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International Move and Introduction
Hello Ladies,
I was hoping to join you all. I am relatively new to these boards and have mainly lurked for a bit on the bump/nest, but would love to become more active.
A little background info- my DH and I are currently in the process of relocating to Aberdeen, Scotland. We lived in California for the past 2 years and before that, Texas. (He works in the oil industry) We had our daughter, Emma, this past December and also have our dog, Max. We are both really excited about this new opportunity (I am a history major and taught Social Studies before becoming a SAHM and we both love to travel)
My DH moved to Aberdeen this past week and I am staying back in the states until the end of May so our families can spend some time with our daughter and so DH can get settled with the new job and finding housing.
I have a couple questions if you all don't mind- Any tips on traveling business class with a 5 1/2 month old? Also, anyone relocate a pet from the US to the UK? DH's company is pretty generous and footing the bill for Max, but I still am pretty anxious about it.
I don't want to bombard you all with questions so I'll stop here 
Looking forward to getting to "know" you all,
Christine
Re: International Move and Introduction
Welcome! I am pet- and childless so can't help you much with your questions but I lived in Edinburgh for a year.
I must admit I'm jealous of your business class. Damn DBF isn't lying when he says oil & gas is where he needs to be.
I'm American and my SO is Norwegian. We've lived in Norway, Edinburgh and are now in Australia. Don't feel bad about asking questions, that's what we're here for! There are tons of UK Nesties (but only 2 Scottish at present, that I can think of, in Edi & Glasgow).
Traveling with baby that young in business class, I would say it is easy. They are not moving, or crawling, so you don't have to worry about too much with keeping them occupied off the ground. Have a change of clothes, plenty of things for baby (pacifiers, bottles, diapers, etc.) and maybe a shirt for yourself. The airline more than likely will have extra formula and diapers if you were to run out. I can't help with the dog. Good luck with your move!
Thanks Ladies!
We are only flying business class on our way to Aberdeen because DH's company is paying for those tickets (When we travel to and from the states to visit family we will definitely be flying coach because we have to pay for those tickets, lol)
I have this horrific vision of stepping onto the plane with Emma and her crying uncontrollably for the entire flight and disrupting people who actually paid a lot of money for their tickets
...this will be her first airplane ride.
Thanks for the advice and the warm welcome!
Hey. Just coming in to wish you a happy transition to Scotland.
I live in Chicago now with my German DH. Before that we lived together in Zurich for a year and 3 months.
2012 Reading Challenge
Now Nesting from Chicago, IL My nail blog:
Hi and welcome! I have no kids and have never moved a pet, so I am not much help. Hopefully Emma will sleep most of the way and it won't be a problem.
ETA: oh yea, I'm American, living in France with my French H
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." -Isaiah 61:10 NKJV
Hi. I'm a Cuban-American living in Paris with my American DH & child.
Do your regular bedtime routine when you get on the plane- pajamas, books, massage oil, milk/formula, or whatever your routine consists of. I've flown with DD on multiple international flights (although never business class) and she has ended up sleeping most of the way if we leave in the evening.
If you're nursing, nurse at take off and landing. And if you're bottle feeding, then give a bottle at these times. It helps with the air pressure and popping in the ears.
Diaper changes on a plane are kind of a PITA. Not sure if business class makes it any easier. And if you're traveling alone, it would probably helpful to have some kind of carrier so you can go to the bathroom when you need to and bring DD with you. Some flight attendants are happy to hold a baby for you if necessary and some are kind of curmudgeony about this. Better to just have a plan to have her with you if necessary.
No info on moving a pet, sorry. Good luck with everything!
Welcome to the board! DH and I live in the Netherlands, originally from Indiana. We're both American, and we're now in our second year here in Europe.
No thoughts on baby, but I did move a pet over to Europe. I do know that England has VERY strict rules about bring in pets, but I'm not sure if that extends to Scotland or not.
I found this on the PET Travel Scheme for Scotland, and it says 3 months after a titer check, so that isn't too bad! It was six months at one time for the UK, which is hard to manage if the move is sprung on you quickly.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/animal-welfare/ImpExp/pet
Good luck with the move! Hope to see you around more!
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
Hi and welcome!
I'm an American living in India with my Indian DH and our almost-2-year-old son.
What airline are you flying to Scotland? We fly BA a lot from India back to the US and have flown in Business Class with our LO (first when he was 6 months and subsequently at 8 months, 1 year, and 16 months.). I must say traveling with them when they can't crawl or walk is pretty easy - just bring a lot of extra diapers, some small toys, an extra change of clothes for you and LO and a positive attitude.
