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My move to Germany

N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
JohnE said:
You do any house shopping/scouting yet? You are coming in at the high PCS season, I would advise doing some if you haven't already.

Here is a good resource--

http://stuttgart.bookoo.com/
Click to expand...
Yeah - and a few others -AHRN etc.

I've got a really generous monthly housing allowance and am scouring the web for "no agent fee" rentals.

I am not really keen about paying 2x monthly rent to a real estate agent as a finders fee - on top of 2x mo rent as a security deposit... :dead:

Leads appreciated.
 
JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,570
2,223
Front Range, dude...
AHRN sucks...and I think they are now prohibited from dealing with civilians/contractors. They have been investigated by CiD more than once for taking kickbacks.

There is a house opening up across the street from me...40 something days.

Buying here is really easy. If I stay on longer we are seriously thinking about it.
 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
I'll be there next month - hoping to be on the leading edge of the pcs stampede.

We'd love a house with 3-5 bdrms & garage and are looking at classic German homes or ultra modern ones.
 
JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,570
2,223
Front Range, dude...
The one near me is modern...most in the immediate area are. Soemthing to do with bombs falling from the sky and an expanding population. We got lucky and found a stand alone, most you will find are multiple family homes. German landlords can turn you down just because they dont like the way you look...good thing I am so damn handsome!
 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
JohnE said:
The one near me is modern...most in the immediate area are. Soemthing to do with bombs falling from the sky and an expanding population. We got lucky and found a stand alone, most you will find are multiple family homes. German landlords can turn you down just because they dont like the way you look...good thing I am so damn handsome!
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Good thing my little, blonde, blue-eyed wife has a German last name.

:D
 
Austin Bike

Austin Bike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 26, 2003
1,558
0
Duh, Austin
If I could live in any foreign country it would be Germany. Had 2-3 opportunities with different companies but it never worked out. I could sooooo live in München.
 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
JohnE said:
Biergarten season is upon us...
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Except the weather didn't get the memo this weekend, cold & drizzley. Got here Mon morning and got my driver's license and picked up my vehicle on Tues. Looked at a country villa in Leonberg this afternoon - stunning local but a lot of yard to worry about.



the back yard view was killer.
 
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?

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
When are we meeting up for Fruhlingsfest? :cheers:

I signed another contract extension to finish up the house that I've been working on, and something about my project team being selected as a finalist for a new office tower for the United Nations.

Keep in touch if you guys want to go for a ride.

...or if you decide that you want an architect to design you new German home, I can do that too :D
 
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N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
????? said:
When are we meeting up for Fruhlingsfest? :cheers:

I signed another contract extension to finish up the house that I've been working on, and something about my project team being selected as a finalist for a new office tower for the United Nations.

Keep in touch if you guys want to go for a ride.

...or if you decide that you want an architect to design you new German home, I can do that too :D
Click to expand...
I am IN for a trip to Fruhlingsfest (I'm living in Vaihingen at the moment). I am not 100% sure how to use the U/S Bahn - I haven't ridden it yet. I have my vehicle here, but my bikes are still in the US awaiting shipment and will probably be here at the end of Mai.

Thx for the design offer, but I have a nice housing allowance that will get us whatever we want/need. Buying here doesn't make sense, as I will have to go back to the US eventually.

What happens here on a Sunday (this is my first one in DE)? I've heard nothing, but surely one can find a beer hall that's open, yes?
:cheers:
 
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JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,570
2,223
Front Range, dude...
NOTHING happens on Sunday...which I like! Are you at the Pullman?

Leonberg is nice. I ride through that area now and again, the commute to Patch is easy.
 
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N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Finally getting into a grove both at work and off. I've been spending time looking for a place to rent and after looking at a villa in Heimerdingen in the north, to a contemporary in Pliezhausen on the edge of the Swabian Alps to the south (via the Autobahn), I think I may have found a place I'm interested in living in for the next 3-5 yrs. It's a Fachwerkhäuser built in the year 1485 next a church from the 1200's in the town of Markgröningen. It' a bit of a drive (30 km) with plenty of STAU opportunities from my office, but hey...! When in Germany go local, ja? It's 4 br w/2.5 baths, a guest suite with it's own private entrance, has a HUGE wine celler and a full kitchen. Oh, a large US sized garage. Negotiating details this week hopefully.

