Ok besides making some extra room in your closet & drawers ... did you do anything else in anticipation of your loved one coming? Any small stuff to make them feel more comfortable with the move?

I'd say number one, don't try to overwhelm them the first few days, let it be nice and relaxed until they settle. It probably depends on the person but I know when I moved to the UK for just six months leaving my family was really hard and combining that with the long flight I just wanted to decompress after all the emotional turmoil. Paul was great - we went right home and i had a long bath while he made a home cooked meal and I just slept in the next couple mornings and really took my time unpacking.

Just taking things slow - no, 'meet my whole network of friends and family at a giant bash' or 'hey lets go pick out the furniture we're going to have for the next 3 years'. That would be my advice. i tried to do the same for Paul when he moved here with the K1 in August.

Best of luck...

I bought us a new King sized bed and found him a soccer team to play on. He likes the bed more

omG I need to make room in my drawers and closet??!?!??! crap!

Well, took a week off to clean the house....of course, sanita was astonished when she arrived at the new home.......pig sty in her eyes.,..

Odd, I posted but it didn't show up.

I'm going to buy him PS3 and an HDTV
Getting him a cell phone and land line with his family and friends numbers programmed in
Getting a home computer - I just use my work laptop at home, and he'll need one while I'm at the office
He's not here yet, so I'm sure I'll get him a bunch of other stuff to make him feel at home (that he won't need, but I'll feel better getting it for him!!)

I agree with this fully! My first time over in the UK started a day before his bday, so I had no time to decompress & wound up meeting everyone all at once & it was horribly overwhelming. If we could do it over again, we'd have done it your way for sure!


I will stock the house with little comforts from home for him...familiar drinks, snacks, etc. He'll have the vonage line to call anyone he wants for free, he'll have his multi-region dvd player and I'll prolly buy a gaming system of sorts. But he doesn't need all that much since he's spent so much time here, he already has his own friends & stuff that I'm sure he'll want to pal out with while I'm at work.

Plus, he and my dad are quite close, so I'm sure they'll go fishing and clamming many many many times. Oh, that reminds me...I'll stock up on SPF 500000000.

No no...I just bought a whole new set of drawers! To bad they are already filled with my stuff!!

See same with Chris..he already has his drum kit here, friends, dvds, he is fantastic friends with my family and has hiking trips already planned!
I am not so worried about him. We've been together for ages now it seems so we are quite comfortable in eachothers home.

Gonna be very kind and understanding. Already have a video chat thing set up for his parents. Have instructed them on our cheap phone cards so they can call all they want!

I can't wait!

Maps!! They are a Godsend! It helps them figure out where the heck in the world they are!

If you live in a city with public transportation, you could get a transit card for your loved one to take the bus or the subway so they don't feel housebound.

I also went to a Colombian store here in Chicago and bought some food products that I knew would make him feel at home--aprepas, Jet chocolate, arequipe, etc.

I second the cell phone suggestion. I also bought a long-distance card for him to use in case he was out walking around the city and he wanted to call his family and share the experience with them.

Great idea on getting the public transportation card!!

you need to get vonage if you can...free unlimited calls to the UK plus you can get a 'virtual number' which would be a UK number that you pick so that it's a local call for them to call you.

or they can get it, either way

PM for more details if ya want, woman

Oooh I heard about Vonage. We have it set up at the 8¢ a minute with our regular phone company.

lol @ imagining my future inlaws trying to work a phone card or webcam. Pjc tried to teach them to email before he left at Xmas....that was a task...and still didn't work. I think we will have to stick to calling them.

I think I cleared out the closet about a month after he came to visit in May 2006. lol I repainted an old set of Drawers for him and put it in the closet. I am going to try and find a good cellular company to switch to a family plan that gets good rates to the UK. (Any Suggestions??) Also get him on my gym membership as it's just down the street.

Also my job is easy enough i can bring him to work if he wants. If he gets a stamp then the EAD card, he already has a job open to him temporarily.

I CLEANED and made extra room in my drawers for him, put up pictures of us, took some of my girly stuff down...like all the butterflies I used to decorate the bathroom. I brought him some winter clothes.

I bought a Queen Size...I want to be as close as possible.. Just in case...

How about a GPS for the car - so she wont get lost when we finally figure out the drivers license process!

When she comes here, I will bring her out to do laundry! She won't be doing anything, but, she'll learn how it's done here the US versus Cambodia. This will make her feel relieve at the sight that she does not have to do laundry physically by hand because it's cheap enough to goto a laundry mat.

I bought some bathroom items for him, bedding for us, made room in my closet, put up some artwork - MORE pictures of us, etc.
I also ordered cable last night, signed him up for English classes, and I still need to get the book to help him study for his DL.
There is an area where Brazilian food is sold and I plan on taking him there once he is settled.
We're travelling to NY in May for my sister's wedding and so he can meet all of my family. Everyone is excited!!