The flight attendants are usually quite helpful and if you are flying BA, I'd suggest sitting in the first of the 2 business class cabins - a little more room to walk about - there is a nice galley to move about in between the 2 business class sections.
Good luck with your move!
a girl from Hawaii, living the expat experience in India.
Hi and welcome!
My fiance and I live in the UK (I'm in the military), and I just finished 10 months of training about an hour and a half away from Aberdeen. FI was living in our house in England, so we were putting in a LOT of flying hours in and out of Aberdeen:-) It's a nice city, and the oil industry is huge. Plus there is a lot to do in the part of Scotland (tons of outdoor activities, the Highlands, good golfing, whisky distillery tours, etc). And in my experience the people were quite friendly to me as an American (once they found out I'm not English). You're going to love it!
Look at www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/ for information on the Pet Travel Scheme. Basically there's no quarantine anymore as long as your pet meets certain requirements. You need to have your pet microchipped, then vaccinated, and get your vet to fill out a specific form (located on the website), and get your dog a tapeworm treatment between 24 and 120 hours of arriving in the UK. Then you need to book transportation for your pet through an "approved carrier on an approved route." There's a 3 week MINIMUM from the time the pet is vaccinated until it can arrive in the UK, so you'll need a little bit of time to get all of this together. But a lot of these procedures are new as of Jan 1, 2012, and the process is a LOT simpler than it used to be :-)
edited to add: UGH! figures the rules might be different for Scotland. Look at the other website first...
Hope this helps!
Hello. DH and I are Americans living in Spain...soon to be moving to Amsterdam.
I don't have any advice on the kid front. We did move our dog from Chicago to Spain and used the company below. It is expensive, but they handled everything. I think we paid $3500.
www.petrelocation.com
Just be prepared for the major change in weather. It's good that you are coming in spring (though with all the snow up north it probably doesn't feel that way), but after California and Texas, you may go into shock...especially this winter. It does get very dark, very early and COLD. But living in the UK has a lot of bonuses...summer has tons of sunlight (a pain for sleeping so buy your baby blackout curtains or you'll have her awake at 3:30am when the sun rises in June) and the weather can be very comfy. Make sure you always have layers, sunglasses and an umbrella - today in London I think I might need all three! But most of all...come with an open mind and heart. It can be fun! And there's a lot of UK people on here to answer your questions.
Welcome!
No one on that flight will have paid a lot of money for their tickets, trust me. They are all flying on someone else's dime, miles or upgrades! My son did his first business class UK-US flight at 4 months and he was awesome, he slept the whole way. She will be fine!
And welcome
Ciao and welcome! What an adorable picture you have in your siggy
I can't help with your questions but wish you good luck on your move!
My name is Stella, I'm from Rome and live in NYC with my French/Italian husband.
Hello! My DH and I are both Americans (and from California, too!) and live in London. I'm jealous that you're bringing your dog as we had to leave ours back home with my in-laws. You're moving a good time of year! The weather should be nice and the days long. Honestly, the roughest part of living here has been the seasonal depression. We've lived here for 18 months, and I've had it for the past two winters. The first winter I just chalked it up to homesickness/culture shock. This past winter I had it even worse, and I realized it was seasonal depression. The good news is that it doesn't last long - January-March is the worst with short days and just dreary weather.
Try to get involved when you arrive. Netmums is a popular website here (I think its in Scotland too) and shows playgroups, playgrounds, kid activities, etc. Also all the libraries around here have free playtimes and storytimes. If you go to church, get involved because that's how I've met all my friends here.
My DH and I went up to Scotland last May and absolutely loved it! The people are very friendly and the food was much better than it is in England
(I know some people probably disagree with me here!)
Thank you all so much for the advice and for answering my questions! I am feeling much more confident about the moving logistics.
My DH and I are both Americans (I think I forgot to inclulde that) and his assignment in Aberdeen will be from 3-4 years. We visited Scotland about 4 years ago for 2 weeks and we absolutely loved it (although it was the middle of summer and hardly rained). DH and I both grew up in New Jersey, so although I am used to moderately cold, wet winters, Scotland will definitely be a huge change.
Our next big decision is housing, DH will be looking at various houses/flats in the upcoming days. Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated
I grew up on Long Island but there's not much comparison! It's not as cold in the winter - it rarely snows in Edinburgh although you'll get a bit more in Aberdeen. But the summers are brutal - grey and cloudy and chilly. If you don't have a good waterproof jacket, keep your eyes out for one now (clothes are way cheaper in the states). Oh, and a good brolly (umbrella) will be endlessly useful. The weather is really changeable so I tend to layer a lot.
