Going West http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/ A web log dedicated to moving from the Netherlands to the USA en-us Copyright 2008 Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:56:10 +0100 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Breakfast and lunch It has been quiet here for a while. More often than not, lack of blogging coincides with a very busy real life, and this is not an exception. However, having said that, I must say that I had expected the adjustment to living here to be much harder than it is. Having been in the lucky circumstance that I was able to start work almost immediately after coming here, a daily routing was pretty much forced upon me; get up in the morning, have breakfast, get ready for work, leave, come back, have dinner, wind down, sleep, rinse and repeat. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2008/01/breakfast-and-lunch.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2008/01/breakfast-and-lunch.html Living breakfast granola lunch sandwich trader joe's yoghurt Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:56:10 +0100 Started work I was just reminded that I have not posted in a little while. The most important reason for that is I have started work on Nov 7. As with any new job, it takes a while to get back to a normal routine and pick up things again that are not directly related to work. I have been very fortunate at receiving an open and friendly welcome. I have spent some time in the past at my current employer, so I already knew some of the people with who I would be working. Between a Thanksgiving luncheon and a welcome breakfast, the process of re-established those social ties is progressing reasonably well. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/started-work.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/started-work.html Working working Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:56:41 +0100 Learner's permit As a foreign driver who establishes residence in the United States, it it my responsibility to obtain a US driver's license within 30 days after arriving in the country. The US does not have a reciprocal agreement with any other countries (except Canada), which means that I will have to go through a full driver's license program here. The facts that I have had a license for 15+ years, never had any accidents and put about 20,000 miles on the clock last year do not mean anything. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/learners-permit.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/learners-permit.html Driving dmv driving license permit Tue, 06 Nov 2007 02:42:39 +0100 Social Security Card and Shipping Container Arrived Yesterday was a big day. The shipping container carrying all our goods arrived and I got my social security card in the mail! Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/social-security-card-and-shipp.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/11/social-security-card-and-shipp.html Moving Moving company Social Security Number Status update moving shipping container social security number Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:44:23 +0100 Homeland Security (0) vs. Social Security Administration (1) Hello, World!

We arrived in the United States last Monday, and we are busy settling in. After arriving at JFK airport, we cleared immigration as we would do normally. The main difference between our previous visits and this one, was that it was quicker to get through the initial screening. Unlike the other times, this time we were not going on to collect our luggage directly, but we were directed to a second desk where they validated the visa. The additional time that we spent at immigration was about 10 minutes, but I think we won that time back by not having to wait for our luggage. After my visa has been validated, all the bags were already together and sitting next to the luggage carousel.

]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/homeland-security-0-vs-social.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/homeland-security-0-vs-social.html Social Security Number Status update Sat, 27 Oct 2007 01:21:16 +0100 Hello, World! We have arrived in the United States. Our flight got in last Monday at 8.15pm and immigration was effortless. We did not experience any delays while clearing immigration and customs, and the ride to the house went very smoothly. Our internet connectivity was installed today (Wednesday), so we are back in touch with the world again. I will post a more detailed report on our first few days, and especially immigration, in the next few days. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/hello-world.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/hello-world.html Moving Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:07:50 +0100 On double nationality Buitenlandse kinderen die vijf jaar in Nederland wonen en Nederlander willen worden, moeten voortaan, als ze 18 jaar worden, kiezen voor een Nederlands paspoort of voor het paspoort van hun moederland. Dat meldt RTL Nieuws. Minister Hirsch Ballin van Justitie wil niet meer dat deze kinderen de dubbele nationaliteit houden. Hij doet het voorstel morgen in de Ministerraad. Source: RTL Nieuws]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/on-double-nationality.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/on-double-nationality.html Thoughts and Ponderings dual citizenship Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:37:44 +0100 Progress after two days Two days after our goods were picked up, things are going well. Just about everything that was left behind after the movers left has been sorted in to different piles. The piles are meant for different people, for re-use or for disposal. Unlike the United Sates; in the Netherlands, rented houses need to be returned to the house owners bare; no appliances, floors stripped to the bare concrete, no light fixtures, etc. http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/progress-after-two-days.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/progress-after-two-days.html Moving moving Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:15:42 +0100 Goods shipped; Voerman UTS provides excellent service before, we decided to use Voerman UTS and the guys that they sent us were excellent. At 7.55 sharp, the doorbell rang and a team of three movers arrived. After doing a quick inspection round, they started packing up all our belongings. With only a 15 minute coffee break in the morning and a half hour lunch break a little after noon, a second truck carrying our shipping container arrived at 13.30. While the movers were finishing up the last few things, the truck was packed very well and sealed in front of us. At 15.30, our house was empty and we could start cleanup. Exhausted.]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/goods-shipped-voerman-uts-prov.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/goods-shipped-voerman-uts-prov.html Moving company moving shipping container uts voerman Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:00:30 +0100 Health Insurance Finding good, affordable, health insurance can be a serious problem. In the Netherlands, we are used to having mandatory health insurance our entire lives. In the United States, such a thing does not exist; everybody is free to decide whether or not they feel that having a health insurance coverage is worth the cost.

]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/selecting-health-insurance.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/selecting-health-insurance.html Insurance Social Security Number cv expat expatriate insurance services heal benefits insurance social security number Fri, 05 Oct 2007 22:00:00 +0100 Moving data
1. The hard-drives of my main home server;
2. An external 500 GB hard drive;
3. A portable 60GB USB drive

In addition, I have data on two laptops, but those laptops do not contain anything irreplaceable.
]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/moving-data.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/moving-data.html Computing moving usb drive Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:25:09 +0100 Looking for IT jobs One of the hardest things to do is to find a job in a different country. Job hunting is hard enough as it is, but in a market in which you do not have much insight, it is much harder.

Having realized that the whole job application process is much shorter than it is in Europe, I decided that I needed to get a good grasp on what kind of jobs are available in my targeted area. I started putting my feelers out about 8 months (!) before I started looking for a job seriously. I am in information technology, which influenced my choices on how I approached the job market.

]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/looking-for-it-jobs.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/10/looking-for-it-jobs.html Working careerbuilder.com dice.com job hunting monster.com resume theladders.com Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:42:55 +0100 Writing a resume One of the most important success factors in an international relocation is the ability to find a job in your new home country. It does not need much clarification that the job market in the USA is significantly different than the job market that we are used to in the Netherlands. What came as a little bit of a surprise to me was, that the job finding process is also not quite comparable to what I was used to.

]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/writing-a-resume.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/writing-a-resume.html Working callcentric cv resume skype voip yahoo Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:30:00 +0100 Status update reduce the amount of stuff that we are taking. Even the smallest things quickly add up in volume, and it is always a good thing to keep that in mind. In the end, the bill is going to be settled exclusively on the volume that is being shipped. I have been thinking about a few things that I will be posting about when time permits. Topics that are already in the pipeline are:]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/status-update.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/status-update.html Status update Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:41:21 +0100 Selecting a moving company When picking an international mover, the first decision that must be made is if the moving company is going to pack everything for you, or if you are going to pack everything up yourself. Since we had moved only just over a year ago, and packing was one of the most stressful things that we did in a long time, we decided that (if the price was acceptable) we would be using a full-service mover this time. It is definitely more expensive to go this route, but the movers also take care of all the paper work that is required for customs (bills of lading, several forms, etc). We decided that the additional convenience would be worth the money.

]]> http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/selecting-a-moving-company.html http://www.leune.org/blog/going-west/2007/09/selecting-a-moving-company.html Moving company crown relocations euromovers kuiper movers uts voerman voerman uts Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:20:16 +0100