Adjusting to Life in the States

We have been back in the States for about 9 months now.  They say when you move overseas it takes about 6 months to adjust, sometimes it can take up to a year.  I believe that is true whether you are moving to a foreign country or moving back to your own.  Things change when you're gone, people change.  For better or worse, relationships change.   

When we were in Germany and I thought about how my life would be when we returned to Texas, it was different than my life really is.  I thought we would live near where we used to live, go to the same church we used to go to, and hang out with the same friends we used to hang out with.  Thankfully, we still see some of our old friends occasionally, but we live 45 minutes to an hour away from most of them.  Not only that but we have all changed some.  Most of us are now parents.  I returned to the States as a mom, and a stay-at-home mother at that.  In Germany all of my friends who had children stayed home with their children or worked a part time job from home.  Here many of my "old" friends work full time or part time away from home. Several of them are not married or do not have children.  Which is fine, I love people who are in all stages and walks of life.

I am a people person.  The title, stay-at-home mom is very deceiving.  I honestly don't know any stay-at-home mom who really stays at home most of the time unless she has a newborn and is recovering from childbirth or has a sick child.  Most stay-at-home mamas are very active, we take our children places, we volunteer in our communities, we look for fun things to do and enjoy our children.  A bonus for getting out of the house is, if you're not home, nothing in your house will be destroyed and you might even come home to a clean house. 

Thankfully I live in a big city so there is plenty to do and people to meet.  I have joined a new church, which was very, very difficult.  We love our friends from our old church.  However, we no longer live on that side of town.  We tried for over 3 months driving 40 minutes each way on Sunday to church before we finally realized it was too far to commute with a young child.  Thankfully Blue Rock has adjusted well to our new church which is 7 minutes away where he also attends preschool.  I also joined a local Mom's Club and a MOPS group.  

We also bought annual zoo passes and museum passes.  One thing that kind of surprised me has been that I've become better friends with some people I used to know that I wasn't as close to when we lived here before.  Others whom I thought I would hang out with all the time we don't.

I'm sharing all of this to say that we are adjusting well.  There are things we miss about Germany and things we are loving about being home in our country.  A few things that I have noticed that have changed since we were gone are: higher prices in food, more people seem to be unemployed, and a strain in the medical field. Those are just a few things I've noticed.  

There are days, however, that I really miss parts of my life in Germany.  I miss the friendships, Bible studies, beauty, neighbors, and traveling.  I know Blue Rock does too.  I thought at 2.5 he would adjust really easily to moving but it has been hard on him.  Now he's almost 3.5 and he still talks about Germany sometimes, his friends, our old his, his old room, and the parks.  I felt very safe in Germany and loved how I could walk down the street to two different parks in about 2-3 minutes.  But like I said, life is good, adjusting is hard, but we are doing good.  I love our new house and I am enjoying getting to see old friends and meeting new ones.  We have also enjoyed going to new places.

We are back in the States!

These past four weeks have been exhausting (actually 6, if you include the two weeks we were in a hotel in Germany).  We have had LONG days and LONG evenings.  Poor Blue Rock is just ready to be settled back into a regular routine, as are we.  Thankfully during the days while my husband is at work, Blue Rock and I have been able to meet up with various friends and visit the zoo, museum, and play at the park.  Also he has enjoyed seeing my parents and siblings as well as some of my husband's family.

Our household goods arrived much earlier than we expected.  They arrived last Thursday and our vehicle arrived last Tuesday.  So we decided we needed to make a decision last weekend on an area to live and hopefully a house. We have gone back and forth on living in the country where there are excellent schools and having more land, to living closer to friends, or family, or work.  This is difficult as we are both extremely picky and there are things we like about each option.  Finally we narrowed our decision down to two great options.  Here are the two options we've considered.

House #1: Perfect, beautiful, new, but top of our budget. Cons: far from family and hubby's job - it's on the other side of town so we'd deal with bad traffic. Pros: good schools and close to friends and church.

House #2: Pros: Great price and closer to hubby's job and my family. Neat neighborhood with water park and bike trails, etc. It has a strong HOA and many kids in the neighborhood go to private school. Cons: 8 years old, not as good of schools, at least ratings wise. On the other hand, we could afford private school if we go with this option and there are several really good private schools nearby. There's also the possibility of homeschooling, which I am really considering trying no matter where we live.  At least for a year or two to test it out.

