Wednesday 9 May 2012 - Philippine Airlines
After filling in long forms trying to book Philippine Airlines and then the whole thing failing at the payment stage, and being told that the reservations had been automatically cancelled due to non-payment, guess what? I've been charged, yet I have no ticket, reservation number, confirmation number, or anything. Long snottagram sent to PAL. Grr.
I fully expect to be told that I have two seats booked and that to cancel will incur a fee - if indeed there would be any refund. So I am sitting in the US, with a bank account used in the UK, for a Philippine-based airline. Fun and games ahead.
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Tuesday 1 May 2012 - A bad day
Well, it had to happen eventually. Three and a half weeks of sunshine and smiles turned to a bitter taste in the mouth - almost literally - when the reconditioned fridge/freezer started making a high pitched death squeal late in the evening, followed by a puddle of water underneath the following morning. Yes, the fridge had died. The lights were on, it was making noises - quieter now - but it wasn't cold. Cue phone calls to the supplier - "I'll call you back". Four hours later I phone again, "Let me get to the workshop and I'll call you back within 2 hours". Four hours later again, no response. Text message sent last night. No reply. Great, that's $400 of fridge and $100 of food gone to waste. None of my friends know of any recourse to get repairs done or money back from the dealer.
Time to close this chapter and move on. This time I will buy brand new. I just hope the washer and dryer last longer - fingers crossed.
Over the last few days I've been trying to book flights to bring my family over. This is with Philippine Airlines, the only carrier to fly direct, non-stop from Manila to Los Angeles. Though I could get cheaper with other airlines, I really could do without changing planes enroute with a toddler and a baby in tow. So I fill in a massive form for the three of them, visa information and everything else, and then get to the payment stage... payment refused, "and your entire booking has been cancelled". What?! Why not hold it and ask me for a different payment method? Oh no, far too difficult. So we try again with a different card - massive form all over again, payment refused again. Aaaaaaargggghhh! The wife ended up going into a Philippine Airlines office to book it in person - successfully I hope. However, she was not able to book seats "because it's too far in advance". But you can reserve the seats online as you make the booking! "Oh but we don't know which type of plane it will be - there are three different sizes of B747-400". Actually there's only one size (that's part of what the -400 is all about). It's important that we get a bulkhead row, sitting together, otherwise we'll get split up and probably end up with the baby on our laps. Seating unresolved as of now.
So today I try to book my flight - as I'm going round trip and the family are going one way, we have to book separately. Again, payment refused, twice on different cards (one US, one UK). But in the course of my wife going to an airline office, she found out I had a reservation, just unpaid. So I phone up the LA office of the airline and explain the situation. She says she can see my reservation but I need to call back in an hour to see if the confirmation goes through. I point out that I made the reservation a few days ago so why an hour. She says she can see that I tried on April 26th - but I would still need to wait an hour! Sometimes you have to just go with the flow. So I'll call back in an hour... watch this space.
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Saturday 28 April 2012 - Shopping for cars
My wife and I had originally had a brand new Dodge Grand Caravan ready for us through International Auto Source but that deal fell through when I told them for the third time that I was self employed. Oh well, we didn't lose any money on the deal.
But we still liked the Caravan, though as a vehicle it seems to be a bit like Marmite - some people love it, some people hate it. We'd seen the equivalent model in the UK though the UK model was a higher spec than even the top US model. So my mission was to find a second hand model somewhere in the LA area. Unfortunately there only ever seemed to be half a dozen on the market at any one time within a 75 mile radius so there wasn't much choice.
Upon visiting my wife's cousin however, he suggested somewhere he'd seen on a local TV program. This place offered financing to those who couldn't get finance through a bank - basically the dealer would hold the "pink slip" and act as the bank. For an expat with no credit history this sounded like an option. However, he couldn't remember exactly where it was!
So we drove to the general area and had a look at one dealership which didn't really have anything that stood out. I should point out that the wife had just agreed to a similar model if a Caravan wasn't available. Anyway, this dealer knew the other dealer that was on TV and directed us to her.
We went to what we thought was the dealer but quickly realised it wasn't - however, could see it in the next block. But this dealer had a Town and Country vehicle which was similar to a Caravan - 7 seats, power sliding doors, leather seats, and $8000. We had a test drive. We smelt something burning. We got back to the dealership and opened the bonnet to find oil dripping on the hot engine. We asked if it would be fixed. Salesman scratched his chin and said "I don't know". We walked away. It might have been a simple fix, it might have been major. And if the salesman has no authority over what he was selling then there was no point in continuing.
So we walked to the next dealer. There were only 10 cars on the entire lot - it was small! But to my surprise they had a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with bucket seats in the second row, power sliding door on the right, and DVD player in the ceiling. The only thing missing was the leather seats! At $7000 it was well within my budget - assuming I could get a little financing. It was a 2005 model with 103000 miles on the clock which isn't too bad for that age. And the condition of the vehicle and inside cabin was pretty good.
The next question was finance. I offered to put $5000 down with the remaining $3000 roughly (including tax, plates, etc) on finance. I explained the situation and she was still happy to do it! We went back to collect the necessary documentation (tenancy agreement, SSN) and came back a couple of hours later (via a tasty Mexican restaurant next door). The car had been cleaned and was positively gleaming! We went through the credit details - at 21% it wasn't cheap but frankly I'm lucky to get any credit at this stage. With a payment period of 10 months it worked out to $250 in interest - less if I paid it off earlier. That's a small price to pay for convenience like this.
The couple that ran the place were so friendly. Despite their small lot they said they sold around 20 cars a month - more than the bigger dealer on the next block. On this particular day they'd sold 3 including mine. Remember, this is a lot that only holds 12 cars maximum. They kept their costs low by not employing anybody else - not that they needed to with a lot this size. They also did all their credit in-house, compared to the boys up the road who paid a commission every time they sold a car - i.e. the car buyer pays the extra commission. Even if you had problems one month paying your bill, she said to phone them up and explain the problem and they'd work it out. Obviously if you didn't pay anything for a couple of months then she'd have the car repo'd - and she still had the pink slip until you made the final payment.
