- Andrew Millar, British Consulate General
Through my membership in the British American Business Council (BABC), I always manage to stay well connected within the British business community in Houston. I was recently introduced to Andrew Millar, who is the British Consul General, shortly after his relocation to Houston. He was kind enough to agree to let me interview him about his relocation adventures and early impressions of Houston so that I could share it with the readers of my blog.
You might be wondering to yourself, “What exactly does a British Consul General do?” This was my first question to Mr. Millar, who explained: “Within every country we are represented and have an Embassy. There are 9 Consul Generals in the U.S., as well as the Embassy in Washington. I cover: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas.” He explained that there are 3 key areas to his role:
1. Consular – looking after the interests of British subjects in the states that he covers.
2. Commercial – promoting the UK as an investment destination and British exports to this region.
3. Political – keeping in close contact with the political and government sectors in the region.
Now that I had a better understanding of he role, I asked Mr.Millar to share his first impressions of Houston with me. His reaction wasn’t that surprising, as he addressed the size and weather immediately. He said, “Good heavens, it’s so big! It’s a huge city physically. The first thing that hits you is the heat, and the second thing is the sheer physical size of Houston.” As to the general feel and culture of Houston, he added, “It is open and friendly. I have yet to experience a city where I have actually felt so welcomed everywhere I have gone.” I told him that he wasn’t alone in this sentiment, as this is probably the most common impression that people seem to have about Houston. It is an extremely friendly city, and we enjoy welcoming newcomers to Houston.
But, no relocation is without its challenges. I asked Mr. Millar to tell me about the challenges faced by him and his family upon their move to Houston. He said, “When you are uprooting a family, particularly with small children and dislocating them from their friends and networks, you know that this is a huge impact on their lives. The way that you manage that is to make sure that they are in as welcoming an environment as possible. Texas is a great place to do that. You also have to remember that the partner moving with you has to keep everything together. It’s often much easier for the employee, while your partner has to parachute into all the strangeness that has to be dealt with as a family.” This is a very important point, and often key to the success (or failure) of a family’s relocation.
There are always creature comforts from back home that people miss upon relocating to a new city. I asked Mr. Millar to tell me what he misses most. He said, “It would be the map of the London underground. I am not used to driving everywhere, which you have to do here. London is a very dense and old city but with an amazingly good public transport infrastructure.” Agreeably, Houston is not as pedestrian friendly, and you really do have to drive here!
I am always curious about the impact that social media has on the ability of people to stay connected with friends and family back home. For Mr. Millar, he said, “The beauty of social media is that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you can stay as connected with your group as you need to be. Skype comes in very useful and helps with the visual stimulus for small children who get easily bored on the telephone. It makes a difference when you are used to family being close by, and suddenly they aren’t. You can use these tools to stay connected and in constant contact.”
Finally, I asked Mr. Millar what advice he would offer to other Expats moving to Houston? He said, “Get your banking sorted out before you come, particularly if you need to shift money to buy cars and other large purchases. There are a lot of things that you need to think about and manage before you come over, so doing the research is really important: where to live; what car to buy; which schools to send your children to. The Internet is a great way to do this.”
I am always interested in hearing from people who have relocated to Houston. If you would like to share your relocation story or experiences with me, please contact me.
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