Hello everyone,
I haven't posted here in a long time, but I felt it was about time that I gave a few updates about my life here in Maryland.
First of all, back in October I passed the two year mark of my officially moving to the United States! I can't believe how quickly two years have gone, especially after the seemingly endless struggle to find a way to make our lives work.
Of course, being here two years also meant that I could apply for the removal of conditions on my green card. This has to be prepared three months ahead of the date of expiry on your card, and the process can take a year. We applied in July, and are still waiting to receive my new card, sans conditions.
In applying for the removal of conditions you are automatically granted a one year extension on your status. You get sent a letter from the government which, along with the expired green card (yes, you MUST still keep AND carry it), provides authorities proof of your legal status in the country. Of course, the letter says you can still work, etc, which is true. It also says you can still travel, however, I want to throw some caution to the wind on this one. Entering the country on a normal basis can be a real challenge sometimes, with the attitudes of some of the officers at the desks, let alone trying to enter with an expired green card! Also, even before you get to immigration officers in the US, you would have to prove to check in agents in the country you're coming back from that you're letter is valid and real. We went to China in September and nearly got denied boarding because the desk agents had no clue about the entry requirements for China. This was at Newark (NJ) airport for a flight that is scheduled daily - yet they didn't know about which documents we needed in order to travel. If that's within the US for a regular flight they operate, I have no hope of convincing foreign desk agents of my validity to re-enter the US!
So, with all that said, I have made the decision to not leave the country until I have my new green card in hand, which hopefully should be before the end of next July. Not being able to travel out of the country from October to July is a bit annoying, but I would rather be in the country and face any challenges that may arise with the conditions removal than not be able to get back in at all!
Aside from the letter making your extended conditions legal, you also have to go to be fingerprinted and photographed - again - at your local USCIS office. This actually happens pretty swiftly after you file the petition for conditions removal. I had my appointment within weeks. It was very easy and nothing to stress about. You literally go to have your fingerprints and photograph digitally captured. As an important side note, remember to take ALL your documents with you when you go. The letter, your green card, and your foreign passport. Incredulously, there were people at the Baltimore office when I attended who were getting up to the desk, being asked for their documents and subsequently being turned away because they didn't have them. Not only is this just plain foolish because that's the whole reason you're attending, but legally, as an immigrant you're meant to carry your proof of residence on you anyway. Who in their right minds turns up at an immigration office without their legal documents?! Mind boggling!
Moving on from the green card, I wanted to mention the shock horror that was the US election. I could write volumes about what I think of the whole thing, but I'll try to keep it brief.
Following the horrible election night I spent two days in shock, disgust and distress. As a gay immigrant, I automatically fall into two two categories of people that the president-elect and his Vice President seem to want to destroy in some way. It offended me, and still does, that, regardless of a percentage here or there, for the sake of argument, half this country thinks that my rights are not worth whatever other cause or agenda that it is that propelled them to vote for Donald Trump. Around half this country stuck up its middle finger and said, "we think your human rights and civil rights come after our gun rights, our religious rights and the right to persecute and deport millions of people." When owning a gun and your personal beliefs come above the rights of people who have fought for decades just to be able to work without fear of being fired for who they are, then you have a problem, and I have one with you.
With all that said, life here continues to be almost exactly as it was when I updated this blog more regularly. I still struggle with people not understanding me when I speak, especially on the phone. In Las Vegas this past weekend some ladies from Iowa thought I was from Italy (that actually had more of a funny story attached to it, but it proves my point all the same). That gives you some idea of how difficult it can be to have an accent here.
I have been trying to become more proactive in the community. We attended a local LGBT meet-up and I spoke to the guy who runs the big local LGBT charity and community events in our county, and so soon I hope to be volunteering and working alongside people from that. When I start whatever work it is they want me to conduct, I plan to update more frequently here, as I think I'll provide an interesting insight; a gay immigrant working with a rural Maryland charity. Has some potential, no?
I still do find Maryland a little quiet, and Jon and I have both seriously considered our options for the post-immigration process. With the east coast sadly voting very red in the election, we are now reluctant to move further south, as had been our original plan. We do think that with the west coast becoming increasingly blue and ever more vocal on human rights issues, that somewhere out there could be our calling. Time shall tell!
If you actually managed to read all of this, I thank you for taking the time.
Peace and love,
Dan.
Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryland. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 November 2016
Friday, 13 November 2015
A Year On, My Thoughts
Hello everyone,
Last month Jon and I celebrated a full year of me being in the US. Here we are in November, 13 months after my arrival, and I thought I would share some thoughts with you all.
Having been here for just over a year now, I have a lot more of a deeper perspective on what it means to live here, and indeed survive here. I'm going to just go through a bunch of things that come into my mind, in no particular order, but things I feel are relevant to me.
Healthcare has been the number one point of contention for me so far. When I first arrived here Jon had pre-bought a temporary policy for me, since I would need continuous cover, and the open enrollment for the Maryland Health Exchange not open yet and I would only be able to get full coverage from January. Dealing with the exchange presented its own challenges. Not only were they difficult to get through to, but the policies aren't the best in the world either. I made several posts about that earlier in the year. A lot of people asked why I couldn't go in Jon's insurance, especially with marriage being law on a federal level now. Well, that still wasn't possible, because the SCOTUS decision only dealt with the federal government. Jon's company is based in Georgia, and the insurance they use is Georgia based, too. Georgia was not a full equality state. Of course, back in the summer this year, the SCOTUS heard the case, and subsequently made it legal, for equal marriage to go ahead in all 50 states. With that, it meant full benefits were now offered across the board, not just federally. Jon was finally able to add me to his insurance, but it took several months. Not only that, I had hassle cancelling my existing policy, and at one point my old and new ones were over lapping, when they shouldn't have been. On top of all that, I do have several medical issues, and with the way things work here, even with the best policy you can still pay through the nose for the care you receive - and you have to deal with insurance companies who never seem to get anything right. With all that said, healthcare here, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good. I genuinely feel like the doctors and specialists here have tried to help me, and I really appreciate that. Regular GP appointments here can easily take an hour, which is astounding, especially from my perspective when at home you would be in and out in under ten minutes. Overall, neither system is perfect - I wish the US had more of a balance between both.
This might sound like an odd thing, but my accent also causes me problems here. I refuse to change how I speak for anyone. It's not like I am speaking with a thick Russian accent or some weird dialect nobody has ever heard of. It is part of who I am. I think that I generally speak clearly and concisely (ok, if not a little quietly sometimes though), but nobody can understand what the heck I am talking about! It's gotten to the point of ridiculous, where now I refuse to speak on the phone because no one can ever get my name right, even when I spell it out!
Doors. Just don't even get me started on the doors! I don't know why this one thing still plagues me after 13 months here, but I'll never understand why a store can't just have doors that go both ways. The amount of times on weekly basis I find myself walking into an exit that won't open is astounding. Mind boggling.
Although I obviously have Jon, and we do have some friends, I have found the move across the ocean quite hard on my ability to meet people and integrate. I will fully admit that I have never been the most outgoing person. In fact when I was younger I was deathly shy, but I feel I have overcome that a lot, and as I have gotten older I have become a lot more open about my life and who I am. I am still a very private person, but I have definitely made progress. Leaving virtually everything and everyone I have ever known behind on another continent has been a huge blow to my confidence in the social area. While I don't want to sound like I have no life, or try to gain any sympathy, I do feel somewhat isolated here at times. Maryland isn't the most exciting place in the world, and the few friends we do have in this country aren't in Maryland - some aren't even on the same coast. So that is difficult for me. I have tried to think of ways to get myself out more, but I lack a lot of motivation and I don't really know where to begin, if I'm honest. I'll find something, I am going to work on that, but I have definitely found the friendship aspect hard so far.
