You May Find Yourself Living In A Shotgun Shack

Somehow, September has arrived. Hello, Autumn. Two weeks from right now, I will be on a flight to Japan, for our next collaboration meeting. Four weeks from tomorrow, I will be on a flight to the States, getting ready to attend my sixteenth consecutive Sooper Sekrit Pagan Festival![*]

The start of September also means that our lease on Chiron Beta Prima just renewed for another year. I've always found it odd to own two houses in the States... but rent an flat for our primary residence.

Since we will be staying in CBP for another year, it is on track to be our longest occupied home since moving to Merry Olde England. We were in Skullcrusher Mountain for twenty-eight months, and we were in the Flat With No Name for twenty-four months. We have been in Chiron Beta Prime since the start of November 2010, which makes for twenty-two months thus far. Not yet the record -- indeed, still third out of three -- but by the end of our new one year lease, it will have risen to the top.

Indeed, the new lease also means that 2012 looks to be a very stable year for my beloved cheshcat and myself. Looking back over the six and a half years that we have lived in Oxford, it seems like every year brings either a new flat or a new car:

• 2006: New flat! (also, first flat, as we had just arrived!)
  
• 2007: New car! (also, first car in the UK)
  
• 2008: New car and new flat! (plus new cat, but that's another story)
  
• 2009: Neither new car nor new flat -- needed a rest after replacing both in 2008!
  
• 2010: New flat!
  
• 2011: New car!

As you can see, gentle readers, on average we replace either our car or our flat each year. We are currently on Car #3 and Flat #3. This is not quite as unstable as our friends D&J, who moved to London three months before we moved to Oxford; they get a new flat every March[**] and have their annual housewarming party every September.

Even so, a bit more stability would be welcome. It looks like we will not be moving in 2012; hopefully, the car that we bought last year will last out the year as well. Given that it is far more reliable than its predecessor, things on that front are looking good!

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[*] Hooray!

[**] Except for 2011, which was anomalous.

On Becoming British

In other news, I was late to work today because my beloved cheshcat and I had an appointment at the Oxfordshire County Council office. There, after being resident in the UK for nearly six and a half years, we submitted cheshcat's application to become a British citizen! Huzzah!

One becomes eligible after being a permanent resident for twelve months. I noted this last year when we received our Indefinite Leave to Remain in April 2011. Alas, I cannot apply yet, as a driving offense in April 2009 bars me from doing so for five years. In 2014, when my record is again clear, I will follow suit[*]... but, in the meantime, it will be most excellent to have one person in our household be British!

I have been asked several times what the practical differences are between being "settled" (i.e. a permanent resident, with indefinite leave to remain) and being a citizen. There are several advantages for the latter:

• One can vote!
  
• One can take the fast lanes at passport control,
  
• One can relocate to another European Union country without needing to apply for a visa in that country,
  
• Citizenship is permanent, whereas Indefinite Leave to Remain can be revoked if one is convicted of a crime or if one leaves the country for two years.

In addition to all this, my dearest cheshcat has a lovely write-up here about what becoming a British citizen means to her.

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[*] To be clear, neither cheshcat nor I are planning to renounce our United States citizenship. Rather, she will be a dual citizen within the next few months... and I hope to achieve the same when I am able to in 2014.