I've been expecting you

In life there are a lot of things that you expect. Whether it is from yourself or from others.

Sam expected me to arrive in the UK on March 15, 2011 and god bless my air plane, I did!

It was a long & tiring flight. Time flew by with the help of my Ipod and the little TV in front of me where I watched some films. I ate, tried to sleep, and just dreamt. When we landed in the Midlands I couldn't believe that I was no longer living in America,  quite a strange feeling that was.. 

Customs went smoothly and luckily all my bags made it to the conveyor belt in the baggage claim area. Also, they didn't take too long to come out, usually mine take forever. With my life packed in 2 suitcases, a carry on and a huge bag, I happily walked out into my new country. 

It was a cloudy with a chance of meatballs sort of day. I waited inside because I had a lot to wheel out and I wanted to rely on the help of my Englishman. He was running late due to traffic and he also didn't want to get there too early due to the high charges in the car park at the airport. 

I stood inside waiting and then this young girl and her father approached me asking for help on how to use the phone booth. They weren't from England and they didn't understand which coins to use. Now, in my first and second summer here I wasn't really used to the coins in England either and usually when I went out anywhere spending money I would use notes and end up with sh!t loads of change. My friends used to laugh at me for that but I just wanted to make my life easier. Luckily by 2011 I knew which coin was which, it's not rocket science! So that day in the airport last March I felt so proud of myself that I could help this family out, that was my good deed of the day! .:Pats self on the back:.

When Sam arrived my heart thumped fast when I saw his cute little face. I felt like being an actress in those cheesy romantic chick flicks I watch, and throw down my luggage and run and jump into his arms. However, I restrained myself for the sake of embarrassment.   

It was pure bliss though seeing him and knowing there would be no more distance and from that day forward I would be able to wake up to him every single day!

We drove home to where we live with his parents and 2 silly dogs.  I quickly tried to unpack as much as I could so that it would feel like home sooner rather than later. I did just that then I took a long snooze!

That day was great and it was good to be back here again. After that day I was busy seeing friends and some of Sam's family. Soon after that my days wouldn't consist of catching up, it would consist of the big WP ...Wedding planning!  Ahhh it sounds insane to start planning a May wedding in March but with no job and free time it was possible! Hey if anyone ever needs a wedding planner, I'm your girl!  ;-)   

My next post will consist of the wedding planning saga..So stay tuned!

"I'd rather be in a long distance relationship with him than be without him."

My relationship with Sam since the time we met has been a long distance relationship until I moved to England in March of 2011. He has been the greatest thing that's ever happened to me and I am so thankful to have him.

Like I said in my first post, a lot of people didn't understand why I had a long distance relationship with a guy all the way in the UK. Therefore, to shut them up, I would tell them "I would rather be with Sam in a long distance relationship than be without him!" Things you do for love.  

To this day I have no regrets about any of it! Throughout those precious years I focused on school, work, enjoying time with my family and I maintained a wonderful relationship with Sam.

Sam came to visit me, I went to visit him, he came back to America, I flew back to England, then we got engaged. This went on for many years. 

Around the end of 2009 I decided to stop going to college. A mistake to some but not to me, I can always go back to school in the future anyways. It was decided that I would move to England someday. So I continued to work waitressing at the country club that I worked at. My boss gave me extra hours and because of it I was able to save up money to move to another country.  :-D

I applied for my fiance visa at the end of 2010 in November to be exact. I applied via post to the UK Embassy in New York City. My fiance visa was issued on February 28, 2011. I was ecstatic! Within weeks later I quickly packed two huge suitcases, 1 carry on, and I brought one huge bag on the plane with me in March of 2011. Before I moved over I sent Sam up to 4 boxes of personal things that would not fit in my suitcases. I only did this because I wanted it to feel like home when I moved here. 

I finally moved to the UK on March 15, 2011. (Next month will be a year of living here and I really can't believe how fast it has flew by!!)

Once I moved here I was not able to work or anything like that. That was okay at first because I had a wedding to plan. Although in 2010 I planned some things out it wasn't until January 2011 that I started to really plan everything. I could have lost my mind because that only left me with 4 months to get everything ready!

*I will write a post some other night detailing what my wedding was like, share photos and more!*

Thanks to the help of our family and friends our wedding on the 20th of May 2011 was a fairytale success! Approximately 10 of my immediate family and friends from back home travelled over to England for it. Funny thing is it was also the first time my parents and Sam's parents met in person for the first time! Everything was perfect and it was nice having my family see what my life over here is going to be like. I can not wait for them to come back!

Soon after the wedding I got busy in preparing documentation for my second visa. This visa would be my second visa a.k.a Spousal Visa (Further Leave to Remain). Once issued it is good for two years and throughout this time period I am allowed to work, etc. I applied for it in person at a public enquiry office of the UK Embassy in my area on the 18th of July 2011 and it was approved that same day. Best service ever, it was incredibly straightforward, and the staff there were extremely kind and helpful. Come 2013 I will be applying for my Indefinite Leave to Remain there. Wish me luck on that one folks..I worry about it now but I know it will go fine, but for that I need to pass a Life in the UK test first which I plan to take at the very beginning of 2013. So I will be writing more about that when it comes to that.

Well I must get going now. I will try to write more tomorrow maybe just post some photos. Then I'll get to talking about my time here thus far, my driving experience, my friends here, and everything else. 

 

"Why did you move to England?"

Hello (to anyone who reads this..And I really hope people will.)

Well, where do I even begin???

^ That question has been in my head for the past few years now, so you would think that I know the answer by now!

I grew up in America. I loved it. I will always love it. (More about that some other time.)

Everything about my life in America was great, I have no complaints. As a kid I loved it so much and used to think I would never leave New Jersey let alone the US of A. But in 2007 my life changed when I met a guy from England. 

Some people thought it was cheesy, while other people I knew thought it was romantic. 

A lot of people judged me and tried to give me their opinions, but I didn't want to listen. I was going to stand my ground ..And I did!

Me and Sam fought hard to make our long distance relationship prosper. I won't lie it was really tough but really worth it! It all paid off on the 20th of May 2011 when we got married here in England. 

I have so much to blog about. I should have began blogging sooner but life has been extremely busy since preparing to move here and settling in here.

I want this blog to focus on my transition into life here as an American expat in the UK. I hope that it will help other Americans who are thinking of moving abroad, or are already living abroad. I'll also try to talk about non expat things and just write about things in general because I would like for my family and friends back home to keep up with my new life.

 I'll mention more about me moving here, what the process was like and how I am getting on now in later posts.

Before I end this I'll just simply answer the question to what this post is titled. It's the question everyone I come into contact with keep asking me and I only have this answer:

I moved to England to be with my soul mate. Simply because if I didn't I would probably live the rest of my life thinking "What If?" There's a huge world out there and I want to explore it and start anew because we only have one life and I want to live mine to the fullest. 

I know people are interested but some simply can not fathom why I moved, even after I explain why..

.:SMH:.

So here's to hoping some of you can understand it.

*Thanks for reading.*