I wanted to make this post more about me than my observations of the political situation here, but ultimately that affects me too, and I am a highly political person. Religion in this country is out of control. Or, at least, the right wing Christians are out of control. On an almost daily basis I see and hear things that makes me wonder what is wrong with the world we live in. Why are people getting themselves in fierce rages over coffee cups? Soup commercials? Magazine covers? People in this country need to take a step back, look at their own lives and realise that they don't have it bad at all. Nobody is forcing them to believe something else. No one is coming for their Bible or their guns. They need to chill out and just stop. It drives me crazy, and it worries me on a personal level because you just never know if your neighbor or someone around you will turn out to be some right wing religious crazy person who will start condemning you to hell.
Speaking of guns, that is the one other thing that bothers me a huge amount. Again, on an almost daily basis I hear stories of yet another shooting. A lot of them are accidental too, and for the simple reason that people are morons. Leaving your two year old alone with a loaded weapon on the dashboard of your car is a disgusting thing to do, no matter which way you look at it. It's nothing short of child abuse on so many levels, but for some reason, the right wing crazies seem to think that more guns and less gun control is the answer. How many more innocent people have to die under that policy?
Some other minor things. Mail here is ridiculously slow. Cable and phone bills are extortionate. People who say "could care less" drive me crazy because that is not what they are trying to say at all! The lack of public transport - and the surprising resistance towards it - is detrimental to the environment and to people's lives.
On a more positive side, I will fully admit that generally speaking (though, like anywhere, there can be exceptions), customer service here is excellent. I always feel welcomed into stores and restaurants, and that the people working there want to help. It's nice to be able to have a good rapport with the people in the supermarket that you visit often, or be able to banter with the guy at the comic book store. And like I said above, healthcare, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good (though insurance companies need to get their acts together!).
Finally, despite the fact we went through a grueling immigration process, which took over a year to complete, we are still not done with that. We were married less than three years upon my date of entry into the US (as I imagine many couples are when they go through this too, actually), and therefore I was made a conditional resident. In June next year we have to file a petition that can take up to 8 months, to remove the conditions of my residence. Yes, another 8 months of our lives stressing and worrying, and not being able to travel overseas again (at least I'm already in the US this time, as opposed to the situation when immigrating). At this point I am not sure exactly what will take them 8 months. There is nothing they could possibly need to know about me that they don't already know. It's just another infuriating event in our immigration story timeline that we have to deal with. Of course, by the time that is all said and done and I have full permanent residence, just a couple of months later I'll be allowed to file for citizenship! Perhaps in about 3 years' time we will finally be done with all of this, but for now we have to persevere.
We are now hurtling towards my second Christmas here, and I feel lucky and privileged to be able to share these thoughts with you all. Despite the stresses and worries of insurance and medical care, religious crazies and gun nuts, and further immigration proceedings, Jon and I are still here, still together, and always ready to stand up for who we are, no matter what.
One of my favourite quotes, and one which I had a friend read at our wedding, feels relevant today, for me at least. I'll leave you with it.
Last month Jon and I celebrated a full year of me being in the US. Here we are in November, 13 months after my arrival, and I thought I would share some thoughts with you all.
Having been here for just over a year now, I have a lot more of a deeper perspective on what it means to live here, and indeed survive here. I'm going to just go through a bunch of things that come into my mind, in no particular order, but things I feel are relevant to me.
Healthcare has been the number one point of contention for me so far. When I first arrived here Jon had pre-bought a temporary policy for me, since I would need continuous cover, and the open enrollment for the Maryland Health Exchange not open yet and I would only be able to get full coverage from January. Dealing with the exchange presented its own challenges. Not only were they difficult to get through to, but the policies aren't the best in the world either. I made several posts about that earlier in the year. A lot of people asked why I couldn't go in Jon's insurance, especially with marriage being law on a federal level now. Well, that still wasn't possible, because the SCOTUS decision only dealt with the federal government. Jon's company is based in Georgia, and the insurance they use is Georgia based, too. Georgia was not a full equality state. Of course, back in the summer this year, the SCOTUS heard the case, and subsequently made it legal, for equal marriage to go ahead in all 50 states. With that, it meant full benefits were now offered across the board, not just federally. Jon was finally able to add me to his insurance, but it took several months. Not only that, I had hassle cancelling my existing policy, and at one point my old and new ones were over lapping, when they shouldn't have been. On top of all that, I do have several medical issues, and with the way things work here, even with the best policy you can still pay through the nose for the care you receive - and you have to deal with insurance companies who never seem to get anything right. With all that said, healthcare here, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good. I genuinely feel like the doctors and specialists here have tried to help me, and I really appreciate that. Regular GP appointments here can easily take an hour, which is astounding, especially from my perspective when at home you would be in and out in under ten minutes. Overall, neither system is perfect - I wish the US had more of a balance between both.
This might sound like an odd thing, but my accent also causes me problems here. I refuse to change how I speak for anyone. It's not like I am speaking with a thick Russian accent or some weird dialect nobody has ever heard of. It is part of who I am. I think that I generally speak clearly and concisely (ok, if not a little quietly sometimes though), but nobody can understand what the heck I am talking about! It's gotten to the point of ridiculous, where now I refuse to speak on the phone because no one can ever get my name right, even when I spell it out!
Doors. Just don't even get me started on the doors! I don't know why this one thing still plagues me after 13 months here, but I'll never understand why a store can't just have doors that go both ways. The amount of times on weekly basis I find myself walking into an exit that won't open is astounding. Mind boggling.
Although I obviously have Jon, and we do have some friends, I have found the move across the ocean quite hard on my ability to meet people and integrate. I will fully admit that I have never been the most outgoing person. In fact when I was younger I was deathly shy, but I feel I have overcome that a lot, and as I have gotten older I have become a lot more open about my life and who I am. I am still a very private person, but I have definitely made progress. Leaving virtually everything and everyone I have ever known behind on another continent has been a huge blow to my confidence in the social area. While I don't want to sound like I have no life, or try to gain any sympathy, I do feel somewhat isolated here at times. Maryland isn't the most exciting place in the world, and the few friends we do have in this country aren't in Maryland - some aren't even on the same coast. So that is difficult for me. I have tried to think of ways to get myself out more, but I lack a lot of motivation and I don't really know where to begin, if I'm honest. I'll find something, I am going to work on that, but I have definitely found the friendship aspect hard so far.
I wanted to make this post more about me than my observations of the political situation here, but ultimately that affects me too, and I am a highly political person. Religion in this country is out of control. Or, at least, the right wing Christians are out of control. On an almost daily basis I see and hear things that makes me wonder what is wrong with the world we live in. Why are people getting themselves in fierce rages over coffee cups? Soup commercials? Magazine covers? People in this country need to take a step back, look at their own lives and realise that they don't have it bad at all. Nobody is forcing them to believe something else. No one is coming for their Bible or their guns. They need to chill out and just stop. It drives me crazy, and it worries me on a personal level because you just never know if your neighbor or someone around you will turn out to be some right wing religious crazy person who will start condemning you to hell.
Speaking of guns, that is the one other thing that bothers me a huge amount. Again, on an almost daily basis I hear stories of yet another shooting. A lot of them are accidental too, and for the simple reason that people are morons. Leaving your two year old alone with a loaded weapon on the dashboard of your car is a disgusting thing to do, no matter which way you look at it. It's nothing short of child abuse on so many levels, but for some reason, the right wing crazies seem to think that more guns and less gun control is the answer. How many more innocent people have to die under that policy?
