moving
French Work Visas for Idiots
I’m trying to think about how I can tell you this story in a short format. Because really, it deserves a bottle of wine and a half an hour. To start, I will commend my company for their efforts to make this transition as easy as possible. I know we have had it much better than most. Help with the apartment search, assistance with the visa, the bank… for all this, I’m very grateful. Especially now that I know how hard it is even with all the help in the world.
Here is a short vignette about getting our visas. I call it, “Endurance.”
In memoriam
One of the first people I worked for in marketing was a woman named Tracey Woodcock. I was young, smart and full of myself. We worked for a small, very good graphic design studio called Frankfurt Gips Balkind and Tracey made me, and my equally smart and full of themselves workmates, insane.
Average Commute Time
On the topic of the neighborhood. Factors include proximity to: a good grocery store; a gym; a park; a good restaurant or two; friends; public transportation (if in a big city). Also to be considered are how easy is it to walk from your house; how hard is it to park; how lively (or quiet) is it? Once you find the PERFECT place to live – you have to add the additional wrinkle of how long it takes to your office. Here is my new formula for evaluating wether or not your commute time is worth it.
Stuffed
Funny how one wishes for more storage. I’ve often thought and said, “My house has NO storage” or “Boy, if only we had another closet.” Really I should have been wishing for someone to come and smack me upside the head for holding on to a bunch of shit we don’t need.
The big news
Just before the holidays the owners of our company started to talk about staffing a resource in Paris to service a new client and lead our European team. Since Paul and I met, we have talked about how great it would be to move abroad for a year or two when our children are young. Note that we talked about this before we HAD children and had any clue what this adventure would involve.
