Anxious Cat's Adventures

One cat mom's journey from ZA to the UK and helpful tips for others doing the same.

[anxiouscatadventures]

Hello :3

Thanks for checking out this blog. I'm hoping that this will help others find info that they're looking for or be able to ask questions with regards to moving from the RSA to the UK.

We always get told not to make the comparissons or do the currency conversion but for so many of us just heading over with very little, this just isn't possible sometimes.

I'll be posting comparison posts with regards to basic household items, foods and shops, I'll also be posting some general posts about the process of moving that I'm going through at the moment, adjusting to life in a completely new country and even some harsh realities about this move that so many people gloss over in order to keep it happiness and light.

Current move date is the 30th of Jan 2023.

T- 45 days

[anxiouscatadventures]

Two month update:

Settling into life over here a little more over here. The job search was going frustratingly badly for the most part and I was getting incredibly disheartend and upset to point I was applying for pretty much anything. I managed to get some interviews after about 6 weeks of manic applying. The first one was as an editor in a company that did theme park and seasonal shoots but despite the business premise being art based, the entire art departmentment was two people compared to the eleven people in IT department depsite the non-functional website. The next interview was for a fine dining establishment which was one of my rage-applications and surprisingly I actually thought I wasn't going to get the offer because I was subconcoiusly sabotaging myself in the interview. I was asked to come back to do a quieter shift on the Saturday and see how it went. It went great and I got a half-offer and asked to come in on Thursday to see the admin session and get the formal offer.

Still have another interview set up for tomorrow that it's too soon to cancel but I will take the restaurant job when I get the offer.

Life is slowing down a bit now that I asm msotly stable and established here so the next posts should be more mini-adventure focused until the parents follow me over here in a few months. New adventures await!

[anxiouscatadventures]

First drive!

This past month has basically flown by too quickly to really process it.

I managed to purchase a car and got an amazing deal on it. I also used the public transport system fro the first time since I got here. The little village where i'm cutrrently staying doesnt have its own busstop so being able to try that out hasnt really been a thing yet however, I needed to catch a train, then a tram and finally a bust to get to the dealership on the OTHER side of the nearest major city in order to fetch my car and finish paying th ebalance amount. I loved most of it! the train was pretty cool and I would love to travel that way more often when I get the chance. The tram was okay apart from the smell of frequent use by sweaty bodies. The bus was much like those in SA but much cleaner and nicer smelling.

I may have gone a little overboard on finally having access to amazon and a functional postal system.

I went on my first solo drive yesterday since bringing the car home. the weather wasnt great and i picked a less than ideal place to go to so getting out was a nightmare but still better than some places from SA.

[anxiouscatadventures]

I got a job interview!

It took 5 weeks from landing and only 1.5 weeks of active job seeking but today I did a telephonic interview and the interviewer liked my enthusiasm so much he wants to meet face-to-face in about two weeks for the next stage!

I'm not going to lie, this has been hard for me and each rejection letter has been a blow to my self-confidence and self-esteem to the point where i was regretting my tertiary education choices and my career path. Well, no longer! now I'm back on track but a little to the left! Even if i dont get hte job, I have renewed sense of determination nd can persevere. this is far more than I got in South Africa when i was actively looking for three years.

[anxiouscatadventures]

Week One

I have officially been UK side for one week now and heres a few things that happened.

It was very cold all of a sudden because I came from a three week long heat wave in RSA just to go straight into the beginning of Snow season in the UK.

got registered on the NHS and applied for my NI number.

Got myself a new, local cell number as well as a bank account.

I moved to an absolutely gorgeous area of the country even if it is a bit isolated.

The UK drivers are terrifying and I'm sitting here wondering if A) ill ever get used to it and B) I'll ever drive again.

Speaking of driving, because of the two points directly above this one, I have been struggling with feelings of Cabin fever and restriction as the areas I would like to explore are a bit far for just walking and my nearest bus stop is over an hour away by foot.

Walking: this is something I'm going to take some time to get used to because it wasnt something I could really do back in SA and I will wholeheartedly admit I am still looking over my shoulder all the time and whenever I hear someone come up behind me, I speed up. I have a friend who has moved to Japan last year and she says that she still sometimes does it to this day so that looks like it'll take some serious time to work through.