House is at the rear of this pic (white with red trim):


 
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JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,570
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Front Range, dude...
I ridden my road bike exactly once since I got here, not counting a few commutes to work on it. The roads can be flippin terrifying, even the county roads. I stick to the woods, especially as I can ride out my door into them...
 
DaveW

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,835
3,325
The bunker at parliament
JohnE said:
I ridden my road bike exactly once since I got here, not counting a few commutes to work on it. The roads can be flippin terrifying, even the county roads. I stick to the woods, especially as I can ride out my door into them...
Click to expand...
Strange I was amazed at how unterrifying the roads were to ride on after NZ's moronic and aggressive drivers?
Maybe the Germans drive different in Stuttgart than around Lörrach und Basel?
 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Sh!tload of roadies on the streets around here. I dont see any ghost bikes, but then again might not be their thing here.

Here is whisky tastin' event at the local Irish Pub yesterday.. fun times indeed

 
N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
A friend of mine has loaned me one of his bikes to use until mine make in country. Taking it on a 24km beer garden ride tomorrow.

A Trek Antelope - FatAss Edition:

 
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N8 v2.0

N8 v2.0

Not the sharpest tool in the shed
Oct 18, 2002
11,003
149
The Cleft of Venus
Had my first bike ride here Europe and though it was on a paved bike path, it was pretty damn fun to get out and enjoy a day of sunshine (the second time we've had one in 3 weeks).

We basically rode this route from Stuttgart up to Marbach Am Necker:


We started off from my buddy's house and rode over to the Uni to catch the S-Bahn to downtown Stuttgart. This brief leg set the tone for what was to be a beautiful sunny day:




Then it was underground to the S-bahn to catch a train into downtown:


On the train it was a bit crowded:


Cruising thru the main station downtown:


Once out into the day light we got on one of the hundreds of bike paths that wound thru the city and started our ride up the River Necker:












Once out of town we started seeing a lot of vineyards on the hills:


Our crew had 6 riders and a guy on a tandem with his mom and towing 2 toddlers:


The scenery reminds me of Shreveport, but without the poison ivy:




First stop was at a lake alongside the river...


..at a beer garden...


for a beer!


That stop lasted 45 min or so, as everyone rehydrated:


Then it was back on the path:


Until the next stop for lunch, and a beer:










After an hour+ we got back on the trail and headed north, passing some beautiful scenery:






Last stop of the day was a beer garden in Marbach Am Necker (Marbach on the Necker). Every stop was full of cyclists and bikes:


We chilled for an hour and had a couple beers:


Then we rode a mile to the train station, got on and came back to town where I had yet another beer (a mild German IPA) on the patio with my friends who'd invited me along for the day.. good times:
 
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?

?????

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,678
2
San Francisco
There are a few bits of single track interspersed between the forest service roads in that area. I was there last weekend, and it's near the area where I usually ride on Saturdays. You get a 360 degree view of Stuttgart and the neighboring cities from the top of the hill.

The thing about single track in Baden-Wurttemburg is that it's illegal to ride a bike on.

I'm not concerned with that, but what it means is that there isn't much single track that lasts for more than a few hundred meters before dumping back into a service road.
 
JohnE

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,570
2,223
Front Range, dude...
...they have to catch me first! Where do you get the answer that its illegal to ride st? I have asked alot of shop guys and always been told that its not illegal. Crusty old hikers in the woods often shake their sticks at me as I go by though...

Mostly I have been rolling the woods in my neighborhood, and there are some guys here who build trail on range space. There is a wicked one near Schonaich. The 3 of us should go run it when you are bike-ular. You can see me crash and burn.
 
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