For housing... the most important thing (for me, and a lesson I learned late) is to check on the heating. You want central heat and double glazing. We had neither in our first flat and I do not recommend that. Make sure you know what the council tax payments will be as well as it will increase your rent by a significant amount (although it sounds like your DH is getting much more help from his workplace so that might be irrelevent). Flats tend to come furnished so he'll want to look at the condition of the furniture and the beds and everything as well - unless you're lucky and are looking for unfurnished.
How much stuff are you bringing over with you?
Oh - and a random one - OTC medicine is strangely expensive here and they sell everything in packs of 8 or 16 or something useless like that. When we go back to the states, we always bring a giant container of ibuprofen and sudafed and loratadine and pre-natals and whatever else we reguarly use. It's worth throwing a few bottles of anything like that in your packing. If you are on b/c pills, make sure to bring the information with you so your GP can find a matching brand.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
Thank you for the info!!!
I will mention to DH about the double glazing and council tax payments. His company gives us some money towards rent but Aberdeen seems pretty darn expensive!
We were very fortunate enough to be able to bring over all our things (minus cars of course) so we are looking for an unfurnished house/flat. We were advised by other ex pats my DH works with to bulk up on things like diapers, otc medicines, soaps/shampoos and various other household stuff.
We also have an air shipment that the company provides for us. I think its a crate that will hold up to 300 lbs. We scheduled that right before Emma and I leave so we wouldn't have to lug around a lot of baby stuff while flying.
btw- I'm jealous! I love Edinburough, its such an amazing city. DH and I definitely plan on doing some weekend trips there asap!
welcome to the board!
we have some good friends here (in Sydney) who are from Aberdeen & he works on the rigs - it sure is a big business up there!
You'll be fine on the flight - its relatively easy to fly with a baby before they are walking - especially with all the space in business class (i imagine!)
just bring lots of extras - diapers, clothes for yourself & baby, stuff to entertain them, etc and you'll be fine
DH and I are both Americans. Our first move abroad was to Aberdeen. I'm from Texas, DH is from Montana the weather in Aberdeen isn't remotely similar to either. Be prepared for lots and lots of dark. I remember one day in May it snowed, rained, the haar came in and finally the sun came out. I also remember sitting inside during the summer in a window with short sleeves and my shorts on soaking up the sun - if I went outside I'd have had to put my scarf and coat on. You can never have too many scarves by the way.
The vast majority of expats with kids live along Deeside because the American school is there. Petercutler (which locals just call "cooter" - be warned spelling has absolutely nothing to do with how anything is pronounced), not to be confused with Maryculter right next door (pronounced Marycooter), Bieldside, Milltimber. They're all good areas, but anything on the royal Deeside is going to be more money.
Living on the Don or the west side is cheaper. Westhill is where Costco is and where you'll find skippy peanut butter. I really like Westhill. Where you live should really be determined by where your DH's office is. Traffic in Aberdeen is absolute ***. So if he's in Bridge of Don don't get a place on the Dee. Even if he's in Kirkwood you'd be better off living in Inverurie and driving in than living in Aberdeen and trying to get out.
Oh and if you've lived in Texas you understand big geography. Aberdonians do not. So the maps are drawn on a huge scale. Towns that are 5 inches apart on the map are really only a 10 min (if that) drive away. Three hour drive to see Loch Ness over the weekend? Heck no. It would take the locals 10 days to plan a trip like that.
Fun fact: Aberdeen sits in between the Dee and the Don rivers and Aber means mouth of. So that's where the name comes from.
The US is a listed country so your dog is not subject to quarantine under the new rules, but you do have to microchip, get the rabbies vaccine etc.
This was a smorgasbord of info. I'm on the iPad or I'd organize it. Instead you get random musings.
Despite the crap weather Aberdeen is a great place to live.
I have no Aberdeen advice. I've only been there for a week, and my opinion was that it was kind of a blue-collar version of Stavanger. But I thought I'd say Hi anyway. I'm an American living in Norway.
Psh. 10+ years in oil & gas, and the only time I've seen the inside of a business class cabin was on my own dime. What have Igotten from international moves in oil & gas? The advice that "If you don't know how to sleep in a coach seat, you'd better learn before you move to China."
Chronically hilarious - you'll split your stitches!
I wrote a book! Bucket list CHECK!
http://notesfortheirtherapist.blogspot.co.uk