1 September, 2018: Team Taylor Hits the US
Team Taylor Hits the US
16 August, 2018. We landed in the US for the next chapter in our life adventure. This blog is as much for us to keep a little memory of what goes on - as much as it is to keep those of you updated, if you're interested :). Warning - this first entry may be a tad boring as we racap the first two weeks of 'getting set up' in the US of A.
After a (to say the least) hectic final week in Sydney - we jetted off with as much luggage as we could manage. Landing in San Francisco in the morning, we managed to get to San Jose, pick up our hire car, open a bank account, get Juz a phone and grab some groceries all by 800pm. By the time we made it to the bank, Harlin was wrecked and slept on the couch for 90 mins....
Day 2. I took off at 600am for Vegas for almost a week... Whilst I was gone the boys recovered from the jetlag, did some exploring and waited for our little fur man to arrive - who got stuck in Sydney for five more days than expected, due to an issue with the plane he was originally due to fly on. By the time I got back from Las Vegas and an encounter with a man mountain, all my boys were back together.
Vegas made it, I was in Vegas, then some exploring.
I got back to San Jose on 23 August and had a couple of days off work so we could sort paperwork and go house hunting etc. The apartment we are staying in for the first month is right around the corner from the building I am based in (there are countless Cisco buildings here), so Harlin and I checked that out one day, coupled with a visit to get our Costco membership ;-). Walking to the office everyday has been so nice - the weather here is seriously good.
Apartment we are staying in for the first month.
Thankfully, we got lucky on the house hunting front. We were set on which suburb we wanted to live in (Los Gatos) so Harlin could go to a good elementary school. Of course, rentals in that suburb are few and far between as most people buy - and in turn the rents are sky high. It didn't take long for me to re think what I wanted - but we found a place we really like with a fantastic location.
It's a three bedroom condo (aka unit) with a study, loads of storage, an outdoor area and the complex has a pool. The decor inside is 80's, but it has a nice feel to it and the location is amazing, in downtime Los Gatos. Unlike Australia, most rentals here are done direct by the owner. Thankfully our landlord, Chance, liked us so we saw the place, told him we were keen and had been accepted by that night. Was a huge weight off as finding a rental when you do not have any credit history in a country can be a hurdle.
Los Gatos is a gorgeous, kinda old feel town, with lots of restaurants and shops, farmers markets and an amazing cake shop - just up the road from our house (it was meant to be). At the base of the mountains, there's so much to do and see. Not to mention we are only an hour from San Francisco, a few hours from Napa and Tahoe and 10 minutes from San Jose International Airport. Lots of exploring and travelling to be done! Hopefully some of you can get to visit us whilst we are here.
The Creek trail starts right near where we will
be living, so we went and checked it out.
Have I mentioned the paperwork. I thought that the heavy lifting I had done over the last few months in Sydney would be the 'worst' of it; I was wrong. But, I can (thankfully) report that I think we are pretty much there. We have a bank account, a credit card, a social security number, US phones and medical insurance. Drivers Licence will be the last piece, but we aren't booked for that till October. Yes, we are managing on the 'wrong' side of the road ;)
Oh - and the reason Harlin hasn't started school yet is that the paperwork needed for that, pretty much exceeds everything else. Final step - Harlin needed to have some extra vaccinations and a blood test - super brave and no tears after four needles.
We are hopeful that we can get all of that finalised this coming week, we can apply and then he can start Monday 10th September. He will be going to Louise Van Meter. There are several Elementary Schools in the district and any of them would have been super; LVM is the one assigned to our address. School updates to come once he starts :).
Of course, I am here because of work, for which I am very grateful. I have been welcomed with open arms, have an amazing boss and I know quite a few people here I have worked with over the years, so I am really looking forward to spending more time with them as we get settled.
My first week was, of course, a baptism of fire and as we say at Cisco, 'drinking through a fire hose'. But by the end of the week, I felt a tad a more grounded and am looking forward to jumping in more over the coming weeks.
It's a holiday weekend here (long weekend, in Australian speak), and we kicked it off with a full Saturday. Juz measuring for new furniture at the Los Gatos pad (we won;t move in for a couple of weeks yet), Harlin building lego, a visit to the park, some shopping for me and the boys went to see the Monster Trucks; ear muffs were purchased.
A busy start to the long weekend.
And that's where we are, after just over two weeks on the ground (feels like a few months). Two more days of the weekend, which will see us ordering the furniture we need and no doubt, lots more walking, swimming and trips to the park.
