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When I contemplate moving to Berlin, I think about things like furniture, health insurance, doctors (especially with my chronic illness and getting older), appliances, how we'll watch our DVDs (since PAL and NTSC aren't friends), where to get food, and that sort of thing.
Ben thinks about whether it's cost-effective to ship our furniture, dishes, etc overseas.
ESXJ meets INTP.
Whereas I like our dishes (they match, and they were wedding gifts), and several of our pieces of furniture (like the dresser and hutch, which were both wedding gifts from his family). I don't generally get sentimentally attached to stuff, but I'd feel guilty about abandoning these gifts (which we picked out ourselves). I felt bad enough selling my old desk & dresser set last year.
It's true, there's a lot of cool old shit available at the massive flea market every Sunday, but we won't have a car to haul shit. (That's one way we could keep costs lower. Parking fees, insurance, maintenance, and gas add up in a city, especially one where gas prices are twice as high as in the US.)
Other things I think about are whether I want to stay there permanently. I can't imagine moving back stateside at 75 or 80 or older. And our parents aren't getting any younger; driving 5 hours to Maryland, or finding a flight to St Louis, is a far different story than flying back from Europe. I don't have much emotional attachment to my family, but that doesn't mean I want to cut them out, you know?
And it's not like my mom would ever come visit me in Germany. She didn't while I was in Marburg for a year. She freaks out when faced with new things, and she's terrified of airplanes (and smokes, but Nicorette can help on planes I hear). Well, and she can't really afford airfare. If I could get both her and my sister to go, there's a chance it'd work, but I'm doubtful. Dad would probably come visit, if he can get airfare together. Ben's folks, assuming no physical issues, would come no problem. They're living in Basel right now while his mom teaches/does research there, and they spent a year in England (another sabbatical).
There's a part of my mind that's already separated itself from living here.
Ben thinks about whether it's cost-effective to ship our furniture, dishes, etc overseas.
ESXJ meets INTP.
Whereas I like our dishes (they match, and they were wedding gifts), and several of our pieces of furniture (like the dresser and hutch, which were both wedding gifts from his family). I don't generally get sentimentally attached to stuff, but I'd feel guilty about abandoning these gifts (which we picked out ourselves). I felt bad enough selling my old desk & dresser set last year.
It's true, there's a lot of cool old shit available at the massive flea market every Sunday, but we won't have a car to haul shit. (That's one way we could keep costs lower. Parking fees, insurance, maintenance, and gas add up in a city, especially one where gas prices are twice as high as in the US.)
Other things I think about are whether I want to stay there permanently. I can't imagine moving back stateside at 75 or 80 or older. And our parents aren't getting any younger; driving 5 hours to Maryland, or finding a flight to St Louis, is a far different story than flying back from Europe. I don't have much emotional attachment to my family, but that doesn't mean I want to cut them out, you know?
And it's not like my mom would ever come visit me in Germany. She didn't while I was in Marburg for a year. She freaks out when faced with new things, and she's terrified of airplanes (and smokes, but Nicorette can help on planes I hear). Well, and she can't really afford airfare. If I could get both her and my sister to go, there's a chance it'd work, but I'm doubtful. Dad would probably come visit, if he can get airfare together. Ben's folks, assuming no physical issues, would come no problem. They're living in Basel right now while his mom teaches/does research there, and they spent a year in England (another sabbatical).
There's a part of my mind that's already separated itself from living here.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 03:46 pm (UTC)From:Anyway, that DVD thing ... If I am not entirely mistaken, you can/could get regionfree DVD players here, meaning, they play both, PAL and NTSC. I don't know if they're still available, but mine definitely is one of those.
I had no idea that you were in Marburg for a year. That's close to where I live!!! Yay, this is a small world after all. ;o)
I really hope you'll get this all sorted out, because it sounds like an ambitious plan to come over here to live here for a while/permanently. Good luck!
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Date: 2011-02-17 04:12 pm (UTC)From:The main issue is that it wouldn't be for another 10 years or so, because one of my cats (14) is evil and diabetic, and another (10) is neurotic and has hyperthyroidism and renal failure. (She gets specially-made treats with her medicine inside, for thyroid and depression.) Evil cat is also allergic to grain, so she has to get special food. And in 10 years, the next group of 3 cats will be 17-18, if they're still with us. None of them have health issues (yet). (Yeah, I have 5 cats. It wasn't intentional.)
I spent my junior year of college in Marburg! My college has an exchange program there. It was fun. Very quaint town. I went back a few years ago so Ben could see where I'd lived, and it hadn't changed much. Some Sanierung in the Oberstadt, and some different restaurants/shops, but overall it was pretty much the same. Not like Berlin at all!
There's also the issue of jobs. I'm a pharmacist here, but the degree doesn't transfer (I checked anabin), so chances are I'd have to either repeat school or do some sort of intensive internship, and I'm too old for that. But if this novel-writing thing gets off the ground, I'll have *some* income, though no idea if it's possible to get a work visa as a novelist. Ben's a computer programmer, so if he can find a job in Berlin or nearby, that'll work well.