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    Moving Abroad

    So...

    Some of you may be aware already, we don't have a do-or-die date yet, but I took a 3 year position in Germany and will be moving over the summer. Which means there are a lot of things to think about... I'm calling our new home "between Paris and Prague" (its actually Ansbach, which is close-ish to Nuremburg).

    So, since I know a number of folks here have moved from this side of the ocean to that side of the ocean (someone ask Danie to come weigh in, I can't get on FB right now due to new computer at work syndrome)...any advice?

    Also, I need outlet adapters, yeah?
    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
    sigpic

    #2
    Re: Moving Abroad

    Congratulations on the move!!!! How exciting. I have no advice. However I have a friend who her and her husband spent 9 years in Germany for military and can ask if she has any tips/advice if you would like.
    "If you want to know what a man is like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." -- Sirius Black

    "Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so."-- Ford Prefect

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      #3
      Re: Moving Abroad

      Congrats, that's exciting that's further down in Germany than I've been. But I'd say yea you need adapters, I need them to go from Denmark to Germany so I'd be very surprised if you didn't. Try to learn some German (if you don't already speak it?), they're not always all that great at English (although in my experience if you can ask them to speak English in German, they're suddenly a little better).
      You remind me of the babe
      What babe?
      The babe with the power
      What power?
      The Power of voodoo
      Who do?
      You do!
      Do what?
      Remind me of the babe!

      Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

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        #4
        Re: Moving Abroad

        DON'T MAKE NAZI JOKES. I REPEAT DO NOT MAKE NAZI JOKES THERE.

        Other than that their food and beers are great. Come say hello to me in France sometime! :P Congratulations, Europe is a totally different beast.

        Check out my blog! The Daily Satanist

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          #5
          Re: Moving Abroad

          Originally posted by Sean R. R. View Post
          DON'T MAKE NAZI JOKES. I REPEAT DO NOT MAKE NAZI JOKES THERE.

          Other than that their food and beers are great. Come say hello to me in France sometime! :P Congratulations, Europe is a totally different beast.
          OH YES! eat Bratkartoffeln. Then eat more of them. I live off a diet of them when I'm there and you're welcome in this part of Europe too
          You remind me of the babe
          What babe?
          The babe with the power
          What power?
          The Power of voodoo
          Who do?
          You do!
          Do what?
          Remind me of the babe!

          Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Moving Abroad

            Yes, you'll need power adapters.

            Drink all the coffee, eat all the currywurst. Germany is a gorgeous country.


            Mostly art.

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              #7
              Re: Moving Abroad

              Cool; my Sensei is from Germany.
              Last edited by Sollomyn; 13 Mar 2019, 15:24.

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                #8
                Re: Moving Abroad

                Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                So...

                Some of you may be aware already, we don't have a do-or-die date yet, but I took a 3 year position in Germany and will be moving over the summer. Which means there are a lot of things to think about... I'm calling our new home "between Paris and Prague" (its actually Ansbach, which is close-ish to Nuremburg).

                So, since I know a number of folks here have moved from this side of the ocean to that side of the ocean (someone ask Danie to come weigh in, I can't get on FB right now due to new computer at work syndrome)...any advice?

                Also, I need outlet adapters, yeah?
                There are so many cool hiking places. Germany is roughly half the size of Texas so getting around doesn't take days just to get from A to B. Trains are super fun and affordable, if I recall correctly. Germany has beaches and islands on the north end (I stayed on Norderney for a school trip for a week and had a blast). I also stayed in Austria for a school skii trip for a week and had an even better time there. You get all seasons there with lots of snow in the winter. If you have allergies in your family, check to see which ones are most prevalent in the area you'll be living. You're going to be living a few hours SE of where I lived so I don't have much in the way of localities but I'm fairly sure there will be lots of restaurants, bakeries and pubs in the area (we had lots and our town only had a population of 2-3k at the time. I think it's doubled in the meantime. Be prepared for many stores to be closed after a certain time of day and on weekends. It was weird when I moved to the US and so many stores were open 7 days a week, some even 24 hrs a day.

                And yes, you will need outlet and voltage adapters. The average power outlet provides around 230v (Anywhere from 220-240 volts) and the outlets themselves are styled differently. They use two round prongs rather than the two vertical and flat prongs we have in the US. https://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/germany/

                I miss visiting all the castle ruins. Those will always have a special spot in my memory and heart. I don't know what city life is like in Germany since I grew up on a farm on the farthest outskirts of a tiny village. Since you'll be close to a bigger city though, I don't think you'll have many issues, but Germans can come across as not very friendly at times. They are a very direct people and the village I lived in wasn't very keen on outsiders (they stole our US flag on several occasions and frequently prank called us and those were just the instances I remember). At the time I was glad to leave Germany, but looking back now, I dearly miss that place. I need to visit.

                Originally posted by Sean R. R. View Post
                DON'T MAKE NAZI JOKES. I REPEAT DO NOT MAKE NAZI JOKES THERE.

