Gas costs how much?

What are the real costs of relocating? Jamie and I have been asking ourselves that question a lot lately. Before moving we really worried about the emotional cost of relocating, leaving family, etc. In truth there are times when it is really tough but with Skype and phone calls I feel totally connected. Every once in a while I’ll see pictures of the little cousins together and wish that Kellen and Ella could have that same relationship with them but I know that it won’t be too many more years before they do get to have that. I’m lucky that my parents have visited multiple times and while I wish we didn’t have to make the trip we did in August it did give us a chance to spend time with extended family.

The financial cost is harder to gauge. The biggest financial change in our situation was when I quit my job in order to relocate. That is obviously a big hit financially but when I consider that Ella is 17 months old now and I’ve been able to be home with her the whole time I don’t think I would count that as a loss. The chance to enrol Kellen in all of his sports classes or the fact that I get the full run down each day from Patrick as soon as he walks through the door are invaluable. One of the moms I have gotten to know just went back to work 3 days a week and she said that while they were fine with her staying home she wanted to be able to get a haircut without feeling guilty. I thought that was a perfect way to describe it, a second income is the ability to do all the extras without as much budgeting.

Until you have gone through a relocation, or more specifically an international relocation, it’s hard to appreciate the cost of that transition. We were lucky to have a generous relocation package but I don’t think we fully understood the real cost of having to essentially get rid of anything electrical and replace it here. Having owned for a long time I didn’t really think about deposits on rental houses and things like that. There was the selling of cars and then purchasing them all over again here, etc.  Through the process I have gained a better understanding of what I need. Turns out you don’t need a kitchen aid mixer and a full size Cuisinart, a hand mixer works just fine or you can even stir things yourself. It also turns out that I do need a slow cooker so I’m not totally appliance free.

Then there is the cost of living aspect of it all. Having always lived in Seattle I had never moved to a higher/lower cost of living area. We had read and been warned that the UK was a high cost of living. There are a few basics that shock me when I stop to really think about it. The cost of gas, right now gas is about £1.40 per litre; there are 3.78 litres per gallon so the cost per gallon is £5.29. That’s $7.90 per gallon of gas! Based on a quick search right now gas in Seattle is around $3.15 per gallon. The home energy prices are also about double here. The good thing is that most vehicles are much more fuel efficient because that’s what the market demands.  As far as food goes it’s harder to compare but I think food costs are about the same. Pork is a lot cheaper and beef is much more expensive. Lamb is much more readily available and seafood seems about the same. One nice thing is products that would be ‘artisanal’ in a US grocery store are basic and affordable here so we always have good cheese and cured meats. One day I tried to give Kellen a turkey sandwich and he was horrified and explained that meat doesn’t look like that it should be red and round.

There were also some conscious decisions we made before coming out here. Travel is a lot cheaper and we feel like we don’t know how long we will have access to all these amazing places so it’s a priority to try and do and see as much as possible. I was complaining to my Dad one day and he was teasing me that all we do is go on vacation. Our attitude is that we better be going on vacations or there is no point in being here. If we aren’t going to see anything then we should be home in Seattle with our family. These are the intangibles that make it hard to gauge the cost of relocating. How much is it worth to see an Italian Nona in Rome walking Ella around the back kitchen, or Kellen sipping apple tea in Istanbul, hearing Patrick talk about his school trip and trying to remember if that day was in Germany or France? That’s why we did it and I think we would both agree that it was the right choice for us as a family.

As Jamie is passing the year and half mark in his current role people are starting to have career conversations with him and opportunities are being mentioned here in the UK, but also in Singapore, Sidney and Seattle. Now this is all theoretical and there are no specific jobs and it seems that more often than not there are a lot of theoretical conversations before a real job is actually available so for the time being we don’t have to make any decisions. But having just gone through a big relocation we are asking ourselves what the real cost is of doing it all over again. I think going into it again we would have a much better idea of what to ask for in a package and we also understand that while all of the moving expenses are paid for there is a lot more involved as you get settled into a new place. I’m torn between the feeling that we are already out in the field so might as well maximize this time, see different places, and get different experiences before we go back home and settle again. The other side is that we are settled here and the thought of selling and rebuying half our things and then figuring out a new location feels daunting.

So back to the cost, it’s not cheap to do this; we are not being responsible and saving large sums of money to put towards retirement. I think it’s worth it when I consider the time I’m getting with the kids, the travel and the experiences they are getting. I sometimes wish we had a second income and more disposable money. Other days I’m so glad we aren’t living the same lifestyle we were before. Is it worth it? For us this move was worth it. Do I want to spend 10 years buying and selling the same things over and over again? No. Could we do it at least once more? Yes, probably, maybe…

Our Merry Christmas and Happy New Year



This year we spent another Christmas here on our own and I think we are getting the hang of it. The UK does Christmas well, there are the increased crowds at the mall and commercials for the latest and gre atest toys but the focus isn’t on mad holiday shopping but more on markets, fairs and Christmas dinners.