Some other minor things. Mail here is ridiculously slow. Cable and phone bills are extortionate. People who say "could care less" drive me crazy because that is not what they are trying to say at all! The lack of public transport - and the surprising resistance towards it - is detrimental to the environment and to people's lives.
On a more positive side, I will fully admit that generally speaking (though, like anywhere, there can be exceptions), customer service here is excellent. I always feel welcomed into stores and restaurants, and that the people working there want to help. It's nice to be able to have a good rapport with the people in the supermarket that you visit often, or be able to banter with the guy at the comic book store. And like I said above, healthcare, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good (though insurance companies need to get their acts together!).
Finally, despite the fact we went through a grueling immigration process, which took over a year to complete, we are still not done with that. We were married less than three years upon my date of entry into the US (as I imagine many couples are when they go through this too, actually), and therefore I was made a conditional resident. In June next year we have to file a petition that can take up to 8 months, to remove the conditions of my residence. Yes, another 8 months of our lives stressing and worrying, and not being able to travel overseas again (at least I'm already in the US this time, as opposed to the situation when immigrating). At this point I am not sure exactly what will take them 8 months. There is nothing they could possibly need to know about me that they don't already know. It's just another infuriating event in our immigration story timeline that we have to deal with. Of course, by the time that is all said and done and I have full permanent residence, just a couple of months later I'll be allowed to file for citizenship! Perhaps in about 3 years' time we will finally be done with all of this, but for now we have to persevere.
We are now hurtling towards my second Christmas here, and I feel lucky and privileged to be able to share these thoughts with you all. Despite the stresses and worries of insurance and medical care, religious crazies and gun nuts, and further immigration proceedings, Jon and I are still here, still together, and always ready to stand up for who we are, no matter what.
One of my favourite quotes, and one which I had a friend read at our wedding, feels relevant today, for me at least. I'll leave you with it.
“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”
~ Harriet Tubman
Dan.
Saturday, 13 June 2015
June Updates
Hello everyone,
I realise it’s been awhile since I updated this blog, for which I apologise. It actually has not gone unthought of in recent weeks though. I have wanted to post things here, but of course, as always, life gets in the way. Jon and I travel a lot which doesn’t do much for having time to blog, and then of course I don’t always feel in the mood when I do have time. Anyway, here we are.
It is now June and I have been in the United States for just over eight months now. I feel more settled than I did when I wrote about my feelings a awhile back, but there are still things that bug me sometimes.
One of the biggest problems for me right now is feeling a little disconnected from everything. I still don’t really feel as though the town where we live is my “forever home”. Last night I was having a conversation with Jon about where we really want to be living, and honestly, there was no real definite answer from either of us. I’m thirty now, and Jon is forty-one, and while we aren’t old, we are getting to the point in our lives where I personally think we should be considering where we want to be and where we want to settle permanently. I don’t mean moving out of the US again; heck it took enough to get me here. But do we really belong here, in Maryland? The United States is so vast, and so diverse, it’s pretty daunting to ponder.
Some of our thoughts were the West Coast, in particular California. With that comes innumerable problems, including drought, earthquakes and it being significantly further away from family and friends. On the plus side, they have the good weather and Disneyland - one of our favourite places - is right there. Oregon and Washington are pretty and offer a more laid back lifestyle, and Jon said he loves Seattle, but they are even further away from anywhere else, and the weather in those northern regions is colder than my ideal climate. We don’t really want to live anywhere in the Midwest. I’d be bored senseless without the coastline attractions and the ease of access to other places (ok, I know there are roads and airports, but living in the middle of no where Nebraska or Wyoming doesn’t really appeal as much as northern California, for example). Then we come to the East Coast. Boston and New England are very pretty and are well connected to the other major East Coast cities, but the winters can be harsh. The Carolinas and Georgia don’t really appeal to us, but then we come to Florida. The Sunshine State. Walt Disney World and many other attractions close by, the weather. Sounds perfect for us, right? Well, when the weather is close to 40C in July and August and the humidity is over 80 or 90%, it doesn’t sound so appealing. Mix into that hurricane season and the potential for flooding due to global warming, and we are back at square one.
So, with few natural disasters, and the not-quite-so extremes in weather, and being close to many places on the East Coast (including DC, Philly, Hershey, New York and Baltimore, to name but a few), Maryland seems to be the logical place to stay. We wouldn’t need to move far; we’re already here. But does that mean we want to live here? That’s the million dollar question. And we go around in circles looking at the options all over again.
Moving to another country was hard, but only because bureaucracy made it hard. Finding somewhere to live forever, where we’ll be happy, that’s much harder.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Dan.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
2013 in Pictures
Hello everyone,
As we head into the last part of January now, 2013 seems but a distant memory, when in fact it was less than 4 weeks ago!
I wanted to share with you all some of my memories of 2013, but it's nearly impossible to pick the best moments, so instead I am just going to post the links to my Flickr sets from last year, which you can browse at your leisure.
We started the year at the Disneyland Resort in California, finishing up our extended Christmas and New Year trip there.
Flickr set for California Christmas/New Year is here.
A few days later we drove from Virginia to Philadelphia, where we saw the Disney On Ice show, Rockin' Ever After, and met with some old friends of mine who now live in New Jersey.
Flickr set for Disney On Ice is here.
In February we were in Disneyland Paris for Valentine's, and had a wonderful time with friends.
Flickr set for Disneyland Paris Valentine's is here.
At the end of March/start of April we were in Walt Disney World for Easter.
Flickr set for Walt Disney World Easter is here.
On the 10th April I met with friends of ours in London, and we attended the Disneyland Paris Shareholder's Club Round Table meeting.
Flickr set for the meeting is here.
Then, at the end of April, we travelled to Hong Kong to begin our epic around the world adventure!
Flickr set for Hong Hong is here.
Our trip to Hong Kong led us into May, where we travelled to Tokyo, Japan to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.
Flickr set for Japan is here.
From Japan we flew across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, California, to visit the Disneyland Resort.
Flickr set for California in May is here.
After California, the next stop was Walt Disney World in Florida, where for the first time ever, I celebrated my birthday at a Disney Park!
Flickr set for Walt Disney World in May is here.
Finally, after Florida it was off to Paris, where we celebrated the grand finale of our world trip at an amazing gala dinner show at Disneyland Paris!
Flickr set for the Paris finale is here.
After all that craziness, we had a rest in June and July. I should point out that it was in June that we finally found out the US Supreme Court decision on DOMA. It was that decision that led us to do what we would do in August (finally!... see below), and spurred me on to create this blog!
You can read my very first post I made on this blog, here. It's quite long and detailed, and gives you a good insight into my life, and how Jon and I met.
As I said above, August was a big month for us, as it was the month we finally got married at Jon's parent's house in Maryland! Surrounded by friends and family, we had a truly wonderful day.
My Flickr wedding photo set is here.
After that, we visited some dear friends of ours in New York. I don't have any public photos of that, as I wanted to just enjoy our time there, and not be bogged down with my big DSLR camera, like I usually am.
Later in August we attended the Disney Junior Live! Pirate and Princess Adventure show, in Charlottesville, VA.
Flickr set for Disney Jr Live can be seen here.
Shortly after that, we flew back to Disneyland in California, where we had some late summer fun, which led us into September.
Flickr set for Disneyland September is here.
September came and went, and October arrived. We visited Disneyland Paris with Jon's family, who were in Europe on a cruise.
