A chance meeting at a rugby tournament four years ago resulted in a Queenborough man swapping Sheppey for the Big Apple.

Neil Champ says living in Manhattan’s exclusive Upper East Side is a far cry from his Sheppey roots.

The 29-year-old moved to New York in November 2006 after taking part in the annual St Patrick’s Day rugby tournament in the city in March that year.

He said: “It was there I met my now work colleague and I was asked if I would be interested in having an interview with the managing director to discuss possible employment in New York.”

An interview followed in the April and seven months later, Neil left his home in Queenborough to start a new life stateside working as a manager for international antiques company Cadogan Tate Fine Art.

Neil said: “It is hard to obtain working visas in the US without employment. I was lucky to have found employment prior to relocating.

“They assisted with all the visa requirements. I was first on a B1 two-year working visa and then added to the company E2 visa which is now for five years.

“New York and Sheppey are totally different, you just cannot compare. Sheppey is my home and always will be, but to live and work in New York is such a great experience, the networking and business opportunities here are huge.

“In New York I am networking with people from all over the world in all different professions.

“None of the American people I have met have heard of Sheppey, they find it interesting that I come from a small island off of England.

“I have brought some people over with me on a visit. They enjoyed their time there and found the people friendly. Sheppey is very much like a southern state over here in the US.”

Neil says he didn’t have a specific ambition when he was a child and after leaving school, he worked in the fresh produce office at Sheerness Docks.

“I have always wanted to live in the US since a family visit to Florida when I was younger,” he said. “I cannot think what I would be doing if I was not here, I guess if I am in New York now then anything else could have been possible.

“Every day I wake up I cannot believe I am here. So many people from so many different parts of the world, it’s inspiring! Being in the city is great, the city is pretty much 24/7 so there is always something to do or see.

“I am living only three blocks from the mayor’s mansion.”

In the UK, Neil played rugby for Sheppey, Maidstone and Aylesford as well as football for the Queen Phillippa in the Sheppey Sunday League.

His love of rugby has continued stateside and he plays for New York’s Village Lions club.

He said: “We have just won the division 2 championships, so we are now promoted to division 1 and competing in the play offs for a spot in the national division 2 championships.”

Neil is keeping his options open for the future and has no definite plans to return to Sheppey.

“I would never say never. I have so much to learn and achieve in the US at the moment that if I were to return it will be a while,” he said. “The future can hold anything.”

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Neil grew up in Foxley Road, Queenborough, where his parents Colin and Carol, a former Mayor of Queenborough, still live.

He attended Queenborough Primary School, Cheyne Middle School in Sheerness and Fulston Manor secondary school in Sittingbourne.

Although he is living in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, Neil admits there is still a downside.

“I miss my family and friends,” he said. “I have a niece and nephew who I am missing growing up.

“Although I live in New York. Sheppey is my home and nothing can compare to growing up on Sheppey.”

He visits the Island once a year and enjoys visits from friends and family.

“I tend to come home once a year for family occasions, Christmas and New Year I spend in the US and the family try to visit here,” he said.

“I think they would prefer Christmas and new year in New York rather than me come home to them.

"Celebrations in US are bigger and better, it’s the only way they know how. Americans love to be over the top for everything and it’s great being involved.”