Baby Steps

Well, we have finally received a little more information from Adam's company on the big move.  Unfortunately, it was a list of things we have to do that we previously didn't know about!  Who knew moving across the world would be so complicated?

Here are a few of the random tasks we must complete for the move:

• Get medical and dental assessments
• Get Adam's work permit
• Open a UK bank account
• Obtain permission to leave USA from British Consulate
• Meet with tax advisors to understand how to pay both US and UK taxes
• Rent furniture in the UK to have while we wait the 4-6 weeks for our furniture to arrive
• Take UK driving courses
• Register with a doctor in our new local area (part of socialized medicine, I guess)

There's probably more, but that's all I remember off the top of my head.  I'm so grateful that Adam's company is walking us through most of this and initiating a lot of it for us.  Just the list is overwhelming enough; figuring out how to do all this stuff on our own would be crazy!

Patience is a Virtue

...and I am being given a great opportunity to practice it right now!

We are moving in a little less than two months, and we haven't taken a house-hunting trip, haven't found a place to rent, haven't spoken to a realtor, haven't booked any flights.  In fact, we don't even know yet how much money we'll have to spend on rent.  You might think, "Wow, that's pretty soon.  Shouldn't you guys be getting some of that going?"

Yeah.  That's what I think, too.

You also might have observed that those two months between now and our move include two major holidays.

Yeah.  I observed that, too.

But alas, as we had been warned, the cogs of HR turn slowly, and we are still waiting for financial approval to move forward with any logistics.  So, in the meantime, we've been doing everything we can think of to prepare without actually spending any money:

• We've researched online real estate websites and narrowed down our search to our favorite few areas.
• We've looked into train, tube and bus passes and formed a tentative plan of how best to cover our transportation in London.
• We've looked up bed-and-breakfasts in the most gorgeous parts of the UK and driving times to get there from London.  (Okay, so that wasn't exactly necessary.  But it is fun!) :o)
• We've set up the shipping for our dogs.  (See last post.)
• We've donated tons of extra stuff from our home in preparation for the down-size.
• We've researched churches, grocery stores, parks, train and tube maps, Bible studies, pubs, local points of interest, and so much more, to get a feel for what daily life might look like once we arrive.

I know that we'll get our approval before we know it, and everything will somehow get done when we need it.  I know that if all else fails, we can live in a hotel for a while in London while we find a flat.  I know that not everything with this move is going to go perfectly, and that's part of the adventure.  And I know that no matter what, we are in this together, and we are going to have rich stories and memories to hold onto!

But really, HR.  You could hurry up a little.  :o)

The Business of Dog-Shipping

Hi, we're Brinkley and Buster!  Will you let us into England, please?

When Adam and I first found out about the possibility of moving to London, we immediately thought of our dogs.  We are both total dog people, both grew up with dogs, and those two cutie pies in the picture are our best buddies.  We had heard horror stories about trying to get dogs into the UK -- months of quarantine, shots, endless paperwork, and the sobering truth that many owners simply choose to give away their dogs rather than face the hassle of moving with them.

There was no way we were going to do that; our dogs are part of the family!  So we set to work figuring out how to make this happen.

First of all, we discovered that the mandatory six-month quarantine was a thing of the past.  The whole point of these crazy regulations is that England is an island and has no rabies, so they are very careful to make sure no dogs coming into the country have any symptoms of rabies.  A couple of years ago they changed the rules so that the six months of waiting between rabies shot and England could happen in the home country INSTEAD of quarantine.  So the process would look like this: rabies shot, wait six months, blood test confirming negative for rabies, Welcome to the UK!

Well, we just found out for sure that we're moving to London about a week ago, and we have to be there in January!  Oh no!  THANKFULLY, the regulations are changing again in January - no six-month wait if you're coming from an approved country, one of which is the U.S.  Whew!  So we'll be able to bring them immediately!

Oh, I wish that were the only concern.  The biggest hurdle now is the paperwork -- the confusing, extensive paperwork to get them through UK customs.  If you get there, and any of the paperwork is missing or wrongly worded, they end up in quarantine.  If the airport microchip reader can't find their microchips, they end up in quarantine.  If they lick the customs agent, they end up in quarantine.  (Okay, I made that last part up.  But seriously, it seems that ridiculous at times.)

After mildly freaking out about this for several hours, we decided to enlist the help of a pet relocation service.  Didn't know those existed till a few days ago!  For a (quite hefty) fee, they arrange all the vet appointments and approvals prior to shipping, book the flights for our dogs, pick them up at our house in Katy, get them through customs on both the U.S. and UK side, take care of all the paperwork, and deliver them to our new flat in London.  Is it pricey?  Yes.  Do I feel a little silly for not being able to handle this myself?  Oh yes.  Worth it?  Definitely!

We are just starting the process of making all the arrangements for their big move.  Brinkley and Buster, you sure are high-maintenance and expensive, but we love you!!

Big Changes

In the past 9 months since I've blogged, there have been some big changes to our lives, and obviously some big changes to the blog!  Yes, folks, it's true - in a couple of months we are being transferred to London.  After a long, tough year, what better way to start off with a clean slate and a new adventure?

Because of these big changes coming in our lives, I've been re-inspired to begin blogging again.  I figure I'll mostly blog about the move and cultural changes, but I'll probably throw in some other random topics when I feel like it.

So how do I feel about moving across the world? Right now I am thrilled, terrified, ecstatic, sad, nervous and a whole lot of other emotions.  In some ways, I feel like we are only baby ex-pats, since the differences between the UK and the US are not that great.  But the worry of the unknown creeps in, and I begin to wonder how difficult this will be.

One thing that comforts me is knowing we are doing this the easy way.  Adam's company is taking care of practically everything; we basically only have to direct which stuff goes to London and which goes to storage, pick out a house, and voila, move accomplished.  I know there's more to it than that, but really, it could be much worse.

Well I don't want this to be too long, so I'll save specific topics for other posts.  Long time no see, blog world!