See my Disneyland Paris Halloween Flickr set here.
In November my childhood heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were visiting a mall near where I live, so I just had to go see them!
My Turtles Flickr set is here.
Finally December arrived, and we were back in Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year, where we rang in 2014 with our good friends.
My Disneyland Paris Christmas set is here.
So there we have it! My amazing year in pictures, or links, I guess!
Have a great Sunday everyone.
Dan.
As we head into the last part of January now, 2013 seems but a distant memory, when in fact it was less than 4 weeks ago!
I wanted to share with you all some of my memories of 2013, but it's nearly impossible to pick the best moments, so instead I am just going to post the links to my Flickr sets from last year, which you can browse at your leisure.
We started the year at the Disneyland Resort in California, finishing up our extended Christmas and New Year trip there.
Flickr set for California Christmas/New Year is here.
A few days later we drove from Virginia to Philadelphia, where we saw the Disney On Ice show, Rockin' Ever After, and met with some old friends of mine who now live in New Jersey.
Flickr set for Disney On Ice is here.
In February we were in Disneyland Paris for Valentine's, and had a wonderful time with friends.
Flickr set for Disneyland Paris Valentine's is here.
At the end of March/start of April we were in Walt Disney World for Easter.
Flickr set for Walt Disney World Easter is here.
On the 10th April I met with friends of ours in London, and we attended the Disneyland Paris Shareholder's Club Round Table meeting.
Flickr set for the meeting is here.
Then, at the end of April, we travelled to Hong Kong to begin our epic around the world adventure!
Flickr set for Hong Hong is here.
Our trip to Hong Kong led us into May, where we travelled to Tokyo, Japan to visit Tokyo Disney Resort.
Flickr set for Japan is here.
From Japan we flew across the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, California, to visit the Disneyland Resort.
Flickr set for California in May is here.
After California, the next stop was Walt Disney World in Florida, where for the first time ever, I celebrated my birthday at a Disney Park!
Flickr set for Walt Disney World in May is here.
Finally, after Florida it was off to Paris, where we celebrated the grand finale of our world trip at an amazing gala dinner show at Disneyland Paris!
Flickr set for the Paris finale is here.
After all that craziness, we had a rest in June and July. I should point out that it was in June that we finally found out the US Supreme Court decision on DOMA. It was that decision that led us to do what we would do in August (finally!... see below), and spurred me on to create this blog!
You can read my very first post I made on this blog, here. It's quite long and detailed, and gives you a good insight into my life, and how Jon and I met.
As I said above, August was a big month for us, as it was the month we finally got married at Jon's parent's house in Maryland! Surrounded by friends and family, we had a truly wonderful day.
My Flickr wedding photo set is here.
After that, we visited some dear friends of ours in New York. I don't have any public photos of that, as I wanted to just enjoy our time there, and not be bogged down with my big DSLR camera, like I usually am.
Later in August we attended the Disney Junior Live! Pirate and Princess Adventure show, in Charlottesville, VA.
Flickr set for Disney Jr Live can be seen here.
Shortly after that, we flew back to Disneyland in California, where we had some late summer fun, which led us into September.
Flickr set for Disneyland September is here.
September came and went, and October arrived. We visited Disneyland Paris with Jon's family, who were in Europe on a cruise.
See my Disneyland Paris Halloween Flickr set here.
In November my childhood heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were visiting a mall near where I live, so I just had to go see them!
My Turtles Flickr set is here.
Finally December arrived, and we were back in Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year, where we rang in 2014 with our good friends.
My Disneyland Paris Christmas set is here.
So there we have it! My amazing year in pictures, or links, I guess!
Have a great Sunday everyone.
Dan.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Battle of the Taxes
Hello everyone,
Today I wanted to take a look at the taxes of both the United States and the United Kingdom, and compare them to each other, and see who ends up being "better off", if any at all.
I'll just put my thoughts, some might be biased, some not. I'll let you be the overall judge, although I have set out some criteria below.
Please, please let me know your own thoughts in the comments at the end. I'd love to get everyones perspectives on all this.
Obviously talking about taxes is not the most fun subject in the world, but if you're genuinely interested in finding out about standards and costs of living between different places, it makes for interesting discussion.
I know that there isn't nearly enough good discussion on these kinds of things for newbie immigrants like myself, and it is something that seems daunting when you move to a new place. So I write this all with the hope that I can at least assist someone out there, even if just one question is answered by all this, it has been worth it.
Rules and Criteria For My Arguments
I'm not a business person, or qualified in accountancy of any kind, but I have done my research, and where possible, I will back up all my points with evidence. I won't just put something out there and make assumptions. I'll make it as factually accurate as I can.
I am going to write this from my point of view, as a fully capable, young adult who currently works in the UK. I think this will offer a fair comparison to most adults who have a regular job and income.
Obviously everyone's personal circumstances are slightly different, but we'll just go with the fact that I am a regular working adult.
Direct Taxes
Let's start with what I will refer to as a direct tax. Like I said, I'm no accountant, so if that's not a "technical term", then so be it, but that's what I'm calling this first category.
Direct taxes are taxes which are paid regularly, directly to the government. They immediately affect us as they are immediately deducted by whatever means, or are required to be paid immediately when billed.
Income Tax in the UK
Of course income tax on earnings is the biggest direct tax of all, and the one that affects nearly everybody who has ever worked.
Income tax rates in the UK are high generally, but more for higher income earners, and can go from 20%, all the way up to 45%.
For a regular working adult like myself, the current income tax rate in the UK is set at 20% on all earnings over £9440. This means that I can earn £9440 and not pay tax, anything over this amount is taxed at 20% (on just the excess amount, it does not work retroactively to tax all my income).
For anyone who is employed in the UK, taxes are worked out and deducted automatically from your salary/payslip/pay check. Nobody ever has to file a tax return if you're employed.
It's that simple. (We won't go down the route of self-employed, as that's not the point of this right now.)
If underpayments are required, HM Revenue and Customs normally send a letter informing you of how much is owed, and what options you have to pay the underpayment back. Usually you will be offered to be able to pay it back as part of your next tax year in your salary (your tax code will change and you will pay slightly more for however long it takes to make the repayment).
If overpayments are made, HM Revenue and Customs will automatically send you a cheque.
It should be noted that these instances do not happen often. If you change jobs and your new tax code isn't entered correctly by your employer then it may alter something, but that is unlikely.
If you are married or in a Civil Partnership, there is Married Couples Allowance. The rules of which seem complicated to me, but again, this is usually worked out automatically. It basically come down to that you should be paying slightly less tax in your salary, because you're married/CP'd.
It should be noted also that if you're retired, on a low income, disabled, and a multitude of other scenarios, the same applies. Your circumstances are all automatically calculated by the HMRC, and you shouldn't have to file anything. You might get a letter from time to time asking to prove your circumstances are still the same (for example, if you're on a low income, single parent etc), but that's about it.
In summary, if you work, and have a regular salary, or are retired or receive a permanent benefit (disabled etc), you'll be taxed in your salary/benefit, and never have to worry about filing anything else. Ever.
Federal Income Tax in the US
In the US, from my understanding, income tax is much more complicated.
For a start, everybody pays tax, regardless of income level. When I looked at the Federal Income Tax rates it seems that you have to pay a different percentage of tax for each level of income you earn.
For example, a single person who earns $25000 would pay 10% tax on anything from $0 to $8925, then 15% on anything else up to the $25000.
The tax rates also vary if you are filing as a single person, married filing together, married filing separately, or even as a household if you have dependants.
