This time it was sad because I wasn't it was the goodbye was happening at the other end
I was saying goodbye to my mom and my dad and my friends and my family and that was really tough
Hi Explorers, no Morgan this week just myself Chris and this week
I want to talk about my story my permanent move from the UK to the US
Ever since I was very little I'd always wanted to go to the US I'd always seen in the movies and TV shows
and so many cool sights New York and Disneyland and I've always wanted to go to the US I
decided I wanted to take a break slow things down take a gap year and
Go to the US and the way that I decided to do this
Was to get a job a summer job as a camp counselor in
Pennsylvania and it was at a camp called camp Cayuga and
That is where I met
Morgan if you are thinking about taking the time off and
Wanting to explore the US I highly recommend becoming a camp counselor it's one of the most rewarding jobs
I've ever had and didn't even feel like a job. I made so many friends
While working in the US and it was just such a fun time and not only that after the camp had finished
Because of the visa that I was on it allowed me to travel around the u.s
And see all these really cool unique sites that I'd always dreamed of visiting
So if you are thinking about becoming camp counselor do it!
Morgan and I then decided that we were going to go back to the summer camp that we
Originally met working at the previous summer because that was a great way for us to spend some more time together
It would allow us to travel together a little bit after too. And at this point, we'd only been together for around six months
however when you know, you know
Right, and I think she may be suspected it also
But that was when I pop the question and it was very beautiful
I had a whole thing set out with candles on the and fireworks and we rode out into the
Lake and so fireworks and it's beautiful
We were in a long-distance relationship and it is tough and two couples that are going through
Long-distance relationships hang in there because it's totally what that I promise but it is very tough
You don't know when you're gonna see each other next
you try to spend as much time with each other as you can there was a lot of Tears I
Mean every time I flew to see Morgan
Obviously there was tears of joy and we were happy to be with each other
But then when we had to say goodbye at the airport
It was lots of tears of sadness and it was it was very hard time like emotionally
It was a hard time for both of us
But we knew that we had to finish up school and we had to do things the right way and the smart way
Once I had finished school Morgan and
I had a conversation about what was next what we were gonna do we made the choice that I was gonna move to the U.S.
We just thought there were probably better opportunities for work in our field. You're both in a media field and me thought that we were
fair a lot of that if we were living in like in the US so
then then the process started with
Figuring out how to make this work. And so there's something called a fiance visa
We're already engaged and so we went for the fiance visa and I had to go to London
And I had to get my medical and I think around
$1,500 later seven months later. Then I finally had my visa and it's really hard up and to that point because
Once you file for that fiance visa, you don't know when you're gonna get it
I mean you have a rough time frame, but you can't book any flight to go until you know, you had your visa
So we didn't know when we're gonna see to the next and that was a really really long stretch of time
I was so excited once I had received my visa back. You know, I called Morgan
I was so thrilled. I
Finally, have it. We can book a flight we can figure out the wedding and I was so excited that I hadn't even given much thought
Like all of the support systems in my life at that point
my mom my dad my brother my sister my best friend my grandparents uncles like
everybody that has always kind of been asked me about my whole life and
I have to say goodbye to them and that was like a really hard
time
Because you don't know if you're gonna you know, when you're gonna see the next it's the same as you know, leaving Morgan
I didn't know when I was gonna see her next and
All these people have been in my life my whole life and now I have to say goodbye to them and start my own
Chapter of my life, but now it's a really hard concept
You know, like I said
Goodbye
Everybody and my best friend came to me to the airport with my mom and my dad
When I finally flew out and it was so weird booking at one-way ticket because I'd never done that before just booked a one-way ticket
Knowing that you know, I have to come back and it really
Hit me
when I was at the airport at the security gates like I
had the hug my mom and had to hug my dad and my best friend and I just knew like
man, you know like I wasn't expecting those tears because I
Was always so excited to go see Morgan but this time it was sad because I
the goodbye was happening at the other end
I was saying goodbye to my mom and my dad and my friend my family and that was really tough
But you know once I got through that part I got on the plane and what to whether those tears in ours
I was so excited to get there and
Figure out our lives together
So we had 90 days to get married
Which is what you have once you land on a fiance visa, you have 90 days to get married
And so we had a lot of planning
I think at the time Morgan was working for the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island
and we were going through this process of like a lot of it was
Working on ourselves doing ourselves trying to figure out how we're gonna make it happen
with the help of Morgan's parents - they were very good and
90 days is no joke to plan a wedding and get everything figured out
So, I don't know how we did it
But we did it my best friend of my parents came and brother
But like people like my grandparents who had health conditions, they couldn't make it. So that was really hard really hard for me, too
But we managed to I think we had like Skype at the time on a laptop so they were able to watch the ceremony
Through skype which was awesome. So
Here we are newlyweds
excited start our lives together and
We are living with Morgan's parents not ideal for newlyweds
However, they were so supportive at the time and it really allowed us to to find our feet and figure out the next steps Morgan
Finished up was finishing up college
Internships and I couldn't even work for a period of time either got married had to apply for a temporary work visa
And then I finally got my first job at Panera Bread now, I just finished University
I worked really hard and I've got like a really good - I got my honours degree
And I was excited to work in a film and TV feel and I'm working at Panera
I spent so many years working in food industry at Pizza Hut in England and now I'm working the food again living in the u.s
not ideal but a good job, made some great friends there and
I was able to I think I was only there for six months until I found my next job
working at a TV station
Things were going great. I had landed this job working in the TV field as a commercial producer and
Morgan was finishing up college still and then
Something happened. It was hard. That was a really hard point for me, but I found that my grandma
Who has since passed away had
Developed pancreatic cancer and that was such a hard
time for me to not
To just I'd always went to her house
Like when I lived in England, I was always like I would just pop over for you know
a coffee and a chat and whenever I wanted because she lived like ten minutes from my house and
Now I couldn't do that
I could call her and talk to her and I did a lot but it was just so hard to not be able to
To this just pop over to my Nan's and say hi and give her a big hug and a big squeeze
Fortunately my work my new job they were so understanding and they let me Morgan I flew out to surprise my Nan actually
And they got to see her and spend a bit of time with that
Oh
my God.
How did you get here?
on a plane
And I've since then I've lost since I moved here permanently I've lost two Grandmas I've lost a granddad and
You know
I've missed out on some time with them because I decided to move to the US and live my life here
Morgan then finished up her degree and her internship turned into a full-time job
so we're both working in the media field at this point and we
look at each other like yeah, this is probably a good time for us to
Buy a home where it's financially stable
We have money. Let's start the next chapter in our own home and
So we move into this house. In fact, we bought this house and
we're
taking wallpaper off the walls and
We're fixing it up. And I think about I think was a month into own in this house
We found out we were expecting our firstborn Jonah
Say hi Jonah
Ah
Here I am married we're living in our home. We have our first child Jonah second one - on the way
little brother say I
And I decided that I didn't want to keep renewing my green card and being in this limbo zone
I wanted to become a u.s. Citizen. So I filed the paperwork and I think it took about six or eight months
I became a US
citizen
This week's explorer shoutout goes to seven in all an awesome family with Michigan ties
And they are currently living in China. Thank you guys so much for watching
I know it was a little bit different this week listening to my story about my move from the UK to the US
Hopefully if you're in a similar situation it can help you comment down below. Are you thinking of moving countries?
Like, where are you hoping to move to and where are you moving from? I
Would love to hear it and please if you haven't already
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Smash that like button. See you next week
adios!
When I was younger a lot younger than I am. Now, what's wrong with you? Let me weirdo. Okay. It's not too cheesy