                Other than that their food and beers are great. Come say hello to me in France sometime! :P Congratulations, Europe is a totally different beast.
                They made plenty of those when I lived there. Probably depends on where you go. Closer to concentration camps, probably not a good idea...
                �Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.�
                ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
                Sneak Attack
                Avatar picture by the wonderful and talented TJSGrimm.

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                  #9
                  Re: Moving Abroad

                  Oooh, exciting! I got to go to Trier and Rothenburg (best hot chocolate was found there) for a school trip and it was amazing.

                  The adapter is great, but according to what I remember, you need to check voltage as well, because germany has double the voltage and while most things are made multi voltage nowadays, some things don't.

                  Definitely bring your measuring cups if you're gonna be relying on your usual baking/cooking recipes, since it's different over there. Also there's a lot of Green intiatives over there, I think? Like car free zones and smoking bans. Safe travels, I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
                  ~Rudyard Kipling, The Cat Who Walks By Himself

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                    #10
                    Re: Moving Abroad

                    Originally posted by Juniper View Post

                    They made plenty of those when I lived there. Probably depends on where you go. Closer to concentration camps, probably not a good idea...
                    But isn't that the best place to make them? Ok I'm out.

                    Check out my blog! The Daily Satanist

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                      #11
                      Re: Moving Abroad

                      ...My smart lights won't travel well b/c of the voltage problem. So I think we are going to try to sell them (I have 2 variable white and 8 dimmable white, plus the hub and a motion detector) or give them away to someone I like, lol. There's a brand we can go with that a) requires no hub and b) has variable voltage.

                      There's adapters for things with variable voltage, and then step-down converters for things without, but there are still some things (like hair driers, etc.) that the step-down converter can't be used for.

                      The next issue is vehicle and health insurance... Plus we are still waiting on final approval before we get orders--I have my preemployment physical and the have to do an evaluation of the kiddo and whether or not they have availability of services for his ADHD/OCD
                      Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                      sigpic

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Moving Abroad

                        Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                        ...My smart lights won't travel well b/c of the voltage problem. So I think we are going to try to sell them (I have 2 variable white and 8 dimmable white, plus the hub and a motion detector) or give them away to someone I like, lol. There's a brand we can go with that a) requires no hub and b) has variable voltage.

                        There's adapters for things with variable voltage, and then step-down converters for things without, but there are still some things (like hair driers, etc.) that the step-down converter can't be used for.

                        The next issue is vehicle and health insurance... Plus we are still waiting on final approval before we get orders--I have my preemployment physical and the have to do an evaluation of the kiddo and whether or not they have availability of services for his ADHD/OCD
                        Some of it you might simply wanna buy when you get there. Electronics are fairly cheap (at least compared to Danish standards, I don't know what the American norm is). I imagine having to fiddle with adaptors for everything gets annoying real fast, also depends on how much adaptors cost whether it's actually worth it.
                        You remind me of the babe
                        What babe?
                        The babe with the power
                        What power?
                        The Power of voodoo
                        Who do?
                        You do!
                        Do what?
                        Remind me of the babe!

                        Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Moving Abroad

                          Congrats Thalassa on the opportunity of lifetime! Hope all goes well for you and your fam.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Moving Abroad

                            Originally posted by iris View Post
                            Some of it you might simply wanna buy when you get there. Electronics are fairly cheap (at least compared to Danish standards, I don't know what the American norm is). I imagine having to fiddle with adaptors for everything gets annoying real fast, also depends on how much adaptors cost whether it's actually worth it.
                            Yeah, this is where we are now...trying to decide what is worth taking and what we'll just sell or donate. If its something expensive, then I can see dealing with adapters/converters (computer, maybe the TV)...even if it still dies faster (converters aren't fool-proof), at least we didn't have to replace an entire household at once, you know? But I don't even own a hair drier or curling iron to have to worry about that. The kitchen appliances will probably have to be repurchaced. We've not inspected everything yet, so I'm not sure. My biggest purchase is my bed...it is adjustable and it has a massage function. I'm a bit spoiled there and will be sad if its going to become a giant paperweight.
                            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                            sigpic

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Moving Abroad

                              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                              Yeah, this is where we are now...trying to decide what is worth taking and what we'll just sell or donate. If its something expensive, then I can see dealing with adapters/converters (computer, maybe the TV)...even if it still dies faster (converters aren't fool-proof), at least we didn't have to replace an entire household at once, you know? But I don't even own a hair drier or curling iron to have to worry about that. The kitchen appliances will probably have to be repurchaced. We've not inspected everything yet, so I'm not sure. My biggest purchase is my bed...it is adjustable and it has a massage function. I'm a bit spoiled there and will be sad if its going to become a giant paperweight.
                              I imagine that's quite a production to put together. I don't know if you speak German, but let me know if you need help figuring anything out in that regard. I haven't needed to use it in a while but I speak it fairly well.
                              Also super jealous of that bed. I'd hate to leave that behind too.
                              You remind me of the babe
                              What babe?
                              The babe with the power
                              What power?
                              The Power of voodoo
                              Who do?
                              You do!
                              Do what?
                              Remind me of the babe!

                              Army of Darkness: Guardians of the Chat

                              Comment

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