All-in-all, quite a pleasant experience buying a car, compared to the nightmare I was led to believe it would be. This is probably because I avoided the big dealers.
Oh, and the insurance was a doddle too. She recommended somebody she knew locally but I tried to explain that it's hard for expats to get cheap car insurance. There is a scheme where you pay $440 to join what is basically a club with membership benefits - and one of those benefits included cutting car insurance premiums from $2000 for 6 months down to under $1000 - well worth the money for that saving. But the broker came up with a price of $80/month plus $200 down, i.e. $680 for 6 months which was very reasonable! My wife's cousin said the coverage was decent and the price was definitely good, so we went for it. Again, avoided the big dealers and went local.
Sorted!
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Sunday 15 April 2012 - Two weeks later - part 2
The other entry was getting a little long so here's what's happened since I arrived.
Being on UK time, of course I crashed out early and woke up early - before daylight in fact. But the sun rose quickly and the temperature climbed. Up here in the desert it gets cold at night but warms up during the day. Some quite extreme ranges of temperatures in a single day in fact.
Kerry's wife, Sharon, was 8 months pregnant when I arrive. I was aware of this and only intended to stay a couple of weeks so I'd be out of their way by the time the baby arrived. But the baby did not hang around and decided to arrive that very first night! So when I got up in the morning Kerry came and found me and announced that they'd had the baby overnight! I thought he was joking but when I saw the medical tag on his wrist (giving him access to the maternity unit) I realised he wasn't! What's more, they didn't get to the hospital in time... Sharon had pains around 11pm and thought she probably was in labour. By 1am they set off for the hospital, 40 minutes away. But as they pulled into the hospital grounds Sharon said "it's coming!" and she had the baby right there in the car as they pulled up outside the ER! Kerry ran in to get help and doctors came running out. They even delivered the placenta in the car as it was ready to come out. Add to that, they had their 4-year old son in the back of the car. Had I known, I would have helped of course, if only to look after their son. But I was blissfully unaware. Still, I tried to help over the next few days by cooking and helping entertain and feed the son.
On the first full day (Friday) I managed to get a $50 pay-as-you-go type SIM card for my old iPhone on T-Mobile. As it wasn't a bundled phone I ended up having to set up several things manually which took some Googling over the next few days. I also eventually found out that I hadn't got any international texts or minutes with the plan so had to fork out another $10 per month. A little pricey but that's the cost of doing things over here. One day I'll upgrade to a newer phone and might be able to get a better deal.
That afternoon I walked into Wells Fargo expecting difficulties setting up a bank account. Not so! Although it took the best part of 90 minutes (and the latter half hour after it had closed) the bank had a checking and savings account set up for me. Most of that time was the lady talking though! Fast forward a week and my cheques ("checks") and debit card have arrived.
The next few days are a bit of a blur now! I bought a PC and a cheap table so I could start working in my bedroom. Oh, and a laundry basket - sounds silly but I didn't have anywhere to put my dirty laundry! Slowly getting to know where the major shops are in this city, doing a lot of window shopping at the time.
On Wednesday I went to Apple Valley to a rental property agent - part of the Century 21 group. Though the bloke was friendly enough, I don't think he could have sounded more bored if he tried. The main question was whether anybody would rent to me given my lack of credit history. But he said that it was up to the individual property owners, not him (or his company). So that potentially worked in my favour. But there were plenty of properties and I wasn't ready to move yet so left it at that.
Later that day I was passing the Social Security Administration office so I thought I'd call in to see if my SSN was ready. You're supposed to wait about 10 days before applying but to my surprise they not only had issued the number but had mailed the card to me on Monday! They printed out a copy of the number for me in the meantime. Fast forward to Friday and the card had arrived - just a flimsy paper thing, albeit with watermarks and other security features.
The same day I phoned American Express to ask if I could do a global transfer on my card. It was approved! Only a $5000 limit compared to my GBP16,000 UK limit (of which I've never used more than 3000) but it's a good start. That card arrived on the Thursday as they'd sent it by express delivery.
With my wife in the Philippines, house hunting was going to be interesting. But I pointed out a property that she might like and she did, from the photos. It wasn't far from Sharon's and it had a pool. Three bedrooms, all on one level. Reasonable rent price. So I plucked up the courage to phone the number listed. It turned out to be a private landlady, not an agency, although she had several properties. We arranged to meet the next morning (today) and she seemed okay when I explained the credit history issue.
So 9am this morning Kerry and I turned up and she was waiting with a friend. Kerry did most of the talking while I was happy to listen and take it all in. After all, what do I know about pest control and the benefits of high ceilings and tiled floors in the summer?! The house was perhaps on the smaller size but certainly big enough for us. And, of course, it had the pool in the large back yard. I would have liked some grass in the yard but you can't have everything. Instead it was concrete throughout the yard (which is apparently a good thing). The pool looked good but was icy cold. Apparently it wouldn't need heating in summer but I think I might pay the electricity bill to warm it a little until it warms up naturally.
Inside the bedrooms had built in closets, fitted with shelving. The shelving was cheap but it was one less thing to buy. The bedrooms had carpet but the remainder of the house was tiled except in the lounge which had wooden floors. Some of the other cupboards had cheap furniture but the kitchen was modern and looked in good condition. A fitted microwave, cooker, and dishwasher meant less things to buy.
So then we came to the rent issue. She'd asked for bank statements and proof of income, the former of which I started to show her but then remembered my credit report from the UK. This has a score of 999 which is about as high as you can go and her jaw dropped open! She showed it to her friend and asked me when I wanted to move in! We agreed on meeting again on Thursday where she would want the first and last month's rents in cash or cashier cheque (following months would be by ordinary cheque). She was going to have the carpets shampooed but from Thursday it will be mine.
Wow, so I've now got a house to fill! I've got to sort out electricity, gas, and cable. She's included the water and trash in the rent so I don't need to do those. I need to buy a bed for me and the wife and a refrigerator for the kitchen, plus a washer and dryer. Those are the minimums to move in really but soon I'll also have to buy a cot and a bed for our baby and son respectively. Oh and a TV! Expensive times ahead!
