Advice for moving to Patch Barracks, Stuttgart

Hello to everyone!

My husband was notified yesterday that he will be required to make a move to Patch Barracks within 60 days. Just like everybody I now have questions about moving to a new place!

Firstly, we need to find out about securing a place to live. He will be allowed to live in town, not required to live on base, so we need to find out a few things about apartments/flats, houses, etc... We would rather not use the housing office because we have heard some bad things about them, so now we are looking for some first hand opinions. We have no children, and we may bring our dogs, but they are small so that isn't really a big factor. What are the preferred neiborhoods, ones to stay away from, etc?

Second, is it a good idea to bring our car? It seems that parking can be expensive and difficult.

Last (at least for now), can anyone elaborate on choices for internet connectivity in Stuttgart and the surrounding areas? I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home, basically anwhere in the world, so I will require a good connection because I participate in video conference calls over webcam. My husband and I also like to talk to family and friends over the webcam, so a nice fast speed is important.

Thank you in advance, and I look forward to coming to this beautiful city!

Jessie

Related topic: Various advice for newcomers moving to Stuttgart

Welcome.
1. Finding housing. You have to go thru the housing office to some extent. They have to approve your lease at least. When you arrive, you will check in with them. It is worth checking their listings since you won't have to pay a Makler fee if you find a house through them. If you find a house on your own - then you most likely have to pay a realtor a fee to find you a place - this is usually 1.5% to 2% of your monthly rent. Don't know if your husbands work will pay for that.
2. Housing should be no problem. We have two dogs with us (would never consider a move with out them ) so to be honest, I wonder why you say you MAY take them?
3. Internet - no problem. Your are not moving to remotes parts of Africa ... You have no worries regarding your internet.
4. Yes, bring your car. I am sure your husbands work will ship one car. Bring it so you can explore Europe, etc. We have our car and will probably buy another here. Depending where you live, you may need a car to do your shopping.

I am sure others will chime in.
Here are a few property finders that were given to me thru the housing office. Americans associated with the base pay much higher rent than the avg German. Not sure if you can get around paying less - or if its worth the effort. You need to find out how much you get for housing.
http://www.houses-rental.com/CurrentListings.htm
http://www.relocatetogermany.com/listings/index.php
http://www.ibg-gaissert.de/update/
http://www.stuttgarthomesonline.com/rental.aspx

hi Jessi

when are you moving to Stuttgart
I know Patch Barraks and nice areas closer to , for living.
My husband works in Patch Barraks, and we rent nice apartment very near. I know little german, I can help you with finding apartment for free:)))
when you arrive let me know, I can show you around
very closest area to Patch Barraks is Stuttgart-Vaihingen, where we rent apartment. we drive only 5 minuts to Patch Barraks, and it's also close to downtown too, by S-Bahn takes about 12-14 minuts to downtown.
just PM me, if you have other guestions
also I know housing office in other base near to Patch Barraks, Panzern Kazerne, they 'll help you find apartment,but you have to look at the city map, and have some idea about nice areas and closer to work.otherwise if you don't know what you want, it's gonna be a little complicated. I mean, if you rent in rush somewhere far and with not good infrastructure, you'll be sorry. One thing about apartments for rent with Housing office , I understood they usually more expensive, then in other adverts in German newspapers or immobilienscout website. of course if you rent apartment with housing office in base you don't pay for their service, if you find apartment with german rieltors, you have to pay them agents fee(as minimum 1,5-2 month rent)
anyway, if you want to talk, let"s talk:)))

Hello Jessie

Patch Barracks is located in Stuttgart-Vaihingen near the university. Vaihingen is a very quiet part of Stuttgart. You could call it a low crime area, but even
using the word crime would be somehow inappropriate for this peaceful place. The areas where you'll want to stay away from are not near Patch Barracks.
(PM me for more info, i don't want to step on anyones toes...)

