London Relocation Update

Its been a while now since I have even mentioned our move to London. I will admit, I have been in denial, and am still a little bit in denial that our relocation is even happening. I may have already had a few small crying sessions. LOVE the 'Deen! It isn't so much Aberdeen that I love as is it the friends that I have made here. Eight months just wasn't long enough!

Here is an update on just a few aspects of our relocation:

1.) VISA
To work in the UK, Luke was required to get a VISA. I had to piggy back on his VISA to live in the nation as well. There were a variety of "rumors" about if the VISA is still valid after switching jobs, companies, locations, etc. Luckily, since Luke is still doing the same assignment, his VISA only needs updating by its location. Which means we do not need to go through the process of waiting on a new one. Goal #1! (apparently, I have picked up on this "football" thing)

2.) Medical Exam
Luke's company required us to both get full medical exams before we were cleared to relocate to Aberdeen.  Since we have only been in Aberdeen for 8 months, our exams are still valid, so no need to go through that process again. Goal #2!

3.) Breaking our lease in Aberdeen
Because we have only been here for 8 months, we still have a lease agreement. Luckily, it seems that we will not have any issues with the contract... let's hope it stays that way!

4.) Leaving our Aberdeen home
Since Luke and I are renting a home in Aberdeen, there are a few things in our lease agreement that we need to take care of before we move out. Such as power washing the back patio, washing the windows, cleaning the house, making it look exactly as it was when we arrived. Most of the furniture in the house is not ours so we have to put it back where it was. The kitchen was fully stocked so every little cup and spoon must go back in its original place. Luckily we took pictures of EVERYTHING so we have to pull those out (like the one where Chandler cleaned the apartment <-- funny stuff) and compare each room.

5.) Home search
This is probably the most stressful part of the whole process. I remember it being stressful coming to Aberdeen, but London is so much different. Last Friday, Luke toured a few different areas with a realtor to get a feel of where we might want to live. While touring, he was able to see a few homes to get an idea of what we can get in our budget. Let me just say, it doesn't sound pretty. Anyway, we are trying to arrange a home search BEFORE we leave Aberdeen, that way we can have a home and receive our shipment earlier than usual. Unfortunately, getting me down to London will be on our dime, and you know the Buisson's are with their pennies!

6.) Temporary Living
If all goes planned, we will have a home ready for us when we arrive in London. But that might be a long shot, so we may need to be in temporary living for a few days or even weeks before we get into our permanent residence.

7.) Transportation
In this circumstance, Luke and I are hoping to drive the car because we will have left over refrigerator food (even though I am doing my best to eat everything like the one when Joey's fridge breaks <-- seriously super funny <-- and seriously my life is Friends) and pressurized containers (hair spray, pledge, etc) that cannot be packed by the movers. Luke and I do NOT throw out things that are still useful, so we must get these to London somehow and that somehow is using the car.

8.) Shipment
Yesterday, the moving company came to the house to access our "stuff". It seems our stuff will need two days which is about what I expected. The man told me that 3 Glaswegians will be packing our stuff. If you remember the blog on when we received our shipment, the Glaswegians are extremely difficult to understand. And if all goes to plan, we will be packing up in two weeks. TWO.WEEKS!

Luke and I are still working out all of the details, but it seems to be coming together. Stay tuned for more information!

RANDOM FACT:
Many rental properties in London display rent in terms of per week rather than per month.

-Debbie-