Hi! My name is Kaitlyn and I live in London. Oooohh, just saying (okay, writing) those words gives me chills! You see, living in London has been my dream since I was a red-curly-haired, sassy little 7-year-old. Around that time, my mom visited London for the first time and sent home a postcard with the quaintest photo of a bright red telephone booth and Big Ben looming in the background. If you’ve ever googled London images, you probably know exactly the shot I’m talking about (I included an example below, in case you haven’t. But just imagine it without us and a little more artsy). I couldn’t believe places like that actually existed! And even more, that people actually lived there. It all seemed so fantastical and far away, like the fantasy novels I was obsessed with.

There is a LOT of preparation that goes into a move like this. Moves are daunting no matter what, but add the international bit and it often felt impossible. I had no idea how exhausting and emotionally taxing it would be. Sitting in the airport, waiting to board the flight from SLC to London, Tanner and I agreed that if we had known how difficult the process was going to be when we started it, we likely would not have had the courage to follow through. Having been in London a month or so now, though, we’re absolutely positive it was worth it.

Of course, we had to sort out the necessary logistics first. That included getting rid of all our belongings except those that would fit into the 6 bags we would be taking to Europe, applying for VISAS, and finding a place to live.

We either sold or gave away everything we owned except for skeleton wardrobes and a few books before leaving Utah. We knew that we couldn’t wait until the last minute to sell everything because I was scheduled to take the Bar Exam only a few days before leaving and there was no possible way we could get rid of everything, pack, and move in such a short time. Instead, we sold our apartment lease early and moved into Tanner’s parents for the summer. (Which was very generous of them, considering they had only finally become empty nesters a few months earlier). Once we decided to sell our lease, they only gave us 4 days to be out, so we went from owning enough to fill a home, to owning only enough to fit in 6 small bags practically overnight.

While cleaning out the apartment in those 4 days, my brain did some incredible compartmentalizing. I’m a minimalist and a hardcore practitioner of the ConMarie Method (Marie Condo’s only-keep-what-sparks-joy method), so I genuinely loved everything we owned. Yet, I had no trouble getting rid of most of it. Later, I realized that my brain was letting go of certain things easily because it was preparing for more emotionally taxing decisions. For example, I got rid of all the kitchenware and decor I had so carefully curated without a second thought because I knew that I was going to have to sort through my closet and books later. Turns out I’m not as attached to my colorful bowls as I thought, but much more attached to our small library than I thought. A good way to learn what’s important to me, I guess!

It was interesting to see how that compartmentalization also extended to relationships in my life. Initially, I was pleasantly surprised with how smoothly goodbyes to friends were going. I felt confident that we would stay in touch and didn’t feel too weepy or devastated (unusual for me, since I tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve and embrace it openly). Of course, I again later realized that my brain had simply been preparing for the worst: saying goodbye to my family.

Tanner and I have spent every Sunday for the last 5 years of our marriage switching off between Sunday dinners at the Wright’s and the Powell’s. We LIVE to cheer on our nieces and nephews at their soccer games, bring flowers to their dance recitals, and sing them to sleep after a long day of playing together. Some of my happiest memories live in dinner dates with my Powell and Wright siblings, where we laughed ourselves silly. And there is nothing more comforting than being close to 2 sets of parents who make you feel completely and unconditionally loved. This was by far the hardest part of the move. Safe to say that the majority of my creative juices over the next few years will be dedicated to finding fun ways to stay in touch and make sure those people know how much I love them.

Other than saying goodbye to our family, the second worst–and only slightly less emotional–thing we had to figure out was the dreaded VISA application. The process was tedious and nothing short of infuriating. It required years of addresses, employment history, references, and other documentation proving Tanner and I’s identity and marital status. The fact that we moved (no joke) EIGHT times between 2020 and 2021 made for a particularly grueling information scavenger hunt. (Covid really did a number on us for a year or so). Once we completed the VISA application, we had to get our biometric scans, mail our passports to New York, and wait for our shiny new VISAs to be mailed back. Even after starting them months in advance, we only got them back 1-2 weeks prior to moving. So, that leads to my first pro tip: If you need a VISA, start early! Waiting is stressful at best and excruciating and costly at worst, depending on how far you push it.

Pro Tip #1: Start your VISA early!

While Tanner took the lead on VISAs, I spearheaded the search for a place to live. I thought apartment hunting in a college town was ridiculously intense (I once showed up at someone’s door with a plate of cookies and $100 just 5 minutes after she posted the apartment for rent and begged her to let me take it), but London was almost as competitive. By some miracle, I found a well-respected agent in the area who took great care of us. We have since learned that many people have terrible experiences with agents here, but ours was communicative, helpful, and honest. She helped us find a flat in an area I was already familiar with and close to the London Business School, where Tanner will spend the majority of his time. It’s a beautiful, bright little third-floor flat near Kensington and Hyde Park. We actually signed the lease before ever seeing the flat in person (which I would not necessarily recommend, but luckily, it worked out for us) and, having been here a few weeks now, we can’t imagine a more perfect location!

Pro Tip #2: Prepare financially.

While there are a few alternate options, the up-front payment is very common and discourages a lot of people from moving here. In our case, we were fortunate enough to have student loans to help cover living costs, but otherwise, it would have been a massive burden.

When moving day finally came, it went pretty smoothly. We cried as we hugged our nieces and nephews and promised to stay in touch with our siblings. Then, we headed to the airport, checked our 4 little bags, breezed through security, and embarked on the long trek to the B-Gates at the Salt Lake City airport. The flight to JFK was smooth, though I do distinctly remember thinking What in the world am I doing right now? The is nuts! several times.

A short layover at JFK gave us just enough time to grab some food, stretch our legs, and download an eSIM card for the UK. That, my friends, brings us to pro tip #3: eSIM cards rock! They make international data access basically seamless. I simply downloaded the eSIM card while waiting at JFK, deactivated my USA SIM card before turning on airplane mode for the flight, and then, when we landed in London, just switched on the UK SIM card. That simple! They have options for calls and messaging or data only, so you can get what you need for a reasonable price. I will never travel internationally without using an eSIM card again!

Pro Tip #3: eSIM cards are an essential.

After switching on the UK eSIM card, I messaged our agent and let her know we were on our way to pick up our keys, ordered an Uber, and in about a half hour, we arrived at our new home.

Our London adventure could wait because we had some serious stress to sleep off. When we woke up at noon the next day, we had no idea exactly how big of an adventure had just begun.