If we bought House #2 we would consider later renting it out and expanding our housing portfolio. Basically, we'd buy it and "rent" to ourselves until we decide to move. If we buy House #1 we plan on living in it for a long time, at least 10+ years.

Today we made an offer.  We decided to make an offer on House #2. This would give us the most flexibility later on and it's well within our means and is plenty big for us.  We're hoping and praying they accept!  We have met the neighbors on both sides of the house and both families seem to be very nice.  My husband tested the commute this morning and found it to be very good.  We would really love to get this house and the only major changes we'd do is update the kitchen, which we would do before moving in. 

Overall, we are just glad to be back in the States.  Honestly, we have not really had any major reverse-culture shock.  I don't know if it's because we lived in this area before we moved to Germany and have family and friends in the area, or what.  The only thing we've really missed are our friends in Germany.  Blue Rock speaks of his friends in Germany quite often.  Today at Wal-Mart he saw a girl who looked like his friend, Brennan.  He said, "there's Brennan!" and pointed to the little girl.  He had such a huge smile on his face.  He also talks about several of his other friends quite often.  

 

As far as the weather.  It's below freezing in Germany and it has been in the 70s here.  So weather wise, we're loving the States more than the cold.  This summer will be a different story.

Just a few more days in Germany

We have only two days left in Germany. My husband and I moved here almost exactly 3 and 1/2 years ago. It was kind of a fluke that we even moved here. A fluke or maybe part of God's plan for our lives. About 6 and 1/2 years ago my husband started working for the Corps of Engineers in Texas. Soon after he started he noticed the Corps had a department in Germany. We both joked about how cool it would be to live overseas, something we both wanted to do since we were in middle school.

One day my husband saw a job open up in Heidelberg, Germany with the Army. I said with excitement, "that's great! Apply!" time passed and the evening the job closed he said, "the job closes tonight, I need to apply for it." I told him it was really late and he could always apply for another one. He said it would only take 5 minutes. This is coming from a man who is very detailed and perfectionist. I told him to go ahead. He literally was done applying in about 5 minutes. I really couldn’t believe it. Granted he was very well qualified and most of his resume was already in the system. 2 months after he applied, we arrived in Germany, a country we had never been to before.

We have had a great experience in Germany but have also endured many challenges. Some of my friends have lived in Germany for 6 or more years, others have only been here a few months. Others have lived here their whole life. One verse that I really relate to is Jeremiah 29:11.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The background to this verse is that a number of Jews were uprooted from Jerusalem and exiled to Babylon. This had to be very disruptive to them. Many of my American friends in Germany can relate to the Jews Jeremiah is writing to in the sense that they didn't have a choice to move here. Others of us made the choice to move to Germany and encounter the challenges that come with living in a foreign land. And some of you have lived in Germany your whole life. Never the less, I think we can all relate to this.

God's message to these people was to go on with their lives. They would encounter hardships. But that didn't mean they should give up. They were to work hard, have children, live with the people and seek the welfare of the city where God sent them into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf. For these specific people God had plans to return them to Jerusalem and to fulfill His promise to them. Many of us who live overseas will one day return to our home country, whether that is the U.S. or somewhere else. God didn't make a promise to us about where we would live. However, I believe God has plans for each of us. He has a purpose for us. But what does God say we need to do? We need to pray to him, we need to seek him. He says in verse 13: "you will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." I want to encourage you to seek out God. To learn about Him, lean on Him during difficult times and lean on Him during joyous times. God wants a relationship with you. God loves you and sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to die for you. There will be times that you feel lonely or maybe afraid. Pray to God and ask Him to comfort you. Lean on each other.  Surround yourself with loving friends. There is no way I would have made it without my dear friends in Germany. When we arrived 3 and ½ years ago I only knew my husband. Now I am blessed to know people who have or will live all around the world. No matter where you live, you don't have to walk this life alone.

 

I don't know what God has in store for us in Texas.  But I trust Him.  We are praying that God uses us to bring glory to Him.  We are truly blessed to have been able to spend these last 3 and 1/2 years in Germany and are forever changed because of it. 

Document EVERYTHING when you rent from a German

We are finally out of our house.  We have been sleeping at a hotel for the past week while the movers and packers were packing our things.  Overall the movers seemed to do a good job and my husband and I worked our tails off cleaning the house to leave it in a much better condition than when we moved there 3.5 years ago.

