What?! Why are you moving across the world?

Well... why not? Eric has always dreamed about our family living abroad. In the last five years, while working for himself, Eric has mentioned the idea of moving to Europe several times just to “see what it’s like.” But when it really came down to it, I maintained the belief that moving our family across the ocean by ourselves, while being self-employed with a fluctuating income, would be a very expensive and risky thing to do. Call me crazy, but there were just too many unknowns. However when a good, steady job reared its head in Vienna, (with a company that would pay to move us, offer a steady income, and fill in a lot of the “unknowns”) and Eric mentioned it to me as a possibility, I was all ears. It’s something we’re both very excited to do!

Why Vienna?

Well that’s where the said steady job is, of course. But in addition to that, Vienna is in the heart of Europe and is known to be one of the cleanest, nicest European cities to live in. Not to mention, it’s just next door to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where Eric and I both served our missions, and we are looking forward to being able to share our mission, first hand with our kids. We’re both excited about the adventure, looking forward to experiencing more culture, learning a new language, and seeing what there is to see.

Where will Eric will be working?

Eric is taking a job at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It sounds pretty official and cool when you spell it out, but when you simply say the acronym, it’s really difficult not to giggle, add and an “O!” and say something about Old MacDonald and his farm. The IAEA is a very large, worldwide agency, that - as I understand it - makes sure that all the nuclear developments in the world are running safely, peacefully, and efficiently. If you want more detail than that, you can read more about it here. Eric will be doing computer programming for the Safeguards team, and since everything is moving to mobile devices now, he will be specializing in what he does best, iOS and other mobile programming. He is very excited to try something new, work with cool people, learn new things, and expand his horizons in the field he loves... all while living in Europe - a definite plus in his book.

How did you ‘stumble’ across this job?

Eric has a friend and colleague named Keith that he worked with at BYU. They share similar interests (i.e. they’re both nerds), and have both spent time at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). After working full-time at LANL for a couple years, Keith heard about a 1 year post at IAEA and decided to try it out. He and his family loved it so much that they decided to stay on for another 3 year post. When a new position on Keith’s team opened up and they were looking for a smarty pants programmer with mobile programming skills, he thought of Eric and reached out to him. We, of course reached back. This was back in January of 2013. Then there was a lot of limbo time, while the job was created, approved, posted, application submitted, interviews completed, clearances cleared, and so on and so forth. (Government jobs, I've learned, move at a snails pace at best.) But, Yay! He got the job! So after a good year and a half of wondering and waiting… it’s finally becoming a reality!

How long are you staying?

Eric’s new job is a 3 year appointment, however the Agency sometimes offers an additional 2 year appointment if all goes well. We think 5 years would be awesome.

Where will you live?

We have not yet secured a place to live - that will happen in the first couple of weeks after our arrival. (We will stay in a temporary, furnished apartment for the first month.) I have, however, spent quite a bit of time online, researching where to live, looking at apartments, and trying to narrow down our search. We hope to live downtown in the heart of the city. Our main goal is to find a place that is near a good school for our kids, and has access to direct transportation to Eric’s work. Going from a big house in the country to a little apartment in the city (without a car, nonetheless) is going to be a huge change for all of us… but I think we’re up for the challenge. Change is good… right?

What?! You're not going to have a car?!

Vienna’s public transportation system is one of the best around, and having a car there is quite pricey - so we are going to attempt to do without. Eric and I are both familiar with how European public transportation works, and felt very comfortable with it while we missionaries in the neighboring countries, so Eric is certain this will be an easy adjustment. I, on the other hand, realize that when I was missionary, I was a single person, and all I had to worry about was myself and my companion. A single person, that is... without children. I must admit that I am very nervous about having four children while having to learn and navigate a new city via subways, trams, and busses, and I realize it will not be a walk in the park. But just this morning I read in Ether that “weak things can be made strong’… with a little bit of faith, a little more patience, and a lot of practice, and I believe it!

...Pray for me.

Where will the kids go to school?

This issue, admittedly has been one of my biggest concerns. I have done a lot of online research and I have been in communication with many moms in Vienna to get “offline” advice as well. There are a lot of options for schooling, and we have considered them all. Private American schools, public schools, bilingual schools, and I’ve even considered homeschool. While we won’t be sure until the kids are officially registered, we are heavily leaning toward Vienna bilingual schooling (VBS). VBS is essentially specified classrooms within the public school system that are made up of half native English speaking students and teachers, and half native German speaking students and teachers. They teach everything in both English and German. We would like the kids to really experience the culture and learn the language - and we think this is one of the best options for doing that. We won't know until we get there, however, whether or not there will be openings for our kids at any of the VBS schools. Fingers crossed! I'll keep you posted.

Will you get to come back and visit?

One of the perks of the IAEA is that they fly you and your whole family home every other year. While we hope to be able to make it back even more than that, we look forward coming back and visiting friends and family at least two of the summers that we are gone. Eric will have about 8 weeks of vacation each year, so hopefully we will be able to use the majority of that to visit family and see friends.

What are you doing with your house?

Our house is currently for sale. We are really hoping for a buyer soon.

When do you leave?

We are scheduled to depart on Friday, August 15th. Eric’s first day of work is Monday, August 18th. Then we begin the process of trying to find a place to live, find a school for the kids, and everything else...

How do you feel about all this?

We are all very excited to begin this new chapter of our lives. While it is still completely nerve-racking to make so many giant changes all at once, we are looking forward to it and hoping that it will be an overall positive experience for our family. We will for sure miss the comforts of “home,” our family, and dear friends - but we look forward to making new friends, learning new things, and experiencing a different part of the world.

Here we go! Howdy, Vienna!