Leaving the comfort zone

“When are you leaving?”, “Will I get to see you before you leave?” are some of the questions I’ve been asked over the past couple of days. So, what are my plans? First of all I’m going to Seattle for two weeks (from Friday June 26th until Sunday July 12th). That leaves me about one month to activate my Green Card, which has to happen before August 16th. I’ll hit the States in Philadelphia. That’s where I have to hand over my x-rays and a sealed document the American Embassy gave me. I’ll also be fingerprinted one more time. I hope this procedure doesn’t take too long as I only have one hour and a half until my flight for Seattle leaves.

Once I reach Seattle I’ll try to figure out how and where I will live and how much I should expect to pay for rent. Should I try to find a small place just for me or is it common to share a house or a flat? Which are the better areas to find decent housing? Other questions abound of course. Are employers likely to welcome Europeans during this time of economic crisis? Where are the tech/web companies based and are they still recruiting? I’ll have two weeks to take my first steps towards finding a job. I’ll also have to do some research on pretty basic things: opening a bank account, choosing an Internet provider and getting myself properly insured.

After those two weeks I’ll come back to Belgium and spend three more weeks working for my current employer. In August I’m staying in Antwerp to move out of my apartment and store my furniture. I’ll also be organizing a house leaving – or should I say  country leaving – party! Starting August I will be jobless. By the middle of August I will also be car-less, because I have to return my car then. Finally by the beginning of September I will be homeless as my lease ends on 31st August.

Of course, all this hasn’t yet answered the question when I intend to actually leave. The answer is: I don’t know yet. I’ll buy a ticket when I return from Seattle, but buying tickets short notice can be very expensive, especially off during the summer peak. I guess prices will start to be reasonable come September or maybe a little later. Actually, I’m not required to actually move to the States until February 2010, but as I will be homeless and jobless in Belgium, I’d just as soon leave as soon as tickets are affordable.

Once I’ve left my apartment I’ll probably have to stay with family or friends for a short while. You can see that as couch surfing I’d prefer to stay in the larger cities such as Antwerp, Ghent or Brussels so that I have easy access to public transportation to go for drinks with locals friends or catch a train to another city. If you happen to have a spare room, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail (myfirstname at barclaey dot com). I promise I’ll do the dishes, water the plants and play with the cat (or hamster) while you guys are at work! Oh, and if you trust me, I’ll mow the lawn and light the BBQ if the summer has finally started by then.

In brief:

• June 26th – July 12th: Two weeks in Seattle to activate my Green Card.
• July 12th – July 31st: Last three weeks at work.
• July 31st – August 17th: Last two weeks with a car.
• Mid August: House leaving party!
• July 31st – September 1st: Moving out of my apartment.
• September 1st till departure: Couchsurfing with family/friends.
• As yet undecided: Moving to the States

Green light

Many people ask me how I got my Green Card. The answer seems simple: I won the lottery. That suggests you write down your name somewhere and then wait if you ‘get lucky’ and receive a card.  Most people have heard about the Green card lottery, but it is actually called the Diversity Program and it’s a lot more like a competition than like a lottery.  Ten million people applied for the DV2009 program. 100.000 (including 82 Belgians) made it to the ’second round’ and about 50.000 people  made it to the end and received a Green Card.

Without really realizing what I was doing I filled out the on line application form on December 2nd, 2007, only two hours before the deadline. I hit submit and forgot about the application almost straight away. Four months later, in March 2008, I found a big white envelope in my mailbox which remained unopened for a couple of days. It said “Kentucky Consular Service”, which made me think of fried chicken. When I opened the letter, I didn’t really understand what I was reading at first. The language was pretty official. The document said I had been selected to take part in the DV2009 and described what I had to do next. It also informed me that my case number was 13xxx. Case numbers are randomly selected, so that part could be called a lottery.

After doing a bit of research I realized I had a great number! Even if all 13xxx-1 preceding me successfully completed their procedure I would still be under the 50.000 cap. I read the document over and over to make sure I really understood what I was diving into. It took me several months to complete all the forms attached to the letter and I finally filed everything in July 2008.

In January 2009 I received a new set of forms and a date for an interview at the American Embassy. I never thought I would get this far so I hadn’t gone through the trouble of collecting all the required documents. Now I had only about six weeks left to gather everything. I had to rush!  I had to provide a copy of all my diplomas,  a birth certificate, a blank police certificate, a military certificate, a bank statement and a clean bill of health. Next I had to visit a doctor for a physical exam and provide the results of blood work and a chest x-ray. And finally all those documents had to  be translated by a certified sworn translator.

Mid-February this year I drove to Brussels to hand in my paperwork and to finalize the procedure, which took about two hours. In the end this was the trickiest part of all the steps. One missing document or signature would be enough to get me out of the running. One signature was declared ‘not original’ because it was printed and my bank statements weren’t certified. I thought that would be the end of it, but I got the green light.  Next up was a short interview, finger printing and handing over of $750. A special document was stapled in my passport. From that moment on I had six months to travel to the States to receive and activate the actual card. I have until August 16th, 2009.

The whole procedure took 1,5 years but it didn’t require a lot of effort from my side. Counting the fee and all the costs to get the right documents, I spent about 1.100 euros. That seems a lot, but compared to what I get in return it really isn’t.  I get to live and work in a country with more than 300 million people with incredibly diverse backgrounds. If you factor in that this country has a reputation for being extremely difficult to get into, you’ll quickly understand that card is worth a whole lot more than 1.100 euros.

Wild card

Whether we like it or not, we’re all facing change. Like most of you I was watching from the sidelines, until I suddenly found myself right in the middle of it. My job as an Interactive Art Director ended last April. Openhere – an advertising agency based in Antwerp – hired me in March 2008 as their first Interactive Art Director. Everything was great then. I worked on on line projects for Eastpak, Rabobank, Het Belang Van Limburg, 4FM, Scripta, Me by Metro, DLA Piper, Netmining and Bicky. Then the crisis started. Our clients canceled projects for on line campaigns and budgets quickly dried up.

We expected the financial crisis to boost digital advertising, but it didn’t. Only agencies that specialized in this field during the past few years are doing well. More traditional agencies focus on their core business in order to survive and just like advertising agencies the whole media sector has had to slim down. This resulted in staff cuts at newspaper, television and even web production companies. We’re all wondering when this will come to an end. Some say this September, but others think it will take at least another year.

Fortunately, the news is not all bad. I’ve been lucky enough to pull a wild card last February and I intend to make good use of it. To be more specific: I obtained a Green Card and I am now free to work and reside in the United States. This comes in handy now that I have to look for another job. The timing is a bit unfortunate, because moving to the States in the midst of a recession doesn’t seem all that great, but it’s not like I’ve got anything to lose. I’m sure I’ll benefit from the highly innovative environment, enjoy the much lower tax rates and get to know the Americans a lot better.