Living in America... visitors welcome

[SuperBunny]

East Coast
MaNanny - Boston
Twinmommytobe - Boston
MuminCT - CT
Greatgooglymoogly - NY State
Yesthereare4ofthem - NY State
Brooklynmom - NYC
alarkaspree - NYC
MKG - New Jersey
Mummimamma - PA
Poetmum - PA
Twirl - MD

South
Earlybird - TN
jabberwocky - AR
Sunchowder - Florida
Marls001 - Bentonville, AR
Tinpot - NC
MadameDeathStare- AL

Midwest
SuperBunny- Chicago
Dodgykeeper - Dayton, OH
Chocchipcookie - Ohio
MonkeyLover
KickAssAngel - Ann Arbor, MI
MumofFivemeanschaos

Rockies
Alipiggie - Boulder, CO
Ribena

Northwest
AnnieLaurie - Seattle, WA
Dooneygirl - Oregon City, OR

California
SittingBull - nr San Francisco
Califrau - Milpitas
loopsngeorge - Brentwood, LA
Syd - Manhattan Beach, LA
SofiaAmes - LA
LATyke - Redondo Beach
CarmenSanDiego - San Diego

Texas
Texan - Dallas
Tiggyhop - Houston
Vixie78 - Houston
BananaPudding - Austin
Cosmicdust - East Texas

Canada
Hellish - Ottawa
Shouldlistenedtomymum - Hamilton
Nooka - BC
Jacksmama - Langley

Exotic Islands
Anorak - Bermuda
cp - Trinidad
Barefeete - BVI

Brazil
Albert

You must be happy SB! Or is it still hard to plan and a bit up in the air?

KickAss we are going back to UK next week too. Just 2 weeks for us but it is a weird feeling - excited about seeing family and friends but also nervous about whether it'll make me (or dcs) really homesick. Dcs have not really talked about England since we left. They ask when they can go to grandma's but that's about it. Amazing really.

Am very ready for a change of scene though and a bit of help with the dcs.

I also have a very busy dh - he's going to be in the office pretty much until we leave for the airport so not sure how the packing will get done?? A bit of TV watching for the dcs I think.

I know

I'm not going to get excited until I have signed documents and I won't believe it til I am on that plane but still

Jabber, your DS is a star!

Hey SB I am flying back on the 5th or 6th July so you'll beat me back! Feels weird to be going but I am a little excited at the same time. Am not going to Geneva as they want me to start in 4 weeks and I (selfishly) want a few weeks off after I get back. I'll need some time to mourn before I can move onto my next family and give them my all. All this is so emotionally exhausting. I had my 3.5yr old twins attached to my legs for hours yesterday as we have started introducing them to the idea I am going. It's so sad, I know I am not their mother, but I have piled so much love and care and time into helping them grow up to be the happy lil munchkins they are, that to leave them is heartbreaking. This is the worst part of nannying, moving on. Ugh

Mananny, I don't know how you cope with it - must be heart breaking to leave them. I haven't mentioned anything to Dinner yet. I guess I will have to but he's going to be devastated, leaving his Daddy I don't know how to prepare him for his whole world falling apart.

Kickass, how was the cake?

Where's Dooney?

Dooney is being sucked in to real life. I just have a lot of appointments and the kids both had field trips this week, and next week I have a whole bunch of stuff that keeps me away from the house all day long, too.

dooney! I've got another class in Portland in August It's only a one day thing so maybe we'll get a chance to get together this time.

Great! When is it? We're gone the week of whatever has the 18th in it. Hopefully not then.

Whew! It's the week before. I think my class is teh 8th or 9th - whatever the Sunday is.

Hello all - have been lurking lots, but things are now official.

We are moving to D.C. later this year, so now have to start getting organised. Just starting visa process, but should only take about 4 weeks, as we are on E1. I will be joining you very soon and am very excited.

In the meantime, am going to Cincinnati in two weeks time for work - any advice?

Dooney, am glad you are. Hope you and Jabber get to meet up this time.

No ideam, Spamm, i've never been there. Good luck with everything though.

Neither of our Ohio people have been on this thread this time around.

Glad you aren't here when we're gone, jabber.

My flight is now booked and it all seems Very Real now. Am so torn between being excited about starting a new adventure, and missing all my friends, my munchkins and my life as a whole here. I didn't anticipate having to start all over again so it's going to take some getting used to. Actually my Number One Concern of the week is how the hell do I condense all of my life into 80lbs of luggage??!! Is it cheaper to pay excess baggage or ship most of my stuff over? I have so many clothes and books and stuff. I'm a pack rat. I should sell a lot of it but I hate the thought of not having something and then needing it. Shame you're not in Boston SB, we could split one of those container things!!!!

Mananny I'm wondering the same as you. I don't mind getting rid of my stuff and just taking a couple of outfits back but I really think DS should have his books and toys and things. How do we get it into suitcases? Splitting a container would have been an excellent option. I was planning on shipping a box or 2 or 3 or 4 with Parcel to go which Alipiggie recommended. Unless I find a better option.

What is the baggage allowance these days? Are we still allowed 2 suitcases each? Must look on airline sites.

Also, is it cheaper to get a return flight or should i just look at one ways? and which are the cheapest days to travel?

