11 posts tagged “moving”

We’re finally starting to settle into something of a routine around here.   Our new schedule involves more time reading/learning, job-hunting and “publicly loafing” (Shane’s term, aka “exploring outside”) and less time napping, blog-reading and watching daytime TLC.  (But have you guys seen that show with all the kids?  MY GOD.)

While financial worries are always lingering in the back of our my mind, I’m finally noticing just how much our quality of life has improved.  Here are a few of my favourite things about living here so far:

• Waking up to the soothing sounds of rain.
• Accessing running routes in the woods, along the oceanfront or through the city, all from our front door.
• Keeping just one light on during the day, rain or shine.
• Buying our fruits and veggies from the corner stand (and getting helpful produce-picking advice from the folks working there).
• Grocery-shopping as members at Choices (and purchasing weekly fresh bread from Uprising Breads bakery there).
• Finding out Nature’s Path is a B.C.-based company (and benefiting from their local sales).
• Walking to the bank, the library, the post office, the drug store and Cupcakes (at their new and bigger location!).
• 

  And pigeons on children
  Eating amazing sushi for less than $5.
• Driving the car only once or twice a week (and regularly parking a block or less from home).
• Having almost everything a bus, bike or boat ride away.
• Watching all the wildlife in our neighbourhood, especially the puppies, puppies and more puppies.
• Living so close to my brother.
• Spending this time off with my best friend.

One amusing thing about this move so far has been my continued ability to be surprised by being here.  Because our life still revolves around the usual routines of eating, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, etc., I have a tendency to get caught up in those regular tasks and temporarily forget where I am.  Not in a blacked-out-and-now-think-the
-President-is-Martin-Sheen way, but in an oblivious-to-the-world-beyond-my-apartment way.

So, when we do finally leave home and walk (or run) a couple blocks one way or another, I end up reacting to my surroundings with mental exclamations, e.g. “Hey, the ocean!” or “Hey, towering conifers/mountains!” or “Hey, the pungent smell of pot!”  All of which leads to the startling conclusion that we are still residing at the same geographic coordinates as Vancouver.  Who knew?  (Yes, I know: apparently everyone but me.)

On Friday of last week, we left town to a Saturday forecast (in both Washington and Vancouver) of 80% chance of rain.  I was sure the West Coast was preparing to hit us with a wet, welcoming bitch-slap on moving day.  However, we miraculously managed to avoid the rain in BOTH locations, loading and unloading our moving van with nary a sprinkle until nightfall.  Much gratitude goes out to Ian, Mary Jo and Rick for helping us avoid getting drenched!  (And for cramming the bulkiness of The Couch™ up two, tiny flights of stairs.)  You guys rock.

We've spent the days since unpacking, unpacking and then doing some more unpacking.  It is truly insane how much stuff we’ve accumulated over three-plus years of living together.  Thankfully, this apartment came with plenty of storage space – both in our suite and in our storage locker downstairs – so we found a place for everything and then some.  I would especially like to give a shoutout to our kitchen closets, which are totally (and roomily) awesome.

There are still a few finishing touches we want to put on the place before the official “unveiling.”  But no worries, Internets, we will give you a virtual tour soon!  And you too can experience sitting in this very chair I am typing from.  Except without the having-to-wash-dishes part that is about to follow (you lucky bastard you).

In other news, The Couv underwent a federal and provincial inspection today.  Aside from needing (ridiculously expensive) daytime running lights (seriously, it felt like I was back with my Focus for a moment), our Prius passed with flying colors.  Next stop: registration, license plates and insurance, all of which are apparently taken care of through B.C.’s Autoplan, whatever that is.  (I guess we’ll find out...)

Things have been progressing smoothly as we continue transitioning into Canadian life (knock on wood).  We now have bank accounts, a temporary parking permit, bus schedules, a telephone book and a very clean apartment/storage locker.  We are extremely excited to be retrieving our belongings this weekend, as the whole sitting and sleeping on hardwood floors has gotten really old really fast.

A lot of folks have been asking how Shane and I are doing.  So far, we’re both feeling great.  We’re still in a vacation-like mindset about this move, so we haven’t yet had time to sweat the details (i.e. finding work, paying bills, etc.).  I’m sure once we are more settled in, we’ll feel a stronger sense of urgency about the financial aspects of this change, but right now we’re focused on simply getting settled.  (And it certainly helps that the weather here has been sunny and the cherry blossom trees are starting to bloom.  Yay spring!)

On an unrelated note, I recently read (in the Newcomer’s Guide to Vancouver) that one in four Vancouver families own a dog.  This means there are about 60,000 dogs in the city.  I can’t wait to meet them all.

