Giant news from the Wilkie household: in January, we'll be moving to Gothenburg, Sweden! George has taken a post-doc position at Chalmers University and we'll be there for at least two years.
I've told a number of folks about this already, so I can put together a reasonable FAQ but first, this one:
Q: What does this mean for weddings this year?
A: Absolutely nothing. I'll be photographing (like a boss) all the weddings for which I'm contracted this year, with no delays or other things to make anyone sad.
In August this year, we visited the city where we'll make our way. It's not as big and exciting as some other European cities, but it has definite charm and I think we'll enjoy ourselves. I've peppered this post with some photos of the week we spent there.
Before any more about me, something for you and you and you. I don't yet know what I'm going to be up to in Scandinavia, but I do know it will be useful to have a little more coin on me. Therefore, I'm reinstating all gallery coupons - that 20% off coupon you got when I delivered your photos.
Coupon code "gothenburg" is good for 20% any print order of $30 or more through the end of the year and is good in all galleries - weddings, engagements, boudoir, etc.
In likely bigger news for those of you who never picked up an album, I'm also doing
30% off album orders through the end of the year. Yes - that
$1525 album is now $1067.50 (plus sales tax). The caveat (of course there's a caveat!) is that your payment needs to come in before Dec. 31 but I will work on all albums on a first-come, first-served basis
starting in February. Good things come to those who wait!
(Don't worry - if you already have an album ordered through regular means, it will be serviced on regular time. It's only one of you and you already got the discount 🙂 ).
Last item on the agenda today: I need your help in Sweden! George and I hardly know anyone in Gothenburg - just the colleagues he'll be working with in his office. They're lovely people but they always want to talk about physics. In the meantime, what the hell am I going to do? You can help!
I want to know about anyone you know who lives in/near Gothenburg or any friends who have friends in Gothenburg. I'm looking for connections, people. I don't have anyone to grab coffee with in the whole country but I'm hoping that with the hundreds of people I've worked with over the years, I'll be flooded with odd coincidences of people who know people and we can all have a
fika and/or get some photos done.
And now, some FAQ. I've been telling people more or less on the DL about this move for some time (it just became official), so I've a pretty good idea what you're asking (if you're even still reading this):
Q: Are you so excited?
A: I have a lot of mixed feelings about this move. It's very much a next-step for us. George will soon wrap up the Ph.D. and we'll embark on the next part of our lives. Yes, it likely means that Amber Wilkie Photography will be taking a break or possibly eventually closing its doors, but I'm sort of ok with that. I'm so proud of the business I built and I know I can do it again - perhaps in some other field. Who knows!
It's exciting, but it's also a little scary. There's also so much to do that it's hard to be really pumped about the greater picture when I'm worried about selling all our stuff, getting plane tickets, worrying about shipping, etc. We'll likely run the gamut over there - adventure, loneliness, success, failure, money woes, travel, and so many etc.
My feelings about this move change every day. But I think, overall, it's good. I'm ready for the Next Step.
Q: What will you do in Gothenburg?
A: I don't know! One lovely thing is that George's salary should be sufficient for us to live on. Rents there are very cheap, though eating out is very expensive. So we'll probably have to take a big step back from our lifestyle here, but we'll be fine in terms of shelter, food, reasonable entertainment. We've also been saving since we knew this was on the horizon, so we have a significant cushion in case of problems or unexpected expenses.
According to the research I've done, I can open a business and start taking clients basically right away. But who would hire me? The problem with trying to re-establish AWP in Gothenburg is that we'll only be there two years. It took me more than that to build momentum here and I speak the language. It almost certainly makes more sense for me to assist, second-shoot or try my hand somewhere entirely new. I'm also open to doing long-term volunteer projects, though I don't have any good ideas about where I might spend my energies. I figure - worst case, I can get a job at a coffee shop and have something productive to do with my time.
Q: But you'll obviously take photos of all the glaciers, right?