Time to go shopping I think!
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Sunday 15 April 2012 - Two weeks later
Wow, so much has happened in the last two weeks, I don't know where to start! Okay, let's try to do this chronologically. This might be a long post...
Right, so on 3rd April Pickfords came and took most of our stuff. But they filled the van pretty quickly and alarmed me when they said they'd have to get some more boxes and empty the van as I had more stuff than estimated! Fortunately when they finished they said it was only a little over and I wouldn't have to pay any more. Phew! The house was so empty and echoey after that.
That night my mum arrived to help me finish packing and to clean the house. By lunchtime the next day I realised that I still had a lot of stuff I hadn't sent, sold, or scrapped. Fortunately my dear mum said she'd come back after I'd gone and finish off. Thank goodness! I couldn't even fit the stuff I wanted to take on the flight into the three allowed cases on my ticket. I phoned up BA and asked what the excess would be and it was GBP90. Done! No point trying to find a cheaper price elsewhere, let's get it sorted simply by paying the excess.
So Wednesday evening we arrive at the hotel where I was to stay the night before the flight early the next morning. We'd had a family dinner near the airport - which was fortunate as it turned out the hotel makes its money not on the rooms but on the food and drinks. GBP15 for a spaghetti carbonara, for example. GBP7 for a small glass of wine. I turned to TripAdvisor and was reading some of the comments and was glad I did as somebody mentioned a pub across the road. Off I go, one bottle of wine to take away for GBP7. That'll do nicely! Oh, and I'd booked this hotel as it had a pool so I could go for a swim and relax. Not so. It closed early. Not impressed with the Park Inn.
I'd arranged a porter to collect my bags at 7am. So I started putting the bags outside the room at 7am with no sign of the porter in sight. Then the door slammed shut and I was locked out! So I wandered downstairs to ask about the porter. "What porter?". Great. Fortunately he came straight up and helped me (and I got back in to the room to get the remaining stuff). He loaded it into the taxi that I'd also booked which was a whopping GBP16 to go the three miles to terminal 5 at Heathrow. Turns out it wasn't a regular taxi but a kind of limo service which the hotel no doubt got a kick back from. Sigh, not much choice in the matter as there was no way I could get the bags on the bus myself.
Check in was a little slow. Seems that Club World passengers have to use the same bag drop as the regular passengers. I walked to the end of one line, followed a second later by somebody else who remarked "I guess I'll stand behind you then". Well yes, that's generally how queues work, first come first served. At least that's what I thought but just smiled at her and let it go. No point for any hassle this time of morning.
I had two hard drives in my hand baggage (in lieu of taking a full PC) along with a camera and laptop. I'd duly taken out all the liquids, taken off my belt, and done everything - except take the electronics out for the x-ray screening. Doh. That resulted in a full bag emptying and manual search. But somehow I packed it better afterwards. Never mind.
Being in Club World I had access to the lounge where I had a reasonable breakfast of bacon, rolls, cereal, tea, and fruit. I certainly wasn't going to pay hotel prices for breakfast when this was "free"! A bit of duty free shopping later and I made my way to the gate which was in a satellite terminal. What a mess! For a brand new terminal you would have thought they'd arrange the gates big enough to cater for the people about to board a B777. But clearly not. People standing everywhere, nobody knowing what was going on, blocking the passageways.
Club World seats on British Airways are arranged in pairs facing each other alongside, so one seat faces forward, the other backwards. Fine if you're a couple but although there is a partition between the seats, while it's down you are uncomfortably close to the person sitting diagonally opposite. I could have reached out with my hand and touched her face without getting up from my seat. But once we took off, the partition went up and it stayed up for the rest of the flight. But, being in an aisle seat meant I didn't have any view outside the plane. I would have preferred a window seat but BA charge something like GBP40 to reserve a seat in advance (bit of a cheek for Club World I thought). By the time I was able to choose a seat for free, all the windows were taken.
There is a huge amount of legroom in those seats and I admit they're quite comfortable. They even go flat if you want to sleep. Entertainment is quite good and the noise cancelling headphones are great.
Shame about the food. Only two choices for the lunch and dinner services. I chose the curry for lunch which came out with a thick dried layer of sauce on top, crispy rice (ie dried out) and dry chicken. Not impressed. Then dinner service was a choice of something soaked in vinegar or something else soaked in vinegar. Guess what? I don't like vinegar. No dinner for me then, wasn't even offered an alternative. And the snack bar that Club World passengers can help themselves to was completely empty.
So, Club World on BA. Service: mediocre. Food: poor. Seats: excellent. Would I pay for BA Club World again? No, apart from the seat, it's not worth the money. In fact my four long haul Emirates flights the previous month in Economy were actually BETTER than BA's Business Class product for both food and service. It's a shame Emirates' hub is now on virtually the exact opposite side of the globe to where I am now so we're unlikely to use them again.
So twelve hours later we land in LA and promptly sit on the tarmac for over half an hour because we're early and our assigned gate isn't empty yet. Even when it does become empty, we have to wait for a tug to tow us in as it's a narrow approach that is too dangerous to use jet engines in. Still, we got there in the end. A long walk to immigration.
I asked one of the stewards in the immigration hall where I should stand with an immigrant visa. She said just a regular visitor line. Ok. But then more booths opened up and I got reassigned to a new line so I actually got served pretty quickly. The USCIS officer said he'd do some work here then he'd send me for further processing, which was pretty much as expected. He called somebody over and had me escorted down to a special area for new immigrants (not the secondary processing as I was expecting). There was a lone officer, Chinese origin, who really did not seem at all impressed that he'd actually have to do some work. I mean I wasn't expecting a red carpet welcome, but this man's attitude really was degrading. Firstly he demanded to know why I'd changed my address in the US as if it was a massive hassle and/or lie. It was simply because I hadn't decided at the time of my interview. Then he needed fingerprints and went to great lengths to manhandle my finger to get a clear print (a simple explanation of what he was going to do would have sufficed, not War and Peace with unnecessary harrumphing thrown in). Then he told me to get my baggage and return but I returned it to the wrong spot so I got another telling off for doing that. He told me to sit down but after a few minutes called me over to demand a picture - which I didn't have. After a bit more harrumphing he found a spare one in my package and told me to sit down again. Eventually he called me back up, handed me my stuff and simply said, "You're done". Again, I wasn't expecting red carpet treatment but I felt like a criminal or a naughty child the way he spoke to me.
