Just 3 weeks to go!

[Brian]

Now that I've put in my notice at work, I can officially share the news publicly.

After a year of planning and plotting, we're moving to a small town just outside of Valencia on August 2! Next Tuesday and Wednesday, the international mover comes to pack and ship our stuff.

It's been quite a long, drawn-out process, but it's good to see it finally taking place after all our planning. Our piso is rented, the appliances purchased and installed.

As soon as we get there, it will be time to get rolling with reams of paperwork, but it's very, very gratifying to be practically there now!

I'll be blogging more about it at my website (http://www.mcmurtryfamily.net), and resuming my activities here, now that I can share the news!

[Acosta]

Now that I've put in my notice at work, I can officially share the news publicly.

After a year of planning and plotting, we're moving to a small town just outside of Valencia on August 2! Next Tuesday and Wednesday, the international mover comes to pack and ship our stuff.

It's been quite a long, drawn-out process, but it's good to see it finally taking place after all our planning. Our piso is rented, the appliances purchased and installed.

As soon as we get there, it will be time to get rolling with reams of paperwork, but it's very, very gratifying to be practically there now!

I'll be blogging more about it at my website (http://www.mcmurtryfamily.net), and resuming my activities here, now that I can share the news!

CONGRATS

[ValenciaSon]

Enhorabuena!!

[Realaficionada21]

Awesome! it sounds like you will be way more prepared than me. I am moving to Madrid on August 7th and all I have is a way too expense estudio for a couple of months and my resume!!

Suerte!

[Ben]

Great news Brian, can't wait to hear all about it!

[guapo]

After a year of planning and plotting, we're moving to a small town just outside of Valencia on August 2!

Awesome! it sounds like you will be way more prepared than me. I am moving to Madrid on August 7th and all I have is a way to expense estudio for a couple of months and my resume!!


wow! really seems that August is moving month!! Excellent news and good luck to you both! And of course, there are many lazy foreros waiting to follow your adventures from the safety of our keyboards, so keep posting :p

[Palmerito]

I am very happy for you, Brian. I will check out your blogsite and here for future postings. I trust everything will go well for the move!

[eldeano]

Buena suerte :thumbs-up:

[Brian]

wow! really seems that August is moving month!! Excellent news and good luck to you both! And of course, there are many lazy foreros waiting to follow your adventures from the safety of our keyboards, so keep posting :p

Lazy? Animo, Guapo! Safety behind the keyboard doesn't gratify so much as selling it all to live your dream. :)

It's amazing how little you really NEED to live.

[AGYPSY]

Lazy? Animo, Guapo! Safety behind the keyboard doesn't gratify so much as selling it all to live your dream. :)

It's amazing how little you really NEED to live.

Buena suerte Brian,
It is amazing just how little you need to follow your dreams and LIVE. It's following your dreams that counts.I sold it all in 1995 to wander around Australia, now it's extended: at the moment to Argentina and who knows where next????

[guapo]

Lazy? Animo, Guapo! Safety behind the keyboard doesn't gratify so much as selling it all to live your dream. :)

It's amazing how little you really NEED to live.

true words indeed Brian, it is amazing how afraid we can get of taking risks (la vida es una sola, no?).

/Keith

[Brian]

2 weeks y pico!

Tomorrow, the moving company comes to crate up our stuff, load it into a container, to ship it overseas! They said that it will take 4-6 weeks, so we'll have anywhere from a 2 to 4 week wait for our stuff once we arrive.

Back to separating what's going from what's not going! :confused:

[Realaficionada21]

I hope that nothing gets lost or broken!!!! Don't forget to pack your toothbrush in your suitcase and not in one of the boxes. :D

[Brian]

I hope that nothing gets lost or broken!!!! Don't forget to pack your toothbrush in your suitcase and not in one of the boxes. :D

Ack! :o

It was WWIII this morning- they packed my son's Nintendo DS in a box, and we have no clue which one. No DS for a month. He's very, very upset. ;)

Are you taking much over, other than your 2 suitcase/1 carryon/1 personal item?

[Realaficionada21]

No, that is all that I am taking. Well wait, I have packed one box of winter sweaters and warm clothes to be shipped out if I end up finding a job. I will have to pack at least one more for a few books and other asundries. Other than that I think that I will be able to fit eveything I need in my gigantic suitcases! (Those bags that remove air are amazing!)

[que]

Brian,

Well done, really happy for you, hope it goes well for you all. Sounds like a very big move. Will keep an eye on your blog.

So how do you feel about it all, are there any reservations or anything you think you will miss about where you live now? Im sure it is all out weighed by the positives of making the move.