A: Sweden's a bit short on glaciers, but Norway has tons. Never fear, I will be photographing all kinds of things. In fact, I'm hoping to re-ignite my passion for photography. Over the years, it's become something technical that I execute at weddings and such to make money. I like photographing weddings and people and such, but it is indeed my job. I hope to have time and energy for personal projects, whether that's glaciers and northern lights or something I'm not anticipating. I'm also certainly up for collaboration - perhaps with some of the contacts you guys dig up for me!
Q: How long will you be there?
A: Two years, at least. It's unlikely we'll be there much more than that. In George's field, it's customary to do two post-doc positions (of about two years each), then move somewhere else for a more permanent (sometimes tenure-track) position. So we'll be doing a lot of shuffling over the next five (eek!) years or so. Yes, you can expect me to pester you for contacts once or twice more.
Q: You'll photograph weddings all over Europe, right?
A: This one is more complicated. There are some countries where I may be able to work mostly legally... in other countries, that is not the case. Certainly I will be looking to photograph
intimate weddings all over Europe. If you and the soon-to-be-spouse are looking to elope somewhere epic, let me know!
Q: And you'll travel all over Europe too!
A: Maybe. This is going to depend how finances shake out. Yes, we'll be much closer, but Gothenburg is remarkably difficult to get to from most of the rest of Europe. Definitely we'll take lots of trips - at least I will - but maybe not the extended-European-holiday folks seem to think I'm headed for. One really great thing is in Sweden, it's standard to get six weeks of vacation and workers are encouraged and expected to take that time. Most of the country is off for the entire month of July. I'm crossing my fingers for a Southeast Asia trip.
Q: Will you learn to speak Swedish?
A: Probably. I've been doing Duolingo classes, so that is progressing as well as could be expected. The Swedish government also provides a free class to teach Swedish to immigrants (how about that!), so I hope to enroll in that as soon as possible.
Q: Can I come visit?
A: Yes! We want everyone to come visit us, or meet me somewhere in Europe for gallivanting, or really anything. The housing situation in Gothenburg is tough but once you find a place, they tend to be very nice - that is, we won't be living in squalor and unable to accommodate guests. Please come visit!
Pretty soon, I'll have another big blog post about the Great American Road Trip we'll be taking between my last wedding (Nov. 7) and our start in Gothenburg (January). Keep an eye out for that one and please let me know if you have any contacts for me!
Yes, my friends, the "euphoric Swedish summer" has arrived in Gothenburg and it is indeed euphoric. Temperatures hanging around 25*C/75*F, lots of sun, 4am to 11pm daylight. We suffer through the long, dark winter but when Spring arrives, it really arrives. I was so worried it would just never be warm, but this year it seems we are going to have some nice weather. There are plenty of cold-weather photos in this update because we start in April.
The biggest news in my life is I have decided to "pivot" my career and enter front-end development. In August I'll start a three-month coding bootcamp where I will learn lots of things I have dabbled in and lots of things I have never heard of. The idea being when I am done with that in late October, I'll be able to get a job making websites or web apps or other nifty things. I've been building websites since I was a kid, and I think it's time to take that interest to the big leagues.
The main draw is twofold: creative work that is in high demand and a career that is flexible and location-independent. We're going to be moving quite a bit over at least the next few years, so it will be good to have something that I could possibly do remotely for a firm. Eventually I'll be hoping to run my own show again.
I'm really excited about moving into this next phase of my life and almost as relieved to have chosen something to do with myself. Searching for jobs when you're like "uh... I like learning stuff?" is a tricky prospect indeed.
Speaking of learning, I have been hard hard hard at work on Swedish. In my last update, I was finishing up my first month and starting to get a little comfortable in Swedish. Now I spend a few hours every week at language cafes speaking exclusively in Swedish. I'm feeling more than halfway there. It's going really well and there's still plenty to learn but I think I'm well on my way. I can have entire exchanges with waitresses and coffee shop people in Swedish, so that's a big step. Actually chatting with people is a ways off, but I'll get there.