I also understand that a basic amount of tax is taken from salaries, but American still have to file anyway, for anything that is missed by the salary deduction and any adjustments that the IRS do not know about (income from other sources, bonuses, savings, etc).
If you owe anything, then you have to pay it with your returns, or if anything is owed, you can claim it back.
But of course, it isn't that simple in reality. As I mentioned, you could have some sort of adjustment, which could be in the form of an allowance/deduction, that means that you pay no tax on the first X-amount, for example $5000, and then 10% on $5000 to 13925 ($8925+$5000). There are a whole manner of scenarios as to why this can happen, such having children, medical expenses, interest payments on your home... The list goes on, and can get very complicated.
Jon admittedly did try to explain it all to me more accurately, and I tried to cover it the best I could here, but to explain it all would simply not be possible!
This is of course just for Federal Income Tax.
Then we come to State Income Tax.
State Income Tax in the US
You have filed your Federal Income Taxes, and you're done, right? Wrong. You also have to pay state taxes!
State income taxes can be mind-bogglingly complicated. I googled to see what I could find out about Maryland taxes, as that's where Jon and I will be living together, and I have to say, I was really lost.
You might think I'm trying to add a biased spin to this, but I'm really not. I wanted to make it sound simple, but all I came up against was long, complicated webpages, online leaflets and pages of numbers and percentages.
Eventually I found a site that listed them all by state. Seven states pay none, remarkably.
And from what I could make out, seven pay a flat rate, regardless of income. The rest, plus DC, pay a variable rate depending on income.
As with Federal Income Taxes, what you pay can depend on varying circumstances, from dependants, other sources of income etc.
Based on my example earlier of someone who earns $25000, in addition to the Federal taxes of up to 15%, that person would also have to pay 4.75% on earnings over $3000, plus an extra $90 (don't even ask!), PLUS county taxes, of at least 1.25% (based on the "cheapest" county to live in)!
So to live in the "cheapest" county in Maryland, your income taxes all combined (including Federal) at looking to be at least 21% - for a low income worker!
That's already 1% more than the UK. I realise that for Federal taxes the amount is staggered, but still, 21% is a lot, and the threshold is a lot less than the £9440 tax free allowance of the UK.
Also, of course, I know there are deductions that might bring your taxes down (dependants etc), but I'm trying to keep this simple - which as you can see is a challenge in itself!
Living Outside the US
Of course, if you're a US Citizen and you live outside the US, you don't escape the tax system that easily!
If you are a US Citizen, you are still required to file taxes in the US, even if you don't owe anything!
And get this, if the equivalent of any income tax you pay in your country of residence is less than the US rate, then you have to pay the US the difference! Even if you are not living or working in the US, and haven't done for several years, you are still basically penalised and taxed on your hard earned cash!
To my knowledge, no other country makes their citizens do this.
Summary
All I can say is, what a nightmare! I hope that all made sense, and if not - then you can hopefully see how confused I have been by it all!
It isn't just the percentages and numbers that cause me issue though; it's the fact that you have to go through all of this in the first place.
It seems like one big hassle to sit and work all these figures out for yourself, buy specialised software to do the calculations, and even in some cases hire a lawyer - just to pay taxes!
The US government do not make things easy!
Filing my own taxes (albeit with Jon of course) is the one thing that I think I am going to find really strange and annoying about moving to the US. I realise Jon has had a lot of experience with this, but it's not something I have ever had to deal with, and it's a little daunting.
I can't guarantee that either system is better or more affordable than another, but having been with Jon for nearly 6 years, and having lived in the UK all my life, I personally have to go with the UK system.
Some might say that I'm being biased, but why would I want the hassle of such a system, like the US?
It just seems like one big headache!
I said I'd back up my evidence, and so at the end of this blog post, I have listed all the websites I used as a point of reference.
Please do let me know your thoughts, in the comments below.
In my next article I'll be talking about the NHS, Health Insurance, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Dan.
References:
HM Revenue and Customs - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/personal-allow.htm
About.com article on US Federal Tax Rates - http://taxes.about.com/od/Federal-Income-Taxes/qt/Tax-Rates-For-The-2013-Tax-Year.htm
Wikipedia page for State Income Taxes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax
About.com article on State Income Taxes - http://taxes.about.com/od/statetaxes/a/highest-state-income-tax-rates.htm
TaxAdmin.org's document showing all state tax rates - http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.pdf
Comptroller Maryland Official Tax Information Sheet - http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Resource_Library/Tax_Publications/Tax_Facts/Withholding_Tax_Facts/Withholding_tax_facts_2013.pdf
Today I wanted to take a look at the taxes of both the United States and the United Kingdom, and compare them to each other, and see who ends up being "better off", if any at all.
I'll just put my thoughts, some might be biased, some not. I'll let you be the overall judge, although I have set out some criteria below.
Please, please let me know your own thoughts in the comments at the end. I'd love to get everyones perspectives on all this.
Obviously talking about taxes is not the most fun subject in the world, but if you're genuinely interested in finding out about standards and costs of living between different places, it makes for interesting discussion.
I know that there isn't nearly enough good discussion on these kinds of things for newbie immigrants like myself, and it is something that seems daunting when you move to a new place. So I write this all with the hope that I can at least assist someone out there, even if just one question is answered by all this, it has been worth it.
Rules and Criteria For My Arguments
I'm not a business person, or qualified in accountancy of any kind, but I have done my research, and where possible, I will back up all my points with evidence. I won't just put something out there and make assumptions. I'll make it as factually accurate as I can.
I am going to write this from my point of view, as a fully capable, young adult who currently works in the UK. I think this will offer a fair comparison to most adults who have a regular job and income.
Obviously everyone's personal circumstances are slightly different, but we'll just go with the fact that I am a regular working adult.
Direct Taxes
Let's start with what I will refer to as a direct tax. Like I said, I'm no accountant, so if that's not a "technical term", then so be it, but that's what I'm calling this first category.
Direct taxes are taxes which are paid regularly, directly to the government. They immediately affect us as they are immediately deducted by whatever means, or are required to be paid immediately when billed.
Income Tax in the UK
Of course income tax on earnings is the biggest direct tax of all, and the one that affects nearly everybody who has ever worked.
Income tax rates in the UK are high generally, but more for higher income earners, and can go from 20%, all the way up to 45%.
For a regular working adult like myself, the current income tax rate in the UK is set at 20% on all earnings over £9440. This means that I can earn £9440 and not pay tax, anything over this amount is taxed at 20% (on just the excess amount, it does not work retroactively to tax all my income).
For anyone who is employed in the UK, taxes are worked out and deducted automatically from your salary/payslip/pay check. Nobody ever has to file a tax return if you're employed.
It's that simple. (We won't go down the route of self-employed, as that's not the point of this right now.)
If underpayments are required, HM Revenue and Customs normally send a letter informing you of how much is owed, and what options you have to pay the underpayment back. Usually you will be offered to be able to pay it back as part of your next tax year in your salary (your tax code will change and you will pay slightly more for however long it takes to make the repayment).
If overpayments are made, HM Revenue and Customs will automatically send you a cheque.
It should be noted that these instances do not happen often. If you change jobs and your new tax code isn't entered correctly by your employer then it may alter something, but that is unlikely.
If you are married or in a Civil Partnership, there is Married Couples Allowance. The rules of which seem complicated to me, but again, this is usually worked out automatically. It basically come down to that you should be paying slightly less tax in your salary, because you're married/CP'd.