Though a long queue for Customs, I eventually got through with a slightly friendlier couple of questions. Waiting at the top of the ramp in the arrivals area was Kerry with a big smile on his face. Thank goodness I had a nice welcome from him! Our wives are first cousins and I was to stay at there place for a few weeks while I got sorted. A two hour drive, punctuated by a stop at a burger place as I was hungry, and we arrived in a windy Victorville, California, up in the high desert. I had arrived!
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Sunday 1 April 2012 - So busy!
I'm going to split this long blog entry into sections so I remember to include everything!
House
Last Saturday estate agent #2 arranged for an "open house". This wasn't a true open house but rather a series of bookings overlapping. Nevertheless, four families viewed the property and two of those made offers. One was insultingly low and the estate agent didn't even bother telling me. The next was still low but more realistic - and, more importantly, was ready to proceed with no chain. On Wednesday I verbally accepted that offer but within an hour estate agent #1 phoned up with a viewing for that afternoon. I explained that I'd accepted the offer and suddenly estate agent #1 stepped up and offered to do the viewing themselves (the first time!). A youngish lady with a toddler turned up and liked the house. However, her husband was in Afghanistan. She arranged for her father-in-law to visit on the Friday and by Saturday morning had made an offer - only slightly more than the other offer but because estate agent #1 fees were significantly lower than estate agent #2, it worked out significantly better.
Then the fun started. I told estate agent #2 that I'd accepted a different offer and they started getting ever so slightly touchy. I can understand to a certain extent but it's a game and they're in that game. Sometimes you lose that game. Anyway, after explaining everything they'd done for me and demanding to know whether the better offer was somebody known to them (thus collecting commission) they went back to the lower offer to try to raise it. Apparently they were annoyed and had already engaged their solicitors and paid out money - but they would have done that anyway, so they can't really complain to me about it. They chose not to raise their offer. Estate agent #2 relayed the news with a somewhat curt but polite - if somewhat scripted - phone call. Definitely annoyed but as I say, it's a game. The purchasers just happened to walk through a different agent's doors, and I have the right to change my mind right up until exchange of contracts.
Packing
I've now become a regular at the recycling centre. However, yesterday I learnt to my dismay that a height barrier was going up today in an attempt to stop commercial waste illegally dumping at the tip. But my vehicle is exactly at the height restriction. Cue a frantic second trip to the tip late last night. Apparently if I show a council tax notice and proof of ID then I'll get a permit good for 12 trips per year. That should be okay; it's just the hassle factor. Maybe they'll let me in without one: we'll see later this afternoon.
Pickfords came round last week to estimate how much stuff to take. They came up with a figure of 190 cubic feet (I'd estimated 125 but later knew it would be more). Alternatively about 450 cubic feet if we were to take the sofas and beds, about another £800 more. As of right now, I've been unable to sell the sofas so I'm wondering whether to include them at this late stage. The problem is, we'd be without sofas in our new house for several weeks at least. Maybe I can rent; I'll have to look into this.
Wow, we have a lot of crap. In future we will have to be a lot more careful with how we store things. The number of half used bottles of cleaning products and suchlike I've chucked is embarrassing. The garage seemed to have become a dumping ground and so there's five years of accumulated crap in there. I've decided the wife in particular and me to a certain extent are hoarders. We badly need to change!
Family
Two weeks away from the family and now I'm starting to miss them. To a certain extent I've been so busy that I've not had much time to dwell on it but now the evenings are starting to get a bit lonely. I can phone at certain times but the delays make it a little difficult to talk. Webcam really isn't good for chatting as the internet connection there is quite slow so I can see and talk a little bit but not a proper conversation.
Work
Last day last Friday. A very strange feeling as I've been with the company for over 11 years. The boss made a quite nice speech about how it's goodbye but also hello, with me as a contractor for the company. They bought some gifts - tea, suncream, a silver train clock thing, a picture of the local town, and a company mug. I left the mug!
I was worried but eventually - on my last day - the boss signed the contract for me to continue working for them as a contractor. It's for 500 hours over a maximum of 5 months so I can adjust the pace according to my needs. If it works well then I'll get a new contract. However, I think this isn't going to go down too well with the car purchase and possibly not with other things (cue huge deposits).
Doubts
What the hell am I doing?! I'm taking a family of four to the US with not a great deal of money, self employed with no guaranteed income... eek! On the flip side I have to consider that my visa is good, I have connections, I will have cash reserves assuming the house gets sold, and the wife ought to be able to get a job assuming she passes her NCLEX (also she has connections).
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Tuesday 20 March 2012 - Back from the Philippines
Earlier this month the four of us headed to the Philippines. We booked on Emirates as they have a very generous 30kg baggage allowance (most are only 20 or 23kg) and the price was reasonable. In fact it was only £10 more for a round trip versus a one-way so it made sense to book a round trip for the others even though they wouldn't use it - in theory!
In the end we milked the baggage allowance to its maximum and then some - 103kg (only 10kg for the baby) but we weren't charged for the excess. We also had a baby car seat and a pushchair (stroller), both of which were for the baby but only one piece is allowed per minor - which includes our son, so we had two "free" additional pieces.
After 8 hours in an Airbus A380 double decker we were in Dubai where we sat for the next three hours waiting for the next flight. The first was only 75% full but the second flight was fully booked - and was another 9 hours. Not fun with a baby and a four-year-old in tow. Finally, at midnight local time, we arrived in Manila, absolutely exhausted.
We spent just over a week together but then it was time to part company for the next 2-3 months. They would stay in the Philippines with the wife's family, while I would return to the UK, finish packing, and head off to the US to get things ready for their arrival.
