So, Why Are We in Scotland Anyway?

 

I get a lot of questions asking why we are in Scotland. So, let me tell you the story.

Luis' parents are from Portugal. They moved to Venezuela when they got married at the age of 19.  They lived there for 50 years and had two sons. 7 years ago they went back to Portugal to visit family, and called their sons in Venezuela and told them they weren't coming back. Luis was 32 and his brother was 43. They took the next year and packed up their belongings, and tried to sell their homes, get their paperwork, and moved to Portugal.

The reason they left Venezuela was because of all the political uncertainty there. Venezuela is a socialist country.  I don't know what it is like to live in a Dictatorship. But he does.  It is a scary place to be right now.  They wanted a better life. So they moved back to their homeland of Portugal.

Luis spent about 6 months looking for a job in Portugal with NO luck.  He is the only member of his family to have a college degree and had supported the whole family financially prior to moving.  He wasn't having any luck.  So he broadened his horizons and found work in Scotland.  He packed himself up in just ONE bag, and moved to Scotland.

Luis and I began to chat online about this time. He hadn't been  living in Scotland very long. His English was a hoot! We did the online dating thing, traveling back and forth as much as we could afford, for about a year when Luis asked me to marry him.

He had a good job here in Scotland and I had a good job in Utah. Where would we live? We looked at VISA options.  Getting a VISA to come to the USA was a lot of work.  We'd be lucky if we were married in the next year or two, and the cost was HUGE.  Something we just didn't have at the time.  So, it was a lot cheaper and easier to get a Residence Visa for me here in Scotland.  I was excited for the new adventure.  I moved to Scotland 3 days after we were married. I brought only two bags with me.

When we first moved here I honestly thought that we'd only be here for a year or two max. Then we'd go to America. Live a life there. I never in a million years thought we'd make this home. But we have. Luis has a different job now and we live in a different city too. We have a baby now! We have a life here. Are there times when I think about living in the USA? Sure. Though with every passing year I think of it less. Scotland is home for now.