It should be noted also that if you're retired, on a low income, disabled, and a multitude of other scenarios, the same applies. Your circumstances are all automatically calculated by the HMRC, and you shouldn't have to file anything. You might get a letter from time to time asking to prove your circumstances are still the same (for example, if you're on a low income, single parent etc), but that's about it.
In summary, if you work, and have a regular salary, or are retired or receive a permanent benefit (disabled etc), you'll be taxed in your salary/benefit, and never have to worry about filing anything else. Ever.
Federal Income Tax in the US
In the US, from my understanding, income tax is much more complicated.
For a start, everybody pays tax, regardless of income level. When I looked at the Federal Income Tax rates it seems that you have to pay a different percentage of tax for each level of income you earn.
For example, a single person who earns $25000 would pay 10% tax on anything from $0 to $8925, then 15% on anything else up to the $25000.
The tax rates also vary if you are filing as a single person, married filing together, married filing separately, or even as a household if you have dependants.
I also understand that a basic amount of tax is taken from salaries, but American still have to file anyway, for anything that is missed by the salary deduction and any adjustments that the IRS do not know about (income from other sources, bonuses, savings, etc).
If you owe anything, then you have to pay it with your returns, or if anything is owed, you can claim it back.
But of course, it isn't that simple in reality. As I mentioned, you could have some sort of adjustment, which could be in the form of an allowance/deduction, that means that you pay no tax on the first X-amount, for example $5000, and then 10% on $5000 to 13925 ($8925+$5000). There are a whole manner of scenarios as to why this can happen, such having children, medical expenses, interest payments on your home... The list goes on, and can get very complicated.
Jon admittedly did try to explain it all to me more accurately, and I tried to cover it the best I could here, but to explain it all would simply not be possible!
This is of course just for Federal Income Tax.
Then we come to State Income Tax.
State Income Tax in the US
You have filed your Federal Income Taxes, and you're done, right? Wrong. You also have to pay state taxes!
State income taxes can be mind-bogglingly complicated. I googled to see what I could find out about Maryland taxes, as that's where Jon and I will be living together, and I have to say, I was really lost.
You might think I'm trying to add a biased spin to this, but I'm really not. I wanted to make it sound simple, but all I came up against was long, complicated webpages, online leaflets and pages of numbers and percentages.
Eventually I found a site that listed them all by state. Seven states pay none, remarkably.
And from what I could make out, seven pay a flat rate, regardless of income. The rest, plus DC, pay a variable rate depending on income.
As with Federal Income Taxes, what you pay can depend on varying circumstances, from dependants, other sources of income etc.
Based on my example earlier of someone who earns $25000, in addition to the Federal taxes of up to 15%, that person would also have to pay 4.75% on earnings over $3000, plus an extra $90 (don't even ask!), PLUS county taxes, of at least 1.25% (based on the "cheapest" county to live in)!
So to live in the "cheapest" county in Maryland, your income taxes all combined (including Federal) at looking to be at least 21% - for a low income worker!
That's already 1% more than the UK. I realise that for Federal taxes the amount is staggered, but still, 21% is a lot, and the threshold is a lot less than the £9440 tax free allowance of the UK.
Also, of course, I know there are deductions that might bring your taxes down (dependants etc), but I'm trying to keep this simple - which as you can see is a challenge in itself!
Living Outside the US
Of course, if you're a US Citizen and you live outside the US, you don't escape the tax system that easily!
If you are a US Citizen, you are still required to file taxes in the US, even if you don't owe anything!
And get this, if the equivalent of any income tax you pay in your country of residence is less than the US rate, then you have to pay the US the difference! Even if you are not living or working in the US, and haven't done for several years, you are still basically penalised and taxed on your hard earned cash!
To my knowledge, no other country makes their citizens do this.
Summary
All I can say is, what a nightmare! I hope that all made sense, and if not - then you can hopefully see how confused I have been by it all!
It isn't just the percentages and numbers that cause me issue though; it's the fact that you have to go through all of this in the first place.
It seems like one big hassle to sit and work all these figures out for yourself, buy specialised software to do the calculations, and even in some cases hire a lawyer - just to pay taxes!
The US government do not make things easy!
Filing my own taxes (albeit with Jon of course) is the one thing that I think I am going to find really strange and annoying about moving to the US. I realise Jon has had a lot of experience with this, but it's not something I have ever had to deal with, and it's a little daunting.
I can't guarantee that either system is better or more affordable than another, but having been with Jon for nearly 6 years, and having lived in the UK all my life, I personally have to go with the UK system.
Some might say that I'm being biased, but why would I want the hassle of such a system, like the US?
It just seems like one big headache!
I said I'd back up my evidence, and so at the end of this blog post, I have listed all the websites I used as a point of reference.
Please do let me know your thoughts, in the comments below.
In my next article I'll be talking about the NHS, Health Insurance, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Dan.
*
HM Revenue and Customs - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/personal-allow.htm
About.com article on US Federal Tax Rates - http://taxes.about.com/od/Federal-Income-Taxes/qt/Tax-Rates-For-The-2013-Tax-Year.htm
Wikipedia page for State Income Taxes - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax
About.com article on State Income Taxes - http://taxes.about.com/od/statetaxes/a/highest-state-income-tax-rates.htm
TaxAdmin.org's document showing all state tax rates - http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.pdf
Comptroller Maryland Official Tax Information Sheet - http://taxes.marylandtaxes.com/Resource_Library/Tax_Publications/Tax_Facts/Withholding_Tax_Facts/Withholding_tax_facts_2013.pdf
Thursday, 29 August 2013
The Wedding!
Hello everyone,
Apologies for the fact this is nearly a week late, but we have been very busy! Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that the wedding ceremony went perfectly, and we had a truly wonderful day.
The after party was lovely, filled with good food, and our family and friends.
I have a few pictures to share of the setup, but not of Jon and I - yet! I might have some of those in a week or two.
Following the party, we drove north and spent the weekend in New York with some dear friends of ours, and got back the early hours of Monday morning.
So, here's the pics! (Some things need explanation, which I have wrote after the pictures. Click images to see full size).
If you're wondering why the Christmas lights and Christmas Tree, they have some sentimental value to us. As I have said many times, we wanted things to be special and unique to us, and that is exactly what we did.
The tree actually had a lot of sentimental ornaments on it, that were special to Jon and his family.
The one of the wider shot of the room is a view looking from where Jon and I stood with our officiant, Sandy. The chairs were of course were where our guests were seated.
The picture of the table with Peter Pan and Stitch on it was I guess, for want of a better word, the "altar", and was basically right behind where the room shot was taken (where Jon and I stood).
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below!
Just so you know, tomorrow we are off to Disneyland in California, and won't be back until late Tuesday night.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Dan.
Apologies for the fact this is nearly a week late, but we have been very busy! Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that the wedding ceremony went perfectly, and we had a truly wonderful day.
The after party was lovely, filled with good food, and our family and friends.
I have a few pictures to share of the setup, but not of Jon and I - yet! I might have some of those in a week or two.
Following the party, we drove north and spent the weekend in New York with some dear friends of ours, and got back the early hours of Monday morning.
So, here's the pics! (Some things need explanation, which I have wrote after the pictures. Click images to see full size).
If you're wondering why the Christmas lights and Christmas Tree, they have some sentimental value to us. As I have said many times, we wanted things to be special and unique to us, and that is exactly what we did.
The tree actually had a lot of sentimental ornaments on it, that were special to Jon and his family.
The one of the wider shot of the room is a view looking from where Jon and I stood with our officiant, Sandy. The chairs were of course were where our guests were seated.