So another pair of 8 hour flights later, with a 4 hour layover this time, and I was back home again. To a nearly empty house. Alone. But one cannot dwell on such things, especially with so much to do. I spent the afternoon sorting the garage, although it will need another day to actually finish it. I have a vanload of black bags to take to the recycling centre along with various recyclables like wood that I'd only used bits of, old magazines we'll never read, old plastic toys, etc.
Straight back to work the following day (today as I write this) to find I'm being sent to Welwyn Garden City tomorrow and Birmingham on Thursday. Then I'm off on a social to London on Friday/Saturday followed by the parents' on Saturday/Sunday.
Things are so hectic. Gotta go!
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Monday 20 February 2012 - House for sale
Anybody want to buy a house? We've been on the market for 11 weeks now and only had one viewing, no offers. This isn't unusual in this market but it doesn't make it any easier.
Our first estate agent, who sold the properties over the road and next door in the space of a week and 10 days respectively, signed us up to the fairly standard 12 week sole agency contract. Fair enough, but when I enquired last week as to the exact end date, I was told that there was a 4 week notice period!
A second agent has since been and said he can get clients to view the property but won't be able to offer until the sole contract ends. He suggested going back to the first agent and saying that we'll either dump him as soon as possible, or he allows a second agent ASAP. The next day he booked a viewing for this week.
Having talked to the boss of the first agent just now, he readily agreed to the latter without even mentioning the former! I guess he's used to it.
So, we have a viewing (with agent #2) this week, but can't actually allow them to make a formal offer until a week on Friday! But they're viewing a couple of other houses at the same time so our chances aren't great anyway. Fingers crossed anyway.
Even if we don't sell, we've now booked flights for the family to go to the Philippines in early March. I will then head to the US in April, assuming the meeting with my boss goes ahead with the results I want tomorrow. This would give me enough breathing space to pay both a mortgage and a rental for at least 5 months.
At least now, with some firm dates in mind, things can start moving properly - and they have started moving very quickly! Though I will of course miss them, having the rest of the family in the Philippines means I can concentrate on foreign affairs (oo-er!) while they're away.
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Thursday 16 February 2012 - Visas delivered
At 09:50 this morning, DX Secure arrived with a large packet for us - our visas! They are dated exactly a year to the day that my original petition arrived at the USCIS facility in Lincoln, Nebraska.
If there was anything to make it real, the visas in our passports make it VERY real!
Now I'm scared!
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Sunday 12 February 2012 - The Interview
Firstly, my long saga with DVLA took a big step forward on Monday when I went to read a numberplate at a test center. In fact, I ended up reading three as I got the first two wrong. The third one was measured out rather more accurately and I managed to read it correctly. Phew! I ought to have been able to read it anyway but as the DVLA/government insist on an unscientific process of reading a poorly lit numberplate in an uncontrolled environment with non-uniform letters, it was a bit hit and miss whether I'd meet the "standard" (incidentally the European standard is much more scientific - and easier).
On Thursday night we drove up to Wembley to stay at the same Premier Inn right outside Wembley Park station that we stayed at before. From there it's a 20 minute ride on the Jubilee line to Bond Street and then a 5 minute walk to the embassy. Snow was falling however, and I don't know if that was why, but by morning the entire Jubilee line was shut due to a broken down train! So we ended up getting the Metropolitan to Baker Street, the Bakerloo, and finally the Central to Bond Street. In the meantime we'd left my mum in the hotel with the two kids (4 years and 4 months).
We got hot drinks in McDonalds as we expected to have to wait outside the embassy in the freezing snow. But as it happened, there were only a couple of people ahead of us at 8am (our appointment being 8:30am) and we were very quickly inside. That was where the quickness ended. We had ticket number I-910 and soon after we entered we heard I-905 being called (the computer screens were out of action). The non-immigrants were on N-520 as we arrived, being called to the first set of windows. Okay, only five immigrants in front of us we thought. But we sat and waited. And waited. And waited some more. It wasn't until about 9:30 that we eventually got called to the first window, with the sight of a 5-inch high file in front of us! Huge! I could see my petition - which was actually the first time I'd seen it in paper form - which made up about 1.5", with the rest various forms, our original birth certificates and so on.
First the bit I was nervous of. I had a sore on the end of my finger which blistered and peeled and didn't even have any real sensation. Though I'd been to my GP, he prescribed a basic hydrocortisone cream but I don't think he really knew what it was. Some old wives' tales later, including urinating on my finger in the hope it was a fungus that fresh urine can cure (there is truth in that tale), and it wasn't too bad by that Friday morning, but not a good fingerprint as far as I could tell. But anyway, left hand on scanner. Ok. Right hand. Ok. Thumbs. Ok. Left hand again please. Uh oh. Ok. Oh! It got read in the end.
But then it was the wife's turn. She had to rub her fingers together - no good. Rub an alcohol wipe - no good. Rub fingers on forehead - passed. Phew!
A question about my employment came next. I think she was expecting to see one, from her checklist. But this is one of the few employment-based visas that does not require an offer of employment. A supervisor came over and appeared to explain this (couldn't quite hear). So then we sat down again.
And waited. A long time again. I was starting to get worried as I-920 had already been called to the second window. I know they aren't in order but with only 15 immigrants in the queue, it seemed strange that mine was so far behind. The non-immigrants, by this stage, were up to N-790!
Eventually we did get called. Raise right hand, swear to tell the whole truth and some other words. Quick scan of left fingers again (passed first time). Then he said "now the interview begins". What followed is not what I expected at all! He asked me to explain the whole basis of my petition, which he had in front of him. I suspect the time taken earlier, and that he might have fallen behind his colleagues, was because he was scanning through my entire petition. I think he wanted to be sure the petition was actually mine, and that I knew most of the salient points. As he asked more and more questions, he was writing things down and flicking through the petition. Then he said, "I just need to go away for a minute". He disappeared for what seemed like an age, but probably not more than 5 minutes. Maybe he went to the toilet. Maybe he had a coffee break. Maybe he was Googling me. Who knows?! But eventually he came back, apologized for the delay, and then proceeded to question me even more!
