Here is a timeline of our efforts to relocate out of the USA:
2010 – I ended my second year in New York City with a spiritual cleansing.
February 21, 2011 – Lewis (a native of Manhattan) and I started dating, and we began our relationship.
May 2011 – After 7 years working at my company's flagship store on Long Island, I was recruited to another company's new flagship in NYC. It was my first job in Manhattan, and I nurtured hopes of advancement at its Corporate Headquarters near the store.
Sept 2011 – After arduous searches for apartment rentals (with callous realtors), I relocated to Astoria. After moving 3 times in 3 years, I disregarded the problems with my apartment and stayed there for 9 years. Statistically, such longevity at one address made me desirable to future landlords and employers. During those years, I made efforts to improve my Credit Score (damaged by my scheming parents), so I withstood hardships because longevity at one address is valuable to creditors, too. At that time, my damaged credit was 546. Now, it is 800+ with a rating of "Excellent".
Oct. 2011 – Lewis and I visited Paris, Loire Valley, Barcelona, and Madrid. We loved Europe: beauty, history, preservation, cost, food, public transportation, high-speed trains, Universal Healthcare, and Life-Work balance. Yet, Lewis was lovingly determined to stay near his elderly grandmother in NYC while she was alive.
January 2012 – As a gesture of trust and love, I gave Lewis a key to my apartment, and we lived together since then.
June 2012 – We enjoyed a weekend getaway in Boston: cozy, clean, walkable, and courteous. Friends told us to live there (to escape NYC's never-ending filth and corruption), but Boston is still plagued by America's for-profit healthcare, financial scandals, outdated infrastructure, and "overpriced everything" (3-times more than prices in European capitals).
September 2012 – We explored Canada, yet its infrastructure is unflatteringly similar to USA. Our friends in Toronto warned us about Canada's unpleasant similarities to the USA: a lack of vacation time and a lack of Life-Work Balance.
July 2014 – I resigned from my cruel company. I was amazed by the people who continued to work there--as if thankful for a belittling job... like animals in a cage, with the door open, who are afraid to venture out and find something else. I segued to a short-lived job with a business advisor named Billie. She became unwell, and the job was suspended indefinitely.
November 2014 – Lewis and I visited China. During a visit with Lewis' friend in Shanghai, we learned about Denmark and were encouraged to explore it as one of the "best places in the world".
April 2015 – I was recruited by Richemont and told that I would be hired at the grand reopening of the Cartier Mansion. Weeks passed while their confusion renegotiated which role I had. Then, due to their internal delays, they told me to stay employed elsewhere until they were ready for me. My recruiter was as shocked as I was at that unprofessionalism, but I endured it.
May 2015 – Lewis resigned from his company, after 6 successful years. He escaped before it lost its market-share in the USA. (Eventually, the inept President and Vice President were told to find jobs elsewhere).
December 2015 – Lewis told me that he was also chosen for Cartier! The chances of both of us being selected from thousands of applicants was miraculous!
June 2016 – We were officially hired at Cartier, after its many unorganized delays.
July 2016 – We visited our friend in Florida for a 4-day weekend and hated its heat, congestion, cost, and glut culture.
August 2016 – Cartier sent me to Beverly Hills, California, for 2 weeks of training. I liked the climate and vibe, but not the traffic or costs.
September 2016 – Lewis’ father died.
November 2016 – We visited our friend in Japan. Traveling to three cities, we loved the cleanliness, infrastructure, and decency that don't exist in America. Alas, the language made it unsuitable to relocate there.
November 2016 – Startling the world, Trump was elected as US President. We lost more respect for our nation.
January 2017 – Lewis left Cartier's downward-spiraling Mansion. 70% of employees left, and many expats returned to their nations where things were better. Lewis was hired at another French brand on upper Madison Avenue. Just like at Cartier, he saw a huge disparity of treatment between the employees in France and overworked employees in America. The same company treated both groups very differently, and Americans were treated like third-world workers with the least benefits, perks, and nonexistent Life-Work Balance (because America's government doesn't care to have laws to protect employees).