I know some Americans have had good experiences with German landlords but we have heard of some horrible stories as well.  Sadly, we were unlucky and got a bad landlord who was very cheap and was very slow to repair broken things in our house.  I don't want to speak badly for all Germans because we have some wonderful German friends and I know if they were landlords they would not be like this.  But here's a warning to other expats as they move into a German house.

1. Document everything!  Every dent, every crack, everything.  We're staying at a hotel right now and the owner said we should have spent a day going over every inch to document.  Many Americans stay at his hotel and he hears all the horrible stories too.

2. Talk to previous owners before renting.  This is not always possible.  Or you find out things after you're already living there.  We found out after we signed our lease and were living there that the previous tenants had a lawsuit against our landlord, that was a huge red flag that we wish we knew about beforehand.

3. Take pictures.  While you document damage, even what you would think is normal wear and tear, take a picture of it as well as write it down.

4. Stand up for yourself and fight for what's right.  If you feel taken advantage of, go to someone higher up for help.  Someone in the company you're working for or other people who can help.

5. Ask for your deposit back in cash.  We got most of our deposit back in cash, thankfully.  But our landlord is wanting to keep over 1000 Euros.  He wants 300 Euros to re-grout the shower, which I found out should be done every 3 years anyway, and 700 Euros for a new but old shell shaped sink that matches the other one for a small hairline crack that was there when we moved in.  We found a nice Villeroy and Back sink for 75 Euros that is much nicer than the old one.  We are going to offer to pay for two and installation in hopes of getting at least 450 Euros back (almost $600).  At least by getting your deposit back in cash, you don't have to worry about them holding it for up to 6 months.

Overall I'm glad we lived where we did in Germany because of the location and more importantly our wonderful neighbors.  Some of our closest friends in Germany were our next door neighbors both Germans, Americans, and a Slovakian. However, being cheated out of quite a bit of money at the end of our 3.5 year stay has been disappointing. Which is why I hope to help future expats when they move to Germany or anywhere else and rent from someone.  Hopefully they will have a better experience than we did. 

Preparing to move!

I really don't like moving.  The process of moving, that is.  I'm not naturally super organized, which I am striving to become, but have yet to master.  I have a system, it works for me, but I don't maintain it as well as some do.  So getting ready to move and going through things is somewhat of a challenge to me.  I easily get overwhelmed with what needs to be done.  Thankfully, my friend, Angy, came over today to help me.  She was a huge help!  This is only my 4th time to move a whole household to another place.  I don't count all the times I moved in college since the stuff I had in college was so minimal compared to what we have today.

Today we worked tirelessly getting the kitchen, bathroom, and most of Blue Rock's toys ready for the packers.  While throwing out half-opened food such as pasta and flour, I let Blue Rock dump a lot of it in a big container and gave him a big spoon to mix it.  He made quite the mess but it kept him entertained.  I wish I would have taken a picture.  We also packed Blue Rock's clothes.

There is plenty left to do and we will stay very busy through this weekend going through stuff such as paperwork, mine and my husband's clothes, and the rest of Blue Rock's toys and a few other things here and there.  Another big thing we've had to do is go pick up all our German medical records so we can get them translated before we leave.  What a pain!  For instance, we called a doctor I saw in Mannheim and asked where to pick up the records and when.  They gave us a date.  So when we had to take care of some more out processing, we stopped by the hospital.  They didn't have the records, it was in another location.  They said to come back in a week.  A week?!  We are running out of time!  And the hospital in Mannheim is about 30 minutes away, so it's not right around the corner.

On the bright side, it looks like we found a place to stay when we arrive in Texas.  Some friends from church have a furnished house they rent to missionaries when they come home.  Some missionaries returning to the Ukraine are moving out this week, so it will be available when we return.  God is taking care of us.  Now we just need to decide on a second car and a place/neighborhood to buy a house in.

I wanted to give a quick update but I need to go finish up some more things tonight.  Customs is coming tomorrow to inspect everything.  They said they will be here from around 8am-4pm.  I'm not sure what to expect but it seems to be never-ending.

Appetizing or Disturbing?

I saw this menu at the festival last weekend.  Do you think the picture of the pig is appetizing or disturbing?

