Whenever a couple of days pass and nothing is heard or discussed about the move, my imagination gets the best of me I begin to think they've changed their mind and I'm left with a half boxed up house. But, I am happy to report that we are still on track! Steve now has a starting date. This date has been the source of much discussion the past couple of months. Now that we have a start date (November 14th), visa's for Steve and the kids can be applied for.
Speaking of passports, I thought everything was in order for my travel to the UK. I am not a US citizen (as I tell my friends that ask if I will ever become one..."No, I like to be different"). But in order to stay in the US legally I do have a green card. Oddly enough it's not actually green, but pink. My first one that was issued was green, but after I got married and got a new one, they had changed the color. According to the UK immigration attorney, I, being a Swiss national, needed to do absolutely nothing to establish residency in the UK. I could come in on my Swiss passport, set up shop...even get a job with nothing more than my little red book. But as I found out later, according to US laws, I cannot be outside the states for more than 6 months without filing papers to avoid having my green card surrendered. That would be a big bummer if we decided to come back and visit!
So I had to fill out papers to ask the US to have mercy on me and give me a two year travel accomodation on my green card. The only problem is that I have to return to the States for a couple of months prior to the two year expiration to submit another request for another two year extension. I know that the assignment is only for two years, but we have fingers crossed that we stay for longer. So basically, every two years I have to come back for a couple months. But it's not that bad I guess. Not only is it great for seeing friends and family, but I might even sign up for some races in Atlanta during those two month windows!
So back to the starting date. As of this date Steve will begin getting paid in pounds (British Pounds Sterling to be exact). I now have to get bank accounts opened (going with HSBC) in the UK to allow for direct deposit. I also need to establish an account with the same bank in the US. If we didn't do it that way we would be paying an arm and leg for wire transfers from HSBC in England to Wells Fargo in the States.
We also need to get a credit card opened in the UK. We love, love, LOVE our American Express Delta card and use it to buy absolutely everything (up to 3 Skymiles per dollar charged if anyone is interested in one?!) But they charge a 2.7% conversion fee per international transaction. Since we use our card for everything, we'd have fees out the wa-zoo. American Express does offer cards in the UK, but not for Delta. Instead it's for British Airways. Guess we'll start flying them all over the place!
We are supposed to get set up with a realtor to help us find a house and narrow down our list of schools. Yes...there is a LIST. More on that later!
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