April 2017 – Lewis’ grandmother died.
June 2017 – My legal fiasco finally ended with my law-breaking parents, and I was free from their schemes. At that point, Lewis and I did not have "ties" to America. His mother supported our goal to relocate abroad. It was similar to how our ancestors emigrated to come to the USA. If they relocated for a better life, we could, too. But instead of America offering a "Better Life", Europe did. (Most citizens here are still waiting for America to become "great" again).
June 2017 – Cartier sent me to Texas for a week of training.
October 2017 – We vacationed in the Dominican Republic and disliked its poverty, heat, humidity, and bugs.
November 2017 – We visited Chicago and disliked its cold, crime, traffic, political corruption, and high costs that were similar to NYC.
November 2017 – I was recruited to the corporate office of another company in Manhattan. 3 of my former colleagues followed me to escape the bullying and mismanagement at Cartier. Nonetheless, I outlasted them because they soon hated the new corporate environment: sexual harassment, anti-white racism, and brutal favoritism that penalized anyone who didn't "kiss ass" to the supervisors.
May 2018 – Lewis was hired by Chanel in SoHo and loved the company's culture, products, compensation, and management.
October 2018 – We travelled to India and savored its heritage, history, and food.
April 2019 – We visit Copenhagen, Denmark, and we really admired the city’s culture. Alas, being known as "Best Place on Earth" made their immigration process very exclusive. We discovered that nations of the European Union are obligated to hire Europeans before the rest of the world... and many European employers don't exert themselves to hire foreigners.
August 2019 – We went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We loved many things about the city, but many employers require employees to speak Dutch before they can be hired.
November 2019 – I quit. By then, I outlasted 5 people on my 8-person team, and I outlasted 3 managers in 2 years who could not implement changes. Lewis asked his company about a transfer to Amsterdam, but they were noncommittal. The company's Human Resources team didn’t reply with information until December 2021! In the meantime, we began emails with a Dutch relocation agency and IN Amsterdam expat services. They failed to mention the requirement of Dutch fluency. They only told us that as soon as Chanel approved Lewis' transfer, we can go… and they told us what topics to start learning (which we did).
December 2020 – The global pandemic was starting to be understood in America, and our intended trip to Singapore was cancelled. So, we used the airline credit and hotel credit to plan a trip to London, where travel was still allowed.
January 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic was finally reported in the USA after a huge delay due to its inept government and clueless media. But no lockdowns began.
Feb. 2020 – My final interviews for new job were cancelled, as COVID eliminated possibilities. Milan shut down into full quarantine. We scrambled to finagle for 2-year credits for our airfare and hotel in London.
March 2020 – Italy initiated a stay-at-home lockdown, yet uneducated American college students flocked to Florida for Spring Break and ignored Social Distancing. Weeks later, America implemented a lockdown, yet arrogant citizens openly defied it... and spread infections. Avoiding that insanity, Lewis and I remained safely at home. While life was home-based around the world, we enrolled in online Dutch language lessons and earned a completion certificate by June. We invested months studying and learning things to acquaint ourselves with Dutch history, culture, infrastructure, transportation, innovations, regions, civic necessities, and social values. I also self-published 3 novels!
September 2020 – Hating our antiquated-yet-expensive apartment (third-world status), we moved to a condominium in Astoria. We downsized our stuff and purged unneeded possessions, and became happier living "lighter". Lewis also helped his mother vacate the apartment where he was born, and his mom moved into the apartment formerly owned by his grandma.
October 2020 – I was hired by Prada as E-Commerce Order Management Specialist, to start my role on November 1 at their corporate headquarters in NYC and also work remotely.
April 2021 – Lewis renewed efforts to find job openings in Amsterdam, and his managers repeatedly follow-up with HR. Prada did not have jobs overseas, and the four people on my work-team quit. A new manager was hired, and she hired two Team Leads (both resigned before the end of the year). I started training a subordinate to do my role. Due to the stress and company's bad infrastructure, she resigned after 4 months… as many store-level and corporate employees did.
May 8, 2021 – As soon as permissible, Lewis and I got fully vaccinated with our second doses from Pfizer.