By this stage I was mentally sweating, if not visibly sweating! I really had my doubts now as this seemed completely different to other peoples' experiences. But eventually he said that he was satisfied with my answers and that the visa was approved! My wife, standing beside my, mostly silent but whispering the odd thing, suddenly let out a quickly-muffled shriek and was laughing out loud, to the amusement of those standing nearby. I didn't see the officer's reaction unfortunately, as I was distracted. We went and paid for the DX delivery service and found out it was now 11:45 - we had to rush to get back to the hotel.
We got back to the hotel at 12:15. I'd forgotten to ask the front desk staff for a late check out and of course we didn't have mobiles (not allowed in the embassy) so we couldn't contact her easily. But thankfully the kids were okay, and the hotel were okay with the late check out, especially when we said we'd have lunch there. Did that, then went to my parents' for the weekend.
And thus ended a most stressful week - successfully!
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Thursday 2 February 2012 - Banking
Wow, just had a phone call from HSBC in Los Angeles. I was referred to Pete Newton, an accountant specializing in both UK and US taxes, by this forum. He referred me to HSBC in New York for a bank account, who in turn referred me to the LA office.
Not only are they going to organize the business bank account, they'll sort out our personal accounts too! Having already done some of the legwork (California LLC, EIN, and a visa (of course!)), it made it easier for them. So they're going to send a list of things they need, like a copy of the visa, the LLC articles of organization, proof of ID, etc. And what's more, they're going to send the cards to the UK to an HSBC branch of my choice so I can sign them and pick them up! Actually I think that might just be the business card, but it's a good start!
Things are almost going too well...
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Wednesday 1 February 2012 - Cajon Rail LLC registered!
Cajon Pass is a mecca for railfans and we'll either be living near the top of it or the bottom of it. As my company is a railway company, using that pass as a business names makes sense! Add to that, anybody searching for Cajon Pass might well come across my website which is no bad thing at all. Cajon is Spanish for box or drum; in this case a "box-like canyon". It can even mean coffin which is not really a good thing. Let's put emphasis on the box thing as in "thinking outside the box"! Anyway, company legally formed in just 22 days from filing which is quicker than expected. Internet domains registered now as well.
Not only that but I also have a US business address, phone, and fax number! These go to an agent (the ones who set up my company) and they basically hold your mail, scan it for you if you want, forward it to you, or shred it. With the phone calls it records them and emails the recording somehow. And the faxes are just scanned and emailed. But at least I have a US address I can start to use!
Part of the incorporation package was the ability to obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number. I need this to open a bank account. The instructions say to just phone this number with this form we've filled in for you. Forty five minutes of waiting later and finally someone answers! It's the IRS and my first interaction with them - and not that great! I'm not sure I could have found a more disinterested person! Anyway, he took my details (repeating stuff every now and again due to static on the line) but he seemed to repeat back okay. And I got an EIN so that's another job done.
Had Blue Shield email me again yesterday (health insurance). They wanted more information. So we phoned them and had a lovely lady answer the phone. She wanted to know about our heights, weights, and whether anything had changed since we submitted our applications a week or two ago. That took a little while to go through the four of us. To be honest, I think they'll either reject us or they'll quote an astronomical price. But we have to go through the motions - and who knows, maybe it'll be ok.
But as I now have a company, I can apply to the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) which means I should be able to use their health plan offerings. I've no idea whether it's any good but it's worth a try!
I need a logo for my new company and the shout has gone out to freelancer.com. This is a website that brings together people who need small jobs doing and people who want to do small jobs. Put very bluntly, western companies want people to do things for them cheaply, and eastern (often Indian) people will do them for prices that are cheap by western standards but generous by eastern standards. The problem is trying to sort the wheat from the chaff. I've had over a dozen bids for my work in just over an hour, and the bidding is open for another 5 days! Some nice portfolios in there though.
With this new company comes a load more paperwork so I'd better get on to it!
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Sunday 15 January 2012 - Businesses
After much mixed advice from various forums, I decided that a California LLC was right for me. There is all this talk of setting up in Nevada, Wyoming, Delaware etc but it seems to me that I'd still end up paying California taxes anyway, so there would be no financial benefit in setting up out of state. In fact, the legal and financial situation seems even more complex.
I also investigated shelf companies, on the basis that they allegedly show some history for your company rather than a brand new startup. But in California, the change of ownership resets all that history so it seems pointless. Once I got into the detail of it, it also seems that those shelf companies also owe the state back filing taxes, fines, and whatnot, which - although one seller told me it was no problem - set the alarm bells ringing.
So in the end I went for the simple option: Set up a new LLC. Now, California takes several weeks to process the filing for such a scheme, and possibly longer due to their financial crisis meaning people laid off and thus filing taking longer. But I decided - eventually - that time wasn't really so much of an issue, as long as it wasn't going to be more than 8 weeks.
So, a few days ago, California received my application. There's nothing much I can do until the papers return from the State. Nothing is legal until this happens - I cannot even be certain of the name of the company being accepted until those papers are returned.
Why am I setting up a company? Because it gives me some personal protection from the company, should anything go mammary glands upwards. There are no tax advantages, just that corporate veil (which, has to be said, is not perfect apparently). Perhaps it makes my work look more prestigious and trustworthy; I don't know. I think it will also be simpler for my current employer to use me (or my company's) services, which they have verbally agreed to do.
Name will be announced once I know it (and buy the Internet domain names!).
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Sunday 15 January 2012 - Cars
After the initial hiccup with International Auto Source, who denied me because I didn't have an employer at that point, they have now agreed to go ahead on the basis I will have an employer, namely myself. I was completely up front and honest about it, saying if they want a letter of employment it will come from me, addressed to me. And they were happy with that, as long as it came on headed paper!
Armed with the permission to proceed, we next looked at what sort of cars we would like. Bearing in mind we're a family of four - me, wife, a four-year-old and a three-month-old - plus all the baggage that goes with carting around such a family - we needed something of a decent size. International Auto Source don't offer all cars from all manufacturers or even all models from those ranges. So we had a wide selection but sometimes a car we were looking for just wasn't available.
By the way, the reason we're going for IAS is because they offer stuff like car loans (based on your UK credit basically), insurance, and other help getting set up. They're geared up for expats, amongst other things. Plus, for a new car, it works out cheaper than buying it from a dealership.