The picture of the table with Peter Pan and Stitch on it was I guess, for want of a better word, the "altar", and was basically right behind where the room shot was taken (where Jon and I stood).
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them below!
Just so you know, tomorrow we are off to Disneyland in California, and won't be back until late Tuesday night.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Dan.
Monday, 12 August 2013
The Day We Bought Four Rings!
Hello everyone,
Yesterday we went to Arundel Mills mall in Maryland to look for wedding rings.
Everyone we've spoke to seemed quite surprised that we left it so late - not least the ladies in Reeds where we ended up buying our rings!
We wandered around for a while, and were not really inspired by anything. We thought that maybe next weekend we could spend a day dedicated to looking for rings.
We walked into Reeds to just have a quick look, and was greeted by a very friendly assistant.
My two main concerns about buying rings had been that, one, if we bought them in Virginia - or at least tried to - we might have been met with some hostility. Virginia is technically "the south", it's a "red state", and they don't offer very many equal protections for LGBT people, especially not marriage equality.
Second, for those very reasons, we didn't want to be giving the state our tax money for expensive rings, when we weren't even getting married there.
Anyway, back to jewellers, and we browsed for a bit, and the very nice lady seemed really excited for us, if not really surprised we had left it so late to look for rings!
We wanted something a bit unconventional. I have never claimed to be conventional, and certainly wasn't going to start now!
They did have a good selection, including some rings that were labelled as wedding rings, but were definitely not your typical gold band.
We both liked two different styles, and couldn't decide.
The problem with the better one of the two styles we liked was that they needed to be custom ordered as they are made from tungsten (a dark metal).
We obviously wanted something for the ceremony though. So, we did something which some people might find strange, but like I said, I've never claimed to follow convention!
We bought the much cheaper titanium rings in our sizes there and then, and then also ordered the much more expensive tungsten rings, to be collected at a later date!
So, for now, we have a simple titanium ring each that fits, and in about 8 weeks we'll have our "real" rings, the tungsten ones!
So we'll actually have two wedding rings each in the end! At leas tI'll have a choice as to which one I want to wear on any given day!
I found some pictures of the rings on the internet for you to see.
The titanium ones we currently have are:
The tungsten ones we ordered are this neat Celtic dragon design:
Yesterday we went to Arundel Mills mall in Maryland to look for wedding rings.
Everyone we've spoke to seemed quite surprised that we left it so late - not least the ladies in Reeds where we ended up buying our rings!
We wandered around for a while, and were not really inspired by anything. We thought that maybe next weekend we could spend a day dedicated to looking for rings.
We walked into Reeds to just have a quick look, and was greeted by a very friendly assistant.
My two main concerns about buying rings had been that, one, if we bought them in Virginia - or at least tried to - we might have been met with some hostility. Virginia is technically "the south", it's a "red state", and they don't offer very many equal protections for LGBT people, especially not marriage equality.
Second, for those very reasons, we didn't want to be giving the state our tax money for expensive rings, when we weren't even getting married there.
Anyway, back to jewellers, and we browsed for a bit, and the very nice lady seemed really excited for us, if not really surprised we had left it so late to look for rings!
We wanted something a bit unconventional. I have never claimed to be conventional, and certainly wasn't going to start now!
They did have a good selection, including some rings that were labelled as wedding rings, but were definitely not your typical gold band.
We both liked two different styles, and couldn't decide.
The problem with the better one of the two styles we liked was that they needed to be custom ordered as they are made from tungsten (a dark metal).
We obviously wanted something for the ceremony though. So, we did something which some people might find strange, but like I said, I've never claimed to follow convention!
We bought the much cheaper titanium rings in our sizes there and then, and then also ordered the much more expensive tungsten rings, to be collected at a later date!
So, for now, we have a simple titanium ring each that fits, and in about 8 weeks we'll have our "real" rings, the tungsten ones!
So we'll actually have two wedding rings each in the end! At leas tI'll have a choice as to which one I want to wear on any given day!
I found some pictures of the rings on the internet for you to see.
The titanium ones we currently have are:
The tungsten ones we ordered are this neat Celtic dragon design:
Let me know what you think!
Dan.
Friday, 9 August 2013
Updates - Life in General
Hello everyone,
I know I haven't had much to say lately, but I guess while we wait for the process to get moving along, then there isn't much to report!
We have filled out the papers from the lawyers, and we sent in our fees already.
So, when I leave the US in September we can basically call the lawyer and say "ok, Dan is back home, and we'd like to file the petition now!" (You may recall before that I have said I can't be in the US while we go through this process.)
In the meantime, we've just been spending our summer preparing for our big day on the 23rd August.
We don't plan to have anything really big, but it'll be special and nice in its own way.
I haven't "officially" run all my plans by the rest of the family yet (!), so I can't reveal anything here, but we hope to talk to them, and our officiant for the day, within the next couple of days. Once we've spoke to them, then I can can let you all know what our big day is shaping up like; what we're doing, how we're doing it, etc.
A week ago today we went to get our marriage license at the Frederick County Courthouse over in Maryland.
It was a very simple process. We walked in, went to the clerk's desk, and told them our intention to get married. She asked a few questions (name, age, place of residence), and we had to take a very short oath swearing that we had no reason that we could not legally be wed (I.E. in an existing marriage still).
Then, we paid the fee (I think it was $75), she printed the certificate, and voila! We are now all set on that front!
On the big day, once married, our officiant will sign the certificate and file it with the court, and within 5 business days we should have our official marriage certificate!
Last weekend we went to BrickFair in Chantilly, VA. We've been before, a few years back. Always fun to see everyones crazy LEGO creations, and take a trip down memory lane looking at old sets.
Also last weekend my Canadian 'family' were down for a few days, too, and we hung out with them, which was really nice.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to see the latest Disney Live! show. In all the madness of late I can't remember exactly which one it is, but I have a strong feeling it's a Disney Jr one, and has Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins in it.
Not sure if I mentioned it before, but the weekend we get married we are also going to New York City to stay with some friends. It wasn't intentionally planned as a "honeymoon" as we had made arrangements before we knew our wedding date, but I guess now it will be of sorts!
The week after that we'll be heading out to California for 5 days to visit Disneyland, and all our friends there, including one of our best and most trusted friends, Loren (I know he reads this, so I thought I'd give a shout out!).
After the DL trip I'll be heading home, then we can finally file all this paperwork that we have laying around! Then this process can really begin!
Anyway, I think that's all for now. I'll try to post more this weekend.
Dan.
I know I haven't had much to say lately, but I guess while we wait for the process to get moving along, then there isn't much to report!
We have filled out the papers from the lawyers, and we sent in our fees already.
So, when I leave the US in September we can basically call the lawyer and say "ok, Dan is back home, and we'd like to file the petition now!" (You may recall before that I have said I can't be in the US while we go through this process.)
In the meantime, we've just been spending our summer preparing for our big day on the 23rd August.
We don't plan to have anything really big, but it'll be special and nice in its own way.
I haven't "officially" run all my plans by the rest of the family yet (!), so I can't reveal anything here, but we hope to talk to them, and our officiant for the day, within the next couple of days. Once we've spoke to them, then I can can let you all know what our big day is shaping up like; what we're doing, how we're doing it, etc.
A week ago today we went to get our marriage license at the Frederick County Courthouse over in Maryland.
It was a very simple process. We walked in, went to the clerk's desk, and told them our intention to get married. She asked a few questions (name, age, place of residence), and we had to take a very short oath swearing that we had no reason that we could not legally be wed (I.E. in an existing marriage still).