Again, great news. good luck

[Brian]

Brian,

Well done, really happy for you, hope it goes well for you all. Sounds like a very big move. Will keep an eye on your blog.

So how do you feel about it all, are there any reservations or anything you think you will miss about where you live now? Im sure it is all out weighed by the positives of making the move.

Again, great news. good luck

Reservations? None. I've never been more sure about anything in my life. It's our dream, and we're going for it!

Concerns? Getting jobs quickly. I don't think it will be too long, though. If all else fails, the suegra lives in the next piso. :)

What will I miss the most? Air conditioning. American Football. Chorizo and jamon serrano are a solace, though.

[eldeano]

Chorizo and jamon serrano are a solace, though.

As will be Association Football.

[Acosta]

If I ever moved to spain I wonder if there is some way I could view American NFL Football over there lol. Some habits are stubborn. Others will would go quickly.

[ValenciaSon]

How about baseball?

[Brian]

If I ever moved to spain I wonder if there is some way I could view American NFL Football over there lol. Some habits are stubborn. Others will would go quickly.

TVUNetworks.com is one way to view some streaming NFL games in the fall. ;)

How about baseball?

Not a big baseball fan, but my brother-in-law actually played on a club when he lived in Galicia about 6 years ago. There was evidently a league of players quite taken with it.

[PattyN]

With a good high speed internet connection you can view most any baseball game via mlb.com. You can watch both TV broadcast versions or listen to either home or visitors' radio broadcasts. I don't know what the fee is for International viewing, but within the US it's only about $100/season.

[Brian]

Both of our vehicles sold this last weekend, woohoo! :) Now just for the house to sell!! :eek:

[Realaficionada21]

That is amazing! I bet that is such a weight lifted off your shoulders!!!

Good luck on selling the house!

[gary]

What will I miss the most? Air conditioning. American Football. Chorizo and jamon serrano are a solace, though.

Stop press:air conditioning has reached europe

.. and there is a British TV slot that covers NFL - okay its maybe a couple of hours on a weekday night but its a start...

[Diana]

Just noticed some portable air-conditioners in the store yesterday - about 200-300€ (here in Germany). Certainly they must be available in Spain too!

[Brian]

Right. I'm aware that it's quite available...just quite expensive to have installed.

[Diana]

Right. I'm aware that it's quite available...just quite expensive to have installed.

The ones I saw are on wheels so you can move them from room to room. However, I can imagine that they are expensive to run (electricity is quite expensive here - don't know about Spain????).

[gary]

Right. I'm aware that it's quite available...

I figured you would - I can take my tongue out of my cheek now - Its 82° in Barcelona and I reckon I'm going to have to suffer without aircon until mid August. I'll have to lurk round the farmácias - they are always cooled :)

[eldeano]

I'll have to lurk round the farmácias - they are always cooled :)

A packet of .... er.... cotton buds, por favor. ;)

[Brian]

Today's the last day of work! Should I just tell everyone to sod off? ;)

[gary]

Today's the last day of work! Should I just tell everyone to sod off? ;)

Chuck a sicky...?

[Marina]

Brian, estamos todos impacientes de saber que tal va todo a tu llegada. No dejes de escribirnos esta semana.

Mucha suerte con todo y buen viaje!!!
Marina.

[eldeano]

Today's the last day of work! Should I just tell everyone to sod off? ;)

I would have thought you'd have preferred to make your last day different to all the rest!

[Brian]

I would have thought you'd have preferred to make your last day different to all the rest!

jaja, well, I'm quite the nice guy, so I couldn't quite bring myself to tell them off. Besides, they've agreed to allow me to do some work via remote desktop for a bit, so, sanity prevailed.

Brian, estamos todos impacientes de saber que tal va todo a tu llegada. No dejes de escribirnos esta semana.

Mucha suerte con todo y buen viaje!!!
Marina.

Gracias, Marina. Estamos muy emocionados sobre la mudanza, y en estos dias finales aquí, estamos cerrando todos los asuntos que quedan. Todavía no hemos vendido la casa, pero ahora que la hemos limpiado y pintado, venderá múy pronto.

Llegaremos en Valencia el 3 de agosto por la tarde, y podremos dormir en nuestras camas en nuestro piso desde el principio-- ¡Que lujo!

Seguiré escribiendo mis experiencias aquí y en mi blog.

Parece mentira que por fin, va a ocurrir, después de más que 2 años de preparación. Nos falta el pasaporte americano de mi mujer, pero podremos salir con su pasaporte español. La bureaucracía de los EEUU puede ser muy difícil. Hicimos aplicación para su pasaporte hace 8 semanas, y todavía no ha llegado. :mad:

Despues de que llegamos, pasaremos unos dias aclimatándonos, y entonces empezando con los asuntos de trabajo y los permisos.