We set ourselves a budget of around $30k so looked at models up to around that figure. Though the IAS website sort of gave prices, it was a bit picky and often didn't. But once I worked out the prices given were slightly cheaper than the manufacturers' own prices, I reverted to using the manufacturers' websites. Main criteria were lots of space, leather seats (wipe clean, you see), and possibly parking sensors or camera. We're simple - no need for a V8, or even know what a V8 really means. Several cup holders and we're happy.
First up was a Mazda 5. Looks nice. Sliding doors on the rear (good for the kids). Seven seats. Available in the UK so we could go and have a look. Went to the local dealer who had one but it was on a test drive (all weekend). Phoned up next time, "yes, it's here". Drove there. "Where's the Mazda 5?" - "erm, we don't have one" - "but the lady on the phone said you have one" - "nope". A few minutes later... "do you mean the courtesey car?" - "I don't care what it is, just show me it!". Ah. Too small. Trying to fit 7 seats into a vehicle the size of a Ford Focus (or so it seems) just won't go. None of us liked it.
A couple of weeks later, after discussion on this very forum, a look at some Jeeps, Chryslers, and Dodges. The latter two are pretty much the same - the Dodge name isn't actually marketed in the UK so it's all Chrysler. Probably something to do with being "Dodgy". Anyway, a dealership not so far from us had a few so we went and had a look. A couple of Jeeps, which I'd initially discounted because I didn't like the look of them, actually looked alright. But a smaller Jeep which I thought might be adequate actually turned out looking really small.
But then we found the Chrysler Grand Voyager - otherwise known as the Dodge Grand Caravan in the US. The dealer, who I told up front that we weren't going to buy from him but were looking for the models in the US, was really helpful and knowledgeable. Despite knowing we wouldn't buy from him, he took us around the vehicle, answered questions, and knew some basics about the differences between the UK and US models. He even suggested we come back with the US spec and compare it to what he had on display to check we had everything we wanted. I can't remember his name, but to the boss at Kings Chrysler Swindon, thank you!
So, this vehicle. Sliding doors, drop-down DVD players, individual seats in the first and second rows (and leather), fold-away third row, satnav high in the dashboard (so it's visible without looking down), rear view camera, cross traffic and blind spot sensors, reasonably high driving position - and lots of space. Total cost about $32k which is more than the budget but hey, we ALL loved it! Many of the features were for the higher end models in the range, paying for features like satnav. I just hope the finance agreement will go through!
One slight disappointment is that the car won't be ready until about a month after arrival in the US. This is because they delay it until you get your SSN, which can take a couple of weeks. So it's a hire car to begin with, but it might just be me on my own anyway to begin with.
I was going to write about businesses but I'll write a separate entry for that.
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Wednesday 28 December 2011 - Interview date received
So there I was, browsing for new cars (I can dream, can't I) when a new email came in from NVC entitled "P4 for neopost DS-1200". Argh, what do they want now?! Never heard of a DS-1200! I assumed the "neopost" bit was referring to our newborn (as in neonatal) as the previous one was about her but maybe not.
Anyway, it's set for February 10th at 0830 - about as soon as I could have expected it. Odd, as my medical records were sent to the Knightsbridge doctors in mid-December but only today have we posted the wife's medical report so they can't have been waiting for these after all. This medical report is the one that our GPs have been so slow in producing - and tried to charge us again for the fee! And that fee ranged from £25, to £26.50 (which is what we actually paid) to £28. If they don't know what to charge... sigh. Seems my nagging on the 23rd December worked as that was when the report was dated. But they didn't bother to tell me - I only asked, expecting the usual crap, when booking an appointment for the kids to have their second Hep-B jabs. That in itself was a palava: "ooh, you can't book that in a regular clinic, you need the travel clinic for that". Okay, well do it then and tell me what you've achieved. Sigh again. I fully expect to turn up at the travel clinic, kids in tow, only to be told that Hep-B isn't required for travel to the US. Yes, I have little faith in my GPs these days.
Wow, it's good news about the appointment anyway! Chin up, keep positive and all that British stuff.
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Thursday 22 December 2011 - Bloody doctors!
So the GPs received a request for medical reports for my wife and myself on 2nd December, and charged us £28 each which we paid immediately. About ten days later mine was eventually ready. When asked about my wife's they said "oh... it just needs printing again". Later that day, "ah... it was never actually done". Add another 10 days and "We don't know which doctor it's gone to" and "the lady that deals with it isn't here" despite yesterday saying "talk to Julie tomorrow". This is on top of the regular "losing of prescriptions". Absolutely shambolic.
On a better note, my boss has confirmed he will retain my services whilst in the US! We have yet to nail down the specifics but it looks like I will become self employed under a US company of my own creation which will pay me hourly and bill the UK company similarly. I certainly need tax advice for this!
It also seems that me (as employer of said company) writing a letter of employment to me (as employee of said company) could possibly be accepted for proof of employment for loan purposes. This is good news as many were skeptical that it would work - but then how do other self employed people do this? Now, it hasn't actually happened yet, but it does mean AutoSource are now willing to talk to me again.
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Monday 5 December 2011 - Case Complete!
On November 22nd, one day after the documents arrived back at NVC, our case was complete! I just phoned the automated case system which gave the good news. We now have to wait up to 8 weeks for the next stage, which I'm hoping is the interview.
Last week we had our medicals. After deciding at the last minute to stay the night before, to save a very early morning start, we headed up to the Premier Inn at Wembley. Very convenient for Wembley, X Factor studios, and right next to Wembley Park station. So a 15 minute train ride on the Jubilee got us to Bond Street where, a few streets away, the Kensington Doctors did our medicals. All quite straight forward, although both us adults need more paperwork from our GPs in relation to episodes of depression in the past. The US wants to know that we are not a danger to ourselves, anyone else, or property in relation to the depression. Our GPs have charged £26.50 each but they didn't charge for the vaccination reports so I guess it's fair enough.