You'll probably want to ship your car over here. Although Stuttgart has a highly developed public transport system, having a car is probably a good idea.
Parking in downtown Stuttgart is a bit of a problem. In Vaihingen it's somehow ok. There's a large parking garage at the mall in Vaihingen. From there,
shops, the post office, restaurants, etc.. are in walking distance. If you don't mind taking a 20min walk, then those places are even in "walking distance" of
Patch Barracks. You can walk through this part of the city without being afraid of getting mugged.

You'll notice that there are several car dealerships in Vaihingen near Patch Barracks where they'll try to sell you a german car suitable for autobahn
driving :-)

DSL internet connections with speeds up to 16Mbit downstream and 1Mbit upstream are readily available in the Stuttgart area. You'll have the choice
between several providers. (Again, PM me for more info since i'm not going to rant on certain providers in public ...)

Hope this helps.

Thank you all for all of your wonderful replies. Your offers of help will be of great importance to me!

I say that we might bring our dogs because we're unsure if we want to leave them with my brother or bring them. Dennis (my husband) and I keep the dogs at our place, but my brother and his wife live very near and they almost share ownership! Given the information that I've received, I will more than likely pack them up and bring them over.

One thing I forgot to ask about is the shopping! Everything from groceries to clothes and things. How is the PX\Commisary on Patch Barracks? Are other military installations nearby easily accessible? What are German shopping malls like?

I will surely be sending messages to those who offered help over private message. Thank you all again, and I can't wait to get to Germany!

Jessy
don't worry about shopping:)) almost the same as in US:))
here in downtown of Stuttgart almost all those shops as Mango, Zara,like in US, when you 'll walk on Koenigstrasse< you'll see almost all the famouse stores
there a few big molls, they call them shopping-center.
about food and merchs in Patch Barraks and PX/BX there was separate topic somwhere in here
in my opinion th choise of food in Komissary in Patch Barraks is good, you'll find almost everything.German groseries have a lot of choise too, like very good bread,milk produkts,sausages, vegetables.
in PX I don't shop for closes, but other things like make-up, thing for household I'll buy there
also there is one of my favorite molls-"Breiningenland" in Sindelfingen, very near to Patch Barraks. there is a lot of stores inside. one of my favorite american make-up stores-MAC is there.
about cars, often inside of grosery shop in Patch Barraks they have a desk, tehre you can find cars for sale.also in the base people often move from country to country, you can find car or furniture(anything for house!) on that desk for sale.
we bought almost all the funriture , when we just arrived in German Red Crist(Deutche Rot Cross)
they are located in Boeblingen-Hult. I don't remember the adress exactly, but I can ask for you later if you want

When filling your soft drink from the machine in Taco Bell you might have to thwack it sharply on the side in order to stop the flow rather than just pressing the button. That's all the advice I can offer.

And the drinks machine in Subway is full of ants, don't ever use it!

Ewww. I think I used it once. Never again.
Good advice.

Any recommended furniture stores is greatly appreciated. Right now, I only know how to get to IKEA.

Despite what I've heard from others, I think the Commissary is quite good. You won't be able to find much for specialty items, but you can usually find something in a German supermarket if you didn't have any luck on post. My only reccommendation would be to get your bread etc from bakeries out in town for a couple of reasons. One, because it usually tastes better, two, because the bread at the Commissary usually expires the next day.
The PX on Panzer is decent for everything except clothing. Things are quite a bit more expensive on the economy than back home, even from the same stores, just so you're aware.

you are very welcome! if anyone would like more information about furnitures , bikes , computers and etc, ask me:))
all the furniture for our 3 room apartment included 2 dressers,1 twin bed,1 double bed, 1couch ,1 loveseat, 2 soft chairs(all the same color in pretty good condition, 1 dinig table with 6 chairs, 3 night lapms had cost us 550 euro!!!:)))
thanks to Troy, freand of my husband, he been here about 6 years, and he helped us a lot
now it' s my turn to help other people.
by the way, it's easy to find German Red +, it's like I said in Boeblingen-Hult, near to Ikea warehouse

