One-way tickets

We flew on one-way plane tickets from Seattle to Toulouse this week.

I thought we’d be reeling under the shock of the transition, and the finality of our decision to return to Europe. We closed the door on a great decade of our lives, including a comfortable and stimulating environment, an interesting and rewarding job, and very valued friendships. Before the flight, Magali and I had nightmares that we would come back to Seattle with our tails between our legs, because for example of a major family row, or my failure to ramp up at Google.

Now that we’re here though, we still feel reasonably confident.

Unlike when I married, changed jobs, and bought a condo in the single month of December 2000, this move is drawn out. This gives us time to get used to the changes.

Three months ago, I left my job. I thought I would miss it terribly. I was proud to be on a hard-working and successful team, and relished doing my part to make the pieces of our software work, and work together. In May, I lost access to my team and a big network of talented people. I expected some sort of withdrawal symptoms, but it turns out I was already used to the idea since I knew I’d be leaving since January.

One month ago, we sold our condo. I dropped by the last evening to drop off our keys and lock the unit from the outside, and that was the last time I would ever be in it. However, most of the emotion had already been spent. We had received the offer and moved out a month earlier, when the movers had packed our belongings. After that, we had spent several days at the unit organizing and giving away or selling what was left behind.

During this time, we also closed bank accounts (including the first-ever accounts each of us opened in the States before we had met and married), sold our beloved Prius, bid our goodbyes every few days to friends whose kids will grow up months or years before we see them again, and many other events big and small.

Yet, the places we stay at, and the people we see, aren’t much different than any other summer in recent years. This will change next week, when we ride on one-way train tickets to Zürich.

Are we gone yet?

We are moving to Bellevue, near Seattle, to Horgen, near Zurich, this summer.

We intend it to be a one-way trip. We are selling our house and car. Friends ask us every day when we fly out. Unfortunately, we couldn't say when, nor from where.

As the breadwinner, I have to be there on August 18, where I start my new job. Our son Simon should be there the same day, when he starts his new school. Magali isn't leaving any of us behind so she'll be there too. Leaving after August 12 would be unreasonable, because we wouldn't have time to land, receive and unpack our furniture, and have Simon and I attend the first day of our obligations.

Our family is spread throughout France (which is a big reason we're moving back), and we could have flied there as early as June 17, right after school ended. But we decided to spend the summer in the United States while we're here. We've been fleeing to France every summer after Simon's birth, and this was a golden opportunity to enjoy an area we love during its most glorious times of the year, and perhaps see other sights on the continent.

Our farewell picnic was on June 15, a surprisingly sunny weekend, and a success.

With a whole summer ahead of us, we decided to leave Seattle mid-July, and drive across the Unites States, to enjoy sites and parks we haven't seen before, and fly out from New York. We also decided to keep our Prius until then and sell it just before boarding the plane.

We collected travel tips from friends who had driven cross-country before, from Mexico to Quebec, or from Indianapolis to Seattle. Magali and I have already seen most of the southwest parks (Bryce, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, etc) so we were going to concentrate further east (Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, New Mexico, etc). We realized quickly that there wasn't much to see between Chicago and New York that that would occupy a 4-year-old without herculean efforts from his parents, so we decided to fly out from Chicago.

During this planning, we were having a grand time staying with Les Loulous. Simon enjoyed having playmates on hand so much that we extended our stay for a few days. Most of the places we wanted to visit were around Denver, and I was trying to find something interesting during the 12-hour drive between Denver and Chicago. We were thinking of driving no more than 4 hours a day on average, which meant three days. We started considering flying out from Denver.

We moved to house-sit a house in Wallingford over a very hot weekend. The basement of the house, with its guest room, was very comfortable while the main and upper floor were cooking. We spent the next few days hopping from wading pool to swimming pool to water park, with or without playdates for Simon. Magali realized we were going to visit deserts in the American South where temperatures were hotter still. This is when we decided to leave... from Seattle.

It does make selling house and car a lot easier.

Now we know where. We still don't know when. Our current thinking is August 4, but this is still a month away...