Day 9: Researching Permanent Housing.

An American looking for an apartment in Germany is very taxing! I had to wait to get the website from my husband's co-worker and it turns out the only website they have is the one that I've been looking at all along even when we were in the U.S.!!

The issue here is that to rent an apartment not only does one have to pay two months rent in advance (which is pretty much the standard in most American cities) but one also has to pay realtor fees which can be 2 to 3 times the monthly base rent. It can be extraordinarily costly to rent here and one must be very sure of where they want to live because it's so costly to move!!

The language barrier has definitely been a hindrance today! With an online translator, currency and area converters, I was able to figure out the pricing (which by the way, there's a flat rate fee + an additional fee for utilities), the square footage and information about the apartments. There were only four so far to research and it's taken me all day to not only translate but to calculate what our stipend will pay for!!

Ted worked late tonight but still wanted to visit the IKEA store which is about 15 miles from where we live. I want to get a handle on what it will cost for the items we will need to purchase - such as table and chairs, bed and wardrobes. Depending on which apartment we choose and we have several months to do so - not to mention that we have to wait for our personal and household goods to arrive - that will dictate whether we have to buy a washer and dryer or not. Of course we could still use the base laundromat. It's only been a week and already it's a pain in the neck. But you do what you have to do and make the best of it.

So off we go to the IKEA store. At first we couldn't find it because the "GPS lady" (who by the way, sounds an awful lot like Julie Andrews)said we were at our desination. Well, we couldn't see it and IKEA is hard to miss. I thought it was behind the KFC (yes, they have KFC here too...it's a shame, really, because fast food is so bad for you). We circled around and I saw a bright blue building. So we went towards it and it was it. It didn't seem very big but it turns out, one floor is underground (very weird!). Getting to the parking deck was a trip! We went around and around and around (in those tight car tubes that get you from floor to floor) for those of you from Ytown - like the old McKelvey's parking downtown - only tighter. We were getting dizzy. I wondered if our car would fall off the top somewhere since I didn't see the parking deck at all!! Finally, we got to the deck and parked.

So we walked over the elevators. No buttons! WHAT? How in the heck were we supposed to get down four or five stories (at least that's what it seemed like getting up to the deck) without an elevator? Luckily, someone was leaving so we jumped in the elevator and hit a button. When the door opened, there was a lobby...which also was weird. When we walked into the other room, there were the checkouts and I knew we couldn't get through there, so back to the lobby. We climbed the steps up to the next floor and started looking around.

The biggest thing for us right now is the sleeping accomodations. It turns out they do not have King-sized beds here. The largest they have is a Queen...at least I think it's a queen. I'll have to do some further research and metric conversions to be sure! Anyways, we thought what we would do is to put two twins together and call it good. My mom will assist with gettin us a connector so I can use my king-sized sheets when they come from the US.

What IS interesting is that to determine what mattress is best for an individual, they ask how you sleep (on your side, back or stomach); whether you like to be hot, cold or in the middle, what your height and weight is. I think that's a really good way to do it because it minimizes getting the wrong mattress.

They also don't have box springs. It's one mattress. But what we've found with the tiny mattresses that we're sleeping on is that we are sleeping good! So we probably want to stay with something like what we have here and we even though that we might want to bring it back to the States when we come back, that's how much we like the beds we're sleeping in!

Now on to the wardrobes. They are a bit expensive, but if you plan right, you only need a wardrobe and no chest of drawers. That's ok by me. We saw what we liked but again, this will be contingent on what the new apartment will be like.

I also saw a table and chairs that I liked and will most likely get. I also don't have any dishes so the dishes will come from there too. By getting relatively inexpensive furnishings, it will be easier to let go when the time comes.

I also picked up the catalogs and they have a LOT of them!! Specific to each area: Wardrobes, kitchen (because most people own their own kitchens and take them with them when they move - if they ever do), beds, media furniture, furniture and general catalog! Whew! I'm going to be busy looking at those for a few days.

Tomorrow I will go back to researching apartments in the Stuttgart area to see what's available there in our price range or if I can find a place that is not with a realtor. That would give me more bang for my buck but I only have two months to get this accomplished and already one week is down the tubes!

Until tomorrow.