The Red Cross furniture hall is situated in Boeblingen Hulb round the corner from Real. It does have a large selection of second hand furniture, some is serviceable but quite a lot is a throwback to the 50's & 60's! Hey retro is coming back!! Mostly the warehouse and the furniture has that musty smell of old people.
It's worth a look see now and again but I wouldn't bank on getting quality furniture on a regular basis. red cross furniture hall Boblingen

sorry, Nicole is right, it's in Boeblingen -Hulb
we didn't bring our furniture from US, and we not planning to take the furniture what we got in RED Cross back to US, I mean after several years we'll spend here,we won't be sorry give away or just throw away it
we bought new mattresses for 70 euro each in RED Cross, when actual price in other stores for 1 twin sixe mattress cost about 160-250 euro
yes, there is second hand furniture, but what else can you expect from scuh place as RED CROSS?
compare to IKEAs furniture, the "old" wooden furniture of 50-60th-is real good and strong.
, may be it doesn't look modern and not so stylish.when I brought it home, I washed and wiped out with special furniture oil with good smell of lemon, and the washable things have been washed,we don't smell the other people smell:)

Most Americans live around Panzer or Patch, that would be Schonaich, Boeblingen, Sindelfingen, and surroundings. You should check a map. This country is made up of town after town right next to each other but with farming, bike paths and such in between. A car is a must. Bring it. Many many people are moving on the base now and thousand more are coming with little preparation by the command. Patch is so packed you can hardly find a parking spot. As far as dogs go...some places won't take them and there is so much traveling to be done that leaving your pet and finding someone to watch it may be a real nuisance. I know there are alot of advertisements around for pet sitters. If your brother can take them then I would let him. Flying them over is a major thing too. And honestly, it's very populated around here and I wouldn't want a dog barking in my complex.

Traffic is really bad in this area so if you find a place on-line come back here and ask about the flow of traffic to and from that area. We live S. of STR and the bases (35 km) and it takes my husband 1 1/2 hours to get to work in the morning versus 30 mins. coming home. Plus a very long wait to just get on the base. Alot of people live a ways out. There are alot of lovely houses and apartments farther out that you should consider.

Try to keep your deposit on your apartmet/house LOW. Some landlords try to keep the deposit for any number of reasons. We have insurance against being sued by our landlord. I recommend it. Ask the housing office or pm me. You shoiuld go through housing to get your contract done correctly. Your husbands company/command will not approve just any contract. It must be done to their standard before they dish out the dough, ours had to

The Commissary and the PX are awesome in my opinion (but everyone always bitches about what they "don't have". I feel lucky to have the benefits the base offers us. The library is pretty good too. Just the parking is a thing as mentioned. You can always buy stuff on-line or shop anywhere but the base. There are alot of outlet stores in Metzingen.

A definite must have is a GPS system. You will driving around looking for an apartment and you will need it. Plus you can get anywhere in Europe with it. Get that car paperwork done asap. And get on the apartment finding too. There are so many people to compete with for housing now.

We use PJSNET for internet. They have English speaking service and have been very efficient.

Oh, cell phones. Don't get a contracted phone. It's more expensive and hard to get out of the contract.

I can also meet with you and have a chat about things. It's a big thing to move to any foreign country.

Your lucky you found this site. It's the best. Good luck.

The Commissary on Patch is OK but the veggie section sucks. Plan on using the veggies the same day or they will go bad. You are better off getting them at your local Penny Market (small grocery store chain).

Everyone here has been accurate about the shopping. The commisary is adequate. Produce is bad--this is a universal problem for DECA--I had terrible produce in the PNW on base--where the produce is fabulous "outside." The exchange is very poor except for electronics. You'll find a better selection--at a better price--for vacuum cleaners, etc. off base (this is the first place I've known this to be true.) Clothing is very bad, and shoes, of course--but with the internet--especially Zappos--this is just not a issue anymore. I'm not a huge fan of B-land, or the shopping downtown in Stuttgart--they are O.K., but not great. The food market in Stuttgart is very nice, but pricey, and France, with its wonderful produce and hypermarkets, is only an hour away. But malls are really something that Americans--and Canadians-- do best (actually, I've heard that ones in the Middle East are good, but I've never been there) so that's just the way it is.

