We are ONE day away from moving out of our first home and flying out to our next adventure. Our house is empty, our suitcases are packed, and our dogs know something weird is about to happen. We have had several people ask us the same questions about our move to Germany, so I decided to include some of our Frequently Asked Questions and their answers in the blog post below.
FAQs About Moving to Germany
Q. Why are you moving to Germany?
A. Timmer, my husband, just finished his Ortho residency at Emory and now owes 3 years to the Air Force (they paid for 3 years of med school). We will likely be there for the full three years!
Q. Where in Germany are you moving?
A. We will be ~1.5 hours southwest of Frankfurt. The Air Force base is Ramstein but Timmer will be working at the Landstuhl Medical Hospital. The biggest city is Kaiserslautern so the surrounding area is called KMC (Kaiserslautern Military Community).
Q. When are you moving?
A. THURSDAY, August 1st!!!
Q. Are you bringing your dogs?
A. OF COURSE!!! We moved our flight back one day to ensure we would be on the same flight as them. Yes, they will be in the cargo hold. Yes, it will be temperature controlled and air pressure controlled. No, I don’t want to talk about it. They will be fine – Lufthansa flies animals internationally all the time. We will get to pick up our dogs at Baggage Claim. Don’t dog-mom shame me.
Q. What are you going to do? Are you going to find a job?
A. I am definitely going to try! It’s been hard to try to find a job while in the US, but hopefully once I’m there I’ll be able to find something. I also am not fluent in German. I’m really hoping to find a remote job with flexible hours (i.e., one that doesn’t require me to work EST time) or one with a travel company, planning trips/vacations for military families.
Q. Can you teach yoga?
A. Maybe! I’m not sure how work visas work for that type of job, and it seems like there are a LOT of American yoga teachers living in KMC, but I’m sure I’ll teach in some capacity, even if it’s just volunteering.
Q. How’s funemployment?
A. I left my job at the Home Depot corporate three weeks ago, but we’ve barely had a chance to relax. We haven’t even gone to our pool once! We’ve been busy doing administrative tasks for the move — getting our pet clearance, passports expedited, international drivers license tests, getting our cars ready to sell/ship, moving things from our storage unit, organizing things for the move, etc. So it hasn’t been very fun. But we have been trying to cross things off our Atlanta bucket list in the evenings.
Q. Do you guys already have a house?
A. No! We didn’t want to pick out a house online without visiting/knowing what area we’d be in. We have a temporary apartment that is furnished, dog friendly, and will let us use a car for two weeks! Hopefully within that time we will be able to find a home, but our furniture likely won’t arrive for six weeks or so, so we’ll be living in an empty house for awhile.
Q. So does that mean you aren’t going to live on base?
A. No! We are going to live off base. Timmer gets a housing stipend and we want to get fully immersed in the German culture.
Q. Are you going to drive over there?
A. Yes! Germans drive on the same side of the road as us. We shipped my Nissan Rogue last week, and it should arrive by September. We sold Timmer’s jeep (so sad) last week also, and are planning on buying him a cool car once we’re there!
Q. Do you already know where you’re going to travel first?
A. We have a google doc of bucket list places!! We don’t know Timmer’s schedule yet, so we haven’t booked anything but we are so excited to travel, meet new people, and eat amazing food!!!
Q. Have y’all ever been to Germany or Europe?
A. I studied abroad in Florence, went backpacking for 25 days to a bunch of different countries/cities after undergrad (including Berlin during the Germany-USA World Cup game), and then went to Croatia and Budapest a few years later. Timmer went to Europe a few times in middle school/high school for soccer.
Q. Are you going to try to learn the language?
A. Yes!! We have both been using Babbel, and I’ve been listening to the “Learn German in the Car” Spotify playlist. we hope to be fluent but are nowhere near being fluent yet.
Q. Are you excited/nervous/how are you feeling about moving to Germany?
A. I’ve gone through ALL of the emotions. At first I was excited. Then I was nervous and overwhelmed with all of our to do’s. Then I was scared/frustrated/angry because I realized that I’m having to put my career on hold for three years. I didn’t get my Masters of Accounting and pass the CPA exam to then not work for three years. But, it will all work out. I know God has a bigger plan for me.
Then I was sad because so many of my friends are moving back to Atlanta the same summer that I am leaving. Will I have friends? Who will drink wine with me and talk about the Bachelor and Southern Charm? I’m a girl’s girl. I need girl time.
But now that our to do list is checked off for the most part, and now that our home has been packed up and emptied, I am finally getting excited. How lucky are we to be able to begin our marriage together in a new country, with our two dogs, with the ability to travel frequently. How blessed are we to have such amazing family, friends, and coworkers who make saying goodbye so hard? Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you soon!