June 2021 – Travel between USA and Europe was finally permitted. Cautiously, we waited.
September 2021 – We used our credits for hotels and British Airways to travel to London, England, and we adored it! Career prospects were better—without any language barrier. Due to Brexit, the United Kingdom didn’t give job preference to EU people; everyone outside of the UK was equal. Lewis asked his company for a transfer to London, but they remained unhelpful and avoided giving information. It seemed as if they didn't want to help and wanted him to stop asking.
October 2021 – We visited Helsinki, Finland because it was the United Nation’s Happiest Place (even during the Pandemic). We liked it, but we were nonplussed.
Dec 2021 – Chanel’s Human Resources team finally said that Lewis was rejected for a job in Amsterdam because he didn’t have fluency in Dutch language/writing. It was an abrupt letdown after a long-delayed answer.
January 2022 – Lewis followed-up with his company about Chanel's many jobs in London. My manager at Prada took an indefinite “leave of absence” and my newest subordinate felt exhausted by our workload, mandatory overtime, never-ending problems, and pressure from our Vice President who focused on petty projects while derailing main work during the busiest time of the year.
February 2022 – After two years of stressful exasperation against monumental problems at Prada (and outlasting my colleagues, assistant manager, manager, and 12 coworkers from the neighboring department), I resigned... and that was fortunate. Weeks later, the vice president whom we reported to also resigned, and I discovered that she had planned for me to take the burden of her departure. I beat her.
Weeks later, I was hired by a company to work at their corporate office as National Customer Service Manager, thanks to an endorsement from my Director at a prior job.
August 2022 – Frustrated by Chanel's lack of responses, Lewis and I flew to London, where Lewis made an appointment with its Human Resources director. Lewis qualified for an internal overseas transfer... but NYC's corporate team was unwilling to help him leave their territory.
After our vacation, we returned to NYC, and Chanel told Lewis that companies don't provide international transfers for sales associates. But, Lewis showed proof that Cartier (another French company) does help salesmen. Lying to him, Chanel claimed that they only sponsored transfers for management. Soon, Lewis discovered that Chanel gave a transfer for salesman from Italy to relocate to California, and it sponsored a corporate employee to transfer to London as a salesman--despite that employee lacking selling expertise! Outraged by that, we strengthened our efforts to relocate to Europe without help from our European companies. (If you're so successful that your boss won't help your career--for fear of losing the income that you generate--then you must find a new job).
November 2022 – We traveled to Germany and met a great fellow in Berlin. He advised us to visit Prague as a possibility for our relocation. We had our 2022 vacations booked already, and I only got 2 weeks of vacation per year from my company, so we planned our trip to Prague for the beginning of 2023. We stayed connected with our new friend, and he knew a company that would hire both of us in Prague if we liked the city and its society.
February 2023 – We visited friends in Italy and explored Milan, Florence, and Rome. Full of encouragement, our friends gave tips for relocation to Europe. When we returned to NYC, I was recruited to start a new job with a Swiss company at their Manhattan headquarters.
August 2023 – We travelled to Oslo, Norway and admired its history, restaurants, and infrastructure. When I returned to work, the Chief Information Officer (with 30 years at the company) quit violently because he was exasperated with the executives' drastic miscalculations, cheapness, and deterioration of workforce. Instead of changing their behavior, the Swiss executives chose an idiot from Accounting to oversee the entire USA, and his inept bullying and cheapness caused 10 people to quit during the next few months. Despite my alerts to Switzerland, the executives blatantly told me that they didn't care. Salesmen resigned, businesses closed their accounts, and the national level of sales plummets by half!
November 2023 – We went to Spain: Madrid and Valencia. Our former coworker was from Spain and gave us suggestions for relocation to Europe. When I returned to work, the Swiss executives sent an inspector from England. He praised me (and the team that I managed), and he absolutely hated the bully who was the Office Manager in charge of the USA territory. But because his report criticized that "idiot", the Swiss men discarded it. The inspector couldn't believe that the idiot was allowed to thrive, and he felt sorry for me because my efforts were wasted. Hearing about my goal for emigrating, he told me about the better treatment of employees in Europe. Meanwhile, Lewis' company made life harder and harder for employees to achieve their goals. (Yet, if they failed, their punishment was harsher and deprived them of more income). Undaunted, he succeeded where most employees did not, and he achieved a promotion and was ranked as the second-highest earner. He outlasted 6 managers during his 6-year tenure.