The Army simply does not put the money into its bases the way the AF, or even the Navy does. The library, craft shop, bowling alley and theater are new and good. The temporary housing leaves a great deal to be desired. And the parking situation mid-day is amazingly bad on Patch. Often, while circling, I feel as if I am in a gigantic hospital parking lot--perhaps at Tripler in Hawai'i! I try to go later in the day, if I can manage. Of course, that means I am often fighting rush hour traffic to go home near Tuebingen, so you just can't win!

My advice on how to to avoid commuter traffic is to not settle along the Autobahns and use these to commute
to Stuttgart-Vaihingen. There are some real nice small villages west of the Vaihingen-Böblingen-Sindelfingen
area from where you can use the county and state roads to get to Vaihingen.

Any bad things or objections to the Echterdingen area? I will be commuting to Kelley Barracks.

If you are going to live in Echterdingen and work at Kelly then you are in good shape. You won't have much traffic to deal with, maybe some during peak hours but you won't be sitting on Autobahn 8 or 81 like others.

Echterdingen is really nice because it is so close to the airport as well.

That is a nice thing about this area the Stuttgart airport is really easy to get in and out of. With direct flights to Atlanta on Delta. Also Germanwings and many other Southwest type airlines fly in and out making traveling in Europe a piece of cake!

The only thing I would advise you on with the Echterdingen area is the fact parts of it are in the aircraft landing approaches to the airport.

My husband and I moved to Stuttgart in September. We managed to get a great house through the housing office, though we live closer to Tubingen than Stuttgart. Tubingen, by the way, is an awesome town! Our landlord speaks fluent English and is very laid back. We have two dogs and no kids...

I agree with what these folks have told you, but wanted to let you know that we had a good housing experience. Maybe we were just lucky. Good luck!

I'm new to this site as well...but WOW...everyone has provided a ton of information.
I too am moving to Stuttgart. I'll be arriving around the 10th of May. I'm a government contractor and given very little funds to ship much stuff over, so my hope at this time is to ship a bed, my clothes, some pots and pans and some linens and then...Pray to find a way to accomplish everything else. I will have a rental car for a short time, but my hope is to purchase someones decent second hand vehicle that is moving back to the states for dare I say...cheap...lol
I'm 41, kids are grown, divorced and starting life over again. I live in Augsburg for 6 1/2 years back in the 90's and I'm really looking forward to getting back to Germany.
Again, all of the posts I've read have been very helpful, keep it up..PLEASE...:-)
Cheers,
Jason

My husband is in the process of getting a civilian job in Stuttgart, for the military, I have alot of questions that I can't find answers to. I have 10 kids...6 adopted, is it even possible to find a home there big enough for all of them. Also, all of my kids are very involved with sports, is there good opportunities for football (american) there...so many questions. My husband was raised in the military, I was not, he would like our kids to experience living in another country, I am hesitant, but excited. Any suggestions? Or should we put this on hold until some of our kids(ages 1-13) go to college.

If your husband is going to be a contractor plan on paying 15k a year for each child to go to school here. And if the company he works for pays this fee he will still get taxed on it.

And yes the kids can play flag football until they are 12. After they turn 13 there isn't any football until they are able to play tackle on the high school team. I suppose you could find a house but it would be expensive for the size you would need. Might have a few more options if he is going to be a government civilian vice a contractor.

My husband knows a colonel who has ten kids... They knocked out a wall in two stairwell apartments for them. As civilians, I'm guessing that won't be an option for you guys. Wow!

I think you could find a house big enough, but it will be a challenge.

That's really only if they live on base, though. If they live off base and a landlord is happy to let them knock out a wall or two, it won't matter if they are civilian or military.

