Hi everyone 🙂 Thanks so much for all of your well-wishes! Now that my mind has settled down a little bit, I can share more information with all of you regarding the next few months. Because of the nature of his job in New Zealand and their flexibility in terms of his start date, Chris is going to be able to do the post-doc fellowship at Notre Dame for this coming school year. This is great, because it gives us more time to prepare, see family, and generally get prepared for such a big change in our lives. First, let me share this picture of the Auckland skyline (it’s so beautiful!)…

OK – here’s the plan! We’ll move to Indiana this summer. It could be as soon as May, but most likely it won’t be till July. I’m really hoping to transfer to a hospital within my current system – it would allow me to retain my benefits and place on the payscale, which would be a big relief. I’ve already started making some calls to see if this is a possibility. Please pray that this comes about – it would make the move a LOT easier.

In the move to Indiana, I’m planning to get rid of a bunch of stuff. I think that now is a good opportunity to pare down some of our belongings, things that we won’t want to bring with us to New Zealand. Besides, there’s no sense in paying to move something that we aren’t using anymore, right?

We’re planning to be in Indiana from May/June/July 2009 – late May/early June 2010. So, around about a year. I think that the time will just fly by. There is a lot of paperwork involved in moving to another country – doctors’ visits, FBI clearances, getting work permits, visas, not to mention all of the work (and there’s a lot) involved with getting me licensed and registered to practice as a nurse in New Zealand. From a financial standpoint, it wouldn’t be necessary for me to work while we are over there – they offered Chris a larger salary than what we were expecting – but I think that I’d go stir-crazy without a job! Besides, this is such a great opportunity for me to learn nursing in a different culture that it would be a shame to pass it up.

All of this work involved in moving to NZ is pretty costly, but the university is footing the bill for much of the paperwork and exams (yay!). They’ll also pay to ship our belongings overseas, as many as will fit in a 20 foot container. In addition, they’re covering the cost of airfare, providing 3 weeks furnished housing, a rental car, and setting us up to meet with realtors. I really doubt that we would buy a house in New Zealand – everything that I’ve read indicates that unless you are planning to stay there for 20 or 30 years, it makes more sense to rent. When Chris accepted the job, I told him that at this point, all I can commit to is 3 years in New Zealand. I’m not saying that we’ll only live there for 3 years – I’m just saying that at the end of that 3 year time period, we’ll have to reevaluate where we want to be. I just think it would be pretty difficult to live so far away from family for so long. Thankfully, I have an understanding husband who was willing to agree to this 🙂

OK – that’s enough information for now! I’m beginning to think about creating another blog, one that’s all about moving to New Zealand, the process, and the steps we’re going through. I don’t know… I’ll have to think about that one!

I hope that you guys have a great day! I’ll see you tomorrow (it’s Etsy Wednesday)!