Beginning our Expat Journey

The fam-damily leaves Friday, July 10, arriving in London Saturday, July 11.

The ex-pat basic questions answered:

Why we’re going: Between the two of us, my husband Terrence (T) and I have been to 35 countries. Not too shabby… but visiting isn’t the same as living somewhere new. We’ve been in Boston for the past 12 years, and in Massachusetts for most of our lives. Max (the baby) said that he wanted an accent and we never ever say no to our toddler, so what choice did we have?

Job: Head of search at a media agency working on CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) / FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) account.

Visa: Obtained through my new employer. Tier 2. It took about 1.5 weeks for the employer sponsorship to be approved, a few days for us to get to our Biometric appointment and to gather and send the correct paperwork, and then about 6 working business days for our priority visa application to be processed in NYC. We worked with our company’s US law firm to get it all done. Ironically, the British Embassy in NY was closed in honor of July 4th.

Where we’ll live: TBD, hopefully on the Northern Line. For the first 11 weeks (July 11 through Sep 30), we’ll be in Air BnB housing so we can try a few different neighborhoods, starting with Shepherds Bush.

Who we’ll miss: All of our family and friends in the USA! Come visit! We have all the baby gear you people with kids will need.

The Dog: Sadly Mustard is more of a country dog than a city dog. Yes, he has lived in Boston for 99% of his life but he would be challenged by London. There are people who wear HATS over there, and they drive cars on streets, and the apartments are smaller, and who even knows if they like mustard [as a condiment]. He’s staying with T’s mom until we return.

Mustard loves Jim, and ‘Merica

Mustard has already made a new friend – Kitten!