Our house is going on the market today. On Friday the estate agent visited and gave a valuation which was slightly more than hoped, with a realistic sales figure of slightly less than hoped. Still, only by a few thousand so it's in the ballpark of what we expected. We need to do some major tidying up which is not easy when you have a nearly 4-year old causing a trail of destruction behind your back. Also, we're trying to pack and sort stuff so again it's difficult to be tidy while sorting. Hopefully get some boxes later.
Despite the "case complete", February is looking unlikely now. We could possibly leave the UK before the house is sold, but only if we've exchanged contracts or at least very close to exchanging. The plan was to visit the Philippines (wife's home country) for a couple of weeks anyway, so we could possible go for longer with me working rather than just visiting. At least with my job I can do that - a PC and an Internet connection being all I need. Plus, if work give me packages of work then I can get on with it.
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Monday 28 November 2011 - Documents back at NVC
A week ago our documents arrived via our attorney back at the NVC. Hopefully this time they'll get approved. Last time it took them 7 days to issue an RFE but they've had Thanksgiving last week so it's going to be a little longer - let's hope not too long! From there our documents go to the London Embassy and an appointment will be booked. If they do this soon enough, say by the end of this week, then maybe we'll have our appointment in January. We've got out medicals on Thursday.
Sorting out the house, another trip to the household recycling center but more yet to come. Had some friends round to do some painting white gloss on the bannisters and stair rails. Unfortunately they spilt some paint on the carpet  - really could have done without that happening! They used lots of white spirit to try to clean it up which smells lovely - not! The wife is washing the carpet with Rug Doctor as we speak. It doesn't look too bad actually, thankfully.
With that little disaster, let's try not to be too ambitious and instead just touch up the bits of the house that need doing. That way maybe we can get the house on the market by this weekend.
I've been on to removal companies to get some quotes. Seems that 125 cubic feet roughly costs in the order of £700 to £1000 depending on the company. Allied Pickfords are surprisingly one of the cheaper options and they have a reasonable reputation. Add to that, they've offered "up to" $5,000 off the cost of a new car via AutoSource - another company with reasonable reputation. This latter company gets you a vehicle arranged ready for you to drive away upon your arrival in the US, complete with insurance, plates, and anything else required. Finance, lease, or outright purchase available. Sounds promising! We were thinking of a second hand car but with all the hassles and "have we got everything we legally need", this sounds a safer option, albeit pricey.
I told my boss I would be leaving early next year. My notice period is only 4 weeks but I didn't want to leave it that late. Initially he wasn't too happy but a week later he and I had a conference to attend so we had an evening together which meant we could have a chat. Now he was more open to the idea of me doing some work for him while in the US. It's win-win - I have a basic source of income initially, and he doesn't lose me completely. It's not the first time it's happened either, with one former employee in Florida and another in Hong Kong, the latter still working for us three months after leaving the UK.
Talking of work, I ought to get on with it!
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Sunday 23 October 2011 - Passports and houses
After the third time of visiting the Post Office to "check and send" Kaira's passport application, I've decided it might be easier in person. The form they want you to fill in is a light orange computer-read document which has horrible contrast. The first time I filled it in, I used a gel pen (didn't say you couldn't) but apparently computers don't read those well. The second time I used what I thought was black but was actually dark blue which only became apparent in sunlight. The third time my wife made a tiny mistake of writing "United Kingdom" where the final M was bodged - but apparently that's not good enough. In my mind that means the passport people are senseless idiots who cannot read or guess what the final letter might be (though it's obvious what it is). Anyway, what with that and getting countersignatures (twice), it's taken yet another week. Oh, and then I found out that new child passports can take 6-8 weeks instead of the two initially thought, presumably to check whether a baby is a suicide bomber or not. Okay, so I'm grumpy.
On a lighter note, not only did the neighbor across the street sell his house, but also the one next to us, and the one down the street. That's three houses out of three sold in the space of a week - though the latter two had been on the market for a few months.
Just did the first bit of proper packing. Well, more of "what shall we send to the Philippines". Filipinos (as is my wife) can send what are called Balikbayan boxes back to their home country without being taxed on imports. Generally clothes, tools, utensils, kitchenware, or whatever can fit in a box goes. We've just packed three 30x30x36" boxes and only emptied two cupboards! I think we need to be even stricter about what we keep!
Emigration date has been pushed back to the other side of Christmas now. There's no way we'll get everything done by Christmas.
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Monday 10 October 2011 - Welcome, Kaira Isabel!
What a week! At 3am on Tuesday the wife went into labour. Just after 4 she woke me and in turn I phoned my mum to come and help, as planned. She lives 2½ hours away so she wouldn't be there in time but could take over when she did. First on the list to look after our 3½ year old son didn't answer the phone. Nor did #2. Tried several more times; still no answer. Eventually went for #3 who was not on the list but fortunately very helpful and a family friend.
Went into hospital at 7am and she got examined. Three centimeters dilated and effaced so definitely in labour. Decision time: previous birth was a caesarian section - did she want one this time as she couldn't try for normal and then change her mind halfway through (except in an emergency of course). Went for CS. By 8:55am we were in theatre with the CS starting. At 09:24 Kaira Isabel was born, screaming into the world! Another 45 minutes of stitching back up and mum was exhausted!
Spent two nights in hospital due to the CS but came home on Thursday and things are looking reasonably good. Her feeding is very erratic but she didn't lose any more weight than expected (up to 10% of birth weight is normal). Both of us have sleepless nights, of course.
We register her birth on Wednesday and then we'll get some passport photos done, only a few doors away in a studio we had some done before. He can do UK and US size photos which is convenient. After that I'll fill in the forms for her passport which will take a week to arrive, then we can send that off with our RFE evidence to NVC via the attorney.
It looks very unlikely that we'll be in the US for Christmas now. But fingers crossed, the chap across the road with exactly the same style of house as ours sold his in 10 days for a price which we'd be happy with. It's still 15% less than what we paid 5 years ago but to get back up to that value will take years. We need the equity to subsidise our initial stay in the US so we can't rent it out.
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About Me
My attempt to get an EB1a visa for the US, a person of extraordinary ability, which gives a green card pretty much immediately, and there is no waiting period unlike most other visas.
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