I'll be applying for a nikkei visa as soon as my vital records arrive from the state this week. Our lawyer said Fukuoka (our destination) processes these very quickly, like three weeks. I'll have to resign from my job before the actual move but am hoping to keep it as long as possible before for the $$$, and ideally set up the apartment while on paid leave, and return to work a bit more and get the house ready to rent out, and then move. Is this just silly? God knows I don't want to fly back and forth…It seems a lot more stressful than necessary as I'm typing it out!
My lawyer mentioned we are free to travel back to the states after our COE is approved. The big wildcard is finding a place to stay. I've found someone who seems to be the perfect realtor for us–and he highly suggested UR apartments, but of course, we'd have to basically be there, ready to view, reserve, and pay for the apartment.
Does anyone have experience with the UR process and moving with school-age children? I understand our desired area is highly sought-after and it will likely be harder to find a unit but how long are we talking? Anyone have any idea what the average time it takes for someone to find a UR placement? I'd ask our realtor but I'm certain he's reluctant to have me rely on his guesses and we haven't officially hired him yet.
Any recommendations on how to get us all over here are welcome. We are leaning toward all applying together and then my husband staying back to work. Maybe me and the kids staying here to find a place and get them started in school…maybe we should just stay. I'd be burning annual leave I could get paid out…
I'm trying to balance a lot of factors here:
- i dread flying (and hate the idea of spending thousands on airfare back and forth)
- smooth transition for kids (intl school only has spot for my son atm – i am open to public schools)
- leaving as soon as possible but making as much $$ as possible
- husband needs to stay in states until 3/7 – we can manage living apart for a few months
Thank you for your thoughts!
by cinziacinzia