So Long, Farewell

Children: SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT.
Marta: I HATE TO GO AND LEAVE THIS PRETTY SIGHT.

VANCOUVER - I could just let the inspired lyrics of The Sound of Music and the curtain-clad von Trapp kids speak for me. But that would be too cheesy and abstract. So. I moved to Vancouver three weeks ago and here's why.

Where to begin. At last count we were trying to start a women's science magazine in Londontown. And we were doing pretty well. We took some knocks, but life was good to us and we collected hilarious stories like toddlers do germs. That was until we hit the wide red tape of the British Home Office. See, Anna and I are Canadian/American citizens. And right now we can't get the visas that let us stay in the UK, own a business, and work for it. The best options were to marry a native or win the lottery so we could afford the £200,000 business visas.

Next up was the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa. And while we're both skilled and very much migrant, we weren't very "highly" so. Yes, we could have bided our time for a year or so, taken high paying jobs that would score us those extra points but the only point that mattered to us is that we're ready to do this now. And there are two perfectly fine countries where we have citizenship that will let us do what the UK will not.

Children: SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, ADIEU
Friedrich: ADIEU, ADIEU, TO YIEU AND YIEU AND YIEU

So we're booting ourselves out of the country. And it's sad. Very sad. And it's been hard. Very very hard. Everyone has been so very generous to us that it kills us to kiss them goodbye. Whether it's Terry, the amazo market research guru, our stellar TV pals, Alex, the plush publisher, Piers, a prince of a man, Bernard, of the Coaches-and-Horses priceless advice, and last but the very opposite of least the phenomenal potential investors who were ready to put stock in our insane venture. Not to mention all the marvellous kids in London who made life there lovable and colorful and warm and cozy.

Children: SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE
Kurt: I LEAVE AND HEAVE A SIGH AND SAY GOODBYE -- GOODBYE!
Brigitta: I'M GLAD TO GO, I CANNOT TELL A LIE
Louisa: I FLIT, I FLOAT, I FLEETLY FLEE, I FLY
Gretl: THE SUN HAS GONE TO BED AND SO MUST I

So I've parked my rejected dejected ass in Vancouver until Anna comes to join me in mid-July at which point we'll descend into further mania by deciding where to set up our magazine shop - New York? SF? Our basement? The web? The inky circus will keep on performing though. We're just slowly but surely spanning the globe and more time zones doing so. That's all.

Children:
SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE
GOODBYE, GOODBYE, GOODBYE

A misty and belated bye bye to Britain's fair shores and hullo land of wide lanes, purple furry mountains, and driftwood.

Guests:
GOODBYE!

Comments

[Katie]

Sob. A pox on my (formerly) beloved homeland. Damn you Charles Clark / John Reid / ?

This post looks like it's the fault of me and my Krispy Kreme donut that Anne left. Lies and slander. I did everything I could to help her stay. I even wrote to Gordon Brown. Vancouver is so lucky. Boo hoo.

[sara]

Great post! Complete with a catchy tune and fun photos, I love it!

[Eva]

Aww, that sucks. I know exactly how you feel: I'm already panicking now because once I graduate (in less than 2 years) I have to leave Canada and go back to Europe, or somewhere else, or stay, but for the latter two I need a job offer. I can apply for permanent resident in Canada, but that too is a big decision.
I once decided that it would be perfect if there were no borders at all, anywhere. It would cut down greatly on the number of wars, and everyone could live wherever they wanted!

But I know you'll figure it out with your magazine. It will all work out, really!

[Mijke]

For what it's worth, welcome to Vancouver! It's really quite nice here once you get over the it's-not-europe and my-friends-aren't-here bits. We're lucky to have you.

[MT]

Aw! Well, as an emotional investor, I still expect a return, so you do it wherever and however spread out on Earth you have to! And I want to read two thousand words on the science of Nanaimo bars or some other appropriately Canadian content. Neil Young doesn't count.

[donna]

I figure I'll end up in Vancouver one of these days. I'm so sick of SoCal.....

Best of luck with your venture - hope you'll keep up the web site, though - I love it...

[Sean Carroll]

Britain's loss, North America's gain. Sorry to hear about the troubles, it all sounds like a completely pointless mess. But I'm sure the bigger picture will keep moving forward.

[Amara]

Geez. Anna and Anne, UK has one of the most open borders in Europe. I'm surprised and distressed to hear about your experiences. If you had made an open call to your readers, then I, for one, would have written a strong and persuasive letter to the British ministry that you contribute in valuable and unique ways to the scientific arena; I consider you both more than 'highly skilled'.

And yes, I can commiserate; the Italian government considers me (twenty years working in astronomy with a PhD) no different than a person who just floated here on a boat, because they make _no distinction_ between skilled and unskilled immigrants. Coupled with the country-wide unliveable salaries, I'm making preparations to move away too.

Politicians are the most stupid apes on this planet. :-(

[James]

Hey guys - Sorry we kicked you out, but don't give up! You guys kick ass - and remember, if you ever decide to write a book instead of a magazine, get in touch with me!

[candace]

Immigration is a bitch.

Signed,
Someone in London who did the UK work permit song and dance, and now won't take her British husband back to the mothership in the US because getting a green card would take AGES plus any potential firstborn, a pound of flesh, and a middling-to-fair chunk of change that I'd rather spend on something else.

[Jonny]

I've also done the UK work permit shenanigans, and they're hideous hideous hideous. My infinite sympathies, then. During my eight-month visa saga, I ranted about my troubles to all and sundry and found that most Britons were shocked to find out how their visa system actually works. It's so demoralising to learn that it's all an exercise in box ticking, and I think the UK's poorer for it (especially to have lost 2/3 of InkyCircus).

But I'm glad you're continuing the mania in Canada. And you've made it back in time for the Quirks & Quarks question show! Always a geeky mainstay.

[Amara]

I'm still waiting for the renewal of my Italian permit-of-stay that I made in November 2003! You 'northerners' at least have a system that didn't collapse... (yet)

[Peter McGrath]

We need talented people with a passion to communicate science here not on flights elsewhere. Bollocks (if that's not wholly inappropriate) to the Home Office.

[Anna]

Bollocks, indeed. Bullshit, actually.

Thanks for everybody's kind words. Unfortunately, our plight seems sadly commmon. A globalised world, but still with the sticky borders. At least we are all equal citizens of the internet. That's what I like to think. One nation under DSL.

[Ken]

Anne, I'll miss speaking about cameras and photography to someone who was genuinely interested in what I had to say and actually asked questions back. Anna, I'll miss your ability to chat about an endless variety of high- and low-brow topics with equal ease. Katie, thank god one of you is still on these shores. Make sure you join us on the Londonist nights out.

All - good luck with the magazine. I have a feeling this international dimension will actually have a beneficial effect. (I've always been predisposed to seeking silver linings.)

[Sanescientist]

Hey, I'll marry both of you. You are both Mormons, I assume?

[Denise]

I just happened across your website and it rocks! I'm also American and I too got kicked out of England. Wankers! Now I'm trying to immigrate to Quebec. Two years on, I'm still in France waiting... Keep on nerding! You all rule!