AshleyReinhart

Hi, all! Thanks so much for all your replies, they are all so helpful. I will say, my husband's company has an EXCELLENT package for us, which includes moving costs, our US and German tax preparation, German language lessons (for both of us), paid trips home to the USA every year, temporary housing at no cost, assistance from a real estate agent, as well as a lump sum for pet relocation costs (we have 2 dogs), furniture purchases, and new technology purchases.   We visited Germany earlier in the month and actually found a place on our own. We stayed in an Airbnb and loved it and talked to the landlord about renting long term - so, no fees! The house comes mostly furnished. We do have a small desk we'd like to ship over, as well as our clothes, photos, etc. Nothing big. We have to produce two quotes to his company for the move, so I'm not overly worried about cost, I just need two reputable companies who I can contact - Rainier sounds like a good one I can try. If anyone else knows of one, let me know!

Hello, all. I have posted here before about me and my husband's upcoming move to the Hamburg/Lübeck area this summer. He is currently going through negotiations with his company for things like, relocation assistance. Has anyone else moved from the United States who could give me a ballpark of what we should be asking for? There's only two of us, and we won't be bringing much furniture with us, but things like pictures, clothes, a small desk, etc. will still be (what I anticipate) a lot of money to ship internationally. What kind of relocation assistance did your company give you? Do you have any services or companies you would recommend?   Thanks!

Very good information about the dogs, thank you all! Does anyone have any website recommendations to do apartment searches? I feel like all the ones I keep finding are short-term.

 

 

Thanks PandaMunich, I'll check that out. Obviously I've never done this process before so help is appreciated.   RedMidge, I am going to follow up with my husband's company. They have an agency to help ex-pats find housing. I'm hoping they will be helpful. We have a call next week. 🤞

  We'll be in Germany for over a week to check out the areas in general. I meant with a realtor looking specifically at flats.

Hi, Andrew and Heike. My husband and I will be moving to Germany this spring. Your flat is in our desired area and in our price range as well. By any chance, will you accept 2 small docile dogs?

Thanks, RedMidge. We will definitely be taking the assistance. I think we will probably take a day to look around Eastern Hamburg, and a day to look at Luebeck. If time allows on our upcoming "Planning Visit" we will look around the Baltic as well.   Since we'll be looking at places when there in February, do you think it will be too early to sign a lease for move in around April/May?

I don't have all the details yet, but his employer has said the insurance is included/provided, so I am assuming yes. We have several meetings in January/February to work out the details of his employment contract. We will make sure the benefits offered will cover my diabetic needs. Any suggestions on things to know ahead of those discussions?

Thank you! We are going to look in Luebeck as well. I just thought it may be easier for me to work in a larger city. I also like city life a little more than suburbia, but it isn't totally out of the question. We are coming over in February to check out housing options. We are probably going to look in/around EASTERN (Correction to my above post) Hamburg, Luebeck and around the Baltic Coast as well.

  HEM, You're absolutely right. I wrote that in too much haste. I meant "East Side" of Hamburg, or at least more central. My husband just doesn't want to have to drive straight through the center of Hamburg every morning.

Hi, all. I know this forum hasn't been touched in a while, but I thought I'd bring it up to modern times a bit. There's a lot of discussion here about TV in English and calling home. I was thinking it would be easier to just use WiFi calling and FaceTime when I needed to call home, and not worry about charges or pay-per-minute services. Have anyone had success/failure with this?   As for TV, what's the situation with things like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime? Here in the states we completely cut cable and watch things on our Roku. Has streaming TV picked up in Germany as much as it has here in the US? Any suggestions for devices/services to look into?

Hi, Lulu - I won't be making my move to Germany until Spring, but I would definitely be interested then. I have Type 1 diabetes and will definitely need some support from others as I navigate the German health care system.   - Ashley

Hi, all. My husband and I are planning a move to Germany in late Spring/early Summer 2019, due to a work transfer. We are in our mid-30s, no kids, but we have two small dogs. He will be working in Lubeck, but I will (most likely) be working in Hamburg. We are thinking somewhere on the West side of Hamburg would be best, due to the proximity to the 1, which he will be taking to work everyday. We will only have 1 car, so I need to be close to public transit so I can work in the city. Ideally, we'd like to be less than an hour drive to Lubeck. Does anyone have any suggestions to help us narrow down our search area? How hard will it be to find pet friendly housing? Since it's just the two of us, we don't need much from the apartment. We could do with a studio, or a one bedroom, but we'd love to have space - even just a pull out couch - for guests. We would also need it mostly furnished and ideally, with 1 parking spot. And obviously, we would need somewhere that accepts pets.   Anyone have any idea of a range of what our budget should be for rent? Any suggestions on finding an apartment? His company does offer assistance through realtors so we will probably just use them. Any help would be appeciated as we begin this big move!