Making progress

Despite the Jubilee celebrations, going on a Hen weekend, looking after a pooly 5 year old, visiting  family and having family to stay, this bank holiday has been really productive and we are getting on track…..I think!...

We have come to our senses.  It cannot be done in a week!  Setting up with 3 small children, jetlag, a religious holiday and getting used to a completely different climate and new city is just not possible.

My husband has booked a flight and a hotel, going out for 9 days in July.  Phew!  We have an agent in KL to help us find a place to live.  We have made contact with colleagues that we will be working with, who have advised us on the different areas which would suit us.  That was sooooo exciting.  To finally speak to people who are doing the same thing as us.

So the 'to do' list is coming along nicely. 

School places …...................…sorted

Visas…..................................…being sorted by employer

Banking.............................…..assisted by employer

Property  search agent……...sorted

Immunisations………............nearly sorted

Home help/nanny…………...NOT sorted

Car………........................……..not sorted

Flights and hotel………….....sorted

Well that is a start I suppose.  

Still undecided as to what to take with us.  Thinking of sending husband out with suitcase of action men, cars and kiddies books on his first trip to help out, but really don’t think this is practical!!

Flying by the seat of our pants?....

I spoke to a friend last night and was telling him about how our plans are going.  We have sold most of our furniture, cleared out our house and found a tenant to rent our house.  We have spent ages looking at places to live on the internet and it all looks amazing.  Somehow it seems really hard though to make a decision about where we are going to live, from the other side of the world.  How do we really know what the different neighbourhoods are going to be like?

The problem is we have one week to find a home, nanny for our children, car, bank account and everything else, before we have to start our new jobs.  We are also being a bit mad and only going out with a suitcase each and that is it!  We couldn't decide whether to ship our things out or not and decided it was all part of the adventure to start again with new stuff.  

My biggest worry is leaving my children after being in KL for one week, in a new country, with a nanny or in a daycare centre whilst we go off to work.  Once the term has started and they are at school then it  will be easier.  I spoke to our Admin/HR man in our new job and he was telling me to watch out for unregistered and illegal nannies/home helpers.  So I haven't a clue how to find anyone and we don't really want to use an agency and import a nanny from the Philippines, as we have to sponsor their visa.  Supposing she arrives and we don't like her, can we send her back??  So many unknowns.

I told my friend all of this and he did say......."Well you always have had a habit of flying by the seat of your pants!"

Telling the family...

When we made The decision to apply for jobs abroad, the one thing I found the hardest was telling our family. I couldn't ring them for 6 weeks. It made me physically sick when I told my mother. I can only say they have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. It will be hard for all of us. I know our children will find it really difficult as they are very fond of their family. 

We decided to tell the children quite early on as they could sense something was up. T and I had been talking in riddles about it, spelling out words we didn't want them to hear or speaking pigeon French to each other. We sat down the 2 eldest and broke the news. We showed them pictures, talked about going on a plane for the first time and talked about the amazing adventures we could have. I think the prospect of being able swim every day sold it to them!

Thoughts......doubts?

The power of communication is under estimated. Having read one or two negative things on the Internet about KL, I started to doubt our decision. We live in a gorgeous village and are part of a very special community. The friends in our village are like my family to me. So making this decision has been heart wrenching. It is also very rural and peaceful here. No traffic noise pollution, except the odd tractor and a rubbish lorry once a week, but that is it. 

We are not city people. Having said that, we both lived in London for ten years in our twenties/ thirties. But that was BC (before children). So of course I am bracing myself and mentally preparing the children for a new lifestyle in a big city. When I woke this morning my first instinct was to listen to the silence, the bird song and the sheep in the field. 

  

But I have had a chance to talk about my doubts with my better half and a very good friend. They have helped me put things into perspective, look at the amazing adventure we will have and the totally different way of life. The prospect of exploring at weekends, going out with the children to different places and adventuring together will be so much fun.  I have been a DIY widow for too long and I can't wait to have some family time. No more looking after the sprogs whilst Daddy gets on with endless DIY projects. Hooray!

Making the decision

We are moving to KL in August, 3 months to go and I am questioning if we have made the right decision?  I knew this would happen.  So much to sort out and plan, there were going to moments of doubt.   It was been such a roller-coaster since January and I realised that it is time to record this year  as it is going to fly by. 

Most of the population of this country were apparently looking for new jobs in the first week in January, and we were no exception.  The time had come.  We have three small children, really close in age.  Our youngest is 3 and a half, middle one just 5 and my eldest daughter is 6.  They are now old enough, but young enough for an adventure, so we decided perfect timing, to broaden our horizons. 

It took me a while to join the travel bandwagon.  When my better half started sending off job applications I stuck my head in the sand like an ostrich hoping nothing would happen.  But with some inspiration from my sister and friends, I realised actually, this was the most exciting thing we were doing.   Since we have had children, we haven’t been able to afford to travel anywhere.  They have never been on an aeroplane.  The furthest we have been as a family is France!