The past week has been a Tilt-a-Whirl of activity.  Last weekend, we loaded our storage containers – three 5x7x8 boxes – with the majority of our worldly possessions and sent them on their way.  While it was more than a little nerve-wracking trying to cram EVERYTHING WE OWN into such small containers (and then place them all in the hands of COMPLETE (albeit professional) STRANGERS), we were glad to have that gigantic first step out of the way.

 

We then moved into my parents’ house, and I awoke on Easter morning in my old bedroom feeling like I had traveled back in time.  It was very weird; when 2 p.m. rolled around, I half-expected to see my brother groggily emerge from his old room, too.  But we settled in and made the regular Easter rounds, even managing to fit in some games of Ticket to Ride.

 

The last few days have been a balancing act of cleaning the apartment, creating my demo reel (thanks go out to Joel, Elena, their entertaining kids and the basement Hacintosh) and filling out more of that exciting immigration paperwork.  Shane’s last day at work was yesterday, so we spent a chunk of today tying up loose ends together and making last-minute purchases.  We have thankfully managed to overlook the fact that we are spending money now sans income.  Three cheers for savings.  And denial.

 

Truth be told, this whole move has yet to feel real.  Even with all the preparations we’re making, even though we are down to a DAY remaining in MN, neither of us can process the fact that this is finally happening.  After years of waiting, we will be landing as Canadian immigrants on Monday.  And we'll be living in Vancouver.

 

How fucking weird is that?

Our weekend was absolutely insane.  We kicked off with a Friday-night goodbye party, generously organized by our Three Amigos – Carrie, Jon and Shannon.  Many, many thanks to them and to everyone who took the time to attend and wish us well!  We had a blast (at the ever-delicious Chatterbox) and stayed up well past our bedtime.  (And as much as I would love to post some photos from said event, well, it’s really hard to take pictures and be farewelled at the same time.  FYI.)

 

When we finally got up on Saturday, it was time to start packing.  We spent the entire day not only loading boxes, but writing down EACH packed item on a special form for immigration purposes.  Now, I’m as detail-oriented as they come, but this was a whole new level of crazy.  I suppose it’s fitting, though, considering how voluntarily moving cross-country and then across the border is not exactly for the sane-of-heart.

 

Sunday was spent much the same way, slowly transforming our meticulously organized apartment into chaotic piles of paper, cardboard and furniture.  By the evening, we had cleared out every cupboard and closet, taken down every last picture frame, and begun to worry (already) that we had packed something important we’ll need.

 

And just think: this is merely a hint of how we’ll feel for the next several weeks.  (Oh my HELL.)

Since I have been fielding a lot of the same questions lately (about our upcoming move), I thought I would compile and answer them in a single post.

 

1)      Where is Vancouver?

Vancouver is located on the coast of British Columbia, the westernmost province in Canada.  It is right along the Pacific Ocean, about two-and-a-half hours north of Seattle, WA.  (Note: the city is not located on Vancouver Island.)

 

2)      Why did you pick Vancouver?

We have traveled there many times and simply love the character of this unique city.  It is a beautiful place, with a good mix of nature and urban life.  It also happens to be the third largest production city in North America, so I might even find a job in television production (my major in college).

 

3)      Can you immigrate without jobs?

Yes.  We are immigrating to Canada as Skilled Workers.  Our application had to prove that we have work experience and employable skills, but not concrete job offers.  Since we passed the extensive evaluation (including proving we have the funds necessary to move without guaranteed income), it is expected that we will be able to find work in Canada.  You know, before going broke.

 

4)      Will you have a green card?

We will have the equivalent of a U.S. green card: a permanent resident card.  As permanent residents, we will have nearly all the same rights as citizens, except for privileges like voting and running for office.

 

5)      Why did it take so long for you to get visas?

The specific reasons are unknown to us, but we’ve been told the immigration office simply has too many applicants to process.  The paperwork on our end was quite extensive and time-consuming, too, since we needed to complete things like medical exams, background checks, etc.

 

6)      How long will you stay?

We are undecided at this point.  Our permanent resident cards are good for five years, but we can request new ones to extend our residency (or apply to become citizens, see question #7).  Our goal is to stay for at least three years (provided we can comfortably afford it) and make a decision about the future then.  I think we'll end up coming back to Minnesota; Shane believes we’ll stay “for this life and the next one.”  We’ll see what happens...

 

7)      Are you going to become citizens of Canada?  (And will you lose your U.S. citizenship if you do?)

That option will be available to us after we reside in the country for three years (we will need to take citizenship classes and a test, just like in the U.S.).  We do not know if we will choose to become citizens; it depends on how much we like living there!  If we decide to apply, we would eventually become dual citizens of Canada and the U.S., so we wouldn't need to give up anything.

 

8)      How are you getting your stuff out there?