Kerwe - My German Town's Fall Festival

Fall is probably my favorite time of year in Germany.  If you want to visit Germany, consider coming in the fall.  The heat of summer is over, the weather is cooler but not yet freezing, there's less rain than in the Spring, and there are lots of festivals.  The most famous festival is probably Oktober Fest, which originated in Munich. Thankfully, you don't have to go to Munich to enjoy festivals in October.  Most cities have their own.  This past weekend our small city had their Kerwe (festival).  Several of the main streets are closed down and venders come and set-up booths.

It seems like many Germans love festivals.  Usually because the weather is nice, there's reasonably priced food and drinks, and lots of live music.  Our town had several bands and lots of options for food.  There were also several rides for the children as well as carnival games to play.  We had a wonderful time.

Blue Rock and I sitting under the tent at dinner

My dinner - gyros, salad, and pommes (fries)

The two person band in our tent

Blue Rock enjoying one of the rides

Lots of people at the fair

Blue Rock having fun walking around

My sweet Husband won me a prize!

My crepe - Nutella and banana - yummy!

It was one of the best crepes I've ever had

Picture of what some of the tents look like

Grocery Shopping in Germany

Photo by Peace Correspondent

Shopping for groceries in Germany is a little different than shopping for groceries in the States.  For one, most towns have a weekly or bi-weekly farmers market that sets up downtown. This makes getting fresh produce and meats easy.  There are also produce shops, meat markets, and bakeries in most towns.

As far as doing more serious shopping, there are several stores I shop at regularly.  My favorites are Rewe (seems to have the best produce and tends to have more Bio (organic) produce), Lidl (cheapest store I shop at), and Kaufland (best store to go to in bad weather).  Targets and Wal-Marts do not exist in Germany.  Wal-Mart came to Germany in the mid-90s and sold their 85 stores in 2006.  If you miss going to Wal-Mart visit a Real or Kaufland.  The Real stores in our area used to be where the Wal-Marts were.  They are smaller than a Wal-Mart Super Center but sell everything from groceries, to cleaners, to clothing.  Real is a little far for me to drive so I prefer going to Kaufland which also sells a variety of things besides food and has reasonable prices.  Other popular grocery stores are Aldi and Plus.

Kaufland and the Familia Centers - which often have a Kaufland store, typically have parking garages.  Covered parking is really nice when it's raining, snowing, or really hot outside.  They also have a few other stores inside the building such as a bakery, flower shops, clothing stores, etc.

Here are a few tips when grocery shopping in Germany:

1. Always carry a little change.  You have to put a Euro in your grocery cart.  The carts are connected by chains and when your return your cart, you get your money back.

2. Bring bags or a basket to put your groceries in because there are no free bags at the stores.  You can buy them starting at around 10 Euro cent (about $0.145) per bag and up, depending on the size and type of bag. 

3. Be prepared to bag your groceries and try and do it quickly.  There is only a cash register and he/she does not bag your groceries.  The first time I went shopping I looked like a fool waiting there, with no bags, as I got starred at by the people behind me.  I ended up having to buy bags while holding up the line as I tried to quickly bag my items.

4. Bring cash if you don't have a EC card (European debit card).  Grocery stores do not accept credit cards or American debit cards.

5. If there is a machine to weigh your produce to get a price tag, use it.  Thankfully most machines have pictures of the items and are pretty easy to use.  If you neglect to do this, the cashier will get mad and so will the people behind you in line.  Yes, this has also happened to me.

Other than that, shopping for groceries in Germany is not that different than buying them in the States.

Swimming Pools in Germany

Swimming pools, also known as schwimmbads, are very popular in Germany.  Just about every city or town has a swimming pool.  The bigger the city, the bigger the pool.  Most swimming pools are open year-round.  Depending on where you go, there will usually be indoor and outdoor pools.  The outside pools are only open in the summer.  

If you go swimming in Germany you will notice a few differences.  Mainly if you visit the sauna (which children are not allowed), the changing rooms, and showers.  In most saunas, swimsuits are not allowed.  The only one I went to was at a hotel near Munich, not a public pool.  I walked in, wearing my swimsuit, and was shocked and uncomfortable to see I was the only one with a swimsuit on. I asked if I could keep my suit on.  One of the ladies said yes.  But I felt very uncomfortable.  I'm a pretty modest person.  I left shortly after.  I have heard you can take your towel in and cover up with that.  I honestly just avoid saunas.  

