WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE MOVING TO GERMANY | PCS to Germany 

Hi. I just got an offer to Wiesbaden. Dod Civilian. Do you mind sharing your tips with me

Aww I am so glad the binder was helpful for you! Yay! That makes me so happy. :) You are a trooper, by yourself with a 5 month old!

What specific questions do you have that I might answer?

@@blackriflehomestead As a Dod Civilian, do you have to live on base?

I am so glad! I also responded to your email, thanks so much for reaching out! :)

Me too!

Same!

@@shelbyparker378 I have so much to get done lol. These videos are so helpful though.

Yes for sure!! That's something I didn't think about when moving overseas.

RyanAir can sometimes be cheaper but not always! Plus, it wasn't always very convenient for us to take RyanAir 1) because many flights left out of Frankfurt Hahn (which was nowhere near Frankfurt!) and 2) there's usually not many options for flight times. So it CAN be a good thing but in our case we preferred more flexibility. We only took 1 RA flight (a hopper flight from Santorini to Athens) and it was fine.

Also, always book a roundtrip ticket even if you have no intention of coming back. Booking a one way ticket is outrageously expensive

lol yup!! That flash is pretty jarring....can't deny it's happened to me too!

@@siriosstar4789 but a flash does go off. I think that’s what they’re referring to, not the specific name.

Hi Rhonda! Yes the rooms are a bit on the smaller size. A king size could've fit in our room but there wouldn't have been much room for side tables. Maybe a side table for one side only. A queen is definitely more doable! We were able to have our side tables on either side of our queen.

You're welcome! Oh I wish I could tell you that information! I actually have no idea, I'd have to go back and make all the calculations. But moving overseas entails significantly more out of pocket. Even though a lot can be reimbursed, you'll be paying up front for it. An example of this would be excess baggage fees and HHG that you mail to yourself. You can submit these expenses to finance for reimbursement. Also you can get reimbursed for mileage costs like if you have a bit of a drive to the airport from your current duty station. However, there are expenses that you won't get reimbursed for, like if you need to rent a car while waiting for your POV to arrive from the states. That gets expensive. Your hotel stay should be covered, but definitely double check that it is and if it can be put on the government travel card and not your own credit card. Then remember all the incidentals, like restocking your pantry/fridge, possibly buying a car (like if you only ship one POV), eating out/takeout/convenience food while living in a hotel waiting for housing, curtains, German-specific items like if you need things that are 220 voltage. Also be prepared to pay a LOT more for fuel even if buying on base. I would have around $5,000 set aside if that's possible. Things just seem to add up SO quickly!

We've used a pet sitter only once, and it was a friend across the street who absolutely loves dogs. But normally we board our dog at an excellent place called Rex Kennels, located in Heidelberg. They even have a shuttle pick-up here in Wiesbaden which is so convenient!! Zoey LOVES going there and gets so excited when the "fun bus" shows up. :) They take great care of the doggies!

Hi Claudia! My email is malori.mayor@gmail.com - please feel free to shoot me an email! :)

I'm actually not sure! Priority does go to military so if there is room, civilians may be able to live on post. I don't know of anyone who chose to, though.

@@blackriflehomestead make sense! Thank you for your help!

No we do not live in Germany anymore.

If you'll send me an email I'll send you the names! Just don't want to put them out there publicly. Thanks!

Hi Sally! Thanks for your question, good thing to ask about. :) You are correct, and you actually should be able to do both an unaccompanied baggage shipment and storage (called NTS or non-temporary storage). I recommend NTS for things you probably don't want to bring overseas, like unnecessary furniture or antiques. Unaccompanied baggage is basically like a much smaller household goods shipment. Normally people use UAB for shipping things they might want when they first arrive at their duty station. (Note that furniture doesn't get shipped in UAB. If you have any furniture left behind that wasn't shipped in household goods then it will most likely have to go into storage.) Also, you do get a generous baggage allowance if flying with Patriot Express (2 allowed bags plus 2 additional bags for a charge, but the military will reimburse you.) Also, you may mail things to yourself in Germany and get those expenses partially reimbursed as well. I did that too. I hope that is helpful! Those are all the options that I can think of at the moment. Please let me know if there's anything else you might need! :)

@@blackriflehomestead Thank you for all the helpful information!! Yes it definitely will come in handy. I appreciate it!!

Do you have any particular questions I might be able to answer? It definitely is a huge life change but it's also helpful to look at it as an adventure! :)

Thanks for the feedback!

Great tip! Don't want to fry any appliances or cause an electrical fire. People should also be aware of the difference between a converter and an adapter.

A traveler hairdryer and razor should be switchable too. But at least in Wiesbaden the army installation apartments can handle both currencies (230V/115V).

Good point! It's really nice having both American and European outlets in base housing.

What do you mean?

Wow! I did not know that. Interesting about the likability part and renting. Thanks for sharing!

No there are many positives about Germany!

If you would research why there are American troops in Germany, and Europe in general, you will find that there are good reasons why Germany allows their presence. Part of it has to do with NATO and the collective resolve to support European security. The Convention on the Presence of Foreign Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany, was signed in 1954 by West Germany. It allowed eight NATO members, including the US, to have a permanent military presence in Germany. The treaty still regulates the terms and conditions of the NATO troops stationed in Germany today.

@@dianefuchs7567 Diane, Germans know their history and they know that there is no difference between patriotism and nationalism. It can flip in one second. Germans are proud of not being proud of their country. It was a hard lesson to learn but they did a great job of dealing with their past. We can all learn from them. In Europe our attitude towards the military and war is fundamentally different. We do not thank soldiers for their service, we do not glorify them. They are not seen as heroes. We apologise or have empathy for them. For almost 10 centuries we were at war with each other here in Europe. (I'm the daughter of Italian immigrants living in the German speaking part of Switzerland. I'm NOT German. And I'm old enough to have had uncles and grandfathers who served in WWII). Soldiers were puppets of the powerful. They were manipulated or forced into service (mostly poor people) and if they survived nobody cared about them. What you do, thanking for their service, sounds very hipocritical in my ears. It's a way to not wanting to hear how they feel of not aknowledging what they went through. I do not say we are right and you are wrong. Our history is different. We do also know the history of the end of WWII and the Cold War. The Soviet Union lost 27 Million people fighting against the Nazis. When they had done like 95% of the task Americans joined and claimed all for them. Then, because your economy was dependent from the military industrial complex you had to create a new enemy and you pushed this narrative of the Thread of communism from abroad and the Red Scare in your country (to roll back all regulations from the New Deal. Corporations didn't like that they couldn't exploit workers at the same level anymore). The Soviet Union was a country who just had lost almost all of the young men. Almost 100,000 villages and towns and agriculture and industry were destroyed. People were starving and freezing to death. Yes, Stalin was a brutal dictator. But did we all support the US? After Hiroshima, after Corea and Vietnam? There is never one good and one evil side in a war. And when the Soviet Union dissolved you needed a new enemy. I watched and followed it. I was old enough to participate in the worldwide protests against the War in the Gulf in 1991. I'm an historian. History is never as simple as it seems. There are always different point of views.

@@DramaQueenMalena You're right. There are always different points of view. Thank you for explaining yours in detail.

@Fly ja ....Why being so rude. Please be nice Right after the war all of us where glad about the help from the US. The soldiers and their partners have no guild for Vietnam... either you are not responsible for the crimes of the Wehrmacht. So once again please stay nice.

@@DramaQueenMalena we learned about our history.. thinks are chancing unfortunately