When Did Vlad Tenev Come to America?

Vlad Tenev immigrated to America in the 1990s after his parents. He was born in Eastern Europe in the late 80s, on the brink of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the lifting of the Iron Curtain, and his last year in Bulgaria was 1991, when inflation was something like 170 percent.

His dad went first, for a master's at the University of Delaware, and stayed in America full time. His mom came about a year later, and he came about six months after her. As a small child he did not see his dad for a year and a half or his mom for six months. He lived with his grandparents because the family did not have the money to send everyone, and they were not sure his dad would have a long-term future in America. They thought he might come back after a year or two. He did quite well and sent for his mom and then for him. His early memories from that last year were rolling blackouts, the family huddled around a battery-operated radio, and lines at the bodega for milk and eggs. The milk came in big plastic bags.