As far as the swimming pools go, most people wear swimsuits.  You'll see some little kids running around naked and many little girls just wearing swimsuit bottoms, but for the most part people are as covered as you'd see in the States.  Now if you go to the showers, the women's is typically set-up like a guy's locker room in the States.  Shower heads along the walls, all open.  Every time I have gone to rinse off I am the only one wearing a swimsuit.  But I have never felt the need to change what I do.  Usually it's a bunch of old ladies in there because a lot of older people swim in Germany.  I just keep to myself and sometimes will just wait until I get home.  

I have heard that some pools have naked days.  A friend of mine's husband took her boys swimming one day.  After a certain time someone blew a whistle and everyone took their swimsuits off.  Her boys did not.  One of the workers told them that they had to take their swimsuits off or leave. The boys were younger then and thought it was funny to see everyone naked.  I have yet to go swimming during those times nor do I plan on it.

Last week I met up with a friend and her son and we took our boys swimming.  The boys loved it.  Here are a few pictures of the one we went to.  

This is part of the kiddie pool. As you can see, it's a large place.

One of the bigger pools with a wide slide in the distance

Another view of kiddie pool and fun round slide I took my son down

slide in the kiddie pool

3 Years in Germany!

3 years ago at the airport in Germany

Today is our 3rd anniversary living in Germany and we're still alive!  Three years ago today we arrived in a country we had never been to.  What were we thinking?!  We had no idea how long we would stay but knew we would stay at least one year.  In honor of our 3rd year anniversary, I am going to share with you 10 things we love about Germany.

1. Laid back lifestyle - we rarely feel the need to "rush" somewhere.  Life is simple, most places we visit are close by, and overall it seems more laid back than when we lived in Texas.

2. The traffic - really, the lack of.  I can probably count on one hand the number of traffic jams we've been in since living here.  The most recent one was when I picked up my friend from the airport during rush hour in April.  Other than that, I can't remember the last traffic jam I have been in. 

3. Fresh air - we live around a lot of farms.  Except when it's fertilizing time, or when someone lights up a cigarette, we enjoy the clean air around us.

4. Germany is very kid-friendly - we have around a dozen parks alone in our small city.  Most public places young children get in free and most Germans seem to love children.  In fact, it wasn't until I was pregnant with Caden (and actually looked pregnant) that Germans started smiling at me.  Also, if you are German and have a child, you get a lot of wonderful financial perks, including kindergeld (money for each child, every month, up to the age of 25).

5. Beauty - Besides living with my handsome husband and son, Germany is one of the prettiest places I have ever lived.  I actually have never seen an ugly place in Germany. 

6. Food - there are a lot of great restaurants in our area.  I also like how you can order simple foods like salads, burgers, schnitzel, and fries and have them delivered for free.  I give a tip, but hey, I'm American.

7. Travel opportunities - Germany is located in one of the best places in Europe for traveling in Europe.

8. Language - being surrounded by a lot of different languages and experiencing different cultures.

9. Friendships and Ministry - we have made some wonderful friends here and have been able to serve in ways we are unable to in the States. 

10. Our son was born here - if nothing else, having my first child in Germany is something I will always remember.

Overall, we are enjoying our experience living abroad.  Although, we do miss many things about the States, such as family, friends, and less expensive delicious food.  But for a little while longer, we are going to continue living in Germany.

Opening a German Bank Account

One of the first things we did after moving into our house in Germany was look into opening a German bank account.  I am amazed at how many of my American friends don't have a German bank account.  If you work for an American company and get paid in USD then you don't necessarily need a German bank.  Although some reoccurring bills require payment through a bank with a German account number such as some cell phone contracts.  If you decide you don't need a German bank, you can just pay your landlord directly in cash at his bank or a local bank, same with doctor bills and utilities.  However, I find that having a German bank saves me time and money.  Not only that but in Germany most places we shop only take cash or the EC card (which is a European debit card). The EC card is different than US debit cards, your American debit card will only work if the business accepts credit cards.

When you're comparing different banks ask to see a copy of their fees in writing.  Sadly, I did not find any "free" banking in my town.  I was not used to this because in the States I will only bank with a bank if there are no fees associated with it.  Fees vary from bank to bank.  I pay 2 Euros per month and can make unlimited deposits, pay my bills online for very cheap, and get an EC card.  Most banks offer services such as online only options, or limit the deposits you can make into your account (except for direct pay), some include an EC card, others have a monthly or quarterly fee for an EC card.  Not to mention some banks charge a small fee to use their EC card.  My bank allows me to make 5 purchases a month without charging me.  Since we also do business in USD it is important that I can get Euros out of the ATM and deposit it into my bank account without any additional fees. 

