Hello and welcome to Betsy Transatlantically!
Let me tell you a bit about what you'll find here.
Let me tell you a bit about what you'll find here.
When I launched this blog in April 2010, I was in the middle of applying for a visa that would allow me to live and work in the UK so that I could rejoin Jon, the handsome Englishman who is now my husband, and I thought that a blog would be the best way to keep my scattered family and friends appraised of my journey. But I discovered that, as I navigated the visa process and then began exploring my new life as a Londoner, Betsy Transatlantically became a resource for expats of all persuasions - current expats, future expats, and armchair expats.
That's why the first two years' worth of posts include sections on life in London, on the nuts and bolts of making a home in England, and on the cultural differences I noticed as an American living in the UK. Since I moved back to Washington, DC at the end of May 2012, I've also written about the process of rediscovering and re-assimilating to my hometown.
But there's much more to this blog than just expatriate and repatriate experiences. You'll come across posts on style and fashion, on recipes and entertaining, wedding planning and romance and being in a long distance relationship, and health and beauty as I recover from my first half-marathon and train for the next. So here's a little bit about me before you get stuck in: I grew up in Washington, DC and went to university in New York City, majoring in history and French. After a seven month jaunt studying abroad in Paris, I enrolled in graduate school in London to pursue a MA in Medieval Studies and, like so many American girls before me, I fell in love with the city and with a boy.
After finishing my MA, I spent a further two years in London, taking advantage of everything the city had to offer, but in May 2012 I decided it was time to start a new chapter and so I quit my job and moved back to the United States. Jon and I were in a long-distance relationship for more than two years after I left London, but we got married in August 2013 and he immigrated to the States in September 2014 (after his own arduous visa journey), so we're now reunited and working on life together again.
I currently work in arts fundraising here in Washington, DC and spend most of my extracurricular time loving on my silly Labrador puppy Charlie. I'm always on the lookout for new friends and new blogs, and I hope that you enjoy Betsy Transatlantically!