What I was trying to say is that there is a family in Stuttgart with ten kids; however, they're military and live in stairwells. It's my understanding that civilians generally live on the economy.

I do think there are houses big enough for ten kids, though. I met a lady who was leaving last fall and she had a house with five bedrooms. Our house has three bedrooms and a mother in law apartment in the basement. Big houses do exist, but they may be scarce.

How big is big? we have a four bedroom house that is about 2600 sq ft. It is on the high end of our housing allowance. Your kids will have to share a bedroom, but you should be able to find something comparable. What size house are you looking for and we can tell you if its feasable. The kids may not get the exact same extra cirricular activities they get in the States, but you will get a chance to expose your kids to a great country/ area.
Good luck in your move and ENJOY!

Another new person here - we're probably moving to Stuttgart in early 2009. I'm worried about housing.

We have 5 pets (4 cats, 1 dog - all older and with references). I am really nervous about what I have read so far regarding many people being required to live on post, where 1) we don't prefer to live, and 2) I understand there is a 2 pet limit. The pets are not at all optional, so we'd love to find out as much as we can about our chances of living out in town so that we can make a more informed decision about accepting these orders. I'm sure it will be a challenge to find a rental for 5 pets anyway, but we've managed it a couple of times before, so we're hopeful. At least out in town we'd have a shot.

Anyway, any insight?

Also, I've been really curious - lots of people are referring to "the stairwells" - what does this mean?

Your ability to live off post will likely be determined by your spouse's rank. If your spouse is enlisted, you may be required to live on base. If not, you can probably stay on the economy. That said, I would imagine they would take extenuating circumstances into account. I recommend you contact the housing office on Patch Barracks and get the information directly from the source. That link should be able to point you in the right direction to get all of your questions answered.

The housing office is actually located on Panzer Barracks.

Stairwells is another name for the apartments on the installations. They call them stairwells because you share a walk up stairwell with the other families in the building.

Right now, the stairwell apartments are being renovated. When we arrived in September, there were no apartments available and the housing office signed a statement that said none would be available for 60 days. That's why we had permission to live on the economy. However, a couple of months after we arrived, some of the renovations were completed and people were being forced to take housing on the installation(s). My husband has a co-worker who's a lieutenant colonel who had to take an apartment because one was available. I have not heard of people having to take housing based on rank, although junior enlisted folks may not get enough housing allowance to be able to afford suitable housing on the economy. For that reason, they might have to live in government housing based on their rank.

There are a lot of people coming to Stuttgart because of Africom, which makes me think that getting permission to live on the economy will be easy. In Heidelberg, by contrast, people have to live on the installation because there's plenty of housing. Anyway, the emphasis seems to be on filling up govenment housing to capacity because housing on the economy and utilities are very expensive. With as many pets as you have, you might be able to get a waiver to live on the economy as well.

I based what I said off of the official website which I linked. Good luck with everything!

No problem. I agree it's best to get information from the source. It's just that this area consists of four installations-- Patch, Panzer, Kelley, and Robinson-- and they're not really that near each other.

Panzer and Patch are the areas where people tend to spend the most time. Panzer is where everybody checks in. It's where the main BX/PX, USO, bowling alley, laundromat, vet clinic and clothing sales are. Housing is also on Panzer. Patch is where the big commissary, movie theatre, gas station/class VI, main library, and major medical facilities are. Patch and Panzer are fairly close to each other, but not within walking distance. Robinson is mostly housing and temporary quarters and it's pretty far from everything. There's a combination exchange and commissary there (called the CX). It's also where the furniture store is. Kelley has some housing, a theatre, a club, hotel, and a German kantine. A lot of people work there, too. I've only been to Kelley once since I've been here. It's pretty, but there's not much cause to go there unless it's where you work or live. It's not that close to Panzer, Patch, or Robinson.

I have not heard that most people were forced to take housing based on rank, but I could be wrong. What I have heard is that if housing is available, you pretty much have to accept it.