So why would one want to open a German bank account?  One of the biggest reasons we decided to open a German bank account was to make our German transactions easier.  All of our medical bills, rent, utilities, etc. are paid online. Also we wanted an EC card. It also helps to know some German because many banks offer their services and websites only in German - only German online banking seems more secure than US online banking.  However, once you learn how to bank in German it is not much different than banking in English.   After making the large 1200 Euro purchase for our dining room table and having to get cash out because the department store did not take credit cards, we decided we needed an EC card.  We are Americans after all.  Most Americans don't really like carrying around a lot of cash.  Not using a credit card is easy for us because we rarely use a credit card anyway.  But not having a debit card was difficult. Also, having an EC card makes things easier when we travel within the European Union, as we can book our flight and hotels with it.

I encourage you to consider opening a German bank account if you live in Germany.  It is really simple and and makes life a little easier.  My son loves our bank, just about every time we go he gets a toy.  Lately he's been getting toy cars. The sweet people who work at our bank love children and are always so kind to us. 

Related Article: Kid Friendly Bank

Parks are great!

Today marks the day of living in Germany for two years.  Overall our experiences have been wonderful and I'm glad we took this adventure overseas because it has brought many challenges but also opportunities and blessings.  However, I've been feeling kind of lonely lately.  It seems like all my American and English speaking friends live near each other and are within walking distance of one another.  While our town consists of mostly Germans, which is really nice but it has been challenging finding friends our ages.  Thankfully we have some really great neighbors who have been very helpful to us these past few months.  But selfishly I have been wanting more.  As most of our neighbors are better friends with my husband.

This morning after meeting with a German attorney regarding my business I took my son to the park.  There were about 7 or 8 German moms there with their young children around my son's age.  My child wanted to go straight to the swing.  After pushing him in the swing a little bit I took him over to the sand to sit with the other moms and children.  We started talking and I found out that most if not all of them speak English (a very nice surprise) and our kids are all around the same age.  They told me they meet twice a week and invited me and my son to join them.  This might be the answered prayer I've been praying for.  It's hard being a mom and I think can be even more challenging when you don't have friends nearby.  Don't get me wrong, I have wonderful American and a few German friends here but like I said we don't live that close to one another.  So I was super excited to meet some nice ladies this morning.  

Finding your Overseas Family

The hardest part about living overseas for me is being away from family and friends.  Family and close friends are irreplaceable.  However, once you live across the ocean from your family it is not possible to see them very often and having connections is still very important.  One thing that makes this even more challenging is when most of your neighbors speak a different language then you.  Even if you can speak some of their language and they speak some of yours, communicating across culture is still challenging.

I think the most important thing you can do when you arrive in a new country is find people you can connect with.  Whether that's through church, a job, an organization, or an expat program.  It can get pretty lonely sometimes even when you have connections.  The second most important thing is try and remember that with time it does get easier.  One thing I like to do is always have something to look forward to.  Whether that's going on vacation, hanging out with a friend, or trying something new.  How do you cope if you are currently living away from family?

Making the Move

When my husband decided to accept a job in Germany we both had a lot of mixed feelings, mainly positive ones. A lot changed, I had to quit my job, we had a house in the States and only a month to try and sell it or rent it, and the economy was not doing so good back home. Over all we welcomed the change. My husband's new job sounded interesting. We also thought, what a great opportunity to see Europe. At the time we did not have any kids so it made traveling a lot easier. After two months of living over here, however, I became pregnant with our first child. My pregnancy was an exciting time as we prepared to have a baby overseas.

There is a lot of things to consider before making a move overseas. Here are a few questions to consider before diving forward:

1. Can I afford to move? Losing my salary was a challenge at first especially since we still have a house in the States.

2. Am I okay moving to a place that speaks a different language (unless you already speak the language). Neither one of us spoke German when we moved.

3. How will you keep in contact with family and friends? Thankfully international calling plans are not very expensive so that's a great way to stay in touch. Also the internet is a great tool.

4. Is it a good move, career wise?

5. Do I like to travel? There are so many great opportunities to travel when you move.

6. How will the other members in your family adjust to the move? If you have kids it's especially important to include them in your discussions on moving overseas.