We are loading up storage containers (with our main items and big boxes) that will ship to a city in Washington over Easter weekend.  We will drive our car (and the rest of our belongings) across the border at the end of March, get our apartment situation squared away, then drive to Washington and load a moving van (with our shipped belongings) to bring back.  We plan to be moved in officially by April 6^th (with the help of my brother and Shane’s mom and stepdad, who all live along the U.S. west coast).

 

9)      Can I/we stay with you when visiting?

Of course!  We should warn you, however, that we will only have one couch and a couple of small air mattresses to offer you for sleeping purposes.

 

10)  Are you excited?

Mostly, yes.  Moving is always a stressful experience – and moving to a foreign country all the more so – but we have been anticipating this journey for a long time, so we look forward to seeing how it finally plays out.

 

Let me know if there are other burning (possibly itching?) questions you have!  I would be happy to add them to the list.

Our attempts to secure an apartment for April have been going terribly.  At the end of February, we called the places we had visited in January to see which had availabilities.  We were pleased to find that many had open rooms, but it’s been a bitch getting the managers to commit to a lease.  The same people who assured us a month ago they work with immigrants “all the time” are now acting as if the concept is completely foreign to them.

 

Shane and I are both having a hard time with this.  We are used to places rushing to sign papers with us (ah, the life of the middle-class); the hesitation we’re facing now is bizarre and unbelievably frustrating.  We are beginning the application process with our THIRD apartment building today, and we are hoping against hope that the outcome is positive.  It is almost too much to handle the stress of finding a place to move in at the same time we are preparing to move out.  (Just writing this post makes me want to throw up.)

 

Anyway, we should hear something by the end of the week.  Keep your fingers crossed that it’s good news, okay?

During a trip to Vancouver a few years ago, I bought an EP on a whim – Golden Skies by

Maplewood Lane, an indie band from the area.  I instantly fell in love with their Sundays/Cardigans-esque sound and went on to buy their self-titled first album (and have been hopefully awaiting the release of their second).

 

I’m not normally a big lyrics person, but I related to the songs on the EP a lot.  The most standout in this regard  was “Wildwood Drive,” a tune about “leaving the places you love the most.”  I first listened to it on the plan ride home from Vancouver and it hit on exactly how I was feeling at that moment.  More recently, I played a song (from their full-length album) entitled “When Everything Is Changing,” and again felt it captured very simply the emotions I’m experiencing, now that the month of our move has arrived.

 

So, although this is not necessarily my favorite song from this lovely group, I am posting it here because the words ring true.  Everything is changing, and sometimes it’s hard to know what else to say.

Oh hai!  Sorry about the unintended, two-week absence.  You know how the old excuse goes: one thing led to another and then another and none of them led to me writing even the tiniest, most grammatically-challenged of sentences.  In conclusion, I am not dead, just suffering from a minor bout of winter laziness.

 

So...what has our household been up to lately?  Shane is busy procrastinating (what will undoubtedly be) a stellar blog post about his trip to Texas.  Meanwhile, I have been working hard to develop schizophrenia.

 

Seriously, the move has me convinced there are two personalities vying for control of my head – much like the Spongebob Squarepants episode where Plankton tries to take over Spongebob’s brain with that two-lever device.  (Which, I might add, really reveals the evil genius of Plankton because WHO KNEW you could control a whole brain with only two levers?  Certainly not me; but I digress.)  My own internal struggle involves less microscopic mad scientists and more conflicting emotions.  Let’s call them Nervous Neurotic and Excitedly Enthused.

 

Nervous Neurotic is the side of my personality that was very dominant when I was a child – comfortable only with what is traditional, tried and true.  She would much rather skip the Vancouver bit and move straight to Stuck in Time island, where nothing ever changes.  Except maybe the menu.  When she’s in control, all I can concentrate on are what could potentially go wrong (omg! earthquakes!), the unknowns (hello, public healthcare!), and Why Can't We Just Be Like Everyone Else.  It’s pessimism galore.

 

Excitedly Enthused, on the other hand, is all about change (YAY CHANGE!).  This is the aspect of myself that exploded in college, where I started to realize that different and new could be welcome and good.  She is constantly reminding me how fun this move could be – after all, that Africa thing worked out pretty damn well, didn’t it? - and how much I will value it years from now, regardless of the outcome.  When she’s at the helm, I am overflowing with optimism.  And puppy dogs.  And rainbows.  It’s delicious, if a little naïve.

 

Constantly jumping from one side of the emotional spectrum to the other has made me feel pretty exhausted as of late (see: afternoon naps, recurrence of).  I’m hoping the more we solidify our plans, the less I flip-flop between the two and find a nice compromise near the middle.  Perhaps something to the tune of Positively Practical?  

 

Or, barring that, something to the tune of a bottle of Reisling.