[guapo]

jaja, well, I'm quite the nice guy, so I couldn't quite bring myself to tell them off. Besides, they've agreed to allow me to do some work via remote desktop for a bit, so, sanity prevailed.

there is also, of course, that thing about not burning bridges....

[ValenciaSon]

Not a big baseball fan, but my brother-in-law actually played on a club when he lived in Galicia about 6 years ago. There was evidently a league of players quite taken with it. What then about hot dogs, apple pie and Chevro, oh never mind!:rolleyes:

[Brian]

Just a quick update for all...on our last day in the States, someone has made an offer on our house- not a bad one, all things considered. I am quite hopeful that things will turn out well, and we'll walk away without having to make another house payment. You all cannot imagine how relieved I am at this point! :o

[Diana]

Just a quick update for all...on our last day in the States, someone has made an offer on our house- not a bad one, all things considered. I am quite hopeful that things will turn out well, and we'll walk away without having to make another house payment. You all cannot imagine how relieved I am at this point! :o

I am certain things will turn out just fine!!!! Only now do I realize how easy I had it leaving the US as a single college student at a time when college students only owned a book or two and maybe a few records!

Have a safe trip!

[Brian]

I am certain things will turn out just fine!!!! Only now do I realize how easy I had it leaving the US as a single college student at a time when college students only owned a book or two and maybe a few records!

Have a safe trip!

:) Immigrating at 39 is definitely much more involved than had we immigrated at 22. It's been a lot of late nights, painting, cleaning, and selling our stuff!

[Steve W]

Hey!, I managed it with one suitcase. It's not your age, it's how poor you've been for the previous 38 years.

[Maria S.]

Hey!, I managed it with one suitcase. It's not your age, it's how poor you've been for the previous 38 years.

I have to agree on this one. Most of my moves happened in suitcases (no furniture to sell, no movers to hire, no company to pay for it, no property to sell, etc.). When you are poor, there is not much to loose in a move. There is a certain kind of freedom attached to poverty as well.... and being poor is not always age-related.

But now I have been in one place for the past 12 years and this would be a completely different move as we have acquired quite a bit like very good friends, an apartment, good jobs and even kids ;D of our own!

[Brian]

Exactly. When there's a wife and 2 kids, the relinquishing of possessions does not come easily or naturally.

[Edith]

I have to agree on this one. Most of my moves happened in suitcases (no furniture to sell, no movers to hire, no company to pay for it, no property to sell, etc.). When you are poor, there is not much to loose in a move. There is a certain kind of freedom attached to poverty as well.... and being poor is not always age-related.

But now I have been in one place for the past 12 years and this would be a completely different move as we have acquired quite a bit like very good friends, an apartment, good jobs and even kids ;D of our own!

Maybe it sounds far-fetched but I was thinking about this when I was watching the news on TVE today... all those poor people on Tenerife and Gran Canaria who lost their houses in the fire... imagine having saved all your life to buy some modest property there as a jubilado and having to watch it burn to the ground in a couple of hours! :(

[Maria S.]

Maybe it sounds far-fetched but I was thinking about this when I was watching the news on TVE today... all those poor people on Tenerife and Gran Canaria who lost their houses in the fire... imagine having saved all your life to buy some modest property there as a jubilado and having to watch it burn to the ground in a couple of hours! :(
Hi Edith,

Having moved a few times, I have sometimes asked myself -- when starting anew everytime -- what are the most valuable things, if MY place ever burned down.

It came down to saving my children's baby pictures and my handmade patchwork quilts. Other than that I could start new again without any problems. I have done it too many times. So many things are replacable and the best things in life are borrowed anyway.

[Brian]

Well, we're off this morning! We'll be in Valencia in 20 hours! It's hard to believe that the day's finally here. Hasta Luego, NFS'ers!

[greytop]

Happy landing :thumbs-up:

[Edith]

Well, we're off this morning! We'll be in Valencia in 20 hours! It's hard to believe that the day's finally here. Hasta Luego, NFS'ers!

Happy landing from me too, I'm very jealous!

[ValenciaSon]

Felicidades!:thumbs-up: Descanza cuanda puedas y entonces cuentanos de tu adventura.

[Susan]

How fantastic! Hope all goes well in your new home!

[Ben]

¡Mucha Suerte! and we're looking forward to the "we're here!!" posts next!

[eldeano]

:) Immigrating at 39 is definitely much more involved than had we immigrated at 22. It's been a lot of late nights, painting, cleaning, and selling our stuff!

You don't look 39. :rolleyes:

[Realaficionada21]

SUERTE!! I hope the flight wasn't horrific and the new apartment is just what you need for your family!