Have I lost my mind? Am I dreaming a wee bit too much? Maybe. I am starting this blog with not the slightest of a clue where I’ll be by the end of this year. For me the thought of being here in my current place of residence at the end of the year is a little crushing but I have faith that my husband and I will end up where we’re supposed to be. What am I talking about? Whaaat’s my deal? Well, allow me to attempt to explain.

For the month of April my husband and I were both flown out to Scotland so my husband could assist with an art installation that originally debuted in Seattle and was to now be displayed in Edinburgh. My husband’s role was to program audio to track the viewer’s movement in relation to a painting, allowing people to experience the painting through audio… I always do a terrible job of attempting to explain the actual project. This was a dream come true, as we have always wanted to go to Scotland but couldn’t afford to go. I think we knew we’d like it but didn’t expect to fall as deeply in love with Scotland as we did.

Most of our time was spent in Edinburgh and then the last few days we spent in Ayrshire where our Scottish friends gave us a tour of the area. The strangest thing about it all was I felt I was finally at home, a feeling I don’t recall ever really experiencing before. While it felt like Scotland was my home in general, there was something about Edinburgh in particular that just felt right and like I was where I was supposed to be. The night before returning back to our home in the Seattle area I felt sick over the thought of coming back. I desperately wanted to see my dogs but other than that it didn’t feel good returning to the U.S. and I knew I had to find my way back to Scotland, not to visit this time but to remain. Fortunately my husband felt similarly.

After a bit of research I located a visa that I thought my husband and I might have a chance at. It is one of the few coveted visas that is a path to permanent residency and your stay doesn’t depend on being sponsored by an employer. This visa truly allows you to just go there and do your thing and after five years you are eligible to stay permanently. Crazy, right? Well, it’s also VERY competitive to get this visa but we are going to give it a shot. I will do another post on the actual visa after we’ve gone through the process and I can provide more details on our experience.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. My hope is that by mid-September at the latest we’ll know if we’ll be granted access to this visa. I’ve done all the research for the move, I’m already talking to others like we’re going to move, I’ve already moved to Scotland… in my head. I have in no way prepared for the scenario that we aren’t accepted for this visa program. If we’re not accepted it will feel crushing but my husband and I will have to accept whatever the answer is and move on, maybe trying again later.

Well there it is, my first blog post. I’m terrible at writing but I enjoy it nonetheless and I think this will be a great way for me to track my progress (good or bad) over the next year or so. We’ll see how it goes!