When are you leaving mananny?

I'm flying on the evening of July 5th, one way with Aer Lingus, the cheapest I could find at $325 total.

Baggage allowance seems to be 2 suitcases totalling 80lb, although you can pay excess baggage for more ($85 per case I think) which is too expensive really. I will look at that Parcel to Go service.

You should definitely take as many of Dinner's things as possible so he has some familiar things around him at the other end. He'll probably cope better with the changes than you will though! Kids are amazing like that.

I guess I should look at flights. I'm dreading seeing the cost - I don't think I can cope with connections and a 3 yr old so we'll have to get a direct flight and it will all be a bit last minute booking about 4 weeks in advance, if that and, well, it's all making me feel a bit panicky! Anyway, will deal with that after next week when I have something more definite.

Relocating when I was young and carefree was one thing but doing it as a single parent is complicated. I need to get rid of furniture but can't do it too soon or there will be nowhere for D to sleep but I don't want to end up with a bed to get rid of on the day we leave. And how does an adult and a small child and 2 carry ons and 4 suitcases and a car seat get to the airport anyway?

I am beginning to feel a bit sad - my garden is looking so lovely - we have planted so many things and more or less everything has been donated. I will miss it. And my friends. Eeek.

Sorry for all the me me me

I had my mini-meetup today. The kids and I had fun. It was so nice to meet another totally nice person and their family.

Have had a hard week. FIL was in the hospital. He passed out outside on the concrete and managed to bite his lip and be all bloody. He was by himself, and somehow managed to drag himself inside (nobody knows how long this took, he doesn't remember doing it) and call his brother. They did a bunch of tests and have decided it was a small stroke. DH is beside himself with worry (obviously) and keeps saying he doesn't want to be the last of the Mohicans at age 41.

sb, we ebay'ed stuff just before we left the uk - coudl you & ds stay somewhere for anight or two before getting the flight? then you can offload furntirue, or do you have a friend who can sell some for you after you're gone? a few people did that for us & then kept 10% of the money for their efforts.
get a taxi to the airport - they'll be used to the luggage. we were allowed 2 bags, upt to 50 lbs each coming here, with northwest. mid week was cheaper & prices could well start going down as you get closer to leaving, but that's quite scary. it was also cheaper for us to buy returns than singles.

good luck with it all!

dd has just decided that she likes living in america & doesn't want school to end. after 6 months of saying she wanted to go back home. oh well, we fly on mon for 5 weeks.

I'm working on it slowly, kickass - craigslist seems good so far. Will get rid of last big things and worry about where to sleep at the end. When I left the UK, for a week, I slept on the floor in an empty house which contained nothing but a blankets, a bowl and spoon and a bottle of milk and rice crispies. Was very quiet! That's not really possible with DS is it - he needs toys and food and plates and stuff.

I'm glad your DD is feeling settled now. I wonder how the trip will effect her. And you.

Dooney - how are you all? Sounds very scary. Is FIL ok? And Mr Dooney?

Has anyone sold expensive jewellery over here? Like a wedding ring. I want mine vaulued so I can sell it but am not sure how to go about it.

I've never ebayed anything - it seems like a huge hassle to list, get payment, package up and send it off. Am I just being really lazy. I want to sell DS train tracks but they weigh a ton

sitting bull, hi! well done for getting a job with a life. i'm a great advocate for working as little as possible. everyone's on the move. 2 are leaving, other are joingin & i'm about to do a kickass tour of the uk.

sb, if you haven't ebay'd before, prob not worth it just for a few things, as people won't want to buy if you don't have a good rating.

get the ring valued, but i've noticed that the bracelet dh got me for my b.day costs more in the uk than here, so not sure if that's just an anomoly, or whether silver & gold is more expensive in the uk? if you're going to sell, then convert into pounds, may be better to sell in the uk, as you'll lose money on anything you transfer over. depends whether you need the money before you travel?

Hi SuperBunny, remember me from the relocating thread? Great to hear you're moving too. We arrived on Friday and although I am now ill I don't care as the dc are happy, you should have seen them go off to school in their uniforms, all proud and nervous!
Anyway, I just wanted to say, I know it's a shame to not sell stuff but if you have to clear the place out you could freecycle it all, atleast you will not have much stress for emptying the place. And book the flights as soon as possible then you will feel better!

Hello everyone. Wow, a lot has happened since I was last here. So sorry you're leaving mananny. And slightly sorry about superbunny too although that's great news, congratulations.

We have friends from Paris coming to stay today - am very excited. Must finish cleaning the fridge.

Superbunny, if you sell stuff on craigslist can you just say 'not available until xx date'? Then you will know what you're doing with it but still have it until you go.

Hello Admylin! Glad you are back and have happy DC. Freecycle is my last resort and is great for getting rid of crap (tealight holders, for example)

SB, good to see you back! How is your new job? What do you do?

Will not ebay ring, will get it valued then decide. Thanks for the info.

We had a fabulous day today - we went to the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute. It was great - I never see myself as interested in art but it was really good. Dinner was perfect and people commented on how much he was enjoying it and how well behaved he was! Then we ran around in the fountains in the park and listened to a jazz concert. Another hot day tomorrow.