Since I last posted, about two weeks ago, a lot has happened-- I had my interview at U of Regina, got a job offer, negotiated, and accepted. So it is now all official, pending approval by the university president (a formality), and pending successful application for a work permit (which involves a whole lot of paperwork, but shouldn't be a problem). The hard part is over-- we have jobs!-- and that feeling of being so unsettled is starting to settle. I am very glad we did not have to join the ranks of the growing number of PhD-holders on welfare.

Our to-do list is long: I also need to apply for Canadian permanent residency, and that is another ream of paperwork, FBI background check, medical exam, and many other hoops. We need to find a place to live, and we are perhaps not quite ready to buy a home in a place we've barely visited (we'd like to get more of a feel for the neighborhoods first), but the rental market is quite limited due to being a very high-growth city, so this will take some work. We are fortunate to have been offered a moving allowance, which means we can hire movers (hallelujah!), but we've never done that before so we have to figure out what that entails. All just details.

I also have sort of been putting off obtaining licensure as a psychologist over the past almost two years, and I absolutely need to complete the process now, because it is required for my new job. I have already done most of the paperwork for this in the state of Washington, and once I am licensed here, applying in Saskatchewan will be a much easier process. The one major last step for this is to take the national licensing exam (the EPPP), and I finally scheduled it for June 2nd. Things are starting to come together.

There is one more nagging issue that I have to get some resolution on before moving, and that is my health. While Saskatchewan is progressive in terms of health care (the birth place of medicare!), and seems to have a good health care system, what they do not have is neurosurgeons who specialize in my particular rare condition. I am in the process of obtaining and considering information from multiple doctors, and thinking through what my best options are. I will provide updates if any arise.

It is sunny today, and has been for most of the past week. All the mountains have been out (i.e., not rendered invisible by layers of clouds) and looking lovely. I'm happy that the weather has decided to be much nicer to us than it has the past two springs, so that we'll have the chance to enjoy the northwest at its best before we move away!

Prairie-bound

I am currently on a layover in the Denver airport, on my way to a job interview at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan. It is a for a faculty position in the psychology department, and although last August/September I thought I had decided I wouldn't apply to faculty jobs, I'm actually pretty excited about this position.

In related news, Jeff has an official job offer for a faculty position in the psychology department at University of Regina, and is working on negotiating the terms. He recently turned down an offer for a faculty position at MSU Billings. I also have an offer for that position I applied to in Hawaii. Our fears of unemployment appear to be over.

So basically, when Jeff found out he had an interview, he asked about possible employment opportunities for me in Regina, and sent my CV to someone in the department. They immediately began encouraging me to apply for an open clinical psychology faculty position. In a sense, I chose not to pursue academia, but academia decided to pursue me. Not sure whether I'll get caught, but it's nice to be chased :)

And although my whole life I have sworn I would never move somewhere flat, or live far away from the ocean, it appears that we may be prairie-bound. The chances that Jeff will accept the offer in Regina are high, as this department seems to be exactly what we have been looking for in many ways. Not too big, not too small, communication and collaboration across areas within psychology (the clinical faculty and experimental faculty actually know each others' names!), what appears to be a supportive environment with fairly good organization, and apparent interest in faculty as people with interests and lives. So far, it seems to have many of the qualities we liked about University of Oregon.

The city of Regina, although cold in the winters, and very flat, also has many good qualities. Similarly not too big and not too small, community-oriented, lots of parks, progressive (it's in Canada, after all), and recently ranked as one of the best places to live in Canada. I had no idea where it was until Jeff showed me on a map, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure many of his Canadian friends and family weren't 100% sure exactly where it was before looking it up recently. But life on the prairie may be just the kind of slower pace we could use right now.

I'll be sure to give an update soon, after I return from my interview. Whether I get offered this job or not, I'm really hoping that my visit over the next couple of days leaves me with a positive impression of the city, because pretty soon I may be calling it home!