Saturday 4 June 2016

Still in limbo?

A lot has changed in 3.5 years. 2 daughters. A new flat. A new job. A Phd. A teaching job.

The one thing that hasn't changed is the state of limbo.

For years now, we've been planning our move. At first, it was anywhere. I wanted to stop drifting and make a decision about where we were going to live our lives. With kids in the picture, we decided on Los Angeles - near my family, and where I grew up.

We were so close, we had R's visa done and dusted. He literally had his medical appointment in London and the next day an email arrived about a teaching role at the university he was working at.

This was fantastic news. We weren't quite ready to be calling quits on Brighton and our life here just yet. The fear of the unknown in LA was eating away at me. We had some breathing space to figure things out. And he had the chance to get a real academic job (well, at least HE teaching...)

But following Christmas, the same questions came up again. Can we afford to live here with two kids in daycare? What jobs are we going to do? What happens in June when his contract finishes? The breathing space quickly ran out and turned into panic. We found ourselves in limbo once again.

R's role was a 10 month contract. He found out they were advertising a 3 year position. How did this fit in with our plans to start our family life in Los Angeles? Regardless, we knew he had to apply for it. And he did, and got an interview and of course got the role. Because R is amazing.

And while I knew in my heart this was going to happen, it means we continue in our state of limbo. Maybe not quite as limbo-y...we can finally think about buying a home, the Bug will be starting school next year, I've started a new job as well. I am so incredibly proud of him, where he's ended up and the work that he is doing.

But LA is still on our minds...I can't give up on the dream of returning home one day. So while we can settle down a little bit over the next few years, a move is still visible up ahead on the horizon.