It’s been two months since I’ve moved to Prague.  By now, I’ve met a lot of expatriates from the U.S. and the U.K.  Prague is reputed to have 25,000 of us.

The first conversation with a fellow expat inevitably includes the question, “so, how did you land in Prague?”  The answers fall into three buckets:

1.  I came for love and stayed for work

2. I came for work and stayed for love

3. I came for adventure (sometimes this is code for “I came for the parties”) and stayed

The recurring theme to these conversations is that arrival in a new and different place set in motion a series of events they never expected.  And that they were universally glad it happened.  Given my fascination with change management, I’m encountering a group of people who somehow welcomed change when many of us don’t.  Or at least were open to where change would lead them.

Maybe that’s what the expats have in common.