February 2024 – Lewis and I loved Prague and invested both of my weeks of vacation to immerse ourselves in it. Our friend in Germany connected us with people there, and we met them for interviews. The company that would hire us was impressed with our skills and careers. Its director said that it was rare to find two candidates with such excellence--especially who knew to accept the value of European life instead of higher American salaries. (More money is useless if your life is tainted). We met with Prague's Immigration Integration Center and had an appointment with an expat-friendly bank. We hired a Food Tour to learn about Prague and Czech culture, and the company's owner was impressed with us and volunteered to help us relocate to Czechia. We assured everyone that we were not expats (temporary residency); we were immigrants (permanent residency) who will attain citizenship.
April 2024 – We interviewed with the owner of the company in Prague and accepted job offers. Notarized paperwork was mailed from Czechia, and we signed it. We contacted the Czech Consulate in NYC and accepted their first available appointment: June 5. In the meantime, we continued online research about Czech culture, social values, holidays, history, immigration, transit, prices, and real estate processes. On social media, we followed dozens of national, municipal, business, and social groups... and we learned a lot about life in Prague and the nation.
June 2024 – The consulate's Visa Officers processed our relocation applications, affidavits, and the notarized paperwork from Prague about our employment and temporary housing. They predicted 30-40 days before we were accepted, and their website warned that some applications need 90 days. I resigned from my hellhole job to focus on our relocation. When I announced my resignation, the entire office was chaos. It resembled this video...
Due to the owner's incompetence (and the "Emperor's New Clothes" attitude of his executives), he treated his family's business like a toy and broke it... and nobody who remained at the company knew how to fix it. My team celebrated my departure with a handmade luncheon (the company refused to pay), and they thanked me for my hard work. The executives never spoke to me from Switzerland. After me, three members of my team quit: they had 7-years, 8-years, and 20-years with the company. Their expertise could not be replaced. Hearing that I began my new job in Europe with 5 weeks of vacation, one colleague was sad because she was forced to work there for 20 years to merely achieve 4 weeks! Years ago, she moved from Nepal to the USA for a better life, but now things are better in Nepal!
August 2024 – After 60 days, we emailed the consulate, and they said that the applications were still being processed. In the meantime, we purged unneeded possessions, chose an international mover, researched how to convert our cellular plans, arranged bank accounts that could do international money transfers from our mobile devices (shockingly, not many in America can do that), finalized our taxes, and made arrangements with our condo. Every night, we watched videos by expats in Prague, and we read blogs by immigrants. We got acclimated with the city's districts, rents, and learned about how to avoid problems.
September 2024 – Our visas were approved on the 89th day, and we had to buy temporary insurance (30 days) until we got Universal Healthcare from our employer. Immediately, we searched for apartments in Prague. To be attractive as customers, we never asked for discounts or haggled the prices. We contacted each realtor to accept the rent, arrange a virtual tour, and proceed with creating a lease. Weeks passed, and we tried not to worry. By then, Lewis knew Integration staffers in Prague who offered to translate documents. Our boss helped us, as did the banker we knew in Prague.
October 2024 - Finally, we connected with a realtor who created a Reservation Contract (to block other realtors from our property) and a lease. We had a video-interview with the landlord, and our boss called her to endorse us. She approved our lease, and we paid promptly. Lewis resigned and generously gave a 3-week notice. His colleagues feasted with him for three nights, and they celebrated his success and will miss him dearly.
*For every job interview, hiring process, and rent agreement in our lives, Lewis and I are always praised for our promptness... usually faster than the "professionals" we deal with.
During that excruciating wait, suspense accumulated. We felt like musicians waiting for the conductor to move his baton and start the music.