The few times I have gone out with my host family, I have been making notes about the products you can get in the shops here and the types of shops themselves so I will be posting some comparitive lists as I experience them.

I had my first real good cry about leaving SA on Sunday night when my parents phoned for their usual chat ut I was just seriously missing them and was upset that all the awesome new things I was experiencing, I was doing alone/not with them. I tell myslef that it's cool because now I have things to show them when they get here in a couple of months.

no lie, I am struggling a bit with the Host family's cooking as I have ARFID and I was also raised to not be an inconvenience in guests houses so....working on my communication skills with the family.

Lastly, working on getting a job. This is a little hard as I need remote only work due to the distance and lack of transport as well as being in the creative field as there are so many more requirements for applications but I have a goal to work towards.

[anxiouscatadventures]

I have only been here two days so far and already I am in love with how easy things are.

Went to Aldi and didnt stand in massive queues just to get servcie, everything was where it said it was nad, my personal fave, ALL the shelf-talkers were there and accurate!

Applied for my NI number online and it took 5 minutes as opposed tothe literal DAYS Home Affairs can take.

Filled in my NHS forms nd will hand those in sometime this week.

Off to Ikea for the fisrt time for some little things I unfortunately had to leave behind.

[anxiouscatadventures]

I'm Here!

I didnt have the most pleasant flights and I didnt get much sleep but nothing went wrong and for my first time travelling, I didnt make any major errors! Givent he chance, I would fly with a different airline purely for the food. Emirates, I have a very bland palette and even your mashed potatoes were too spicy, sorry.

Next step is to get my National Insurance, NHS, Cell phone and Drivers license sorted so that I can go exploring and find work. I have chatted to those back home in SA and everyone has been super encouraging.

I have been having minor bouts of dizzyness and exhaustion but have also been told that it's to be expected. I finally have and Amazon account and have started making wishlists which is cool.

[anxiouscatadventures]

Only a couple hours out from my departure and I have been a MESS emotionally.

Everyone I have told has been super enthusiastic a d excited about it and the common phrase I hear is, "you must be so excited!"

Truth is, I'm not.

I'm not excited about leaving my family (furbabies especially). I'm not excited about leaving my friends.

I'm not excited about throwing myself into a situation where I have NO CLUE what's safe and not, what areas to avoid etc. Any South African can probably agree that moving to new environment and not 'just KNOWING' is pretty scary.

I am looking forward to all the cool new experiences and not looking over my shoulder in paranoia.

The fact is that this is a MAJOR life event and it's not possible for it to be purely positive.

While I was aware of how I would likely react to this massive change (serious anxiety and major flip-flopping in the decision process) and decided to seek therapy to help me cope, I could not actually account for the magnitude of the emotions I'm currently feeling on-and-off.

I'm using the tools I have been taught in therapy to try to acknowledge these feelings but not get overwhelmed by them. This can be difficult if not everyone in your life is self aware and uses their feelings of your leaving against you, intentionally or not. However, be aware of this and try to separate your journey from their emotions. Your own emotions are hard enough to interpret.

[anxiouscatadventures]

A brief thought on Packing

Trying to figure out where to start with packing can be difficult especially if, like me, you want to get started a couple WEEKS out from your flight date.

Another issue i'm currently having is living in a country where it's summer but gets very chilly with the rain, which is frequent, and moving to a country that is currently experiencing winter. I am constantly going into my packed boxes of winter clothes to get out longer, warmer items in order to stay warm in my current situation.

A great way to get into the packing mindset is by packing things that wont be immediately needed/ following you to the new country.

Another thing I like to do is create smaller packing lists. e.g. make up, nailcare, basic toiletries etc,. What i like to do is pack these smaller kits and keep them easy to access but then put the item back into the kit so you can throw them into the overall luggage at the last mintue before flying!.

[anxiouscatadventures]

6 Days to go!

I have repacked the same four boxes I am taking over multiple times now and i anticipate unpacking and reopacking twice more.

I just want to make sure I take everything I think I'll need and am also weather ready!

As i do this, however, i am also trying t ogo through the items I am leaving behind for shipping over later and trying to down scale them but sorting what can be donated and what needs to just get trashed out of the things I'll be taking over later.

[anxiouscatadventures]

Docs and Double Checks

Before you even begin packing, making sure that you have all your documents in order is stressful enough.

Heres my list for you'll need.