Thanks - I appreciate the input.

My husband emailed the housing office, so hopefully he'll hear something this week (he's currently at sea). I hope they can give us more than "You'll have to see when you get here" - my worst nightmare is to imagine sitting in the housing office being told that we can't live off base, and therefore can't bring all of our pets. I'd rather just not move to the area if this is a possibility.

I guess I am pinning my hopes to the idea that people at the housing office won't be such sticklers that they'd put us in a position of having to live separately, or live on the economy without BAH to accommodate pets. I don't know how else we'd handle it.

Try not to worry. Everything will probably work out just fine. Stuttgart is an awesome area and I'm sure you'll have a great time here.

We have a 7 bedroom house, so you can find them. If you are prepared to live about 1/2 hour away from the base you can find a bigger house for less money. I do have to drive my kids to the school bus (10 mins) but it's a small price to pay. The closer you live to the bases the more competition and therefore higher prices. If you have 10 kids, I really doubt they will make you live on base. Depending on their ages, kids over a certain age and of different sex are not supposed to share a room.

Moving from TEXAS to GERMANY!!!
I’ve always wanted to visit, but never dreamed of living in Germany.
My husband will be a civilian contractor working at Patch. He will make the move first (June) to find us a house. What areas are nice and which ones should we stay away from?
We would like to live close to Patch if possible.
Our daughters are 10 & 18. The 10 year old will be in the 6th grade when school starts this fall. Our 18 year old will most likely take college courses online until we get settled in. Does anyone have any information on English speaking middle schools and colleges?
Any information on making the move and living in Germany is greatly appreciated.

Topics merged by admin

As a contractor you can choose whether your child attends the DoDds school on base or the International school in Degerloch. Either way your company will have to pay approximately $18,000 a year for them to do so. At the end of the year this money will be added to your W2 and you will have to pay tax on it. For you it isn't so bad as you only have one child that requires tuition. When you have 3 attending school it kind of eats into your $84,000 tax exclusion. There are two Military middle schools, Boeblingen MS and Robinson Barracks MS. Attendence at either one depends entirely on where you live. When you get to the base, get the map from the housing office with the bus/school zones as it may help when you decide where to accept a house. Boeblingen is the more popular of the two but is suffering from severe overcrowding, Robinson Barracks is a bit further away but has much lower class sizes which has really benefitted a lot of kids.

University of Maryland offers College classes on base as do quite a few others. The education office on Panzer kaserne can help with what you are looking for.

Stuttgart is fantastic. The public transit is fabulous. Practically no crime. It's not like America here. I am exchange student from the San Francisco area currently living in Stuttgart. I'm not in any way related to the US military in any way, but well, my two cents...

There aren't any run-down "ghettos" like one would find in Oakland, Washington, New York, wherever. Actually, I don't think those kinds of areas exist anywhere in Germany. There's no hard crime in Stuttgart either. My friend showed me the "ghettos" of Stuttgart, and they were probably the nicest ghettos I've ever seen... I mean, they're perfectly liveable. Also, the public transit runs every few minutes, rarely if ever, delayed and there's a bus/bahn that takes you to every corner. I don't think a car would be necessary, die Deutsche Bahn takes you anywhere around the country, and flights with the low-cost carriers are real cheap... cheaper than Southwest/JetBlue/etc. Things here like food, clothing, whatever, are a little bit expensive by American standards, but that's just partly because of the bad exchange rate and the high VAT around here.

And I don't think Robinson Barracks is located too far away... it's in a rather quiet part of town, but it's a short bus ride to Bad Canstatt, which is nicer than Vaihingen, IMO. I live rather close to that area. I've never been on the base, because I'm not allowed there, so I can't tell you anything for sure. But I've driven by Robinson many times and it's a nice part of town.

But I do have a question... I am moving back to the US next month. I'd like to ship my stuff home, and I'm wondering if there's any way I can get on the base to use the Army post office. The Deutsche Post is slower and expensive. Any way I could use the APO?