I'm ditching the last month of Swedish to start the boot camp, but I'm sure I'll pick it back up on the other side if I need it for work (which I may not).
The next half-dozen photos came from a photo walk the Gothenburg camera people held in April. My Swedish was really elementary at the time and I didn't manage to talk to hardly anyone, even though I was supposed to be making photographer buddies so I could do that with my time. Networking is hard; networking in another language is awful.
Other than that big career / education decision, things are much the same as the last update. We have our little schedule we go about - George to work and me to school, a couple of evening commitments / outings during the week. I cook during the week and he cooks on the weekend. It's all very domestic and regulated, but in another country so it's still exciting and draining. For the past four years or so neither of us had to stick to any kind of schedule, so this life of alarm clocks and bedtimes and "weekends" is something we're still getting used to.
In May, we took a little trip out to the country to get away from the city for a minute and experience a Swedish "stuga" (summer "house" with few amenities). It was really cold and it actually snowed the next day, but it was also very beautiful.
We also experienced the Chalmers University "Cortege", a big sarcastic parade with really impressive floats that the students apparently have time for in addition to their studies. When I was in school, I studied and partied and didn't do too much of anything else. Good on them.
The world's saddest Snoopy.
I've also spent my fair share of time at the Botaniska Trädgården and the arboretum that sits behind it. It's really nice to have beautiful, verdant spaces a tram ride away.
A few weeks ago was the Gothenburg Half-Marathon ("Varvet"), the largest race of its type in the world. Something like 60,000 people ran it. The city was kind of amazing that day - everyone so supportive and festive and happy. The weather hadn't quite warmed up yet, but it was getting there.
The next day was the Geek Pride Parade, a relatively huge gathering of nerds. I remember a similar thing was organized in DC during AwesomeCon and they didn't get nearly the turnout this 400k-strong city did. Very impressed with the nerd community in this town.
Our social life in Gothenburg is surprisingly robust. We hang with friends-of-friends and George's colleagues and people from my Swedish class (we spent three hours together every day, so we've obviously grown tight). We also go to Expat Happy Hours every couple of weeks and I hit the language chat cafes twice a week. I'm also a member of the International Women's Club of Gothenburg and the American Women's Club of Gothenburg, most of whose members are pensioners, but the most fascinating people who have lived all over the world. I also attended the International Women's Bridge Club! It was the first time I'd ever played bridge without David and it went just fine.
Finally, some photos from Vrångö. As I mentioned, the weather has been totally beautiful and we went out to the archipelago yesterday to take advantage. I got a proper sunburn (my first of the year, despite being in the sun tons lately) and we drank beers and walked around.
So, what else?
Virginia, from Safari Park to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Durham, North Carolina and Dwight and Laurie:
David's first corn dog:
South Carolina:
Georgia:
Florida:
Seacrest Wolf Preserve:
New Orleans:
Houston:
Austin:
Fort Worth:
Amarillo:
Santa Fe:
Fort Collins, Colorado:
Arches, Utah:
Monument Valley, Arizona:
Antelope Canyon:
Horseshoe Bend:
Dinosaur Tracks (fifteen minutes down the road from the bend):
Flagstaff:
Oatman, Arizona:
Joshua Tree, California:
Los Angeles:
Portland:
Ostrich World USA:
Big Sur:
Santa Cruz, CA:
Suburbia, CA:
Literally all of our stuff on the way to the airport.
And now we live in Sweden!
It's been a reasonably good first two weeks. The weather here is terrible. Very little sunlight and even then, it's mostly cloudy gloom and/or rain. We've had a handful of days with sunshine and one big snow storm. Otherwise, things are good. Our apartment is adorable and in a great location. The public transport is top-notch. George likes his job. I haven't got a lot to do but I'm working on it. Language classes start next week. More to come.