Since our European job options aren’t looking very promising, we have shifted the focus of the job search to US cities. We’re interested in living in the pacific northwest, and hopeful about an upcoming job interview in Portland. It’s tomorrow, actually!
Wish Ali luck as he flies in and does a whirlwind tour of the city and visits with a few companies.
Eide shoma mobarak everyone! It’s Nowruz time, the biggest celebration of the year for Persians. They set a special table called haft seen with symbolic items and gather around with their families to exchange blessings for the new year. I wrote more about it at my personal blog, refreshrenewexplore (link). Listen in on Obama’s Nowruz address to Iran here (link).
We’ve been asking friends and family to pray for us as Ali continues to apply for jobs and we hope to be connected to a great place in coming months. Great news – Ali has a third interview with a company who will be flying him over to Belgium in a couple of weeks, and he is doing other interviews via telephone and skype intermittently. Thanks to those of you who have asked blessings on our behalf.
Finally, a few photos from our Nowruz celebration. There were many more people around the edges of every photo, though these make it look like a calm house.
This weekend we’re celebrating Ali’s 29th birthday, and our nonexistent 2 year wedding anniversary with a visit to California wine country. Friday was Sonoma, today was ethnic tasting rooms (Persian, Israeli/Kosher, and Mexican) and tomorrow will be an in-depth estate tour and personal tasting at Hendry Vineyards.
Here’s us with the bottle of White House approved kosher wine at HaGafen today:
Just wait until we tell you what we’re doing to mark the anniversary!! It’s too fabulous and demands its own post.
It’s been interesting to note the responses/reactions that come from friends and family when we tell them about our plans and hopes for 2010. I think the younger people (I’ll define as roughly age 30 and younger) react and the older people respond. The difference is probably less about age and more about personal maturity, but for the sake of easy identification I think of them as youngsters versus oldsters. Reacting in surprise versus responding with wisdom.
A few months ago we got a crazy idea to live someplace new for awhile. We’re not thinking long-term- and no we’re not going to move to a foreign country and start making babies for citizenship. We thought for a start that we would move to Europe for a year or two so Ali can get some international experience, and I can take a sabbatical without pressures to continue my own business to contribute to our financial health.
Our closest friends had more of a response than reaction to our news – they had the advantage of knowing about our plans for a big move and lifestyle change in the near future. Those we talk to on a regular basis are also privy to our personalities as they play out in real life situations. Closest friends said “of COURSE you’re going to move to Europe.”
Other friends, peers, acquaintances – the youngsters – often seem to have a mixture of surprise, complex confusion, and a slight jealousy about our decision. It’s a mixture of “no way! you can’t do that!” and “oh my gosh, you guys are going to have so much fun.” Often the youngsters are the ones who immediately demand to know logistics. How are we going to find work? When are we leaving? What about the photography business? What country do we prefer? What are we going to do with all our stuff? Youngsters are bemused.
I’ve been most fascinated with the response from the oldsters. More experienced people in our lives sort of sit back in their chairs and raise their eyebrows. As if the five year old sitting in front of them is earnestly wishing for something that’s probably inaccessible. And yet these oldsters know that sometimes five year olds are capable of doing much more than we expect, defying circumstance to somehow get to the cookie jar way up on the top of the refrigerator. I think the oldsters’ response is best summed up as amused.
Then there are the people in our lives whose first response is “You can’t do that. There are no jobs in Europe” or, “No one’s going to hire an American because it’s too expensive to get them over there.” I’m calling these people the naysayers, because they are completely convinced that it’s not a good idea for us to pursue this plan.
Up until now, I have waved aside the concerns of the naysayers. One of life’s major tendencies is that thinking negative will bring you down. I’ve experienced that firsthand in the past couple of years, and I’m now fighting hard to surround myself only with positive people. I love people who talk about what’s possible, and talk about ideas to make the impossible come about. I am bogged down and taken captive by people who are mean and small and judgmental and see only limits to their lives and to other people’s dreams.
The reason I am writing this post is that I have noticed that the naysayers sometimes come from places of experience. We know very few people who have real connections abroad, and not a lot of people who have experience in technology or start up companies in Europe. We’re making up this thing as we go along. So when the few people we connect with say it’s not really going to happen, I have to start to pause and ask — is what they say true?
(Who needs a brilliant analog circuit designer?)
I don’t know… I guess the question is this: when do you start to listen to the naysayers?
Ali and I are ready for the new year. We have lots of ideas, plans, and mischievous adventures ahead.
Here are a few notable moments from the second part of 2009:
1) In August and September, we tried a raw food diet for awhile, then switched to vegetarian eating habits for a month or so. Our bodies felt better taking a break from the preservatives, additives, and heavy oils common to an American diet. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, we were back to a more “normal” western carnivore habits, but much more conscious of the food choices we make.
2) For the past couple of months we have been part of a financial management class and working some Dave Ramsey material. It’s good stuff! We now have a much more balanced and communicated plan for our long-term savings and goals, and I feel like I understand how money works better now. We both have a lot of school-related debt and hope to conquer this as soon as possible before buying a house.
3) We have been trying to simplify our lives as much as possible. There’s a GREAT new book out called “Unclutter your life in one week” that helped us sort through our STUFF as we pack up the house. We highly recommend it if you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the stuff sitting around your home.
4) We have vacated Massachusetts! For the past year we have LOVED our home in Lowell, north of Boston – but when our lease came up for renewal and Ali’s job was no longer leaving him satisfied, we knew it was time to move on. We’ve been formulating a plan and started applying for jobs abroad, and most of December was spent tying up all of our projects in Massachusetts.
Ali and I have been on a giant holiday roadtrip from December 15-28. We started in Pennsylvania and Ohio, then headed south to Tennessee and Louisiana. We spent Christmas in Dallas, spent a few days in Phoenix with Ali’s sister, and last night we landed in San Jose for new years celebrations with the Irani crew.
While we job search abroad, we are temporarily housed in the San Francisco area. Ali is looking for analog circuit design jobs in western europe, and I’ll be taking a sabbatical from my photography business and learning how to be a trophy wife. 
If you’re checking this blog, there’s a good chance that you received our traditional new years greeting in the mail. That photo was the last taken in our old apartment right before we found a place for ALL of that luggage in our little VW Golf. We had spent the previous week packing, pruning, cleaning, and definitely did not get any sleep as we planned for our uncertain path.
I am planning to blog my personal photography and thoughts on our cultural adjustments intermittently at this site: refreshrenewexplore.
FYI, we decided to keep a PO Box in MA that will redirect wherever we end up. So feel free to keep correspondence headed to us at:
Ali and Rachel
PO Box 1251
Lowell MA 01853
We’d love to hear your thoughts about what we should be sure to pack for living in Europe. Tupperware? Sheets?
Have you ever lived abroad? If so, do you have any advice for us?
Please leave us comments here.
