I want to move to Germany!

[deevergote]

Ok, not really. Well, kinda... but I'm not being serious.

Regardless, I went looking to see what sort of house I could buy over there for a reasonable amount of money, and I liked what I found.

Check this one out!


That house would cost roughly $156,000, which is actually less than I'd be looking to spend on a new place in my current area in NJ. Big lot, 4 bedrooms, 2 car carport with zoning allowance to turn it into a 2 car garage...
I know nothing about the area (Blankenrath), so I don't know if that's in das boonies or not... but I just thought it was cool.

This isn't planning or hoping. Just dreaming, and I figured it could turn into a fun discussion. I know moving to other countries, especially Western European countries, is quite difficult unless you have something significant to offer (renowned scholar, doctor, engineer, etc...)

[Straight Success]

Looks like a very cold area in the winter. Nice and spacious though.

[Jarrett]

A brick-paved gutter is a first one on me. It looks gorgeous, though. Did you happen to see a build date? Germany, and many other European countries, are so cool in the sense that the buildings you commonly use may be hundreds of years old!

[deevergote]

It says it was built at the turn of the century, and then heavily modernized in the mid-80s. It's likely more up to date than my current house (built around 1920, with lots of halfassed "upgrades" that I've been meaning to undo and re-do properly!)

I do wonder what the weather is like. Probably closer to New England weather. Blankenrath is in the eastern central area of the country, so it's not a bad location in terms of climate, I don't think. Not that I know a whole lot about Germany, though! I want to learn. I really do like the country, and my girlfriend is more than 50% German (her mom's parents came over shortly after WW2). She speaks the language somewhat.

[Turbo617]

i know this is only a fantasy but did you try to look at different states?

boston is expensive to live in. but state employees ( they make 1k + a week ) live in new hampshire or rhode island. and choose to drive an hour or 2 just to get to work in boston..

doing that is still cheaper than the cost of living here lol. smh.. my friend in indiana i believe.. or Missouri.. bought a house for 16,000. the same house i checked would cost $400,000 + here! :o

[deevergote]

I actually have. As much as I like where I live now (not great for what it is, but close to EVERYTHING!) I wouldn't mind a change. Many of my friends have already moved away, or are talking about doing it. My mom is moving to Florida later this year (NO interest in moving to Florida myself... but my close family connection in NJ will be drastically diminished when she's gone.)

I'm not too keen on moving further North, since we get more than enough snow for my liking in NJ! I do love the Boston area, though. Boston is probably tied with Philly for my favorite city, and I find myself rooting for Boston sports teams as much as Philly sports teams (except when they're playing each other!) I've only been to one hockey game in my life... and it was a Bruins game. I'm up there about once a year to hang out with AccordWarrior, who is one of my best friends. He recently bought a house in the area. It's a truly beautiful place, but it wasn't cheap. A comparable house could be purchased in NJ (20-30 minutes from Philadelphia, an hour from NYC) for 1/4 to 1/3 less!
My girlfriend comes from Charlottesville, VA. It's a really REALLY nice place, and one of the few areas in VA that I would really like to live in (from what I've seen.) Yet it's far more expensive than anything around here, being a major cultural center... as well as the home of UVA. It also goes from being a bustling little university town to NOTHING very shortly out of the city limits. Being from NJ, I'm used to one town bleeding into another town. Unless you drive up to the mountains, into the pine barrens, or down into farmland, you're basically ALWAYS in one populated town or another. I can walk to 3 grocery stores, 5 convenience stores, 4 pizza places, TWO McDonalds (and each and every one of their major competitors), a hospital, an urgent care place for when the hospital sucks... it's all just right here.

I'm having a difficult time finding any place that truly trumps my current location in terms of affordability, convenience, and diversity (I can access 3 different major cities, a beautiful beach, mountains, dense forests, open farmland, sprawling suburbia and the shopping that comes with it, and tons of historical stuff... all in an hour's drive or less!)

I guess that's why my daydreaming went to Germany. Their economy is quite strong right now. Their culture is similar enough to ours that I wouldn't feel totally out of place, but different enough that it would be interesting. Food, music, cars, history... all the things I find interesting are there in abundance.
It's nothing more than fantasy, true. I don't think I could actually move there if I truly wanted to. Still, since you put it in perspective of moving elsewhere in the US, it does make me think... what attracts me to Germany would likely be a good gauge of what I'm looking for elsewhere!