 

Christmas markets are everywhere for a period of about 6 weeks. Each town has their market, the schools hold them and any large organization, like the NCT, has one as a fundraiser. They range from small fundraising events like the market at Kellen’s school this year. In the week leading up parents baked, put together candy packages and some things were donated. Then on a Friday morning the school was opened up and kids and parents walk from room to room spending 50p here and there. The whole place was decorated and it was both overwhelming and exciting for Kellen. Father Christmas, Santa Claus in our house, was there and the kids had a lot of fun eating candy and cupcakes. We also went to a large market in Winchesterwhich we were told was one of the best in the UK. It was like a postcard with the ice skating rink in the middle, wooden stalls with small vendors selling food, gifts and crafts. Each market was a fun to tour and felt much more like a special holiday season activity as opposed to going to the mall to check presents off the list.

Another Christmas must is the Christmas meal out with friends. This year we went out with a few other couples for a night out. As the little kids get older using a sitter is getting easier and easier so it’s nice to go out with other adults for a long meal every once and a while. The coffee group I have been going to since moving also had a Mom’s dinner out. There were 10 of us and it was a lot of fun to get to have conversations without being interrupted constantly by little kids. The next night all the dads met for a curry and beer night. I think each of them was pushed a little by their wives to go but in the end they had fun. Jamie had enough fun that the next day he had a rough morning…

Christmas eve the kids spent the day watching Christmas movies while I made a big turkey dinner. That night we sat around the table, did our Christmas crackersand wore our crowns. After dinner the kids excitedly brought all the presents down and put them under the tree. We let them open one gift each and the little ones went off to bed so that Santa could come and enjoy the cookies we left out for him. Christmas morning Jamie and I actually woke up before the little ones but as soon as he heard us Patrick was up and downstairs as fast as he could get there. We had to break it to him that we weren’t starting presents without Kellen and Ella so we actually had time to get ready before getting started on stockings and gifts. I think this was our last year not being woken up by an excited little kid. Kellen really understood what was happening this year and was ready to unwrap anything he could get his hands on. Ella was pretty much set once she got her stocking but we convinced her to keep going. Kellen did generously help her open a few of the last gifts. At 8:00am we did Skype with the entire Pelaez family to wish them a Merry Christmas, for me the most special moment of Christmas will always be midnight. We did get a kick out of the limited Skype conversation since it was mainly the kids all trying to cram their face in front of the camera with chaos behind them. That afternoon we went to the Purcell’s house for a relaxed Christmas dinner, it’s been so nice to have not only fellow Americans but people from Seattle to share this experience with. They have been here for 5 years so were invaluable especially the first year for questions and clarifications as we got settled. Normally we aren’t as industrious but this year we took everything down on the 26^th. Since we were headed to Scotland we didn’t want to have to get home on the 3^rd to a dead tree and Christmas clutter so we actually got the house fully back to normal, complete with a trip to the tip to dump all the cardboard.

On the 28^th we got the kids up early and jumped in the car to head up to Scotland. I was looking forward to the trip but didn’t have any real expectations for what Edinburgh was like or even really the Scottish countryside. We LOVED Scotland, the site of mountains and pine trees, Georgian row houses, castles, cathedrals, and endless sheep, was amazing. We rented a flat that ended up being the lower floor of a Georgian row house in the Stockbridgeneighbourhood in Edinburgh. I didn’t want to leave, it was a rental so needed some work, but it was in an area full of row houses build around circuses and crescents that formed this great neighbourhood. There were small parks for each set of homes and anything you could need was within just a few blocks walking distance. I was essentially living my dream city life for a few days. The city centre was about a 10 minute walk away and the flat was surrounded by small restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, coffee shops and of course a Sainsbury local was very convenient. We ended up eating in every night other than New Year’s Eve because it was so easy and the kids loved all the room they had to run around up and down the long hallway in the flat. The first day we explored Edinburgh walking all the way to the Edinburgh Castle then down the Royal Mile. The city itself was beautiful, a lot more stone then the brick you see in England. We stopped at the National Gallery on our walk home so the kids could recharge with a hot chocolate and Jamie could attempt to start teaching Kellen about Degas and Monet.

One of the things we loved about Edinburgh was that while the city was great within a 20 minute drive you are out in the country. The countryside is a mix of the kind of fields you find in England and more hilly/mountainous terrain. It was refreshing to be around real trees. I guess growing up in the northwest the need to see large evergreens has somehow been programmed into me and finding myself surrounded by mountains (well mountain by UK standards, think the foothills), snow and evergreens was so nice. We saw lochs, castles and cute villages as we forced the poor kids to go on an all-day drive with us. They didn’t seem to mind too much when the breaks were running around old castles and candy was supplied generously.

We were there for 6 days and we explored around the city, visited the National Gallery of Modern Art, explored Holyrood Park, and spent a lot of time just relaxing and watching movies with the crazy kids. Edinburgh is known for the Hogmanay celebrations so the city was in full swing that night. From the sidewalk we got to watch the giant firework display and could hear the crowds cheering at midnight. If we had the opportunity to live in Edinburgh we would take it in a minute. We figure it may not happen with young kids but it was the kind of place we will add to our daydream list of retirement destinations.