Juz, G, Harlin and Vegas
xxx
16 August, 2018. We landed in the US for the next chapter in our life adventure. This blog is as much for us to keep a little memory of what goes on - as much as it is to keep those of you updated, if you're interested :). Warning - this first entry may be a tad boring as we racap the first two weeks of 'getting set up' in the US of A.
After a (to say the least) hectic final week in Sydney - we jetted off with as much luggage as we could manage. Landing in San Francisco in the morning, we managed to get to San Jose, pick up our hire car, open a bank account, get Juz a phone and grab some groceries all by 800pm. By the time we made it to the bank, Harlin was wrecked and slept on the couch for 90 mins....
Leaving Sydney and arriving in San Jose.
Day 2. I took off at 600am for Vegas for almost a week... Whilst I was gone the boys recovered from the jetlag, did some exploring and waited for our little fur man to arrive - who got stuck in Sydney for five more days than expected, due to an issue with the plane he was originally due to fly on. By the time I got back from Las Vegas and an encounter with a man mountain, all my boys were back together.
I got back to San Jose on 23 August and had a couple of days off work so we could sort paperwork and go house hunting etc. The apartment we are staying in for the first month is right around the corner from the building I am based in (there are countless Cisco buildings here), so Harlin and I checked that out one day, coupled with a visit to get our Costco membership ;-). Walking to the office everyday has been so nice - the weather here is seriously good.
There's been plenty of fun - mini golf, lots of swimming, lego
building (are you surprised) and the park countless times
Thankfully, we got lucky on the house hunting front. We were set on which suburb we wanted to live in (Los Gatos) so Harlin could go to a good elementary school. Of course, rentals in that suburb are few and far between as most people buy - and in turn the rents are sky high. It didn't take long for me to re think what I wanted - but we found a place we really like with a fantastic location.
It's a three bedroom condo (aka unit) with a study, loads of storage, an outdoor area and the complex has a pool. The decor inside is 80's, but it has a nice feel to it and the location is amazing, in downtime Los Gatos. Unlike Australia, most rentals here are done direct by the owner. Thankfully our landlord, Chance, liked us so we saw the place, told him we were keen and had been accepted by that night. Was a huge weight off as finding a rental when you do not have any credit history in a country can be a hurdle.
Los Gatos is a gorgeous, kinda old feel town, with lots of restaurants and shops, farmers markets and an amazing cake shop - just up the road from our house (it was meant to be). At the base of the mountains, there's so much to do and see. Not to mention we are only an hour from San Francisco, a few hours from Napa and Tahoe and 10 minutes from San Jose International Airport. Lots of exploring and travelling to be done! Hopefully some of you can get to visit us whilst we are here.
be living, so we went and checked it out.
Have I mentioned the paperwork. I thought that the heavy lifting I had done over the last few months in Sydney would be the 'worst' of it; I was wrong. But, I can (thankfully) report that I think we are pretty much there. We have a bank account, a credit card, a social security number, US phones and medical insurance. Drivers Licence will be the last piece, but we aren't booked for that till October. Yes, we are managing on the 'wrong' side of the road ;)
Oh - and the reason Harlin hasn't started school yet is that the paperwork needed for that, pretty much exceeds everything else. Final step - Harlin needed to have some extra vaccinations and a blood test - super brave and no tears after four needles.
We are hopeful that we can get all of that finalised this coming week, we can apply and then he can start Monday 10th September. He will be going to Louise Van Meter. There are several Elementary Schools in the district and any of them would have been super; LVM is the one assigned to our address. School updates to come once he starts :).
Of course, I am here because of work, for which I am very grateful. I have been welcomed with open arms, have an amazing boss and I know quite a few people here I have worked with over the years, so I am really looking forward to spending more time with them as we get settled.
My first week was, of course, a baptism of fire and as we say at Cisco, 'drinking through a fire hose'. But by the end of the week, I felt a tad a more grounded and am looking forward to jumping in more over the coming weeks.
It's a holiday weekend here (long weekend, in Australian speak), and we kicked it off with a full Saturday. Juz measuring for new furniture at the Los Gatos pad (we won;t move in for a couple of weeks yet), Harlin building lego, a visit to the park, some shopping for me and the boys went to see the Monster Trucks; ear muffs were purchased.
And that's where we are, after just over two weeks on the ground (feels like a few months). Two more days of the weekend, which will see us ordering the furniture we need and no doubt, lots more walking, swimming and trips to the park.
Juz, G, Harlin and Vegas
xxx
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