so, it's official.

[arethinn]

Well, at least as official as it can be until it's actually over and done with. I have a reservation for a trailer to go back to California on October 10th. enotsola and I are then going to be leaving here to drive across the US on the 11th (so I hope to arrive ca. the 18th). He'll be flying back to Canada on the 25th and I am filing a petition to sponsor him as my fiancee ASAP (depends somewhat on some financial things). Hopefully he will thus be able to come to the US in less than a year (average for fiancees seems to be 6-8 months, depending). Yes, this means we "have to" get married within 90 days of his entering the US with that visa, which is something which previously ruffled our collective feathers and was the main reason we didn't consider it back in 2003, but over time our feelings have changed on the matter and we figure it's the right move to make. (As for what form said "wedding" is going to take, ugh. Don't start me. That'd be a logistics nightmare given how far-flung our families and friends are, and we're pretty much all for "go down to city hall and get a piece of paper, and maybe have a party" at this point.)

Why? Well, basically job market suxxors here. In over two months I haven't have any success getting a job in my line of previous experience. Two weeks ago I was weighing a couple potential postings here against thirteen in the Bay area (although granted about half were past their "best before dates", but they were still on their respective websites with "applications after X date may be considered if necessary"), which was a major factor in coming to this decision. "Received wisdom" has always been that living in CA was just too damn expensive and we could never have owned our own house without waiting out my parents 'til they died, but I never actually sat down and did the math on it. It's actually quite possible and the amount of money needed is really not as high as I thought it was.

(So the moral of the story is, if you find yourself saying that something "could never happen", at least sit down and puzzle it out, and examine your reasons for saying that. You might be surprised.)

Comments

[son-of-art.livejournal.com]

But... everyone knows the job market in Canada isn't as good as it could be. Canada has other things going for it, and that's 90% of the reason to live there. For instance, it isn't a world superpower terrorist target that oppresses other countries. It's government isn't pure concentrated evil. Those are two things it has going for it. It's a more progressive place. Why go through all the trouble you went to get citizenship there, or get over there, just to come back now? I'd rather mop floors in Canada than have a nicer job here.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

Because I just can't find any work that, well, works. How nice the place is politically (and rememeber that the current government is Conservative, and in favour of Bush) doesn't mean much if you can't pay rent and eat. To put it in more mystical terms, I feel confident that the land of my birth will bear me up; I don't have that sense here.

(Also, I'm not a citizen, just a permanent resident. A "legal alien" if you will. Everyone always mixes those two up. You have to live in a country for some length of time before you can attempt to naturalize. Canada's citizenship is one of the easiest to get in terms of time spent, but you still have to live here for minimum 1095 days (they count everything in days for some reason) before applying.)

[lothie.livejournal.com]

Wow, well, welcome back, and best wishes!

[m0usegrrl.livejournal.com]

Damn. I mean, it'll be good to have you back here, but I'm really sorry it just didn't work out up there.

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

*shrug* I'm not looking at it as a failure. This period of time living together is one of the things that makes enotsola and I more sure that we're about ready to be married, for one thing.

[winterredwood.livejournal.com]

Wow. Welcome back, and good luck!

[unseelie.livejournal.com]

damn.

lucky us? (cringe)

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

?????

[unseelie.livejournal.com]

sorry to hear that canada is not your friend

glad to hear we get you back

sorry to hear that you are being forced back here

[starlightforest.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok. *shrug* "forced"? I dunno. That place ain't so bad, or I wouldn't be willing to go back to it, neh? I'm reminded of your occasional posts on how the weather in SF is so much more to your liking than Boston, for one thing.

[unseelie.livejournal.com]

true,
I LOVE SF.

I'm just bummed out to hear the great adventure to the Great White North - has not worked out.

Hugs.

[heartssdesire.livejournal.com]

Huh. Well, I never wanted to mention it, because I'm basically a complete stranger, but every time I would see your posts about moving to Canada I had a strong feeling that you would be back pretty soon. Don't ask me why... I'm not usually big with intuition, especially about the lives of people I don't really know, but I just had a very noticeable hunch. Therefore I conclude that you coming back must be for the best. :)

[soundwave106.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the move. :)

[glitterychaos.livejournal.com]

Be glad to welcome you back to CA! Not that I`m in the Bay Area still, but hey its not nearly as far as Canada is :)

Canada`s got a lot of other things going for it, which is one of the reasons I may be going back (to British Columbia actually) in a few years. But, in my case, I`ll be going as a graduate student, so a sucky job market would not affect me much.

[ahril.livejournal.com]

We have a similar story. We met at college in Brooklyn, NY. He's from Long Island and graduated a year behind me. I lived at home for 6 months until we were officially engaged and then I went to Long Island and moved in with his parents. We lived with them for 3 months after he graduated, but he couldn't find work and I could only find very underpaid work. If we had stayed, we would have been able to maybe rent someone's garage to live in.

So we moved here to Virginia and moved in with my parents in October and stayed until we both found work and moved into our first apartment the following April. We were married 14 months later.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry if I'm butting in here... ;0 I'm Jo, Jules' wife (I met you at Sanctuary ages ago). Anyway, about the wedding thing, our situation was very silmilar as far as far-flung families (my dad is in Romania and mom in LA, and his parents are still up in Oregon House). We talked to them and nobody had a problem about us having a private wedding (they were actually relieved!), just the reverend and witness (our friends Stephanie and Brent). It turned out great, stress-free and very enjoyable! (Look at Jules' website /wedding for pictures if you haven't already). If your families are ok with (it is your wedding after all), then you can get married sooner and get him over on a spouse visa, which is a lot quicker! Good luck whatever you decide :>

[tyrsalvia.livejournal.com]

Well, um, yay? I'm glad I won't be having too many more tass-free parties. :}

[rainman1432003.livejournal.com]

Welcome back. Let us know how it's all going...

[lysana.livejournal.com]

Would you believe I'm considering re-staging that Samhain ritual you attended a couple of years back for this November?