during my graduate school years, and together we chose to put down roots on the West Coast.I joined the faculty at Cal Poly in September 2007 and gave birth to my daughter in December of that year. I started a new job, pregnant, while moving across the country. Building a career and a family at the same time, far from my home country, shaped everything I came to understand about the real cost of relocating.Today, I'm a leadership strategist, professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, author of several books about leadership, and a podcaster.The new country feels last longer than you expectI was 23 years old when I first moved to the US. I expected the obvious expenses, such as flights, paperwork, and the starter purchases you don't think about until you need them.What surprised me was how long the newness stayed expensive. Even when your income is objectively higher, fixed costs rise so quickly that it takes very little to feel financially stretched.
