We're Here
Just when you thought it was safe to never need look at my blog again, I have finally learned how to post another entry onto it! There is loads to tell to bring you up to speed, so I hope you are sitting comfortably.So, we got back from our trip over here in February, with plenty to do and not enough time to do it in. We had to severely slim down our belongings, as we discovered after getting several quotes from shipping agents that it costs a bloody fortune to have anything shipped! So did 2 car boot sales to get rid of the never-ending amounts of junk, had enough for another but ran out of time. Also had to sell all electrical goods as couldn’t bring them due to the US being on a different voltage system, and we wanted to leave as little electrical stuff as possible behind in our flats that we are renting out, as that way there is less stuff to go wrong that we would need to replace. So we both had lists for sale on notice-boards at work and emailed to everyone we knew. Eventually sold most of it, and of what was left, we donated the saleable stuff to my sister and brother-in-law for their future car boot sale (that my Mother fears will never happen as it is all being stored in her garage!), and gave sack loads to local charity shops.
We also had to sell both our cars. Gordon found someone selling a really old VW Golf for peanuts, so thought it a good idea to buy it to use once his Volvo sold, and then could sell or even dump it at the end. But his Volvo was a convertible, and no sooner had he advertised it for sale, than it started snowing! So needless to say it took a lot longer to sell than first expected. But he managed to sell the Golf as well, having never actually used it. My car is still for sale, sitting on my Mother’s drive. Any interested parties, please let me know!
Both our flats had to be rented out, through agencies, as we wanted to stay on the property ladder back home. Gordon’s agency found a tenant who wanted to move in the weekend before Easter, but we were on a skiing trip then so he had to move out and have the place ready before we went away. Getting your place ready for rental involves getting everything gas and electrical tested and certified as safe, getting the place professionally cleaned, and getting all your own stuff out unless you are leaving it behind. So he had the removal men in the day before we went skiing, and then that evening we moved everything else of his over to my place. The electrical stuff had already been tested, but the cleaners and Gas man were gong in while we were away. There was a problem with his boiler, and it needed replacing, but his tenant is now in and paying rent. My place is still empty. Any interested parties, please let me know!
Yes, we went on holiday in the middle of all the mad running around preparation time! We went Saturday 12th March for a week, so only got back 10 days before the BIG MOVE. The holiday had been booked months ago, way before this was ever on the cards, and we could really have done with that extra week to get ready, but actually it was a really relaxing week at a time when we both desperately needed it. If you can call learning to ski (that’s me, not Gordon) relaxing! But we managed to spend most of the time not thinking or talking about the move at all, which was great as it had dominated our every waking moment for the previous couple of months.
We had to go to the American Embassy in London to be interviewed for our Visas. By this time we had already sold a lot of stuff, so it would have been annoying to say the least if we had been refused! We had to be there at 8.30am, and all the literature they sent out before-hand warned that we should expect to wait several hours to be seen. So we went prepared with books to read, and had told both our offices not to expect us til late afternoon, if at all. We got there early, to find a massive queue outside, stretching round the corner. It turns out they give appointments for every 15 minutes, with tons of people having the same time. We were eventually put through security and allowed inside around 9.15am. Did I mention it was a freezing cold day? Again they handed us a leaflet telling us to expect to wait several hours. So we settled down, bought cups of tea, and didn’t even have time to finish them before we were called. This was to hand over the application paperwork, then we were given a number and told to sit again. But we only waited around 20 minutes. I was expecting to be taken into a room and grilled about why we should be allowed in their country, what plans we had, and to be tested on how well we knew each other, remembering the film ‘Green Card’. However, we were shown to a window, like in a post office, and a woman asked us a couple of questions, but it almost felt as though she was only making conversation to fill the silence while she was stamping our forms. Then she said it was all approved and we could go! We couldn’t believe it.
I finished work the day before we went skiing, which gave me the week after to tie up loose ends. During that week, the removal men came to pack up my place on the Tuesday, so we both moved into my Mum’s for the last 6 days, living out of a suitcase and not able to find anything! Then we just had both of our work leaving parties to go to, and Easter weekend, which we spent handing out parcels of food and drink to various people. We had sooo much alcohol and food left over that we couldn’t bring, so ate and drank our way through as much as possible over the last few weeks, and gave the rest away to friends and family.
So now we are here. Got here yesterday. The weather was lovely, around 68F and sunny. We got picked up at the airport, collected our hire car and mobile phone (must learn to call it a cell phone) and then to our apartment. It seems nice – 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, balcony, and (the best bit) a walk-in wardrobe! So we are going out today to Social Security Office, as you can’t do anything here without an SS number. Also need to do some food shopping as nothing in at the minute.
