We started hoping for a job overseas again last autumn when my friend Mark who works in Switzerland told me that a position might be opening at his school. The allure of life abroad seeped into our subconscious and seeded itself. We already know that we want to live in Europe again, if possible, splitting the distance between our parents in America and South Africa. It's closer to some of our dearest friends who have children close to Tim and Luke's ages. Europe remains full of romance and adventure for us. Familiar enough to be comfortable but foreign enough to be exciting, we both put our hopes in the job coming through. Switzerland is regularly ranked in the top ten places to live. They have a thriving economy and Paul would get more leave. They've mandated health care and seem to have found a system better than both the US and the UK. Plus, it's Switzerland: the Alps, chocolate, fondue, neighbors with France, Austria, Germany, and Italy. But the job didn't materialize.
Without much down time, another job presented itself in Europe, this time in The Hague, Netherlands. We thought we wouldn't find another place more desirable than Switzerland, but the Netherlands quickly became even more attractive. The bike is king, and we'd like to become voluntary vassals to that rule. I don't know of a more bike friendly place than the Netherlands. They give a 52% tax break if you buy a bike there. The pay and benefits were such that we could have lived on my salary, giving Paul a chance to be a stay home dad until he found work. The boys would have learned Dutch with Paul able to help them so easily at home. I got a call to arrange an interview the day that I submitted my application. Two interviews followed quickly and then silence. They hired someone internally, saving on an overseas salary (a significant savings) for both the job I wanted and the job created by the shift. That cushioned the blow to my ego, and I'm feeling fine about the whole thing.
Because we're embracing Fort Collins. This really is a wonderful place to live with young children. For years, it has been on Forbes and Newsweek's list of the top ten places to live in the US. The schools are fantastic. Our problem, if we're here when Tim starts school in August 2013, is narrowing the choice from so many desirable places. Bike's aren't king here but they are first class citizens, and we're spoiled for trails that allow us to navigate the city away from the noise and threat of cars. We have a house and garden that we won't be able to afford in Europe, in a neighborhood so safe and friendly that we often forget to lock up when we leave. Our friends help us raise our boys and celebrate the weekends. Paul just passed his citizenship interview and will be sworn in 2 May. He'll get to vote this November. And he likes it here. He'd like more leave and a better health insurance system, but he likes it, more than I like it, I think. Golf is affordable and, in Colorado, nearly a year-round sport. My parents are close and my in-laws like to come here. If we were from another country and I had a chance at a job here, we'd spend our time day dreaming about this place. Oh, and the local school district has four English jobs posted for this autumn. One is even at Fort Collins High School where I'm currently working as a long term sub for someone's maternity leave. So, as I said, we're embracing Fort Collins.
Yesterday, we loaded the boys into the car with their new and much improved bike carriage folded neatly in the back and our bikes on the rack and drove to the Poudre River Trail parking lot on Taft Hill Road. In five minutes, we were on our bikes and on the trail, headed west for Bellvue and the Bellvue Bean, our favorite cafe. It only took us 20 minutes, so we'll bike from the house next weekend. After coffee, we road to Watson Lake, about 1/2 mile away, then returned home. The boys love the bike carriage. When we got home, they played in the back yard while we relaxed and talked of how much we love it here.
 |
| at the bellvue bean |
 |
| they had a little help getting in this tree |
 |
| watson lake |
 |
| throwing rocks in the water |
 |
| luke found some fishing line and tim found stick: instant fishing rod |
 |
| the new carriage on the poudre trail |
 |
| bridge over the river on the trail |
 |
| watching a bed time movie in mom and dad's room |
The plan is still for me to attend a hiring fair in January of 2013 and for us to move abroad in the autumn of 2013. It could be China, South America, or elsewhere, but we hope it's Europe. We'd like to find a school with a package that is good enough for us to stay until Tim and Luke can tell us where they want to go to high school. They may want to stay where they are, but they'll have other options that are like home such as Cape Town and Fort Collins if they want to change.
