©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
in the spirit of making someone else's experience smoother...
As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband and I are in the process of getting visas for the UK. Because it has been a confusing process at times with several unpleasant surprises, I though I'd put up some info and some links to help other people who are thinking of doing the same thing. Although some of this stuff will apply to people from other countries, this will be mostly relevant to Canadians who want to work in the United Kingdom.
This site is run by the UK boarder Agency. It has info about visas and can help you figure out which visa you need:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/
The visa we need is called a tier 5 youth mobility scheme. It's for people aged 18 to 30 who want to work in the UK to subsidize their holiday. It's good for 2 years, but you can only work part time.
This is the main site that you'll need and I really wish we had come across it sooner because it was the most helpful:
www.visainfoservices.com
Until we found this site, we didn't know that we needed to have biometrics done as part of the application process. There are only 4 places in Canada where you can have this done - fortunately one of those places is in Edmonton, which is only about 3 hours away.
I also stumbled onto this site which I think is a really good one. It has information about stuff you need to know about living in the UK, like the cost of food and shelter, how to open a bank account, and so on.
http://www.workingholidayinfo.com
One thing that isn't mentioned anywhere until you're halfway through filling out the on-line application form is that in addition to your current passport number, if you've had a previous passport you also require that number. When I renewed my passport, I checked the box to keep my old one so this wasn't an issue for me. However, my husband didn't have his old passport. You can get old numbers from Access Canada, but it takes time. We waited 3 weeks for it to arrive by courier - not fun when your documents are all time sensitive and the application is supposed to be sent off 3 months before you want to leave.
We're almost finished at this point. I'm just hoping that we filled everything out properly and that our visas will be approved and will arrive before we need to leave. Fingers crossed.
This site is run by the UK boarder Agency. It has info about visas and can help you figure out which visa you need:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/
The visa we need is called a tier 5 youth mobility scheme. It's for people aged 18 to 30 who want to work in the UK to subsidize their holiday. It's good for 2 years, but you can only work part time.
This is the main site that you'll need and I really wish we had come across it sooner because it was the most helpful:
www.visainfoservices.com
Until we found this site, we didn't know that we needed to have biometrics done as part of the application process. There are only 4 places in Canada where you can have this done - fortunately one of those places is in Edmonton, which is only about 3 hours away.
I also stumbled onto this site which I think is a really good one. It has information about stuff you need to know about living in the UK, like the cost of food and shelter, how to open a bank account, and so on.
http://www.workingholidayinfo.com
One thing that isn't mentioned anywhere until you're halfway through filling out the on-line application form is that in addition to your current passport number, if you've had a previous passport you also require that number. When I renewed my passport, I checked the box to keep my old one so this wasn't an issue for me. However, my husband didn't have his old passport. You can get old numbers from Access Canada, but it takes time. We waited 3 weeks for it to arrive by courier - not fun when your documents are all time sensitive and the application is supposed to be sent off 3 months before you want to leave.
We're almost finished at this point. I'm just hoping that we filled everything out properly and that our visas will be approved and will arrive before we need to leave. Fingers crossed.
Monday, April 27, 2009
accordion player
It feels like forever since I've had a chance to do any drawing. I took some time during my lunch break today to draw this little guy. For whatever reason I've been wanting to draw an accordion lately...
©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
Sunday, April 19, 2009
website update
I just updated the children's portfolio on my website with my new work. Check it out: jacquelinehudon.com .
Saturday, April 18, 2009
promo for the children's market
This promo ended up being very time consuming. I started working on it last fall in my free time - coming up with ideas in September, starting to paint the images in November and finally getting it printed a few weeks ago. I've always sent out postcards so I thought I'd try something a bit more involved this time, like a booklet. The folding of this piece is a bit complex and it's taken me about 5 hours to fold 60 of them. I'm pretty happy with how it all came together and I'm hoping it will lead to some new clients. I'll be mailing them this week.
©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
©2009 Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
our house is now for sale
Since the last time I wrote we have been busily cleaning, packing and fixing up our house. Even though the real estate market isn't very good right now, we're going to try to sell it. It really is a fantastic old house with lots of character in a great neighborhood and hopefully someone out there will think so too.
Here's some shots of the inside:
entrance / living room
living room
dinning room:
kitchen:
master bedroom:
Here's some shots of the inside:
entrance / living room
living room
dinning room:
kitchen:
master bedroom:
Friday, April 3, 2009
our adventure
Today was a big day for me.
After 5 years at my design job, I gave notice to my boss this morning that I'll be leaving. My husband and I are going on an adventure - we're moving to Europe at the end of July. We've been talking about doing this since we met and we're finally going through with it. It's scary to leave such a nice comfortable life but it's so exciting to take a risk and try something brand new. I'm really looking forward to experiencing other cultures, and all the art and history that Europe has to offer. I want to learn and grow and be inspired.
We haven't finalized exactly where in Europe we're going to live. We're in the process of applying for UK visas and hopefully there'll be time to apply for French visas as well, although as foreigners I'm not expecting that it will be easy for us to find jobs even with visas. Since we'll mostly be living off of our savings and we'd like to stay for as long as possible, we'll have to find an affordable place to live. Can anyone suggest a less expensive city or even a less expensive neighborhood within a city in the United Kingdom or France? Although I want to live cheaply, I don't want to live someplace where we don't feel safe.
Of course, I'll be bringing some of my art supplies so I can continue to illustrate while we're in Europe. And if someone wanted to offer me a picture book deal to work on while we're over there, that would be perfect :)
Our plane tickets are booked and we're in the process of getting visas, but there's still so much to do and figure out. I'll keep you posted.
After 5 years at my design job, I gave notice to my boss this morning that I'll be leaving. My husband and I are going on an adventure - we're moving to Europe at the end of July. We've been talking about doing this since we met and we're finally going through with it. It's scary to leave such a nice comfortable life but it's so exciting to take a risk and try something brand new. I'm really looking forward to experiencing other cultures, and all the art and history that Europe has to offer. I want to learn and grow and be inspired.
We haven't finalized exactly where in Europe we're going to live. We're in the process of applying for UK visas and hopefully there'll be time to apply for French visas as well, although as foreigners I'm not expecting that it will be easy for us to find jobs even with visas. Since we'll mostly be living off of our savings and we'd like to stay for as long as possible, we'll have to find an affordable place to live. Can anyone suggest a less expensive city or even a less expensive neighborhood within a city in the United Kingdom or France? Although I want to live cheaply, I don't want to live someplace where we don't feel safe.
Of course, I'll be bringing some of my art supplies so I can continue to illustrate while we're in Europe. And if someone wanted to offer me a picture book deal to work on while we're over there, that would be perfect :)
Our plane tickets are booked and we're in the process of getting visas, but there's still so much to do and figure out. I'll keep you posted.
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