Passport(s)*

Airline tickets - best to have these printed out in 2-3 copies.

Visa/ Letter of Sponsorship/ Proof of Vocation

Medical info - at the time of this posting, some countries are/were still requesting proof of negative test or proof of vaccination due to the recent COVID-19 Pandemic.

Follow on to medical info, please ensure that if you have allergies of any degree of severity or any other medical conditions that you might be at risk of in the air, you have documentation and/or medic-alert bracelets and treatment options on hand.

IDs

Qualifications and certification certificates. - this includes High School Certificates and any tertiary-/post-secondary qualifications you have obtained

Double checks:

In case you forgot the blog's URL, this is my experience as an anxious person traveling solo for the first time. As such I double and triple check many things and I ask questions if even the littlest bit of ambiguity could change the situation due to misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

Double check which comes first - passport or visa(if necessary)

Double check how long you have to input your passport info after purchasing your ticket

Double check if the airline counts a sperate laptop bag as carry-on luggage or if it isnt counted and you can then bring it seperate to your carry on.

Double check what medication you can take overseas and how much of it. - Some countries dont allow certain medications to be taken over as they are considered a different schedule in the destination country ( E.g. Japan doesn't sell ibuprofen over-the-counter, you need a prescription)

Double check what the typical temps and climate/weather conditions are for your destination country are so that you can pack and plan your plane outift appropriately.

[anxiouscatadventures]

PSA

Do not watch a week straight of Seconds from disaster aleternating with Aircrash Investigations when you are 30 days out from your next international flight.

Happy New Year of anxiety. TT

(MomCat says to not let any parental figures watch any form of Taken, Manifest etc.)

In the next post, Im going to do a pre-flight document and double-check checklist.

[bakugowearscrocs]

I really really hope people go see Barbie in theaters wearing hyperfeminine barbie type clothing like how people wore suits for the minions

[anxiouscatadventures]

Doing this!

[anxiouscatadventures]

We get so much advice on buying tickets further I advance in order to cash in on the cheapest options available to us. This is a great idea EXCEPT when, like myself, you leave to kinda the last minute nd decide to buy your ticket while you are 3 days into a 7 day vacation and at least a 6 hour drive away from the passport you need for that ticket.

I fan only speak for Emirates but apparently even after paying for your fare completely, you o ly have 72hours to provide your pasportdetail or you lose the booking an te fare already paid in.

I found absolutely no metion of this on their elite or during the booking process t all and I personally think thi is a massive misstep but it's not something only one person can do.

Here's how I found out. And solved the problem:

I went I to "Manage a Booking" on the website just to confirm that the booking had been made.

I saw that the reservation had been made but "not ticketed yet". As it was almost 11pm, I decide to phone my local ticketing office in the morning when they opened for business.

I pho Ed and asked what the difference was and they informed me that until the passport info was provided, they could not confirm the booking or issue my flight ticket.

Thinking I had about a week to do this(because I personally think taking a week to provide passport deets for a flight only happening at the END OF January is reasonable), I just asked the customer services agent to confirm my thoughts. THIS is where I was informed that I had only 72 hours and no recourse after that period, my option were forfeit the R8200 fares, cancel with a R2500 penalty or provide my passport details using magic. I was blessed with my housesitter being willing to help me out by sending me a picture of my passport so I would have the info needed to confirm my booking ithout losing it.

I have been a little anxious since then which leads to me checking to ensure my booking is still there whenever I wake up but so far no issues.

Basically, this long ass post is me saying, make sure you have your passport on hand when booking your tix so that you don't even have to wait 1 hour, let alone 72hours.

[xoxo-lyss]

[quotemadness]

“The people who believe they’ll be happy if they go and live somewhere else … learn it doesn’t work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.”

— Neil Gaiman

[anxiouscatadventures]

THe first thing to remember about international immigration is that you don't miraculously change who you are. I was aware of this and realised that my severe social anxiety, social awkwardness and general anxiety could be major roadblocks to being able to not only adapt to, but also enjoy this new chapter in my life. I chose to seek a behavioural therapist in order to be able to recognise my behaviours for what they are and to develop some coping mechanisms.

Developing coping mechanisms is integral to moving from the RSA to the UK because the countries are so different in so many aspects, and the stress alone of moving could make for a very upsetting time when you get overwhelmed by the changes and differences.