Then, we paid the fee (I think it was $75), she printed the certificate, and voila! We are now all set on that front!
On the big day, once married, our officiant will sign the certificate and file it with the court, and within 5 business days we should have our official marriage certificate!
Last weekend we went to BrickFair in Chantilly, VA. We've been before, a few years back. Always fun to see everyones crazy LEGO creations, and take a trip down memory lane looking at old sets.
Also last weekend my Canadian 'family' were down for a few days, too, and we hung out with them, which was really nice.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to see the latest Disney Live! show. In all the madness of late I can't remember exactly which one it is, but I have a strong feeling it's a Disney Jr one, and has Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins in it.
Not sure if I mentioned it before, but the weekend we get married we are also going to New York City to stay with some friends. It wasn't intentionally planned as a "honeymoon" as we had made arrangements before we knew our wedding date, but I guess now it will be of sorts!
The week after that we'll be heading out to California for 5 days to visit Disneyland, and all our friends there, including one of our best and most trusted friends, Loren (I know he reads this, so I thought I'd give a shout out!).
After the DL trip I'll be heading home, then we can finally file all this paperwork that we have laying around! Then this process can really begin!
Anyway, I think that's all for now. I'll try to post more this weekend.
Dan.
Friday, 2 August 2013
We're Getting the Marriage Licence Today!
Hello everyone,
The title of this entry is fairly self-explanatory, I think!
We're driving up to the Frederick County Courthouse this afternoon to get our marriage license, so that we can actually get married on the 23rd!
Dan.
The title of this entry is fairly self-explanatory, I think!
We're driving up to the Frederick County Courthouse this afternoon to get our marriage license, so that we can actually get married on the 23rd!
Dan.
Monday, 29 July 2013
A Special Announcement
Hello everyone,
Today I can officially make an announcement that I have been wanting to make for a couple of weeks now!
I sent out the following email to our friends and family, and think it just as appropriate to copy that message here, as I think it explains what I have to say quite well.
Dear friends,
It is with great pleasure that I inform you that Jon and I will be getting married in Frederick, Maryland, USA on Friday 23rd August this year, at a small private family ceremony.
Once we are married, we are going to (finally!) begin immigration proceedings so that I can move to the US permanently, so we can be together.
We anticipate that this will take anywhere up to a year. We intend to move to near Jon's family in Frederick, Maryland.
This first ceremony is going to be a basic one, because we need to get the ball rolling for immigration, but also because when we have more time and money we would actually like to have a Disney Fairytale Wedding at the Disneyland Resort in California.
We really want to have the time and resources to plan this properly, and unfortunately we can't do that right now.
Of course we'd already be married, but would instead have a commitment ceremony, which would reflect our ongoing pursuit of happiness and being together.
At that point, our extended family and friends would be welcome to join us in celebrating our marriage properly.
We appreciate all of your friendships, kindness and ongoing support.
If anyone would like to send gifts, we have actually chosen a small selection of charities which we feel support worthwhile causes, which you can donate to on our behalf. We have everything we could possibly need already, so your support of an organisation that funds a worthwhile cause means more to us.
The charities we have chosen are included at the end of this email.
Thank you all,
Best wishes, and kind regards,
Dan and Jon.
Our chosen charities:
For our UK/EU friends and family, you might want to consider these...
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/index.php (click the donate online button)
The Fox Project http://www.foxproject.org.uk/ (the right-hand panel has donation information)
Adopt an animal on our behalf from The British Wildlife Centre http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/planyourvisit/animaladoption.html (click for details of how to adopt)
Stonewall UK https://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_you_can_do/donate_to_stonewall/default.asp (lots of options for donating)
For our friends in the United States and Canada, you can donate to these...
The DOMA Project http://www.domaproject.org/donate
Animal Welfare Institute http://awionline.org/ (donate is on blue, on the left side)
Siamese Cat Rescue Center http://va.siameserescue.org/ (how to donate on the left)
The Trevor Project http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ (donate in the top right corner)
GLAAD http://www.glaad.org/ (donate in the top right corner)
Today I can officially make an announcement that I have been wanting to make for a couple of weeks now!
I sent out the following email to our friends and family, and think it just as appropriate to copy that message here, as I think it explains what I have to say quite well.
*
Dear friends,
It is with great pleasure that I inform you that Jon and I will be getting married in Frederick, Maryland, USA on Friday 23rd August this year, at a small private family ceremony.
Once we are married, we are going to (finally!) begin immigration proceedings so that I can move to the US permanently, so we can be together.
We anticipate that this will take anywhere up to a year. We intend to move to near Jon's family in Frederick, Maryland.
This first ceremony is going to be a basic one, because we need to get the ball rolling for immigration, but also because when we have more time and money we would actually like to have a Disney Fairytale Wedding at the Disneyland Resort in California.
We really want to have the time and resources to plan this properly, and unfortunately we can't do that right now.
Of course we'd already be married, but would instead have a commitment ceremony, which would reflect our ongoing pursuit of happiness and being together.
At that point, our extended family and friends would be welcome to join us in celebrating our marriage properly.
We appreciate all of your friendships, kindness and ongoing support.
If anyone would like to send gifts, we have actually chosen a small selection of charities which we feel support worthwhile causes, which you can donate to on our behalf. We have everything we could possibly need already, so your support of an organisation that funds a worthwhile cause means more to us.
The charities we have chosen are included at the end of this email.
Thank you all,
Best wishes, and kind regards,
Dan and Jon.
Our chosen charities:
For our UK/EU friends and family, you might want to consider these...
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/index.php (click the donate online button)
The Fox Project http://www.foxproject.org.uk/ (the right-hand panel has donation information)
Adopt an animal on our behalf from The British Wildlife Centre http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/planyourvisit/animaladoption.html (click for details of how to adopt)
Stonewall UK https://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_you_can_do/donate_to_stonewall/default.asp (lots of options for donating)
For our friends in the United States and Canada, you can donate to these...
The DOMA Project http://www.domaproject.org/donate
Animal Welfare Institute http://awionline.org/ (donate is on blue, on the left side)
Siamese Cat Rescue Center http://va.siameserescue.org/ (how to donate on the left)
The Trevor Project http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ (donate in the top right corner)
GLAAD http://www.glaad.org/ (donate in the top right corner)
Friday, 28 June 2013
The Color Purple
Hello everyone,
This blog entry isn't about Alice Walker's acclaimed lesbian novel (as much as I love it!), it's just the title seemed apt somehow!
I was looking on the internet for websites that list gay friendly wedding venues.
I found Purple Unions, and although it looks a bit cheesy on the outset, actually has a wealth of information.
For example, Jon and I are looking to get married in Maryland.
So, I selected the USA-MD option from the locator, and selected Officiants as the venue search category (you can search everything from photographers, receptions venues and ministers to conduct the ceremony), and it brought up all the venues in Maryland that are listed as gay friendly.
If there's anyone out there who doesn't know where to start looking, then definitely check it out!
Dan.
This blog entry isn't about Alice Walker's acclaimed lesbian novel (as much as I love it!), it's just the title seemed apt somehow!
I was looking on the internet for websites that list gay friendly wedding venues.
I found Purple Unions, and although it looks a bit cheesy on the outset, actually has a wealth of information.
For example, Jon and I are looking to get married in Maryland.
So, I selected the USA-MD option from the locator, and selected Officiants as the venue search category (you can search everything from photographers, receptions venues and ministers to conduct the ceremony), and it brought up all the venues in Maryland that are listed as gay friendly.
If there's anyone out there who doesn't know where to start looking, then definitely check it out!
Dan.
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