First Published on January 8th 2017
That's
it: the holidays are over (by the way, happy new year to all of you!) And the
short break of end of the year is already finished. What I love particularly during
this period is the momentary shutdown of my children's homework and extra-curricular
activities, which let us to temporarily take time off from our school support
and taxi driver activities.
But
the first week of the new year is already over and one of the issues I am most
concerned about at this beginning of the year is the preparation of our
departure to the United
States.
In
the last few weeks, although largely busy by the preparation of the holidays, I
took care of a few tasks that are progressing ... slowly.
- The equivalence of my diplomas
Our
departure to the United
States is professionally supported by the
new position of my husband. However I’m willing to continue working, and if
possible, in a field that I like.
I
have a double degree of engineer and psychologist. I worked several years in several
companies (with my 1st diploma), before I completely switched to the profession
of psychologist. The diplomas issue is highly regulated both in France and in the United States.
The
engineering degree of Grandes Ecoles is easily convertible (only since 2013,
when the two countries agreed on equivalences). On the other hand, a total
uncertainty reigns over the equivalences between diplomas in psychology.
I
have already explained in an interview the specificities of the American system
compared to the French one. One important point is that each State in the United States
manages its equivalences in terms of psychology degree. I therefore contacted
the due Psychology Board and as I expected, obtaining a possible equivalence
requires a long administrative journey ... I just committed myself, we will see
what this will lead to.
- Visa
We
will apply for a visa on the basis of my husband's job offer (for him and his
"dependents": us!) As I explained in a previous article, we are
supposed to spend at least 2 years in France after our stay in Baltimore in
2014 (the calculation of the exact time required is pretty complicated) before
this new visa. The future university of my husband will take care of the
administrative procedures, but it is necessary to calculate the delays and take
margins because the American Administration is very strict ... So we agreed
that the best time to apply for a visa will be in April, only 3 months before
our departure.
- Putting in order and selling our stuff
Unlike
our stay in 2014, we will take with us a large part of our furnitures and stuff.
And unlike 2014, a
significant part of the cost of our move will be reimbursed by the future
employer, which is great J But even in these
conditions the remaining costs will be pretty significant because I realize
that over the years we have accumulated so many things...
The
sorting and discarding issue is one of the most complicated tasks that await
me. I hate it (but who doesn’t?) and we also feel an attachment to a lot of our
things that remind us of memories (for example, of our children's stuff among
others).
Even
for the stuff and furniture we are willing to discard (such as domestic
appliances, hardly reusable in the USA), we must choose what to do
with them. I know about the websites such as leboncoin.fr but the perspective
of describing all items one by one on these websites, welcome potential buyers
who come to see the article, discuss the price, etc. hassles me (perhaps
because it would be my first time...). For the moment I delay this step, but
until when?!
Unfortunately
for the moment I feel like we are getting anywhere rather than going forward! I
am familiar with this very subjective feeling which comes from the fact that
the more you advance, the more you discover tricky issues and the more you face
new chores to accomplish. The secret is in regularity. Easier said than done!
Libellés : English
